New website to track climate aid, key to UN talks

* Website to track promises of $30 bln in aid
* Cash is "golden key" to Cancun climate talks-U.N.
Alister Doyle Reuters AlertNet 3 Sep 10;

GENEVA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - A website launched on Friday will help track whether rich countries are keeping a pledge to come up with $30 billion in climate aid for the poor, seen by the U.N. as a "golden key" to progress in talks on global warming.

The United Nations-backed site (www.faststartfinance.org) so far lists cash promises by 6 European donors including Germany and Britain and 27 recipients from Bangladesh to the Marshall Islands. Many of the developing nations have blank entries on the amount of aid received.

Rich countries promised at a U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen in 2009 to provide poor nations with "new and additional" climate funds "approaching $30 billion" for 2010-12. Until now, there has been no official site to track compliance.

Countries fill in their own entries on the website, without checks.

"I strongly called on other countries to join," Dutch Environment Minister Tineke Huizinga said of the Dutch-led initiative during a meeting of 46 nations in Geneva reviewing financing for the fight against climate change.

The United Nations praised the site as a step to build trust between rich and poor before an annual meeting of the world's environment ministers in Cancun, Mexico, from Nov. 29-Dec. 10.

"I have always called this short-term financing the golden key to Cancun," Christiana Figueres, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, told a news confernece with Huizinga.

Developing nations say the promised new cash is a test of how far rich nations, which have spewed out most greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution, are willing to lead in combating global warming at a time of austerity cuts.

U.S., JAPAN

The United States and Japan, the top two industrialised emitters of greenhouse gases, have not listed their aid contributions on the site yet.

The $30 billion is meant as a "fast start" to help the poor curb use of fossil fuels, shift to renewable energies such as wind, hydro and solar power, and adapt to floods, heat waves, droughts, mudslides or rising ocean levels.

"It is particulary urgent and important to have clarity about the source, the allocation and the disbursement of the short-term funds," Figueres said.

Rich nations in Copenhagen also promised to increase aid to $100 billion a year from 2020. The two-day Geneva talks, ending on Friday, are looking at possible sources such as carbon taxes, levies on air tickets or on bunker fuels.

A Reuters tally of pledges for 2010-12, from official data, show that pledges so far total $29.8 billion, close to the $30 billion pledge. [ID:nLDE6811MP]

But it is unclear how much meets the demand for it to be "new and additional" as promised in Copenhagen.

"The website will not answer that particular question. It will show what countries see as their contribution to fast-track money," Huizinga said.

In the Reuters tally, half of the total pledged so far -- $15 billion -- is from Japan, but much of this comes from a previously planned initiative running from 2008-12.

Website tracks Copenhagen pledges
Yahoo News 3 Sep 10;

GENEVA (AFP) – Six rich economies joined a website unveiled on Friday detailing pledges in short-term aid they made at last December's climate summit, a move aimed at restoring damaged trust with developing countries.

The portal www.faststartfinance.org showed that Britain, Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Norway had so far allocated the equivalent of 3.2 billion dollars in climate funds.

Twenty-seven poorer countries are named as beneficiaries, including Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Morocco and the Philippines. Details of the projects and the timescale of funding were not given.

A sixth donor, Germany, said it had promised 1.26 billion euros (1.61 billion dollars), but has yet to say how the money would be allotted.

"It will give trust that promises are being kept," Dutch Environment Minister Tineke Huizinga, who conceived the project, told reporters.

"I expect in the months to come much more countries will sign in the website."

The announcement was made on the sidelines of an informal meeting on climate finance in Geneva, gathering more than 40 countries.

The US representative at the talks, Todd Stern, said Washington would contribute to the site with a "very detailed document" setting out its estimates of country-by-country undertakings.

"From the very beginning of the year, we have been very much focussed on the visibility of fast-start financing," he said.

The commitments are part of an overall package of 30 billion dollars that rich countries declared in "fast-start" aid for 2010, 2011 and 2012 at the Copenhagen summit to help the poor tackle global warming and its impacts.

The money was seen as a show of good faith in the troubled negotiations under the banner of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In the long term, according to a parallel but sketchier pledge made in Copenhagen, rich countries have promised to mobilise jointly 100 billion dollars a year by 2020.

But the infighting that marred Copenhagen left scars of mistrust among developing countries.

Poorer nations are keeping a watchful eye on the fast-track finances, insisting that donors honour the Copenhagen vow that funding be "new and additional."

Suspicions are high that a big chunk of the money will come from development aid or other budgets, thus damaging poverty alleviation in order to fulfill a political commitment.

