Singapore International Energy Week
from AsiaIsGreen
Human Tidal Wave for Global Day of Climate Action
from AsiaIsGreen
Blasting next to Labrador, Oct 09 - Apr 10
from wild shores of singapore
Oriental Pied Hornbill interlocking bills
from Bird Ecology Study Group
AAP, Brisbane Times 17 Oct 09;
A third attempt to plug a well that has been leaking oil for more than eight weeks into the Timor Sea off Australia's northwest coastline has failed.
The leak at PTTEP Australasia's Montara well-head platform, more than 200km off the Kimberley coast, began on August 21.
A spokeswoman for the Thai-based firm said a third attempt to plug the well with mud failed on Saturday.
Experts on board the West Triton drilling rig will now assess when the next attempt can be made.
The well casing being targeted is 25 centimetres in diameter and data gathered during the three previous attempts will be used to fine-tune the next effort.
"Setting up for each pass sequence takes between three and four days," the PTTEP spokeswoman said in a statement.
"Implementing the pass sequence must then be undertaken during daylight hours for safety reasons.
"Once the leaking well is successfully intercepted, heavy mud will be pumped from the West Triton down into the relief well, displacing the oil, gas and water and stopping the flow."
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett on October 15 announced that a deal had been struck with PTTEP for it to pay for environmental monitoring in the Timor Sea for at least two years.
PTTEP has appointed Australian environmental scientist John Wardrop to manage the immediate and long-term monitoring programs.
The immediate impact on wildlife from the oil spill is unknown.
Third attempt to plug Australia oil leak fails
AFP Google News 17 Oct 09;
SYDNEY — A Thai-based oil company on Saturday failed in its third attempt to plug a leaking rig that has spilled thousands of barrels of crude into seas off Australia, alarming environmentalists.
PTTEP Australasia said it had missed its target for a relief well some 2.6 kilometres (1.6 miles) below the seabed for the third time this month, and would try again in the coming days.
The leaking wellhead, some 25 centimetres (10 inches) wide, has been gushing off Australia's northwest since August 21 with estimates putting the discharge at 400 barrels a day.
"Setting up for each pass sequence takes between three and four days," PTTEP said in a statement.
"Implementing the pass sequence must then be undertaken during daylight hours for safety reasons.
"Once the leaking well is successfully intercepted, heavy mud will be pumped from the West Triton down into the relief well, displacing the oil, gas and water and stopping the flow."
The spill is reportedly Australia's worst since offshore drilling began more than 40 years ago, and ecologists fear the toxic cocktail of oil and dispersant chemicals could threaten marine and coastal species.
Environment Minister Peter Garrett, ex-frontman of rock band Midnight Oil, this week said PTTEP had agreed to pay for environmental monitoring of the area for at least two years.
Reuters 16 Oct 09;
Experts concluding the global DIVERSITAS biodiversity conference today in Cape Town described preliminary research revealing jaw-dropping dollar values of the "ecosystem services" of biomes like forests and coral reefs--including food, pollution treatment and climate regulation.
Undertaken to help societies make better-informed choices, the economic research shows a single hectare of coral reef, for example, provides annual services to humans valued at US $130,000 on average, rising to as much as $1.2 million.
The work provides insights into the worth of ecosystems in human economic terms, says economist Pavan Sukhdev of UNEP, head of a Cambridge, England-based project called The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB).
Based on analysis of more than 80 coral reef valuation studies, the worth of services per hectare of coral reef breaks down as follows:
* Food, raw materials, ornamental resources: average $1,100 (up to $6,000)
* Climate regulation, moderation of extreme events, waste treatment / water purification, biological control: average $26,000 (up to $35,000)
* Cultural services (eg. recreation / tourism): average $88,700 (up to $1.1 million)
Maintenance of genetic diversity: average $13,500 (up to $57,000)
Taken together, coral reef services worldwide have an average annual value estimated at $172 billion, says Mr. Sukhdev.
He notes the growing scientific agreement that coral reefs are unlikely to survive if atmospheric carbon dioxide levels exceed 350 parts per million. Negotiators of a new climate change deal in Copenhagen in December, however, "would be proud" to achieve an agreement that limits atmospheric carbon to 450 parts per million, he says, calling that "a death sentence on the world's coral reefs."
Halving the destruction of tropical forests, meanwhile, would allow them to continue absorbing roughly 4.8 gigatonnes of carbon per year, slow the rise of atmospheric carbon levels and forestall anticipated climate change damage. Halving deforestation has a net present value estimated at $3.7 trillion, according to research.
The economic choice of turning such forests into timber or clearing them to make way for agriculture is "not very clever," says Mr. Sukhdev. "Stopping deforestation offers an excellent cost-benefit ratio."
"Investment in protected areas holds exceptional high returns," he says. Previous studies have shown that investing $45 billion "could secure nature-based services worth some $4.5 to 5.2 trillion annually." Among the specific examples cited: planting mangroves along a coastline in Vietnam cost $1.1 million but saved $ 7.3 million annually in dyke maintenance.
Examples of a rate of return on investments in ecosystem restoration:
* Coral reefs: 7%, (with a cost-benefit ratio of 2.8)
* Rivers: 27%, (cost-benefit ratio 15.5)
* Tropical forests: 50% (cost-benefit ratio 37.3)
* Mangroves: 40%, (cost-benefit ratio 26.4)
* Grasslands: 79%, (cost-benefit ratio 75.1).
Over 600 scientists attending the international 2nd Open Science Conference Oct. 13-16 hosted by DIVERSITAS, a Paris-based NGO, issued a concluding statement confirming that, "as we approach the 2010 Year of Biodiversity ... the fabric out of which the Earth system is woven is unravelling at an accelerating rate."
At the opening of the conference earlier this week, experts said the world would fail to hit its agreed target to stem biodiversity loss by 2010.
