It still stings
from The annotated budak and Palparazzi
Venus Drive
from Singapore Nature
An Ubin stroll with fabulous trees
from wild shores of singapore
Straw-headed Bulbul takes Leea indica fruits
from Bird Ecology Study Group
What can ordinary people do to slow climate change?
with comments by David Suzuki, Bjorn Lomborg and Gidon Eshel from Reuters Environment blog
Chong Chee Seong, New Straits Times 14 Dec 09;
MUAR: For several moments yesterday, three fishermen feared the worst.
The net dangling from their boat was ensnared by a tugboat and their vessel was pulled violently along.
Luckily, the rope attached to the net snapped, but not before they came perilously close to the tugboat which was towing a huge sand barge.
Their skipper, Tan Kwee Yong, 48, then managed to steer the boat away to safety.
The incident happened five nautical miles off Parit Jawa yesterday as the fishermen were hauling up 100 nets which were lowered into the sea hours earlier.
"We could not do anything to prevent our boat from crashing into the tugboat and barge as the force of the pull was strong," he said at the Parit Unas fishing village near here.
Tan said several other fishing boats, which were also in the area, suffered losses as the tugboat had also snapped their nets.
He said he lost 25 nets worth RM5,000 and later lodged a report at the Parit Jawa police station.
Tan was unhappy that the tugboat just sailed away "as if nothing had happened".
He claimed the tugboat came from the south and encroached a few nautical miles from shore at specific areas where rich deposits of sand could be found.
Muar-Batu Pahat Fishermen's Association president Ser Boon Huat claimed fishermen had discovered that illegal sand-dredgers had adopted "hit and run" tactics in the Straits of Malacca.
Ser claimed a favourite tactic of the tugboats would be to anchor a short distance from shore and pretend to be making repairs.
"In fact, the illegal operators are observing the movements of the marine police and Fisheries Department officers and will make the hit when they are not around."
He called on the enforcement agencies to check on any stationary foreign vessels within Malaysian waters to ensure the safety of local fishermen.
Thumbs up for logistics, health care, transport in HSBC global survey
Alvin Foo, Straits Times 15 Dec 09;
SINGAPORE is the fourth most attractive posting globally for expatriates, according to a new survey from HSBC.
The bank's report, which assesses the expatriate experience provided by 26 key locations, puts the Lion City behind Canada, Australia and Thailand but ahead of Bahrain, South Africa, France and the US.
Some 3,146 expatriates from 50 economies were polled for the survey, which ranks Singapore highly for logistics such as the setting up of utilities and transport, but lowly in terms of softer issues such as making local friends and hobbies.
Mr Sebastian Arcuri, HSBC Singapore's head of personal financial services, said it was not surprising expatriates ranked Singapore highly.
'Our expat clients have shared with us many anecdotes praising the efficiency of Singapore's infrastructure and the high standard of living here,' he said.
Singapore got the thumbs up for quality of transport, education, childcare and health care.
The Republic emerged top for the setting up of utilities, with 82per cent of expatriates stating that the experience was fuss-free. By contrast, two-thirds of expatriates in the United Arab Emirates found the same process tough.
Singapore came fourth for transport, with the quality of this system making it easier to get to work.
Two-thirds of those polled noted an increase in the ease of travelling to work after moving to their new base, compared with 44per cent globally. And 72per cent said the general quality of travel was better than that available in their home countries.
Hong Kong came two places ahead of Singapore in this area, with expatriates finding the commute to work easier and noticing an improvement in transport generally.
Singapore excelled in education and childcare, coming in second behind Malaysia for organising schooling for expatriate children. Some 37per cent of expatriates here reported an increase in the quality of education and childcare after moving to Singapore, compared to only 18per cent globally.
But Singapore ranked a lowly 18th in terms of the ease of making local friends, and 24th for joining a local community group.
Mr Phillip Overmyer, an American and chief executive of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce, said this could be due to housing and the presence of international schools and clubs.
He noted: 'Most Singaporeans live in HDB flats, which are not yet popular as a housing choice for expats, who tend to live in private apartments. There are also strongly established networks among expat communities here.'
The major findings of the survey were supported by business chambers and expatriate communities.
Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Predeep Menon said: 'Singapore's been building up the buzz, which was known to be lacking a decade ago. Now it's a more 'happening' place.'
Some aspects of the survey did not ring true with everyone though.
British Chamber of Commerce president Terry O'Connor said his members were very happy socially.
'We have a thriving business networking scene. Singapore is an easy place for people to assimilate,' he said.
A recent study conducted by the American Chamber showed that expatriates were most satisfied with the lack of corruption, Singapore's laws and regulations, stable government and personal security. However, for the third year in a row, the survey cited housing costs and office lease costs as areas of concern.
Singapore service standards and cost of living are also negatives, said Mr Overmyer. 'There are serious problems with the standards of service in the F&B, retail and hotel sectors. We're getting wealthier people living here who are used to higher standards of service elsewhere, but are getting a lower standard of service here. We're losing ground in this area relative to other countries in the region,' he said.
Singapore voted third best country in Asia-Pac for expatriates
Channel NewsAsia 14 Dec 09;
SINGAPORE : Singapore has been voted the third best country in the Asia-Pacific for expatriates to live in, according to a survey by HSBC Bank.
In global rankings, it is the fourth best country in the world for an expatriate.
One hundred and ninety-two foreigners living in Singapore were polled on their overall quality of life, and the ease of settling in.
Among the 50 countries surveyed, Singapore was the easiest country to sort up one's utilities - with eight in 10 having no hassle at all.
In comparison, two-third of respondents in the UAE found it more difficult to do so, compared to back home.
When it came to education, Singapore was ranked second after Malaysia.
Thirty-seven per cent of respondents said they found standards here higher than back home.
Many also said they enjoyed better food, transport and healthcare in Singapore.
A total of 3,146 expatriates from 50 countries was polled on their experiences.
The survey also found that a larger proportion of expatriates were spending a longer time overseas - 58 per cent of those polled this year had already crossed the five-year mark in 2009, compared to 45 per cent in 2008. - CNA/ms
Tilak K. Doshi, For The Straits Times 15 Dec 09;
AMONG the array of climate change issues facing negotiators at the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen now, the establishment of an international policy regime for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions by global shipping is probably among the most important challenges for Singapore. Not only is the Republic a global leader for sea-borne cargo and container traffic, but it is also the world's single largest bunkering port by far. Bunkering, or the refuelling of vessels, is part of a cluster of oil-related activities here, and is an essential service.
Greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping are not covered by the Kyoto Protocol as the industry is inherently global and its emissions cannot be attributed to national jurisdictions. But the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) was charged in 1997 with establishing an emission reduction regime for international shipping. In the dozen years since, IMO member-states have not reached an agreement on any binding measures to control shipping emissions.
There is pressure from key shipping constituencies represented in the IMO to come up with recommendations on emission cuts. Any IMO agreement requiring member-states to comply with emission reduction regulations will have far-reaching impact on Singapore's role as a maritime and oil-refining and trading hub.
Leading shipping industry bodies and the national authorities have submitted emission reduction proposals to the IMO. The most strategic general question facing IMO members now revolves around the 'tax versus cap-and-trade' question. The two positions are articulated respectively by Denmark's April submission to the IMO calling for a carbon tax to be applied to bunker fuels, and a joint May submission by France, Germany and Norway in favour of a trading scheme.
The European shipping associations, constituting the world's most powerful corporate shipping interests, will play a critical role in the formation of maritime policies within their respective countries. In turn, one would expect these governments to press for international negotiations in Copenhagen and beyond.
In general, shipping executives support the cap-and-trade option. In a recent poll on sustainable shipping, emission trading was supported by 41 per cent of the respondents, compared with the 29 per cent who favoured a bunker tax.
Several shipping industry associations, including those from Australia, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Britain, have recently affirmed their support for a global cap-and-trade scheme. The European Union is the single largest regional group within the IMO and exerts strong negotiating leverage within the organisation. The European Commission has stated that it would include shipping in its EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) if the IMO did not take action on its own.