"This initiative is a step in the right direction, but the question of additional funds is essential if trust is to be rebuilt," Romain Benicchio, Oxfam's policy advisor, told AFP.

Huizinga acknowledged that the information was provided by donor countries and the new portal "will not answer that particular debate" about additional sources.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres endorsed the scheme.

She said agreeing on finance was a "golden key" to unlock success at the UNFCCC's upcoming conference in Cancun, Mexico.

The November 29-December 10 parlay aims at reviving negotiations with an eye to sealing the elusive climate treaty a year later.

Figueres on Thursday pleaded for tolerance if money disbursed in 2010 came in part from existing budgets, given that the promises were made at the end of 2009.

"It would be understandable if not all 100 percent of the 10 billion for this year to be new and additional because those budgets have already been set," she said.

The Copenhagen Accord declared developed countries were committed "to provide new and additional resources... approaching 30 billion dollars" for 2010-2012.

This included forestry and investments through international institutions. Allocations for tackling emissions of greenhouse gases and for coping with the effects of climate change would be "balanced."

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Greater clarity on climate finance at 46-nation forum

Richard Ingham Yahoo News 3 Sep 10;

GENEVA (AFP) – Forty-six countries gained a clearer view on Friday of what it may take to secure a deal worth hundreds of billions of dollars in climate aid, an issue that threatens hopes for a treaty on global warming.

A two-day informal meeting of the biggest players in the world climate haggle indicated growing support for a "Green Fund" to help dispense up to 100 billion dollars annually by 2020, said several of those attending.

Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa said it was possible the fund could be okayed by the 194-nation UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December.

"We are hoping that we can make a very formal decision regarding the establishment of the fund and at the same time decide on how to make this fund be able to channel resources immediately, because there is this sense of urgency," Espinosa told reporters.

Her optimism was dampened, though, by the United States.

It warned that it expected quid pro quos on other big climate issues -- notably curbs on greenhouse gases and monitoring of national pledges -- before the Green Fund could get underway.

"This has to be part of a package," US climate envoy Todd Stern said.

"That doesn't mean that you can't negotiate quite far down the road on this... (but) all of those key elements have to move, not just one or two."

The Geneva meeting aimed at restoring badly-damaged trust and focussing on pragmatism after the near-disaster of the Copenhagen climate summit last December.

That gathering was supposed to have sealed an accord to ratchet up cuts in heat-trapping fossil-fuel gases from 2012 and stump up billions of dollars in help to climate-vulnerable countries.

Driven to the brink by nitpicking and fingerpointing, the summit yielded a desperately crafted, last-minute document, the Copenhagen Accord.

It set a goal of limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), but did not specify by which date, and opened up a register of voluntary pledges on emissions cuts.

Rich countries also promised to mobilise up to 100 billion dollars in climate aid annually by 2020.

The Geneva talks, gathering the major rich economies, emerging giants and countries representative of the developing world, aimed at swapping ideas on who should administer the money and how it should be supervised.

"We debated openly, often outside of our traditional negotiating positions and explored the issues together," said Swiss Environment Minister Moritz Leuenberger, who co-hosted the meeting with Mexico's Espinosa.

"In this way, we increased our understanding of the problems and the possible solutions."

UNFCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres described the event as "a very, very helpful discussion," while French climate ambassador Brice Lalonde said the outcome was "very concrete."

"Many proposals have been made. It's now up to negotiators to take these ideas and sort them out and bring them into the overall discussions," he told AFP.

Greenpeace's climate spokesman, Wendel Trio, said time was running out for agreeing how the money would be raised.

"Without concrete progress on this issue it seems very unlikely that a lot of progress can be made in general in Cancun," Trio said in an email.

"We urge governments to at least agree on the operationalisation of the climate fund as well as agree on a continuation of the process to get agreement on innovative sources for climate funding."

A panel of experts mandated by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is looking at the range of funding options, including carbon taxes and levies on airline targets. It meets for the final time in Addis Ababa on October 12 and will deliver its report "by October 30," said panel member Janos Pasztor.

The shock of Copenhagen's near-fiasco has caused expectations for a climate treaty to be dialled down.

At best, say experts, Cancun will deliver good progress on finance, technology transfer, preventing deforestation and encouraging skills-building in poor countries.

Even then, agreement in these areas will still be contingent on a deal on emissions controls and the legal status of the future treaty.

That headache could be left to next year, meaning that the treaty would be completed at the end of 2011 at the earliest.