Website: www.diversitas-osc.org
What are Coral Reef Services Worth?
Press Release Diversitas blog 16 Oct 09;
Contacts: Mr. Terry Collins +1-416-538-8712; +1-416-878-8712 (m), tc@tca.tc
Ms. Marina Joubert, +27 83 409 4254, marina@southernscience.co.za
$130,000 to $1.2 million / ht / yr: Experts
Economists, Assigning Values to “Ecosystem Services,” Report Staggering Totals and Rates of Return on Investment
600 biodiversity experts from 70 countries issue Cape Town declaration
Risks of Importing Disease Grow with Rising Pet Trade
Experts concluding the global DIVERSITAS biodiversity conference today in Cape Town described preliminary research revealing jaw-dropping dollar values of the “ecosystem services” of biomes like forests and coral reefs – including food, pollution treatment and climate regulation.
Undertaken to help societies make better-informed choices, the economic research shows a single hectare of coral reef, for example, provides annual services to humans valued at US $130,000 on average, rising to as much as $1.2 million.
The work provides insights into the worth of ecosystems in human economic terms, says economist Pavan Sukhdev of UNEP, head of a Cambridge, England-based project called The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB).
Based on analysis of more than 80 coral reef valuation studies, the worth of services per hectare of coral reef breaks down as follows:
* Food, raw materials, ornamental resources: average $1,100 (up to $6,000);
* Climate regulation, moderation of extreme events, waste treatment / water purification, biological control: average $26,000 (up to $35,000);
* Cultural services (eg. recreation / tourism): average $88,700 (up to $1.1 million)
* Maintenance of genetic diversity: average $13,500 (up to $57,000)
Taken together, coral reef services worldwide have an average annual value estimated at $172 billion, says Mr. Sukhdev.
He notes the growing scientific agreement that coral reefs are unlikely to survive if atmospheric carbon dioxide levels exceed 350 parts per million. Negotiators of a new climate change deal in Copenhagen in December, however, “would be proud” to achieve an agreement that limits atmospheric carbon to 450 parts per million, he says, calling that “a death sentence on the world’s coral reefs.”
Halving the destruction of tropical forests, meanwhile, would allow them to continue absorbing roughly 4.8 gigatonnes of carbon per year, slow the rise of atmospheric carbon levels and forestall anticipated climate change damage. Halving deforestation has a net present value estimated at $3.7 trillion, according to research.
The economic choice of turning such forests into timber or clearing them to make way for agriculture is “not very clever,” says Mr. Sukhdev. “Stopping deforestation offers an excellent cost-benefit ratio.”
“Investment in protected areas holds exceptional high returns,” he says. Previous studies have shown that investing $45 billion “could secure nature-based services worth some $4.5 to 5.2 trillion annually.” Among the specific examples cited: planting mangroves along a coastline in Vietnam cost $1.1 million but saved $ 7.3 million annually in dyke maintenance.
Examples of a rate of return on investments in ecosystem restoration:
* Coral reefs: 7%, (with a cost-benefit ratio of 2.8);
* Rivers: 27%, (cost-benefit ratio 15.5);
* Tropical forests: 50% (cost-benefit ratio 37.3);
* Mangroves: 40%, (cost-benefit ratio 26.4);
* Grasslands: 79%, (cost-benefit ratio 75.1).
(see full graph online at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32xtfKZSdeqPlv6ynbtJbp3aSzkuyvKeqNqkVxvW_k0m4Ok6xV1kQaf1YsPhHBT7P97kRvkLjuZWzoFU7c2b6hOmUQpTSbgnp5SDCQg6J0b6tIyoa-mI66eHBsprjOP46IOm5ZKAdi0g/s1600-h/TTB+Graph.jpg)
TEEB is a UNEP-led project supported by the European Commission, German Federal Ministry for the Environment, and the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Biodiversity and society: understanding connections, adapting to change.
Over 600 scientists attending the international 2nd Open Science Conference Oct. 13-16 hosted by DIVERSITAS, a Paris-based NGO, issued a concluding statement confirming that, “as we approach the 2010 Year of Biodiversity … the fabric out of which the Earth system is woven is unravelling at an accelerating rate.”
“At the same time, we are discovering ever more about biodiversity and the benefits it provides to people. It is clear that biodiversity loss erodes the integrity of ecosystems and their capacity to adapt in a changing world. It represents a serious risk to human wellbeing and a squandering of current assets and future opportunities.
“The biodiversity scientists gathered here commit themselves to finding practical solutions to this problem. They will do so by: increasing shared knowledge of biodiversity and its functions; helping to develop systems for monitoring the biodiversity of the planet; and being responsive to the knowledge needs of society with clear communication of findings.
“The proposed mechanism for the ongoing evaluation and communication of scientific evidence on these issues is an Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). We call on governments and non-governmental organisations to join us in establishing IPBES as soon as possible. We urge policy-makers to act swiftly and effectively on the already-established and future findings relating to ways of limiting further biodiversity loss and restoring ecosystem services.”
“Meeting current and future human needs must make adequate provision for the complex web of life of which people are an integral part. People everywhere must give effect to their shared desire for a biologically-rich and productive planet through their individual decisions and political voices.”
Growth of global pet trade risks health
Among dozens of conference presentations, US experts warned that the risk of importing diseases is rising in tandem with growth of the multi-billion dollar pet animal trade.
The US alone imports some 200 million such animals annually from 194 countries. Most were captured from the wild and most arrived from Southeast Asia, a hotspot incubator of emerging diseases.
A study lead by Katherine Smith of Brown University found just 13% of animal shipments allowed in were classified by species – most were admitted with vague labels like “live vertebrate” or “fish,” raising concerns about not just disease but potentially introducing invasive species that could harm native ecosystems, wildlife and domestic animals.
