Positive Developments For Malaysian Palm Oil Despite Anti-palm Oil Lobby

Yong Soo Heong, Bernama 5 May 10;

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's palm oil industry is worth about RM50 billion annually and chances are that revenue may even touch RM60 billion this year, if current prices remain steady until the end of the year.

That crude palm oil is being sold at RM2,550 a tonne is certainly good news for planters, smallholders and all those associated with the industry.

But then there are detractors. It has been reported that the European Union (EU), through its environmental ministries and commissions, has been involved in funding up to 70 per cent of the operating budgets of environmental NGOs in efforts to paint a not-so-rosy picture about palm oil.

And these NGOs have been viciously campaigning against palm oil imports into the EU, especially for biofuels, says Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron, CEO of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, who regards this as a "senseless and immoral attack on exported commodities such as palm oil produced by developing countries."

Writing in his blog, he said, such funding implicates the EU for creating barriers to trade for agricultural products from developing countries.

"Unlike the EU, developing countries do not have access to financial resources to fight such government funded vicious campaigns. The eventual outcome will be untold miseries where poor farmers in developing countries lose their source of income as their export commodities are unable to enter the EU market," he said.

This is something which palm oil-producing countries will have to seriously address if the livelihood of their planters and farmers is to be safeguarded. Almost half a million people are employed by the palm oil industry in Malaysia.

Interestingly, a campaign by Friends of the Earth to pressure the European Commission (EC) to rule "a tree plantation is not a forest" that restricts the recognition of palm oil as a renewable biofuel in the EU may have failed.

According to a newsletter produced by "Palm Oil - Green Development Campaign", this means that the EC may classify oil palm plantations as forests, which would therefore meet the sustainability criteria of the EU's Renewable Energy Directive (RED).

Under RED, land which used to contain primary forest prior to 2008 but no longer does, cannot be used for biofuel feedstock to meet the EU's 10 per cent target under RED.

It has been reported that the draft guidelines define a "forested area" as "areas where trees have reached, or can reach, at least heights of five metres, making up a crown cover of more than 30 per cent". They would normally include forest, forest plantations and other tree plantations such as palm oil.

"The EC's position would therefore recognise that the important property of tropical forests for climate change policy is the high sequestering capacity of tropical foliage, tall wooded plants and multi-decade crop rotation.

Short rotation coppice [the practice of repeatedly cutting young tree stems down] may qualify if it fulfils the height and canopy cover criteria," the newsletter stated.

It would seem that the EC has recognised the environmental benefits of palm oil as highly energy efficient, high yield and economically beneficial biofuel as the oil palm trees sequester or remove more carbon dioxide than other biofuel crops.

Another development that has put palm oil in positive light is research from Wageningen University in the Netherlands which shows that "palm oil is the most efficient energy crop."

The university's finding is a rejection of environmental NGOs and the anti-palm oil lobbyists who consistently claim that palm oil is unsustainable.

Its research found that palm oil, sugar cane and sweet sorghum are currently the most sustainable energy crops. These commodities also produce "far smaller quantities of greenhouse gases than fossil fuels".

The university's analysis considered nine different energy crops against nine different sustainability criteria with palm oil coming out on top while biofuel from maize from the United States and wheat from Europe scored far lower.

The report's author, Sander de Vries, concluded that sustainable sugar canes and oil palms get the most energy per hectare and cause the least environmental damage.

De Vries also highlighted a major advantage of the oil palm crop was that, unlike other energy crops, it produces enough residue to power the oil extraction processes.

Another positive development for palm oil took place in the European Parliament recently when Dr Gernot Pehnelt, founder and director of GlobEcon, an independent research and consulting institute based in Germany, released a new study that revealed the prejudiced nature of the EU's Renewable Energy Directive towards foreign biofuels.

The report, entitled "European Policies Towards Palm Oil: Sorting Out Some Facts," demonstrated that the assumptions contained in the directive about the ecological impact of foreign biofuels reflected political and not scientific or economic reality.

Dr Pehnelt came to the defence of the rich biodiversity in oil palm plantations, their excellent crown cover that oil palms provide and the yield per hectare advantages of this low-energy and low-fertilizer crop.

"Sadly, many of the claims that foreign biofuels, specifically palm oil, are a threat to the environment are seriously flawed, some even completely unfounded," he said, adding that the side effects of the flawed policies could give rise to political friction and trade disputes to severe economic handicaps for developing countries.

"This new study makes a strong case that RED discriminates against non-EU producers of biofuels, such as Asian palm oil.

"Perhaps most importantly, palm oil acts as a substantial driver of economic growth in the developing world, drastically reducing hunger and poverty in regions that actively cultivate this valuable crop.