Caps and taxes are both market-based approaches that encourage cuts in emissions. Both instruments put a price on carbon and, hence, create market incentives for investments in emission-reduction technologies. While a tax raises revenue directly, a cap-and-trade scheme that auctions tradable permits can also raise similar amounts of revenue. How such revenues are used is an important issue, although distinct from the choice of the instrument. There is nothing in either of the two options that offers a clear argument for support.
The EU clearly favours a trading scheme for shipping along the lines of its active ETS market. Critically, Singapore as a global shipping and bunkering hub would be advantageously placed to benefit from active carbon trading. The establishment of a carbon pricing centre here would add to the city's role as Asia's energy hub. Singapore's position as a financial centre can only be enhanced if it became became a carbon pricing centre.
As the world's largest bunkering port, Singapore would be the natural location for an R&D centre for shipping emission mitigation. Singapore also has strong claim on a substantial share of revenues collected by an IMO-proposed fund administrator for shipping R&D and technology implementation.
Maritime measures need to be effective, equitable and enforceable. Proposed regulations need to take note of the potential for 'leakage', where shipping activity migrates from signatory to non-signatory states or to states that do not enforce emission regulations.
In shaping the policies for shipping, officials must ensure that the complexities of this most international of industries are taken into account. Singapore has a leading role to play in the post-Copenhagen IMO deliberations.
The writer is a visiting principal fellow at the Energy Studies Institute, NUS.
Today Online 15 Dec 09;
SINGAPORE - Building owners in Singapore can soon gain carbon credits while cooling their buildings more efficiently now that a carbon programme - the first of its kind - is being developed.
Climate Action Resource Enterprise' for Energy Efficiency (Care) looks to generate carbon credits by promoting the replacement of chiller plants with state of the art technology under the standards imposed by the United Nation's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
Under Care, building owners can gain Certified Emission Reduction certificates from such projects under CDM.
Projects will generate and deliver carbon credits over a 10-year time frame, and owners can include multiple buildings into the Project of Activities at different stages, depending on their investment and risk appetite.
The resulting carbon credits, registered under the Kyoto Protocol's CDM, will accelerate chiller plant upgrades in Singapore.
Savings possible with quantifiable chiller efficiencies can surpass 50 per cent.
Care is jointly developed by local carbon advisory Climate Resources Exchange (CRX) and Standard Bank. CRX is in the business of originating CDM projects and trading carbon assets originating from such projects.
Financing for individual projects will be considered on a case-by-case basis with SB and CRX assisting Care projects in evaluating financing alternatives.
CRX will also work with local energy services companies, technology providers, or directly with facilities managers of self-maintained buildings with a view to target at least 100 buildings in Singapore to join Care by 2012.
ScienceDaily 14 Dec 09;
In 2009, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 94 new relatives to our family tree. The new species include 65 arthropods, 14 plants, eight fishes, five sea slugs, one coral, and one fossil mammal. They were described by two dozen Academy scientists along with several dozen international collaborators.
Proving that there are still plenty of places to explore and things to discover on Earth, the scientists made their finds over four continents and two oceans, climbed to the tops of mountains and descended to the bottom of the sea, looked in their owns backyards (Yosemite National Park) and on the other side of the world (Yunnan Province, China).
Their results, published in 29 different scientific papers, add to the record of life on Earth and will inform future studies on biodiversity, evolution, and conservation.
"Humans rely on healthy ecosystems, made up of organisms and their environments," says Dr. David Mindell, Dean of Science and Research Collections at the Academy. "Creating a comprehensive inventory of life on our planet is critical for understanding and managing resources. Yet a great many life-forms remain to be discovered and described. The effort to determine the genealogical links among all life-forms, and describe their distributions, allows biologists to assess the relative distinctiveness of groups of organisms and various geographic regions, and helps determine conservation priorities."
One recent example of a comprehensive species inventory informing conservation priorities appeared in the April 11, 2008 issue of Science. Academy curator Brian Fisher and his colleagues proposed sites for new protected areas on Madagascar, using distribution data amassed over ten years from 2,315 species of ants, butterflies, frogs, geckos, lemurs, and plants. The study was intended to help the government of Madagascar, which is in the midst of increasing its protected-area network from 5 million to 15 million acres. The team's recommendation, which preserves all 2,315 species, provides a model for making conservation decisions in other biodiversity hotspots around the world.