She estimated 2,241 non-native species were imported to the U.S. between 2000 and 2006 and says there have been 335 outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases since 1940, 75% of which had animal origins. Among the outbreaks: a 2003 US outbreak of monkeypox traced to African rodents imported for pets, SARS in 2002, West Nile Virus in 1999, smallpox in the 1500s and syphilis in the 1400s.
“The threat to public health is real, as the majority of emerging diseases come from wildlife,” says Dr. Smith, who listed dozens of fevers, encephalitis, Leishmaniasis, and schistosomiasis among the health threats.
Just 100 inspectors at US borders are tasked with inspecting the shipments, she adds. From 2000 through 2006, the U.S. imported more than 1.5 billion live animals, roughly equal to five animals for every citizen.
Pet shops could face tighter restrictions if the controversial Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act gets voted into law.
The researchers call for:
• Stricter record keeping to help assess risk on animal imports.
• Third-party surveillance and testing for both known and unknown pathogens at the exportation points in foreign countries.
• Greater education of citizens, importers, veterinarians and pet industry advocates about the dangers of diseases that emerge from wildlife and that can make their way to domesticated animals and humans.
The conference concluded with a major plenary, chaired by leading expert Lijbert Brussaard, of Wageningen University, The Netherlands, on ways to reconcile the competing Millennium Development Goals of protecting biodiversity, reducing world hunger and alleviating poverty.
Among other measures, the experts called for a reduction in the estimated 30 to 40% of food lost through spoilage and waste.
* * * * *
DIVERSITAS (the Latin word for diversity) brings together biological, ecological and social sciences to address key questions that underlie our limited understanding of the current situation.
• How much biodiversity exists and how does its change or loss affect the system as a whole?
• How does biodiversity correspond to the delivery of ecosystem functions and services, and what is the true value of these commodities?
• How can scientific investigation support policy and decision making to encourage more sustainable use of biodiversity?
Armed with a broader, deeper knowledge of biodiversity, we will be better equipped to safeguard the future of Earth’s natural resources.
For more information: www.diversitas-osc.org
We will be billions of dollars poorer when coral dies
Shanta Barley, New Scientist 19 Oct 09;
The world's coral reefs save us $172 billion every year, but they're on the brink of collapse (PDF) because of political inertia, an ecological economist has told the global Diversitas biodiversity conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
The claim was made by Pavan Sukhdev, an economist based at United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, UK. Sukhdev is head of a European Commission study called The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), an international project to raise awareness about the economic benefits of biodiversity.
Previously, it had been estimated that coral reefs "earn" nearly $30 billion a year (PDF) by attracting tourists, protecting commercial fish species and protecting coasts from storm surges.
To investigate the economic value of coral reefs further, Sukhdev and his colleagues reviewed 80 studies carried out between 1995 to 2009. Their work suggests that a single hectare of coral reef can be worth from $130,000 to $1.2 million a year.
Pretty bleak
However, discussing the economic value of coral reefs is like fiddling while Rome burns, says Sukhdev. "The entire ecosystem is on the point of collapse," he says. "Unless negotiators in Copenhagen [in Denmark, at the UN climate talks in December] agree to limit atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million, they will sentence the world's coral reefs to death." Politicians are currently hoping to limit CO2 to 450 parts per million, he says. "Frankly, it does look pretty bleak."
"The most cost-effective and easiest way to save our coral reefs is to reduce deforestation and boost reforestation," says Sukhdev. "I hope that politicians going to Copenhagen give the proposals to cut deforestation put forward by REDD-Plus the attention they deserve." REDD-Plus is a scheme supported by the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries.
Stephen Mangi, an environmental economist based at Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the UK, says that it's crucial that researchers start placing economic values on the ecosystem services they study.
"In terms of policy implications, I think it is crucial for science to link directly into policy, and the provision of monetary values is one way to achieve this," says Mangi. "Money is universally understood by policy makers, economists, scientists and politicians, hence it would help policy makers make sensible and defendable decisions when weighing up alternative and competing management options for marine ecosystems."
If we do lose our coral reefs, we'll never be able to recreate the services they provide free of charge, says Sukhdev. "How could we afford to feed the 500 million people who depend on coral reefs for the fish they eat?" he asks. "And how do you recreate the joy of diving on a coral reef?"
Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post 16 Oct 09;
A large area of mangrove forests in Lampung, which acts as a buffer for coastal residents from tidal waves, has been depleted rapidly over the past year, especially in South Lampung, East Lampung and Tanggamus regencies, where only 25 percent of the original forests remain.
Of the 160,000 hectares of mangrove wetlands that previously covered these regencies, only 20,000 ha remains.
A large portion of these has been turned into traditional shrimp farms, many of which are owned privately.
The shrimp farm operators, who generally come from Jakarta, Tangerang and as far away as Central Java, now own land titles, having bought the land from coastal residents.
"Two years ago, up to 136,000 ha of the 160,000 ha of mangrove forest was badly damaged, indicating that 20,000 ha had been subject to clearing ... Surprisingly, the provincial and regency administrations have not taken any action against *the destruction*," Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Lampung chapter director Hendrawan said recently.
A number or regency administrations and Lampung provincial administration had initiated a mangrove replanting programs, Hendrawan said.
"The central government has even provided funds from the state budget worth billions of rupiah for the purpose, but most of the mangrove seedlings have died because of a lack of maintenance and supervision, such as in Sragi and Ketapang districts in South Lampung," Hendrawan said.
Lampung Walhi data shows that of Lampung's mangrove forests converted into large-scale commercial shrimp farms, most were in South Lampung and East Lampung regencies.
"A large portion of these areas is believed to have been cleared by two large-scale hatchery companies," added Hendrawan, who declined to name the companies.
The presence of the large-scale shrimp farms in Lampung had led traditional fish farmers to clear more mangrove forests to make way for shrimp farms, he said.