"It's time for Europe to not only recognise the energy and environment benefits of palm oil, but also the suffering in low-income, tropical countries that palm oil critics continue to perpetuate," said Dr Pehnelt, who has been invited by MPOC to speak on "European policies towards palm oil - setting the record straight" at the International Palm Oil Sustainability Conference in Kota Kinabalu from May 23 to 25.

The MPOC says that the conference will feature the latest developments, breakthroughs and technologies related to the sustainable development of the palm oil industry, with a focus on major issues such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), carbon footprint, sustainable production, certification and branding, biodiversity conservation and the corporate social responsibility of the palm oil industry.

Over the years, palm oil has emerged to have a huge multiplier effect to the Malaysian economy, with almost half a million people employed in the industry.

Additional workforce is also required to run downstream processing industries as palm oil is a multi-commodity industry.

It is not just palm oil, but also palm kernel oil and palm kernel cake, which have different market and applications. Oil palm biomass and methane can also be used to produce electricity.

Currently, there are 600 million oil palms in Malaysia that could be also harvested and converted into fibre products, including medium density fibre boards as well as pulp and paper. Oil palms are also harvested to make furniture.

"Put all this together, palm oil is a very important and vibrant industry, which makes a lot of money for the country," said MPOC's Dr Yusof.

Malaysia has been working very hard to make its palm oil industry environmentally-friendly and socially responsible. Oil palm is only planted on land designated for agricultural production.

Today, Malaysia still maintains 56 per cent of its total land area under forest, thereby keeping its pledge made at the 1992 Rio Summit to keep at least 50 per cent of its land area under forest intact. It is certainly food for thought for the detractors.

-- BERNAMA

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One-billion-tree planting campaign to cut emissions : Indonesian minister

Antara 5 May 10;

Bogor, W Java (ANTARA News) - Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said on Tuesday the government is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent through a one-billion-tree planting campaign.

The trees would be planted on 1.6 million hectares of land nationwide, he said.

"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself wants 1 billion trees planted across Indonesia in 2010. The move is aimed at achieving the government`s target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 26 percent," he said.

Gusti said his office would always monitor the realization of the program in each region until the number of trees planted reached one billion.

He called on regional governments to ensure the success of the program by launching one-man-one-tree campaigns. If a province had a population of 50 million there would be 50 million new trees.

"We will monitor the program and record any tree-planting activities in regions to see if the number of new trees has reached 1 billion," he said.

He said the campaigns were effective to cut greenhouse gas emissions because trees functions as emission absorbents.

The current increase in greenhouse gas emissions was contributed not only by greenhouse effect but also by deforestation, he said. (*)

Government allocates Rp 600b to forest rehabilitation
The Jakarta Post 5 May 10;

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said Wednesday the government had allocated Rp 600 billion (US$66million) in budget to forest rehabilitation program by planting a total of 1 billion tree seeds across the country in the upcoming one year.

“We are obliged to rehabilitate forest days and nights if necessary,” Zulkifli said during his work trip to Pasuruan, East Java, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Zulkifli said the government would work with residents around the forest to carry out the rehabilitation

program. Each group of residents responsible for the rehabilition program would receive a minimum fund of Rp 50 million, he added.

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Seeing REDD over forest peoples

Arun Agrawal, BBC Green Room 4 May 10;

By the end of this year, governments may have finalised arrangements for preserving developing countries' forests under the UN climate convention. But, argues Arun Agrawal, forests used to belong to people - and people are being left out of the equation.

A long time ago - before the Copenhagen summit, before words such as biodiversity or development were invented, before even colonialism - most of the world's forests belonged to people.

People lived in them. People depended on them.

And people used forests for food, for firewood, for timber - indeed, for much of what they needed.

But by the beginning of the 20th Century, governments owned most of the world's forests.

Industrial expansion, coupled with colonialism and blossoming government capacity, made it both desirable and possible for governments to assert control over forests.

They did so in the name of a greater ability to protect and manage forests. The interests and claims of local communities and forest-dependent populations received short shrift in the global forest grab that occurred between 1850 and 1950.

Governed destruction

But forests today - all four billion hectares of them - are no more than a remnant of the vast stretches of vegetation that used to cover the entire planet.

The global spasm of deforestation that has occurred in the 20th Century took place under government ownership of forests.

Governments cut down trees themselves. But more importantly, they caved under pressures from timber companies to allow logging, failed to enforce their own regulations to reduce deforestation, and often encouraged clearing of forests for agricultural development.

Worried about deforestation, international donors spent billions of dollars in the 1980s in an attempt to increase forest cover.