Below are a few highlights among the 94 species described by Academy scientists this year.
Denizens of the Deep
The deep sea is often described as Earth's last frontier, so it is not surprising that several new species on the list were collected in the cold, dark depths of the ocean via submersible, Remote Operated Vehicles, and deep-sea trawls. These include three grenadier fishes (Coelorinchus fuscigulus, C. obscuratus, and C. osipullus); two Bellottia fishes (B. cryptica and B. robusta); the enigmatic black "ghostshark" which has sexual appendages on its forehead (Hydrolagus melanophasma); and a deep-sea coral (Gersemia juliepackardae) named after Julie Packard, for her dedication to ocean stewardship and conservation.
Threatened by Climate Change
Even a small insect can tell the story of global climate change. Academy curator Dave Kavanaugh and graduate student Sean Schoville discovered the ice beetle Nebria praedicta on a single peak in California's Trinity Alps. The beetle lives only in the presence of glaciers and snowfields, which are melting under current warming trends. In the paper, the authors write: "The disappearance of these temperature moderating bodies, which is virtually certain to occur with the current climatic warming trend, would be catastrophic for this species...and likely lead to their quick extinction."
Spiders from Yunnan, China
Arthropods (insects, arachnids, and their relatives) are the most diverse group of animals on Earth. Accordingly, over two-thirds of the new species on the Academy's list are arthropods. A paper by Academy research associate Jeremy Miller, curator Charles Griswold, and collaborator Chang Min Yin describes 36 new spider species, all from Yunnan Province, China. This paper is the latest result from an ongoing, ten-year inventory of this biodiversity hotspot, led by Academy and Chinese scientists. Griswold co-authored two additional papers in 2009 describing spiders from Yunnan (Mallinela bifurcata, M. biumbonalia, M. kunmingensis, and Sanmenia tengchong).
California Hotspot
Besides hosting a diverse population of people, California is also home to one of the most diverse collections of plant and animal species on the planet. This rich diversity has earned California a title as one of the world's 34 biodiversity hotspots. Ten species on this year's list were collected in or just off the shore of California (though not necessarily endemic to the state): the aforementioned black ghostshark (Hydrolagus melanophasma), deep-sea coral (Gersemia juliepackardae), and ice beetle (Nebria praedicta); four mite species that live parasitically in the feathers of birds (Syringophiloidus sialius, Torotrogla coccothraustes, T. cyanocitta, and T. piranga); two mosses from Yosemite National Park (Homalothecium californicum and Pseudoleskea tribulosa); and a lacewing (Ceraeochrysa chiricahuae) found all over the United States.
Fossil Raccoon Dog
Ten years ago, anthropology curator Zeray Alemseged initiated the Dikika Research Project to explore the fossil-rich Awash Valley in Ethiopia. While the project has yielded several important discoveries related to early human evolution (including an infant Australopithecus afarensis fossil, dubbed "the world's oldest child" in 2006), the non-human discoveries provide equally important information about the valley's ancient environment. This year, Alemseged and his colleagues report the only new mammal species on the Academy's list: a raccoon dog (Nyctereutes lockwoodi) from 3.3 million years ago. Described from a nearly complete skull and fragments of others, this small, omnivorous mammal is a member of the canid family, which includes dogs, wolves, and foxes. Fossil raccoon dogs have been uncovered throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa, but only one species remains today (N. procyonoides, native to East Asia). This extant species gets its common name from its raccoon-like coloring but is not closely related to raccoons -- its closest living relatives are thought to be foxes. It forms monogamous pair bonds and is the only member of the dog family to hibernate in the winter.
Phuket Gazette 14 Dec 09;
PHUKET CITY: A Risso’s dolphin that washed ashore in Chalong on Friday night and later died, might have been suffering from exhaustion due to childbirth, researchers at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) think.
Residents of the Khok Tanode community in Chalong Village 9 initially reported two stranded dolphins at Haad Son (Pine Beach) to the PMBC’s Marine Endangered Species Unit at about 8.30 on Friday night.