Ketapang resident Sumarno, 45, said many coastal residents had sold their rice paddies to newcomers in the past two years. Sumarno, who owns 2.5 ha of rice paddies, sold his land last year because it could no longer be used to grow rice.
"We were forced to sell our *land* because it was no longer productive and sea water had permeated the groundwater because of severe coastal abrasion," Sumarno said.
South Lampung Environmental Office head Hasanuri said the regency had virtually no mangrove forests left, and many areas of its remnant mangrove wetlands were in a critical condition.
"Of the 505 ha of mangrove area in Ketapang village, South Lampung, no more than 10 ha remains, spanning at a width of only four meters from the coastline," he said.
Lampung is recognized as a windu shrimp exporter. Each year the province exports between 60,000 and 70,000 tons of shrimp to the United States, Canada, Australia and a number of European and Asian countries.
Jason Beaubien, NPR 16 Oct 09;
Mexico has deployed its navy to several beaches in the Pacific Coast state of Oaxaca. Its mission isn't to fight the drug cartels or protect European tourists, but to guard the nesting grounds of an endangered sea turtle.
In the 1970s and '80s, Olive Ridley turtles were harvested to the brink of extinction. But the Mexican government has orchestrated a remarkable comeback for the sea creatures.
This time of year, along a solitary sandy beach in southern Oaxaca, turtles bob in the waves just offshore. And then based on some signal — exactly what isn't entirely clear to scientists — the females come ashore by the thousands to lay their eggs.
On a recent day, Erika Peralta Buendia, a biologist with the Mexican government, stands amid a mass of female turtles at La Escobilla, one of the most important nesting grounds in the world for the Olive Ridley turtle.
"Practically the whole beach is full," she says, "It's 3 or 4 kilometers full of turtles, one right next to another."
The females are gray and weigh roughly 100 pounds. Each shell is about the size of a tire on a Honda Civic.
Prior to 1990, this beach was a slaughter ground for the Olive Ridley.
Sea turtles can't retract their heads into their shells. People would bludgeon them to death and then haul them to Mexico's largest turtle processing plant just up the coast.
Prior to 1950, an estimated 10 million Olive Ridley turtles nested each year on Mexico's southern coast. By 1988 — shortly before Mexico banned their harvest — the population had dropped to just 40,000.
In 1990, Mexico declared a total ban on killing sea turtles, Peralta says, outlawing the harvest of turtles and turtle eggs.
At the time, turtle byproducts — the meat, the shells, the skins, the eggs — were the second-largest industry for this impoverished region, after shrimp.
This part of Mexico still doesn't have land-line phones and only recently got electricity. The slaughterhouse used to employ 200 people at the height of the season. But while it was offering jobs, it was decimating the sea turtle population.
The Mexican government shut down the plant in 1990 and replaced it with an aquarium, the Mexican Turtle Center.
Marta Harfush, a biologist at the center, says during the peak of the season, which is taking place now, 100,000 turtles come ashore in Oaxaca in a span of three or four days.
She says Olive Ridley turtles are extremely vulnerable for several reasons. They only nest in significant numbers on a few select beaches in Mexico, Costa Rica and India. The turtles are on land only when they are born and when they lay eggs — consequently, they are sitting ducks on the beach. Vultures pluck the soft-shelled babies out of the sand soon after they hatch, while a type of beetle has been destroying their eggshells.
Despite the legal protections for the turtle population, people still covet their meat and eggs. Harfush says turtle fat is sold as a cure for the common cold. Turtle meat is still a traditional meal at some weddings. And the eggs are supposed to heighten sexual powers.
"They are used in bars and restaurants, not for food, but as a complement to the beer; they say they're aphrodisiac. That's why many people sell them," she says.
Harfush says the temperature on the beach can also dramatically affect the turtle population. If the sand during the third week of incubation is 86 degrees Fahrenheit, half the hatchlings will be female and half will be male.
But if the average temperature rises 2 or more degrees during this period, all the babies will be females, she says. And if it falls 2 or more degrees, all the babies will be males.
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service still categorizes the Olive Ridley turtles that breed in the Pacific as "endangered."
But Harfush says the turtles' population has rebounded significantly: Now, just shy of 1 million Olive Ridleys nest each year, primarily on three beaches in Oaxaca.
Laura MacInnis, Reuters 16 Oct 09;
GENEVA (Reuters) - Tuna popular in sushi, colorful corals used in jewelry and sharks whose fins make soup have been proposed for international trade restrictions overseen by the United Nations, a spokesman for the treaty said on Thursday.
Juan-Carlos Vasquez of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) said countries had submitted 40 requests for trade curbs and controls that will be reviewed at a conference in Qatar in March.
African elephants, some plants from Madagascar, the skins of certain snakes and crocodiles, and a range of waxes and oils used in cosmetics were also suggested for the regulation which aims to encourage conservation, Vasquez said.
"We check that the trade is sustainable, is legal and is traceable," he explained. CITES registration gives protection to endangered species carrying high economic or commercial value.
Most of the plants and animals proposed for the 2010 Doha conference would, if approved by CITES' 175 member states, be regulated in a government permit system certifying their trade.
But Monaco proposed that Atlantic bluefin tuna be subjected to a full ban, which could cause big losses for Mediterranean countries who have resisted European Union calls to stop fishing the over-exploited population.
PRIZED
Atlantic bluefin commands high prices in Asia, particularly in Japan where it is prized for sushi. A single fish can weigh more than 600 kg (1,300 pounds) and fetch up to $100,000.
"This would be a huge change for that industry," Vasquez said of the proposed "Appendix I" listing, which is more strict than the standard "Appendix II" registration. "You will see meetings taking place on this from now until March."
Conservation campaigners with the slogan "Too Precious To Wear" celebrated the request from Washington and Brussels to protect red and pink coral through the CITES convention.
A finished necklace made from the corals can fetch up to tens of thousands of dollars, and they are also increasingly used in home decor. Some leading retailers including Tiffany & Co. and Pottery Barn have stopped using them due to sustainability concerns.