In many countries, there have been incipient efforts to decentralise control, with donors and local communities demanding a greater say for forest-dependent peoples in what happens to forests.

Despite massive investments, forests continue to be lost because of a combination of high demand for wood products in the West and in emerging economies, imperfect decentralisation, ongoing disenfranchisement of local communities, and corrupt enforcement.

Today, the critical importance of forests - this time in the context of global climate change - is being recognised again.

Forests stores more than twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. If they disappear, atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases will easily cross 1,000 parts per million. Long before that, dangerous climate change will become unstoppable.

Governments and non-governmental actors alike recognise the dangers.

At the recent Copenhagen climate negotiations, one of the key accomplishments was to set aside substantial funds towards Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+).

(The "+" signifies that in addition to reducing emissions, REDD+ projects should also strive to protect biodiversity and local livelihoods.)

Six developed world nations pledged $4.5bn to developing country governments to build their capacity to reduce deforestation and increase the carbon stored in tropical forests.

Before the commitments at Copenhagen, the World Bank and the United Nations had already launched other forest carbon schemes, although on a smaller scale. The World Bank started its Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) three years ago.

UN-REDD is a similar effort, with pilot projects in developing countries to demonstrate that carbon sequestration in forests is possible.

Chasing capacity

In comparison to the $40bn global trade in forest products, the sums allocated for REDD are small.

But they are very substantial in comparison to the budgets of forest departments in developing countries.

Of course, the greater hope is that a global carbon market will emerge in the next five to 10 years, and today's initiatives will jumpstart massive private sector involvement in forest carbon trade.

The question is whether the planned REDD+ projects and investments will indeed encourage major changes in how governments have managed tropical forests.

Current attempts to involve governments in forest carbon storage suffer from many flaws - problems that should not be swept under the carpet.

One major problem is that most of the emphasis in REDD+ capacity-building projects is on increasing national government capacity.

There is little attention to the interests of local populations, poorer communities, and indigenous peoples.

The funding for implementing REDD+ projects will flow to government departments, to reward demonstrated improvements in forest carbon storage. It will support training and capacity development of civil servants, and help build monitoring systems managed by national governments.

There is little attention to strengthen the capacity of the real forest stakeholders - poor, local communities that depend on and use these forests.

The emphasis on carbon storage means that government departments will feel free to ignore the needs of local populations once again. To be counted as successful, they will assume ownership of carbon in forests and exclude local communities and poor forest-dependent peoples.

A hundred years of historical experience with centralised forest ownership shows that governments may be unable to enforce forest regulations against powerful corporate interests; but they are certainly able to exclude less powerful, poor, forest peoples.

It will be a shame if the international community, in the rush to protect carbon storage, encourages projects and policies that hurt poorer and marginal peoples.

The inequalities that have characterised forest policies for more than 100 years are ready to be encouraged once again through forest carbon management.

Climate change is a danger that has been created by the actions of rich, profligate consumers the world over. It will visit its worst effects on those who are most vulnerable, those who generate the least emissions.

The greatest irony of Copenhagen will be that it may have supported policies that will further exacerbate the unequal impacts of climate change.

To guard against such perverse outcomes, governments must involve local communities and indigenous populations in the design and implementation REDD+ projects and policies.

International donors should support institutional mechanisms to ensure that the greater share of REDD+ related international funding flows reach local communities.

And local communities and indigenous peoples themselves will need to mobilise and articulate clearly the benefits of inclusion and risks to carbon sequestration in tropical forests if people are excluded from REDD+.

Arun Agrawal is associate professor of natural resources and environment at the University of Michigan, US

The Green Room is a series of opinion articles on environmental topics running weekly on the BBC News website

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'Ice broken' at climate meet, but progress glacial

Yahoo News 5 May 10;

BONN (AFP) - – The highest octane political gathering on climate since the Copenhagen summit collapsed into near failure has helped restore trust but delivered no big breakthroughs, environment ministers said Tuesday.

"The ice is broken," Germany's Norbert Roettgen told journalists as the two-and-a-half day brainstorming session outside Bonn ended.

"This meeting was a very important contribution to building trust and confidence."

Side-stepping some of the major political land mines that derailed talks in the Danish capital, ministers and negotiators from 45 countries zeroed in on what will become the building blocks of any future global climate deal.

These include mechanisms for the measuring, reporting and verification of pledges to cut greenhouse gases, the disbursement of short-term financing to poor countries bracing for the climate change impacts, and figuring out the most effective way to halt deforestation.

"We have reached consensus on forest protection, and there are good perspectives for consensus on technology transfer -- a result is possible, at least in Cancun," Roettgen said, referring to a UN climate conference late November in the Mexican resort town.