PMBC researcher Phaothep Cherdsukjai told the Gazette that by the time researchers arrived at around 11pm, villagers had already managed to push the smaller mammal back out to deeper water.
They quickly identified the remaining dolphin as a ‘Risso’s dolphin’ (Grampus griseus), known in Thai as a ‘melon head whale’ for the circular appearance of its head.
The researchers described the whale as a two-meter-long female weighing 200 kilos and between 20 and 30 years of age.
The PMBC staff treated the dolphin and trucked it to Chalong Pier, from which it was taken by boat to deeper water at about 1am, Mr Phaothep said.
The rescue effort failed, however. Villagers living near the Fisherman’s Way beach in Chalong Village 5 reported that the carcass of a dolphin had washed ashore at about 5am.
The PMBC researchers confirmed it was the same dolphin they had released earlier the same day.
An examination of the carcass found her stomach was empty. Given the size of the other animal, they suspect the smaller animal was its offspring and that the pair had become separated from their pod after the birth, Mr Phaothep said.
The baby whale will stand a good chance for survival, but only if it can somehow find its way back to the pod, he added.
Risso’s dolphins inhabit deep water, up to 1,000 meters, where they feed on squid.
They have little interaction with humans and strandings are very rare.
Their conservation status is classified as ‘least concern’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ (IUCN).
Made Arya Kencana Jakarta Globe 14 Dec 09;
Badung, Bali. A young, wounded dugong was found struggling in fishing nets on Sunday, stranded on the Tanjung Benoa beach here on the island of Bali.
“We are trying to heal its wounds before returning it to its habitat,” Istanto, who heads the Bali Nature Resources Conservation Agency, said on Monday.
The marine mammal, weighing 30 kilograms, quickly became an attraction for the locals, who along with the fishermen had attempted to help it back to the sea.
Istanto said the dugong, which was suffering from a wound to its head, was found by fishermen and tourists, tangled in nets by fishing boats.
From its weight and length, fishermen estimated it was not more than 4 years old.
Gusti Putu Nuriatha, the head of Bali’s Fishery and Maritime agency, said the dugong was probably separated from its herd during migration.
The agency also warned people against eating the endangered mammal.
“It is a protected species. It should be handled in accordance with existing regulations,” Gusti said of the dugong, which are close relatives of the manatee.
Fidelis E. Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 14 Dec 09;
US energy giant ConocoPhillips strongly denied on Monday that there was an explosion on their site in Musi Banyuasin district, South Sumatra, as has been reported by the local media since Friday.
Residents from Sukamaju village told local media outlets that last Wednesday they were startled by a loud bang that came from the ConocoPhillips’ site. The villagers also said that an oil spill, believed related to the explosion, had polluted their rubber plantations.
ConocoPhillips admitted on Friday that it had discovered a leak in a 12-inch subterranean oil pipeline within the Corridor Block PSC but denied there was an explosion earlier in the week.
“There was no explosion. There was some leakage from one of our pipes,” said Jacob Kastanja, the company’s communications manager. “We have already taken the necessary steps to stop the flow of oil and have isolated the area for public safety reasons.”
The leak, Jacob said, had been successfully repaired and the pipeline was able to resume normal operations within 24 hours.
“Our response team is currently on site, cleaning up the spill area. The recovery effort will be conducted in the safest and most efficient way possible,” he said. “No personnel were injured and there was no impact on a nearby rubber tree plantation, which is located on higher ground. The oil spill happened underground and was relatively small so its effects were minimal.”
He said the company, supported by BP Migas (the country’s upstream oil and gas regulator), was still assessing the incident, adding that the leak had been contained within a 100-square-meter area and its volume was estimated at 15 barrels.
Ahmad Najib, head of South Sumatra Environmental Agency, said it had not received any reports regarding the incident.
Daily Express 14 Dec 09;
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah needs a proper set of laws and guidelines to regulate the fast-growing swiftlet nest farming industry.
Stating this, State Wildlife Department Director Dr Laurentius Nayan Ambu said presently there are no regulations to guide and monitor about 200 swiftlet houses in the State.
"So far, the local authorities especially Kota Kinabalu City Hall and Sandakan and Tawau Municipal Councils do not allow swiftlet nests to be cultivated in buildings or shoplots in urban and township areas.