"An Appendix II listing for red and pink coral would not prohibit trade, but would ensure international trade in these long-lived, slow-growing species is carefully monitored via a system of export permits, which will help to reduce trade in illegally fished coral," the group SeaWeb said in a statement.
The fisheries conservation group Oceana said the proposals to shield eight species of sharks -- entered by the United States and European Union -- represented "a huge victory" that may help change consumption patterns in Asia where shark fins are in worryingly high demand.
"An Appendix II listing would limit trade to sustainable levels by requiring export permits, thus protecting the future health of the species," said Courtney Sakai, Oceana's senior campaign director who said "shark fins are today's ivory tusks."
"If countries join together now we can promote the sustainable trade of sharks worldwide," she said.
The full listing of species proposed for CITES consideration in March will be posted within several days on www.cites.org.
Asia demand for ivory, sharks' fins set for scrutiny
Hui Min Neo Yahoo News 21 Oct 09;
GENEVA (AFP) – Proposals to restrict or ban international trade in those three products are due to be studied when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) holds its next triennial meeting in Qatar next year.
Monaco has tabled a ban for trade in tuna, while the European Union and the United States have proposed limits on the global trade of several shark species, the documents showed.
Meanwhile, Tanzania and Zambia are asking for a trade embargo on ivory to be lifted, allowing them to sell controlled quantities of elephants' tusks.
The consumption of sharks' fins -- a Chinese culinary delicacy -- is expected to be among key issues on the table at the Qatar meeting, officials said.
The United States and Palau had put in proposals to restrict international trade in white tip sharks and hammerhead sharks, while the European Union has proposed protecting porbeagle sharks, also known as Lamna nasus.
White tips and hammerheads have been "over-exploited" for their fins, said Washington in its submission.
Likewise, the EU warned: "Unsustainable target fisheries for Lamna nasus in parts of its range have been driven by international trade demand for its high value meat."
For environmental group Oceana, the moves marked a "realistic first step" in the promotion of sustainable trade in sharks.
"This could be the turning point for sharks. If countries join together now we can promote the sustainable trade of sharks worldwide," Courtney Sakai, Oceana senior campaign director told AFP.
Oceana also pointed to Monaco's request for a ban in bluefin tuna trade.
"This is the last chance for fisheries managers to show they are competent to manage these magnificent and valuable fish. If they fail, Asia may see its supply cut off, perhaps for years," said Michael Hirshfield, Oceana?s chief scientist.
According to the proposal put to CITES, bluefin tuna stocks are so fragile that the species should be classified as being at threat of extinction.
Monaco argued that tuna spawning stock in the Mediterranean has declined by more than 74 percent between 1957 to 2007, the bulk of it in the last decade.
Tuna stock in the west Atlantic has also plunged by 83 percent between 1970 to 2007, it added.
Meanwhile, some African states want a trade ban on ivory -- used in East Asian traditional handicraft -- to be lifted.
Tanzania argued in its proposal that its elephant population has "considerably increased" from 55,000 in 1989 to 136,753 in 2006, and said that a one-time sale of its ivory stocks could fund anti-poaching activities.
"In recent years, the government treasury allocated less money to anti-poaching activities mainly due to the economic crisis which is also affecting Tanzania.
"The adoption of this proposal would therefore be crucial for improving financial support to the Wildlife Protection Fund to further control poaching and other illegal activities in the country," it added.
Last November, a one-off auction of stockpiled ivory in four southern African countries raised 15,4 million dollars (12 million euros) for elephant conservation.
The sale of 102 tonnes of government-owned ivory stocks in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe fetched an average of 157 dollars per kilogramme.
Chinese buyers bought the bulk of the tusks, which fetched the highest price per kilogramme in Botswana.
Pete Harrison, Reuters 16 Oct 09;
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's overexploited cod fisheries are still at risk and catches must be cut by a quarter next year in all zones except the North Sea where measures have yet to be decided, the European Union executive said on Friday.
Northern cod populations have fallen from 250,000 tonnes in the 1970s to around 50,000 tonnes today following decades of overfishing and quota-busting.
"In the case of cod in the North Sea, eastern channel and Skagerrak...things took a turn for the worse in 2008, when a greater proportion of the stock was caught than in any year since 1999," the European Commission said in a statement.
No decision can be made on North Sea cod until the end of talks with Norway, which jointly manages the fishery.
If the plan is approved by European fisheries ministers in December, fishermen in west Scotland would also face a 54 percent cut to their haddock quota and a 25 percent cut to the amount of whiting they can land.
But west Scotland fishermen, who often object to intervention from Brussels, would be able to catch 12 percent more herring.
"We're conscious they face hardship," Commission fisheries expert Maria de la Fuensanta Candela Castillo told reporters. "This is an area that has been mismanaged to the detriment of these communities."
"We have to try to conciliate their need for survival with the need for some day having again a fishery that way back produced 60,000 tonnes of fish and today produces not even 3,000 tonnes," she added. "It's about trying to convince them of the need to conserve for the future."
Irish fishermen would be able to land 30 percent less Norway Lobster -- a type of prawn with large claws -- 25 percent less Irish Sea sole and 25 percent less herring from the west and north.
But to the south of Ireland, they will be able to catch 72 percent more herring, 7 percent more plaice and 15 percent more monkfish.
Europe's fisheries chief this year called for sweeping policy reform after chronic overfishing for decades pushed 90 percent of stocks beyond sustainable levels.
Fishing fleets have grown too large, fines are too low to deter quota-busters, and fishermen are forced to put ever-increasing effort into locating and catching the dwindling European stocks.
(Reporting by Pete Harrison)
EU officials warn of disappearing cod
Raf Casert, Associated Press Yahoo News 16 Oct 09;
BRUSSELS – Cod is slipping closer to disappearing from key European fishing grounds, officials warned Friday, saying that only steep catch cuts will prevent the disappearance of a species prized for centuries for its flaky white flesh.