Roettgen also unveiled an initiative from Germany and South Africa to create a kind of exchange platform between rich and developing countries for sustainable development initiatives.

Ten countries -- including the United States, Costa Rica, Spain and Papua New Guinea -- immediately embraced the idea, he said.

After the huge disappointment of Copenhagen, ministers here trod a fine line between aiming too high or too low for Cancun and beyond.

Asked whether a full treaty was possible in Mexico, Europe's Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard replied: "Not probable."

"It is extremely important that we have a set of concrete decisions coming out of Cancun. But we need to look at the process realistically," she told journalists.

A highly polarised debate on what kind of legally binding treaty might emerge from the troubled UN talks has given way instead to the "building blocks" approach.

"Copenhagen was a reality check," said Jose Romero, Switzerland's top climate negotiator and a veteran of UN climate talks.

"We are going to focus on substance, we want consensus on the substantive measures before talking about the agreement itself," he told AFP.

UN climate chief Yvo De Boer said a "good outcome" in Cancun would be "an operational architecture on climate change."

But positive thinking and incremental progress will only go so far in bridging major disagreements among nations on how to divvy up the task of slashing greenhouse gases and who will pay for it, the necessary core of any climate deal.

Voluntary emissions pledges currently registered in the Copenhagen Accord put Earth on track for temperature increases of 3.5 to 4.0 degree Celsius (6.3 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit), far above the 2.0 C threshold for dangerous warming.

The so-called Petersberg Climate Dialogue -- named for site of the talks, near Bonn -- was also haunted by stalled legislation in the United States, said Martin Kaiser, climate policy director for Greenpeace International.

"The US pledges in the Copenhagen Accord on emissions reductions depend on national legislation, which is stalled," he said.

"So basically that means they have not pledged anything yet -- that is the biggest problem we have."

Developing countries have also expressed skepticism and impatience on promises for financing.

The accord earmarks 30 billion dollars in "fast track" money before the end of 2012, to be scaled up to 100 billion per year by 2020.

But delays in releasing the emergency funds and concerns about where the long-term financing will come from have cast a long shadow over these commitments.

"It is widely recognised that finance is the key to opening the next door," said Romero.

Germany, Mexico call climate meeting helpful
Verena Schmitt-roschmann, Asssociated Press Yahoo News 4 May 10;

KOENIGSWINTER, Germany – Some 40 nations agreed Tuesday on taking individual steps to fight global warming, but made little progress during a three-day meeting near Bonn toward drafting a new international climate change treaty.

Germany and Mexico, which co-hosted the meeting of environments ministers, said it had been an important step on the road to the next major U.N. climate conference in Cancun, Mexico, in December — although the most difficult issues remain unresolved.

"I would call this meeting very fruitful," Mexican Environment Minister Juan Elvira said in his closing remarks. "We want to use this momentum to make the conference in Cancun a success." Mexico plans several more rounds of formal and informal talks before the conference.

The meeting made headway on several sticking points, including saving forests and transferring climate technology from rich to poor countries, said Germany's environment minister, Norbert Roettgen. A final agreement on these topics is now within reach, he said.

"There is movement, no one can deny that," Roettgen said.

However, the toughest issues — cutting greenhouse gases, creating a system of financial aid from rich to poor countries, and measuring both — still need consideration.

At the meeting, ministers specifically discussed individual projects that could help reduce emissions or help cope with the effects of climate change, such as drought, flooding or heavy storms.

South Korea, for example, presented its Global Green Growth Institute, which will give developing nations advice on low carbon growth, the German minister said, while the U.S. and India are working on a project to make appliances more efficient.

France and Norway have a plan to get both rich and poor nations involved in stopping deforestation, and Germany wants to allocate euro350 million ($458 million) on forests from the euro1.2 billion it pledged for fast action, Roettgen said.

But environmental groups warned the global climate talks were still deeply troubled after the latest U.N. conference in Copenhagen last December, where a deep rift showed between industrialized nations and developing countries.

"Fundamentally, the difficult situation we had in Copenhagen has not changed," Greenpeace climate specialist Martin Kaiser said.

The Copenhagen conference was seen as a major disappointment, failing to reach a new legally binding treaty after two years of U.N.-sponsored negotiations.

Instead, it ended with a political declaration called the Copenhagen Accord, brokered at the last minute by President Barack Obama, but many of the 190 or so countries that attended were unhappy with it and some dismissed it outright.

Greenpeace warned that, until the U.S. has a climate law in place, real progress on drafting a new treaty will be tough.