Progress seen on "Green Fund" for climate deal
* Green Fund would channel aid to developing nations
* U.N. treaty said out of reach for 2010
* Mexico talks could agree package of measures
Alister Doyle Reuters AlertNet 3 Sep 10;

GENEVA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Almost 50 nations made progress on Friday towards a "Green Fund" to help poor countries fight global warming but hosts Mexico and Switzerland said a full U.N. climate treaty was out of reach for 2010.

Environment ministers and senior officials meeting in Geneva also examined how to raise a promised $100 billion a year in climate aid from 2020 -- perhaps from carbon markets, higher plane fares or taxes on shipping -- to be managed by the Fund.

"We think we should be able to establish the Green Fund in the conference in Cancun," Mexico's Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa said after the informal Sept. 2-3 talks among 46 nations in Geneva.

Mexico will host an annual U.N. climate meeting in Cancun from Nov. 29-Dec. 10. A Green Fund is meant to help poor nations shift from fossil fuels and cope with projected floods, droughts, mudslides and rising seas caused by climate change.

Espinosa said any deal in Cancun would fall short of a treaty, part of a lowering of hopes after the U.N.'s Copenhagen summit in 2009 agreed only a non-binding deal. Cancun might decide to build any deals into a treaty, perhaps in 2011.

"We created a lot of expectations in Copenhagen that we would get a comprehensive, legally binding solution. We are no longer fixated on that," Swiss Environment Minister Moritz Leuenberger told a news conference with co-host Espinosa.

FORESTS, CLEAN TECH

Espinosa said a Green Fund would only be agreed as part of a broad package in Cancun, including ways to share clean-energy technologies or protect carbon-absorbing forests. She said all elements of the package had to be agreed, or none.

U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern told a news conference that the meeting had been "pretty constructive".

"The biggest issue is...this has to be part of a package. We are not going to move on the Green Fund, and the $100 billion, if issues central to the Copenhagen Accord, including mitigation and transparency, don't also move," he said.

Stern also reiterated that President Barack Obama was committed to cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 even though the Senate has failed to pass legislation. The United States is the only major developed nation with no legal cap.

Connie Hedegaard, the European Union's climate commissioner, said that there was "some convergence" on the Green Fund but little sign of movement on underlying issues from China and the United States, the top greenhouse gas emitters.

"We've seen nothing new coming out of the U.S., nothing new coming out of China. So we have to be very practical," she said of a focus on steps that fall short of a treaty.

Earlier, the Netherlands launched a U.N.-backed website (www.faststartfinance.org) to try to track how far rich nations, struggling with austerity, are able to keep a pledge made in Copenhagen to give poor nations $30 billion in "new and additional" climate aid from 2010-12.

Christiana Figueres, the U.N.'s climate chief, said the cash was a "golden key" to convince poor nations that the rich were serious in taking the lead to curb global warming. Under the Copenhagen Accord, flows would surge to $100 billion a year from 2020.

So far, the website lists cash promises by 6 European donors including Germany and Britain and 27 recipients from Bangladesh to the Marshall Islands. Stern said Washington would submit U.S. data in coming weeks.

Many of the developing nations' sites, listing cash received, are blank.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 3 Sep 10

Smooth Otters at Pasir Ris Park
from Nature Spies

Two ends of the scale
from The annotated budak

Snake eats crab - a first report in natural conditions
from wild shores of singapore

Balik Kampung @ Bottle Tree Park on 10.10.10
from AsiaIsGreen

The story of Cerah the sun bear – Part 1
from Bornean Sun Bear Conservation

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Sand dredging in Cambodia wraps up as firms await contracts from Singapore

Vong Sokheng and Sebastian Strangio
Phnom Penh Post 2 Sep 10;

KOH Kong province’s controversial sand export trade appears to have drawn to a halt, though local companies are attempting to restore contacts with Singaporean sand contractors, officials said.

Pech Siyon, director of the provincial Department of Industry, Mines and Energy, said yesterday that the last licenced dredging company in Koh Kong – local firm Udom Seima Trading – had wound up its sand export operations over the past few weeks. The company is currently in the process of shipping a 1,000-cubic-metre sample of sand to Singapore, he said, and is awaiting word from a potential client there.

“There were two shipments today and yesterday and there will be one last shipment,” he said. “We don’t know when they will answer. There is no market now, so there is no dredging activity.” He said he did not know the Singaporean company’s name.