The European Union's executive body called for sharp cuts in the amount of cod fisherman can catch next year — up to 25 percent in some areas. The European Commission said recent studies showed cod catches in some areas are far outstripping the rate of reproduction.
Scientists estimated that in the 1970s there were more than 250,000 tons of cod in fishing grounds in the North Sea, eastern English Channel and Scandinavia's Skagerrak strait. In recent years, however, stocks have dropped to 50,000 tons.
"We are not that far away from a situation of complete collapse," said Jose Rodriguez, a marine biologist with the environmental group Oceana. He and other environmentalists said pressure from the fishing industry had kept quotas at levels too high to sustain a viable populations around Europe, while lack of enforcement meant illegal fishing made the problem worse.
The European Commission said Friday it would seek in 2010 to cut the catch in some fishing grounds around Britain, France, Spain and much of Scandinavia from 5,700 tons to 4,250 tons.
In the Mediterranean, bluefin tuna has been overfished for years to satisfy increasing world demand for sushi and sashimi. The tuna population is now a fraction of what it was a few decades ago, but the EU's Mediterranean nations last month refused to impose even a temporary ban.
Oceana estimated that illegal fishing doubled the amount of tuna caught.
Meanwhile Cod, which once sustained vibrant fishing communities from Portugal to Britain to Canada, is increasingly consumed by the ton as salt cod and fish-and-chips.
"People don't ask for fish and chips, they ask for cod and chips," said Mike Guo, a manager at Great Fish and Chips in Essex, England. "It's a traditional dish."
The depletion of the species has caused the decay and disappearance of hundreds of fishing villages on both sides of the Atlantic.
Overfishing off Canada's maritime provinces exhausted the world's richest cod grounds and forced the government to impose a fishing moratorium. The collapse wiped out more than 42,000 jobs, and 18 years later the fish have still not returned.
"It was devastating," said Tom Hedderson, minister of fisheries in Newfoundland. "This affected whole communities ... all up and down the coast here in Newfoundland and Labrador."
He welcomed the EU call to cut catches by 25 percent, but suggested more drastic cuts may be needed.
Some Canadian scientists believe the collapse of cod stocks off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia changed the marine ecosystem so dramatically that it may be impossible for cod to recover. Off Newfoundland alone, cod stocks once exceeded more than 400,000 tons but now scale only 5,500 tons, Hedderson said.
There are signs of recovery of Atlantic cod off New England, however, after years of conservation efforts. And international regulators have reopened some areas off Canada for limited fishing, Canada's Fisheries and Oceans Department spokesman Scott Cantin said.
The fishing industry in Europe, however, is in decline. The number of vessels in the 15 nations that were part of the EU in 1995 has dropped from 104,000 then to 81,000 in 2006. In Britain, employment in the fishing sector sank from 21,600 in 1990 to 16,100 in 2006.
The EU Commission's demand for cod cuts will be discussed by the bloc's 27-member states in a Dec. 14-15 meeting, when the fishing quotas for 2010 will be finalized.
"The scientific prognosis for most stocks is not encouraging, with many in a worse state than last year," Britain's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said Friday. "This, combined with the difficult economic climate, will mean that the negotiations will be even more challenging this time around."
Keeping fishermen in port with excessive quotas will add to their economic woes, said Bertie Armstrong of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation.
Norway and the EU jointly oversee cod stocks in North Sea, with each party regulating the stocks in its waters.
Norway and the EU will begin annual negotiations on cod stock management in November. Ann Kristin Westberg, deputy director-general of Norway's Fishery Ministry, said her country was unlikely to accept a 25 percent quota.
"We probably want to have it lower," she said. "We would like to point out that stock the EU are involved in managing are in terrible shape."
The cod harvest from the Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine fishing grounds, the two primary New England fishing grounds, in 2007 totaled 3,868 metric tons, the biggest catch since 2003 but far under the landings of the 1980s when fishermen often caught more than 20,000 tons annually.
"The Gulf of Maine stock is responding to the recovery plan, and the Georges Bank stock is recovering but not as much," said Teri Frady of NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachussets.
___
Associated Press writers Clarke Canfield in Portland, Maine, Rob Gillies in Toronto, Karl Ritter in Stockholm and Rachel Leamon and Maresa Patience in London contributed to this report.
Traffic 16 Oct 09;
Cambridge, UK, 16 October 2009 — New analytical techniques have revealed that the scale of bushmeat trade in Central Africa may be much larger than originally thought, according to a study published today by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.
The study, based on an analysis of food balance sheets provided by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s statistical database FAOSTAT, strongly supports the view that the current situation surrounding bushmeat hunting in Central African rainforests is precarious. According to the analysis, bushmeat extraction rose considerably in the Congo Basin between 1990 and 2005, despite the overall decrease in forest cover in Central Africa.
Cameroon appears to be exceeding—by more than 100%—an estimated sustainable offtake of 150 kg of game meat per square kilometre of forest, and Gabon and the Republic of Congo are both close to this limit. The greatest rise in bushmeat production was in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the yield rose from 78,000 tonnes in 1990 to 90,000 tonnes in 2005. In the Republic of Congo, production almost doubled, from 11,000 to 20,000 tonnes per year in the same time period.
“While the FAOSTAT bushmeat data are probably underestimates and should be regarded with caution, the data are the most readily available official sources of information on production of wild meat in the Congo Basin and are valuable indicators of bushmeat production and consumption trends,” says Stefan Ziegler, Programme Officer with WWF Germany, and author of the report.
Wildlife is a significant and direct source of protein for more than 34 million people living in the Congo Basin and bushmeat hunting is a key component of many peoples’ livelihoods in Central Africa.