"President Obama's climate policies have failed, and therefore there is no basis for an ambitious international treaty that could bring India and China on board," Kaiser said.

Outgoing U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer has said he does not expect a comprehensive international treaty to be finalized this year in Cancun.

Parts of a treaty — such as deals on forests or technology transfers — might be agreed by then, though, Roettgen said.

De Boer said this week's meeting showed "a very strong desire of ministers to reinvigorate the process."

He urged ministers to stay involved instead of leaving negotiations to experts.

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Best of our wild blogs: 4 May 10

Semakau Intertidal Walk to raise funds for New Natural History Museum from Raffles Museum News

Tired of trash on our shores? Submit a video clip and win prizes! from wild shores of singapore

8 May (Sat) is World Migratory Bird Day
from Celebrating Singapore's BioDiversity!

Don't release animals during Vesak, you're sending them to their deaths from The Lazy Lizard's Tales

Job opportunity: Education Officer with the Raffles Museum from Raffles Museum News

Hotsoup postcard
from The Green Volunteers

A Peek Into The Life Of A Colugo
from Life's Indulgences

Hot and scorching at Semakau
from wonderful creation and wild shores of singapore

Things I Find in the Woods
from Crystal and Bryan in Singapore

Four nesting of a pair of Olive-backed Sunbirds
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Admiralty Park's Mangrove Trail
from Macro Photography in Singapore

Raffles Museum Treasures: Orange-spotted grouper
from The Lazy Lizard's Tales

Terumbu Raya Rocks!
from Nature's Wonders

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'Musang' facing threat from annoyed residents

Ang Yiying Straits Times 4 May 10;


The musang, believed to be the last small wild carnivore in Singapore, has made its home in the east. A study team puts its population in Siglap and Opera estates at between 20 and 30. -- PHOTOS: WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE

THE musang, or Asian palm civet, is clinging on as a species in the urban environment of Singapore. It is believed to be the last small wild carnivore here.

A study of its presence in the Siglap and Opera estates shows that the animals are breeding, which bodes well for its preservation. But this delicate balance is being threatened by residents snaring them and possible changes to housing developments.

Weighing about 3.2kg, with grey, coarse shaggy hair and a tail about the same length as its body, the musang, also known as the toddy cat, is common to the region.

While their numbers in Singapore are not available, these nocturnal creatures have been sighted in the east. The Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) and National University of Singapore's biological sciences department put the musang population in the Siglap and Opera estates at between 20 and 30.

The estimates are based on sightings in the area and photographs taken by the study team and remote camera traps that are triggered by motion.

About five offspring were caught on camera, a sign that the musangs are breeding and could be a sustainable population. Their food sources include small birds and fruits.

But residents say more of the musangs are being snared by those who consider them a nuisance. The animals are known to patter on rooftops and eat fruits from trees grown in residents' gardens.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said the number of musangs it received went up from 23 in 2007 to 31 last year. Almost all came from the Siglap and Opera estates. So far this year, seven have been turned over to the agency, all from that area.

Musangs handed to the AVA are released into nature areas. Those that are weaker may be sent to the zoo.

The Night Safari's acting assistant curator of zoology Abdul Razak Jaffar, who is part of the study team, thinks the musangs should be left alone in their urban stronghold. 'Right now, we're not sure how these animals are doing in the nature reserve,' he said.

'So, if we keep pushing them there, there may be a point of time when the resources are not enough to sustain the introduced population or they may not adapt well because they are from a different location.'

WRS is looking into organising night walks in the area to allay people's fears about the harmless wild animal which also eats pests such as rats.

Dr Vilma D'Rozario of environmental group Cicada Tree Eco-Place, which teaches children about local flora and fauna, has another concern.

The musang, which likes to stay under the eaves of old houses, may have nowhere to go as new buildings may have sealed rooftops that they cannot get into. 'I feel that as old homes get torn down, there won't be many musangs left,' said Dr D'Rozario.

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NEA seeks expert help to raise recycling rate

Measures to be studied include waste disposal levies and refund schemes
Grace Chua, Straits Times 4 May 10;

PEOPLE here do not recycle waste as much as they should and the National Environment Agency (NEA) is asking for expert advice on ways to raise the recycling rate.

The NEA said in a tender document made public last week that it wants a consultant to look into whether measures such as levies for waste disposal, refund schemes or mandating certain premises to separate recyclables like food waste and glass, can work to get people to change their habits.

The cost-benefit study would help keep the Semakau landfill, now one-eighth full, from filling up fast, as well as shrink the mountain of rubbish generated here each year.