"This is because their Building By-laws do not allow such establishments to be set up within their rating areas. But I see a lot of bird nest cultivation being carried out in buildings and shoplots here, in Beaufort, Tawau and Sandakan.
"That is why I advised the birdhouse operators cum owners to form an association so that things can be straightened out, including addressing the legal issues related to building and operating man-made birdhouses," he said.
Laurentius said this to Daily Express after delivering a talk on "Swiflet Farming" at a half-day seminar held at a hotel here recently.
Following the advice, the birdhouse owners have formed and registered an association called Sabah Swiftlet House & Bird's Nest Industry Association (Swifin), with Laurentius as its advisor and George Ng Aun Heng as president.
"Among the main objectives of setting up Swifin is to further explore the potential of the swiftlet nest farming industry, apart from disseminating information on good practices of the industry and assisting members to address their problems.
"I was also made to understand that Swifin is looking forward to paying a courtesy call to the State Government, particularly the Chief Minister, on the possibility of pursuing their aims as well as proposing certain laws to be formulated and framing proper guidelines for the birdhouse operators.
"Swifin will also have a dialogue with the Chief Minister on the lucrative economic opportunities that can be reaped from the industry," he said.
Laurentius also proposed that a state body or committee be formed to oversee the implementation of the industry and come up with the best guidelines and practices on swiftlet nest farming.
According to him, those keen to set up a swiftlet house needs to have a trading licence to enable the individual to apply for a farming licence from the Wildlife Department.
For a nest trader, he said, he or she needs to apply for a commercial trading licence from the department with an annual fee of RM100 per year.
For exporting bird nests, Laurentius said the department only charges RM5 per permit or consignment.
On the market price of the swiftlet nests, Laurentius, who also owns two birdhouses, said Indonesian nest traders are willing to buy for between RM7,000 and RM8,000 per kg for the raw nests from man-made birdhouses, while the cave nests are bought for between RM3,000 and RM5,000 per kg.
"The bird nests of Malaysia are popular because the nests harvested from man-made swiftlet houses take only 30 minutes to cook, unlike the cave nests which take three to four hours to cook.
"Normally the swiftlet nests in our country are exported to the peninsula, Singapore and Hong Kong. But now, we are looking at China that has a huge demand because they are the biggest consumers of the bird nests.
"Not only China but the demand for the bird nests are also spread in other countries where there are Chinese like Australia, New Zealand, and United States. And thus you can see the market for this industry is expanding," he said.
He added that normally the Chinese in Europe would buy from Hong Kong.
He said the droppings of the swiftlets in the birdhouses, which are a good fertiliser for orchids, could also be sold for RM50 to RM60 per kg.
Laurentius, who has been studying swiftlet nest farming for 25 years, refuted a misconception that swiftlets and their nests impose health hazards on the public with bird flu or the influenza H1N1 virus.
"The H1N1 or bird flu has no connection with the swiflet nests. In fact, studies have shown that there is no relationship between bird nests and the two fatal diseases.
"Swiftlets are aerial birds and they never go down to the ground or mix with other birds, unlike the water birds. Therefore, there is no incident of the swiftlets being the carrier of bird flu or the H1N1," he said.
Thus, Laurentius said the swiftlet nest farming is a viable venture that not only generates lucrative earnings to the operators but also contributes to the economic growth of the State and nation.
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post 14 Dec 09;
Regional autonomy in Papua poses a threat to forests in the province because the infrastructure development following autonomy would exploit forested areas, says a forestry official.
"The forested areas currently available would unlikely still be there five to 10 years from now if regional autonomy continues as it would lead to physical development," said Papua Forestry Office head Marthen Kayoi, during the launch of the Forest Governance Integrity (FGI) at the Transparency International Indonesia office in Jayapura recently.
He added that the regency capital of Keerom was previously a forested area but raised doubts whether it could still be described as such.
The current area of Papua's intact forest is 31.5 million hectares, while 5 million hectares had been categorized as critical areas from 1973 to 2003.
Kayoi said only around 24 million hectares of the forested areas would remain given the pace of regional autonomy, which has so far produced 33 regencies and municipalities.