Earlier studies have demonstrated that bushmeat extraction increases with human population growth. However, the latest study finds that bushmeat consumption increases significantly with personal wealth too.
“Bushmeat consumption is higher in countries with large urban populations, and the increasing urbanization in the Congo region is likely to place even greater pressure on wild animal populations there,” says Ziegler,
“The danger is unsustainable offtake of wild game will lead to a collapse in wild animal populations and widespread human hunger in the region,” says Ziegler.
Unsustainable harvest levels are widely believed to be the most immediate threat to the region’s forest mammals.
“Local people have hunted for centuries, for food and for barter, but the last 20 years have seen the emergence of a commercial bushmeat market due to rural people being increasingly drawn into the cash economy,” says Nathalie van Vliet, TRAFFIC Bushmeat Strategic Advisor.
“The impacts of subsistence hunting was previously balanced by the fact of the hunting was done on a rotation basis on alternate tracts of forest areas. However, shifts in human population dynamics and socio-economic factors are leading to rising, and increasingly unsustainable demands on wild animal populations.”
An earlier WCS study found that offtake by commercial hunters in south-eastern Cameroon was ten times more per immigrant hunter than for local subsistence hunters.
“What is clear is that management strategies to prevent over-harvesting need to be implemented and measures put in place to provide alternative sources of protein for the inhabitants of the region.”
However, the study also indicated that the development of animal husbandry may not be an ideal solution to provide substitute protein for game meat.
The study, Application of food balance sheets to assess the scale of the bushmeat trade in Central Africa, was launched today at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Bushmeat Liaison Group Meeting, currently taking place in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Further to the results of the study, TRAFFIC is encouraging countries in Central Africa to enhance enforcement efforts and establish concrete law enforcement mechanisms targeted at curbing commercial bushmeat poaching. “Central African countries can cooperate in addressing this growing problem through the development of a regional enforcement plan and creating the political will to combat commercial bushmeat poaching in regional fora such as the upcoming Yaounde +10 Summit." says Germain Ngandjui, TRAFFIC's representative in Central Africa.
Full report (PDF)
Draft law moots up to 3 years' jail for cruelty to animals
The Straits Times China Bureau 17 Oct 09;
IN HEILONGJIANG province in 2006, a woman posted a video online showing her killing a kitten by stepping on it repeatedly with high-heeled shoes.
This June, the authorities in the western city of Hanzhong culled more than 30,000 dogs after an outbreak of rabies.
But China's animals - whose rights have traditionally been seen as unimportant - may be in for more humane treatment.
Scholars have just drafted the country's first Animal Protection Law, which could see those committing serious acts of cruelty towards animals jailed for up to three years.
The law - important, its drafters say, in China's harmonious society project - has received applause from animal welfare activists both in China and abroad.
'We've waited so long,' said Madam Wang Liping, 52, who runs a dog shelter in Beijing.
But legal scholars warn of an uphill battle, saying it could be many years and countless amendments before the draft is law. If successful, it will criminalise mistreatment of pets, farm animals, and those used in transport, scientific experiments and films.
And the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Professor Chang Jiwen, the draft's key architect, said: 'Most people in our society are against cruelty to animals, so this simply converts these feelings into formal legislation.'
Prof Chang worked on his idea with more than 20 professors and experts for 18 months before posting the draft online for public comment.
China currently has legislation protecting endangered species, but not most other animals.
No action was taken against the cat-killer, as she had not broken any laws. Prof Chang added that the Hanzhong cull would also be illegal under the draft law.
A poll by Chinese portals Sina.com and Sohu.com in June found 80 per cent of respondents favoured some form of anti-cruelty legislation, and 75 per cent wanted those who tortured animals to be criminally prosecuted.
Professor Li Xiaobing of Nankai University warned, however, that some clauses in the draft law are clearly 'ahead of their time'.
For example, one clause requires that animals for food be slaughtered 'humanely, using methods that reduce the pressure, terror and pain', a requirement which could conflict with the lifestyles of many people in rural areas, he said.
At the same time, the draft law is not on the 2008-to-2013 agenda of the National People's Congress, the top legislative body, said Tianjin lawyer Ren Xiufu, 'so it still has a long way to go'.
But Prof Chang, who plans to lobby officials, says: 'Draft legislation can be placed on the agenda at any time... It is very likely the law will be passed within 10 years.'
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 16 Oct 09;
If the government has the will to upgrade the quality of the country’s ailing environment, the results of the Proper rating system should be used as an entry point for law enforcers to impose sanctions on polluting companies, green activists say.
They said, with or without the Proper rating system, all environmental violators must be punished as a deterrent, so companies will adopt green practices.
“The law must be upheld on environmental violators, with or without the Proper rating system,” executive director of the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) Berry Furqon told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The State Ministry for the Environment announced the results of the environmental performance ranking (Proper) on 627 companies in which some 56 firms were awarded a black rating and another 130 companies put in the red category.
The black rating was given to firms that intentionally do nothing to manage air, water and hazardous toxic pollution and have a poor record of corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation.
State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar stressed that the voluntary basis of the Proper rating was a tool to encourage companies to improve their performance on environmental management rather than to impose punitive sanctions.
Executive director of the Mining Network (Jatam) Siti Maimunah said the Proper system was the easiest way for mining companies to improve their image as green companies.
“We have long criticized the criteria used in the Proper system. The green label gives mining companies better access to get loans from the banking sector,” she said.
Siti said the government needed to upgrade its criteria by evaluating the companies’ impact on the local people and assessing other environmental damage caused by mining activities.
“It does not make sense that companies which are expanding their mining activities in protected forests get a green label under the Proper system,” she said.
Siti agreed that there were no reasons for the government not to impose sanctions on polluting companies within the Proper system.
Time needed for Indonesia environment law: official
Sunanda Creagh, Reuters 16 Oct 09;
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's tough new environment law, passed last month and aimed at any firm with an effect on the environment, may take as long as two years to implement, a senior government official said on Friday.