Consultants studying the issue should, the NEA says, recommend a combination of these and other methods that provide the most bang for the buck, or the 'highest increase of the overall recycling rate per unit cost'.

If any of the proposals are implemented, they will be the first measures forcing a 're-use and reduce' culture here by fiat.

Despite the presence of recycling bins in HDB estates and condominiums, households' efforts to fill them have proved abysmal.

Just 57 per cent of the nation's 6 million tonnes of waste was recycled last year. Now, official targets are set at 60 per cent by 2012, and 70 per cent by 2030.

Going by the tender documents, it appears that NEA is testing measures already implemented elsewhere - with the caveat that the measures 'shall be relevant and applicable to Singapore's context'.

Japan, for example, has strict laws on separating recyclables which go beyond separating glass, plastic and paper: It even pushes for the separation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET, a type of plastic used in bottles) from other plastic containers, and paper products from cardboard boxes.

In Switzerland, residents pay a fee for each bag of rubbish they throw out.

Here, those living in flats pay between $4.31 and $7.35 a month for waste collection, and landed- home owners pay $17.12 to $24.08.

The NEA also wants the consultant to look at how companies can do more to recycle mixed food waste.

Just 13 per cent of the 606 million kg of food waste was recycled last year, even though it could be put to industrial use, such as the manufacture of organic fertiliser.

On the household front, the concern is the disposal of plastic and glass.

Mr Edwin Khew, chief executive of environmental waste management firm IUT Global, pointed out that the cost of making plastic will go up as oil prices rise.

Yet only 9 per cent of plastic is recycled, and plastic containers are usually dumped into rubbish bins to be incinerated.

When they are burnt, toxic chemicals called dioxins are released, which must be scrubbed from flue gas.

'The less you incinerate, the less ash you produce, and the less you spend on these procedures,' Mr Khew said.

To incentivise people to recycle plastic bottles, the NEA wants the consultant to study a deposit-refund scheme.

A small-scale scheme is in place at three FairPrice supermarkets where customers can deposit their bottles and cans in 'reverse vending machines' in exchange for coupons, which can be collected to earn small items like bottled drinks.

Both Mr Khew and National University of Singapore South-east Asian Studies scholar Natasha Hamilton-Hart welcome the idea of mandating the separation of recyclables.

'Several other developed countries and local governments are - without exaggeration - decades ahead,' Dr Hamilton-Hart said.

'Singapore has the administrative and political resources to run a mandatory programme.'

Dr Lim Wee Kiak, MP for Sembawang GRC, is concerned about how some of the proposals, such as higher levies, might affect households used to throwing rubbish down refuse chutes. He suggested increasing recycling facilities for households instead.

The tender will close on May 18, with the study to be completed some time next year.

Lessons in recycling from Germany
Straits Times Forum 7 May 10;

I APPRECIATE the National Environment Agency's effort to conduct a feasibility study on improving recycling efforts in Singapore ('NEA seeks expert help to raise recycling rate'; Monday).

Recycling efforts in Singapore are indeed evident, as seen from the placement of recycling bins around the island, Bring Your Own Bag Day every Wednesday at supermarkets, and more recently, the use of biodegradable food packaging for takeaway orders in foodcourts.

However, more can be done to increase the recycling rate at both individual and national levels.

Spending six months last year in Germany was an eye-opener for me, as I observed the various recycling efforts by the public. Efficient waste-disposal systems and deposit-refund schemes in supermarkets allow residents to integrate recycling efforts into their daily lives.

Deposit-refund machines are located in supermarkets for customers to return used plastic bottles. Customers are given a refund of about 50 Singapore cents per bottle, which can be used to offset subsequent grocery purchases. Alternatively, they can donate the amount to charity. Plastic carriers can be bought for a small fee, with the object of persuading customers to bring their own grocery bags instead.

Rubbish chutes in almost every house and building have multiple compartments for disposal of paper, plastic and glass. Rubbish collected from these compartments is eventually sent for recycling. Such rubbish chutes ensure that residents keep up their recycling efforts even at home and at work.

These practices are not confined to Germany, as I have seen them elsewhere in Europe. The existence of a strong recycling management system there has ultimately enabled residents to be more proactive in their recycling efforts.

Such practices, if extended to Singapore, may allow greater accessibility of recycling efforts to the general population. It is certainly possible for Singaporeans to regard recycling not as an imposition, but a convenient and meaningful facet of their daily lives.

Azlyn Khalid (Miss)

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Singapore to share Urban Governance & Management with Kerala, India

Channel NewsAsia 3 May 10;

SINGAPORE : Singapore will be sharing its experience in Urban Governance and Management with the government of Kerala, India.