"This is what's happening now. The continuing process of regional autonomy, followed by infrastructure development would further reduce the size of forested areas," he said.
"We also could not ensure whether the remaining forested areas would exist in the next five years."
The government has designated a 4,825,786-hectare forested area in Papua as a conservation forest, or natural preserve.
However, for the past several years it has received pressure in the form of conversion into farmland, settlement and infrastructure development including illegal logging.
"The Lorentz National Park, a protected area that has now encompassed seven regencies, including the giant PT Freeport Indonesia gold and copper mining company, due to the impact of regional autonomy."
Marthen has urged every party, including Transparency International (TI) Indonesia, which is now present in Papua, to organize the forest in a wise manner for the sake of Papuan forest sustainability.
"This is a challenge for the forestry office to carry out development effectively," he said.
TI's presence in Papua, said FGI Asia Pacific regional manager Agustinus Taufik, urged every party to fight illegal forestry practices.
"With the principle of united we stand, we could develop a community that is mentally and spiritually sound for the sake of mutual prosperity," Agustinus said.
Agustinus said Papua's forest is one of the best tropical rainforests in Indonesia and serves as the lungs of the earth.
"Papua's forest is a valuable asset that must be managed well to improve the quality of the ecosystem and the well-being of people in Papua in particular and in Indonesia in general."
Raymond Colitt, PlanetArk 15 Dec 09;
MARABA, Brazil - Brazil took a step forward in protecting the Amazon rainforest on Wednesday, starting satellite surveillance of the cattle ranches that are among the chief culprits in the forest's destruction.
The agriculture ministry will monitor more than 15,000 cattle ranches, many of which were established by clearing forested land, and stop ranchers from selling their cattle if they expand farms further by encroaching upon the rainforest.
"We can now say that Brazil is doing its part," said Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes at the launch of the plan in Para, one of several states in the north of Brazil over which the world's largest rainforest sprawls.
Brazil's efforts to protect the Amazon are under the global spotlight this month as heads of state meet at the climate change conference which began this week in Copenhagen.
Cattle ranching is one of the main causes of deforestation, which accounts for about 75 percent of Brazil's carbon emissions.
The scheme is one of the few measures taken to date by the farming ministry to control ranchers, showing heightened awareness of the link between success in exporting and the foreign consumers' desire for more ecologically sound produce.
A major report in June by environment group Greenpeace on the Brazilian cattle industry's deforestation spurred a rash of pledges by big meat firms to cut ties with suppliers producing on illegally cleared land.
Ranchers who have been identified via the satellite images as illegally claiming forested land to expand their pastures will be unable to obtain a permit enabling them to transport their cattle to slaughterhouses.
Up to now, the government's environment agency, Ibama, has led the battle, confiscating the cattle of ranchers found slashing and burning their way into the forested land, occasionally leading to violent confrontations.
ZERO DEFORESTATION?
Government inspectors are stationed at all legally operating slaughterhouses to examine producers' papers before cattle can be delivered.
But the existence of illegal, unregistered slaughterhouses, which are estimated to process as much as 40 percent of cattle in the world's top beef exporter, are likely to provide a gaping loophole for growers who continue to flout the rules.
Higher profile meat firms who depend on the export market would have little option but to comply, however, given the amount of documentation required between the farm, slaughterhouse and port.
Stephanes, who estimated illegal slaughterhouses handled only 10 percent of cattle, was confident monitoring could cut forest destruction, long a blight on Brazil's image.
"The world is increasingly demanding the ability to trace where its food comes from. This will lead us to zero deforestation," he said, near the monitoring station in Maraba.
The huge satellite dish on its roof will receive data about the 15,000 ranches and the areas around them once a month.
On the edge of Maraba, rancher Jose Miranda Cruz showed the minister and reporters around one of the properties where he raises a huge herd of 120,000 cattle. He seemed ambivalent over deforestation but agreed the scheme would be useful.
"The environmentalists exaggerate a little but we have to do it. The world demands it," said Cruz, as around 100 cows grazed nearby.
(Editing by Stuart Grudgings and Christian Wiessner)
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