The law allows the government to revoke polluters' business licenses, which environmentalists said could lead to more effective enforcement.
Indonesia's rapid economic growth has been accompanied by widespread pollution of its waterways, soil and air, and destruction of forests and wildlife by firms in the mining, timber, palm oil and manufacturing sectors.
Law enforcement remains generally weak in many areas, including the environment, and despite efforts to curb graft, Indonesia ranks as one of the world's most corrupt countries.
According to a draft seen by Reuters, the law requires companies whose operations impact the environment to obtain an environmental license and undergo an environmental assessment before starting operations. It sets tough fines for polluters.
However, Dana A. Kartakusuma, an assistant Environment Minister, told a mining conference in Jakarta that it could be two years before industry would know exactly what had to be done to comply with the law.
"I foresee that the regulations under this law will be done in one or two years, and the implementation of this law will be executed stage by stage during the next five years," he said in a speech.
Under the law, companies that breach the terms of the new environmental permit could have their operating licenses for those projects revoked.
Anyone deliberately polluting the environment could face up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to 10 billion rupiah ($1.07 million).
Those two aspects of the law have been welcomed by environmentalists, but Kartakusuma told Reuters it could be a year before details about the environmental permit are released.
"We will target to have it within one year but sometimes it takes longer," he said. "Theoretically, companies have to comply with the new law, but in order to implement it we need the government regulations. On that we have to wait."
The environmental group Greenpeace has expressed concern that even with the implementing regulations, the law may not be uniformly or strictly enforced.
($1=9350 Rupiah)
(Editing by Ron Popeski)
Tempo Interactive 14 Oct 09;
TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The next five-year period of government is urged to be serious in handling environmental problems that have been increasing due to global climate change.
A member of the Supreme Advisory Council (DPA), Emil Salim, warned the government about potential disasters if Indonesia does not prioritize management over climate change phenomenon because of global warming.
He mentioned illegal logging as an evidence of government's inability to handle environmental problems. This has caused forest fires every year in many regions.
The largest release of carbon dioxide that contributes to global warming come from forests that are used widely. Moss land and tropical rain forest keep the carbon dioxide.
“If this is ignored, Indonesia will not be known anymore as a country with its maritime resources and tropical rain forests,” he said during the national seminar on the prospects of long-term national security at the office of National Development Planning State Ministry, Wednesday (14/10).
According to Department of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, 29 islands out of 17,508 islands in the country has been sunk due to the higher sea surface. It is estimated that more than 2,000 islands will be sunk as well by 2030.
“We lose the islands without having wars,” he said.
State Minister of National Development Planning, Paskah Suzetta, admitted that Indonesia’s geographic position was sensitive to climate change including sea surface, drought, flood, and even national security problems.
“Higher sea surface will make small islands disappear that actually own strategic values as they mark exclusive economic zone, continent lines, and the country's security belt,” he said.
AGOENG WIJAYA
Antara 16 Oct 09;
Surabaya, East Java (ANTARA News) - Surabaya has been named as the third most polluted city in Asia, head of the East Java Environment Agency Dewi J Putriatni said here on Friday.
"Surabaya is third after Bangkok and Jakarta as the most polluted cities in the Asia region," she said.
Dewi expressed disappointment with the result of the survey since Surabaya has always been a national finalist for the cleanliness award, Adipura, from the Environmental Affairs Ministry.
"This is ironic," she said, adding that from 38 districts in East Java, 25 among had received the Adipura award from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
"We urge the Environment Ministry to revise the judging criteria for the Adipura award," Dewi added.
According to her, evaluation of the Adipura award only focused on city`s cleanliness, including the trash dumping system.
"I suggest the committee to also put air quality as one of the variables," she said adding that the East Java administration also needs to find a solution to air pollution problems in Surabaya.
Air pollution is known as dangerous to human beings. According to a study in the United States published online on April 2009 in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal, women who lived within 50 meters of highways or primary, multi-lane roads were 31 percent more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than those who lived more than 200 meters from highways.
The study also found that women who lived within 50 meters of the largest highways had a 63-percent increased risk.
The study based its findings on analysis of the records of 90, 000 women and measurement of the distance between each woman`s home and the nearest major roadways.
"Even after accounting for the effects of age, race, sex, socioeconomic status and smoking, the increased risk for women located near major roads remained substantially higher," Jaime Hart, a research fellow in the Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women`s Hospital in Boston, said in the study.
Previous research also found that air pollution might alter cell activity or reduce the amount of oxygen and nutrients received by a fetus. (*)
Jakarta air among Asia’s cleanest? Say it ain’t so!
Indah Setiawati, The Jakarta Post 16 Oct 09;
The Jakarta Environmental Management Board (BPLHD) made an audacious and uninformed claim Friday that Jakarta’s air quality was the third-highest in Asia.
Right. If all the other cities in Asia were struck off the list.
Misciting data from the Clean Air Initiative Asia (CAI Asia), agency head Peni Susanti said Jakarta’s average level of particulate matter (PM10) was 68.5 micrograms per cubic meter in 2008.
Particulate matter is fine suspended particulates small enough to penetrate deep into the respiratory tract and cause health problems.
“This makes us the number three city in Asia for clean air,” Peni said at a press conference, attributing it to the city’s various green programs.
CAI Asia is an international forum established by the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and USAID to share experiences and build partnerships to improve air quality in Asian cities.
According to the study, Peni said, Singapore ranked first with a PM10 level of 30 micrograms per cubic meter, followed by Surabaya with 60 micrograms per cubic meter — despite the fact Tokyo and Taipei clearly had far lower PM10 levels than the East Java capital.
The study Peni had quoted, available at http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-59689.html, showed Jakarta had the 10th-lowest PM10 level of the 20 cities studied, and was the fifth-cleanest of the Southeast Asian cities.
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