A Collaboration Agreement was signed on Monday between Mr Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary to Government, Local Self Government Department and Mr Alphonsus Chia, Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE).

A delegation of 15 senior government officials from Kerala, led by Mr Singh, is in Singapore from May 3 to 7 to kick-start the programme with a policy roundtable on the Strategy and Implementation for Urban Governance and Management.

The programme will be supported by non-profit philanthropic organisation Temasek Foundation, with a grant amount of about S$870,000 and co-funded by Kerala's government with an amount of S$124,450.

SCE will be the implementing agency for the programme. SCE is an agency formed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in May 2006 to respond effectively to the multitude of foreign requests to tap on Singapore's development experience.

The five-day policy roundtable will enable the officials from Kerala to interact and exchange knowledge and information with a team consisting of experts from the Public Utilities Board (PUB), National Environment Agency (NEA) and private sector companies like Surbana International Consultants, Surbana Technologies, CH2M HILL and MWH.

They will cover areas such as urban and waterfront planning, facilities management, water management and solid waste management.

Following the roundtable, eight training workshops will be conducted in the capital of Kerala and the city of Calicut, benefiting a total of 120 officials from Kerala.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr Alphonsus Chia, CEO of SCE said: "We hope that through this collaboration, we can pave the way for other Singaporean parties to better understand the developments in Kerala and also to find new cooperation opportunities."

- CNA/al

Singapore to help Kerala with projects
Straits Times 4 May 10;

SINGAPORE will work with officials from Kerala in a new programme designed to help the Indian state improve its management of major projects.

The partnership programme, which is sponsored by the Temasek Foundation, is intended to help Kerala officials draw up development and infrastructure plans to improve urban and waterfront planning, facilities and water management as well as deal with solid waste.

A Kerala government official here for the signing ceremony yesterday said its agencies have limited capacity to exploit large central government inflows of funds due to a lack of professional staff.

Mr Rajesh Kumar Singh said the sharing of ideas and experiences in the programme's workshops 'will definitely enable the urban managers and administrators to formulate action plans to meet the strategic goals'.

The Singapore Cooperation Council (SCE) will implement the programme with funding of $870,000 from the Temasek Foundation and $124,450 from the government of Kerala.

A delegation of 15 senior government officials from Kerala is in Singapore to kick-start the process with a five-day policy roundtable to discuss strategy and implementation for urban governance.

Experts from a range of Singapore government organisations, including PUB and the National Environment Agency, and private sector firms will then conduct eight training workshops for 120 Kerala government officials.

A collaboration deal was signed yesterday by SCE chief executive Alphonsus Chia and Mr Singh, secretary to government in Kerala's Department of Local Self Government.

'This is the first partnership between SCE, Temasek Foundation and the state government of Kerala,' said Mr Chia, who hopes the collaboration will open doors for Singapore businesses to move into Kerala.

He said the agreement will be the start of a 'long and fruitful exchange', not just between the two governments but between the private sectors of both regions.

HARSHA JETHNANI

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Ivy Singh-Lim hauled to court

Ng Jing Yng, Today Online 4 May 10;

SINGAPORE - Former Netball Singapore president Ivy Singh-Lim appeared in court yesterday to face two charges - failing to have her farm inspected and not engaging a professional engineer to carry out the check.

Mrs Singh-Lim - the owner of Bollywood Veggies, a farm and eatery in Lim Chu Kang - was brought to court by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) after failing to comply with the inspection orders.

According to court documents, the BCA first informed Bollywood Veggies in April 2008 of the need for its building to be inspected.

However, Bollywood Veggies failed to do so despite five deadline extensions by the BCA.

In the subordinate courts yesterday, Senior Counsel Engelin Teh asked for the case to be heard at a later date as she needed more time to consult with her client, Mrs Singh-Lim.

A pre-trial conference will be held tomorrow.

Under BCA regulations, owners of commercial and industry buildings must conduct structural inspections on their premises once every five years. The inspection must be done by a professional engineer.

If convicted, Mrs Singh-Lim faces a fine of up to $40,000 or a jail term of up to one year or both.

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Tourist quota for Redang, Malaysia

The Star 4 May 10;

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu Government plans to limit the number of tourists to Pulau Redang to 160,000 annually.

State Tourism, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Za’abar Mohd Adib said the move was aimed at protecting the environment especially the coral reef from being damaged by too many divers.

“More than 200,000 tourists visit the island yearly and the number is growing.

“This is alarming as it could pose a threat to the serene environment,” he told reporters here yesterday.

He said an RM10mil water supply project was being carried out in Teluk Kalong and Pasir Panjang on the island.

Za’abar said the state government was considering applications to build two more hotels on the island.

At present, Pulau Redang, deemed one of the 10 most beautiful islands in the world, has 30 hotels and chalets, including a five-star hotel boasting 1,059 rooms, reports Bernama.

Recently, Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said had said that the state government would no longer approve the construction of chalet-type accommodation on the island.

He said only hotels rated five-star and above would be allowed to be built while only wealthy individuals would be able to afford holidays in Pulau Redang as hotel rooms would eventually cost no less than US$500 (RM1,600) a night.

He had also said that with the decision to turn the island into a high-end holiday destination, current chalets catering for backpackers would have to upgrade and raise their rates.

However, the move drew criticism from divers, tourists and tour operators who wanted the island to be open to all.

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Plants in peril at the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge in Malaysia

Tan Cheng Li, The Star 4 May 10;

The changing face of the land around the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge is taking a toll on its plant life.

MANY who have trekked at the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge in Hulu Kelang, Selangor, would have walked pass tufts of Eulalia milsumii and think it a kind of lalang. But it is no weed – this grass is a rare plant that grows only on that ridge, and nowhere else in the world.

Four other plants on the quartz ridge share that accolade: the small woody shrub Aleisanthia rupestris, the small tree Ilex praetermissa, the wiry herb Borreria pilulifera, and the ground herb Henckelia primulina.

The craggy outcrop spreads out over 14km – which makes it the longest quartz ridge in the world – and soars to 380m at its highest point. The ridge is what botanists call an island habitat. Isolated from the surrounding forest, vegetation at the ridgetop differs from those of surrounding areas. Flora surveys dating back to the 1920s reveal at least 265 plant species thriving there and the occurrence of five endemics makes it botanically unique.

But as development envelops the ridge, its vegetation has altered. Some of its rare plants are disappearing. Having studied the flora there since 1998, Universiti Malaya plant taxonomist Dr Wong Khoon Meng finds the native vegetation losing out to weeds.

After searching for three of the five endemic plants – A. rupestris, E. milsumii, and I. praetermissa – he and his students found many populations have disappeared and have not regrown in the more disturbed sites.

“Disturbance in the terrain has encouraged invasive weeds to gain a stronghold on the ridge and replace native plants.”

Large groups of trekkers who trample the ground, and campers who clear vegetation for camp and lit fires, are to blame. In the disturbed spots, fast-smothering species such as ferns and grasses quickly take over. As the plants there are highly adapted and narrowly distributed species, any changes in the habitat can lead to extinction.

“Some of the rare plants are still found in the less disturbed parts of the ridge but they will be endangered if the ridge becomes more accessible and faces more disturbances such as fires and trampling. And if the proposed highway comes near the ridge, the threat is that adjacent areas will be developed,” says Wong.

The surrounding vegetation, he says, is vital to protect the ridge habitat as it helps to retain moisture to support other plants.

The ridge itself has been protected as a Wildlife Sanctuary since 1936, primarily for conservation of the serow, but not the surrounding lands. As such, the landscape has seen drastic transformation. Though the south slopes are still forested, being the catchment for the Klang Gates reservoir, its north face has changed severely. Rubber plantations, orchards and of late, housing, have replaced much of the original lowland forest. For Wong, the quartz ridge is a remarkable natural feature with unique plant communities that are best protected on site. In fact, many of its other rare plants have yet to be adequately studied. To conserve the site, he urges legislation and enforcement, control over visitor activities, restoration of severely transformed sites, and provision of information to encourage public awareness of the special features of the ridge.

More should be done, and soon, to safeguard this botanical and geological treasure for it will face even more perils in the future – the activities that follow a new road are always more destructive than the road itself.

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Whale population in Indonesia decreases

English.news.cn 3 May 10;

JAKARTA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Whale population in the waters of Indonesia's Lamalera has been decreasing in the last three years, supposedly caused by the mammal's movement, Kompas daily quoted residents as saying on Monday.

Traditional fishermen in Lamalera of East Nusa Tenggara province's Lembata regency, said that the decrease resulted in declining whale capture.

According to Martinus Hulu, a tribeman of Lelaona in Lamalera, whales captured in 2007 were about 30, decreasing to 20s in 2008 and two in 2009.

"So far this year we only had captured two in March," said Martinus on Sunday.

Katarina Beto Key, another resident of Lamalera, said the decreasing capture was a concern as people rely on the whale capture to support their economic needs

People usually capture spermwhale or Physeter macrocephalus.

The Representative of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Lembata regency, Februanti, said that she was not sure about the cause.

"We need a deeper analysis. However, it might be caused by natural factor or whale movement," she said.

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