In May, anti-graft watchdog Global Witness reported that up to 796,000 tonnes of sand was being removed from Koh Kong each month and sent to Singapore, where it is used in construction and reclamation projects. It argued that the trade had destroyed livelihoods and threatened marine ecosystems.

At the time, Pech Siyon said that only Udom Seima was still operating, and that a joint venture by the local LYP Group and the Hong Kong-based firm Winton Enterprises – one of the main operations mentioned in the report – had been suspended pending the renewal of its licence.

A representative of Udom Seima, who did not give his name, said the company was suspending its export operations for a year because its Singaporean export quotas had “expired”.

“We are waiting for Singapore to open a new quota for export,” he said. “They have just said the quota will open this month and then that month, but so far no one has contacted us.”

Global Witness campaigner Eleanor Nichol said her organisation was not aware of any official change of policy in either country, but that any news of an export suspension was to be applauded.

“If sand exports from Koh Kong to Singapore have really been suspended, then this is great news for both the local environment and local fishermen,” she said. “We hope this suspension signifies that the Singapore government is taking the concerns raised by us ... and by others, seriously.”

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Winds of change in clean energy in Singapore

JTC, HDB looking into use of turbines to harvest waste air flow to generate electricity
Victoria Vaughan Straits Times 3 Sep 10;

WIND may still be used to generate electricity in Singapore - just not Mother Nature's breeze.

Both JTC Corporation and the Housing Board are looking into the use of vertical axis wind turbines, where the blades spin around an upright shaft.

JTC has put out a tender for two such wind turbines to harvest waste air flow from lift exhausts - openings on the roof to ensure ventilation for lift shafts - at its CleanTech One building at CleanTech Park, currently under construction near Nanyang Technological University.

Contractors are yet to be confirmed, however, and the project is considered 'highly experimental', according to a spokesman.

HDB is also looking to test out the feasibility of wind energy and has purchased a 200-watt vertical axis wind turbine - just powerful enough to light up a bedroom, for example. It is currently looking at possible locations for testing the device using both natural and generated wind.

One manufacturer is hoping this will be the start of harnessing the potential of wind generated from cooling towers, lift shafts and bathroom ventilation systems, which populate the roofs of major buildings in Singapore and throughout the region.

Mr Ong Gin Keat, chief executive of Singapore company CygnusPower, which makes these turbines, said: 'Air is coming out of (air-conditioning) chillers for 10 to 12 hours a day at shopping centres and office blocks, and for 24 hours at industry sites.

'Our turbines can recover between 20 and 30 per cent of the power from a cooling tower, which will be fed back into the building and cut down on operating costs. It's not a big wind from the North Sea but if they were on all big buildings, it could mean at least a 20 per cent recoup of electricity for Singapore,' said Mr Ong, who has partners in Japan and South Korea.

For a 1 kilowatt (kw) turbine, costing about $12,500, this could mean savings of about $57 a day for buildings operating for 12 hours, and $20,805 annually. There are also environmental benefits as a

1 kilowatt-hour unit working at 20 per cent can save nearly a tonne of carbon dioxide a year.

Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) bought a 2kw vertical axis turbine last November, which is now plugged into the grid and awaiting approval from Singapore Power - expected later this month.

Mr Chan Yew Meng, senior director at NYP's school of engineering, said: 'We have been using natural wind to power the turbine. Using scavenged wind from exhausts is an interesting concept... We are going to do research in that area. We are also looking at the best way to harvest wind, whether from one big turbine or a cluster of smaller ones.'

Singapore Polytechnic's Dr Jiang Fan, manager of the Technology Centre of Energy Conservation, however, is not convinced that using salvaged wind to drive turbines will have an effect on energy efficiency.

'If you put a wind turbine in front of an air-conditioning exhaust fan, you block the air flow. But you want to keep the air flow speed the same to maintain the temperature level, so you may have to increase the power to the air-conditioning to drive the turbine,' he said, adding that he did not have any data to prove this theory, so it was still worth researching further.

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Singapore supermarts ink more veggie deals

Tie-ups with farms here and overseas keep food supply and prices stable
Jessica Lim Straits Times 3 Sep 10;

SUPERMARKETS in Singapore are increasingly signing contracts with farms here and abroad for an assured supply of greens and meats on their shelves.

These contracts, which require farmers to supply the goods at specified quantities and prices, keep supply and prices stable for consumers here.

The number of such contract-farming deals made by supermarket chains NTUC FairPrice and Cold Storage with local and overseas farmers has jumped from five to 20 in the past three years.

Now, FairPrice is tapping a new source of greens - farms in Indonesia.

The move is in line with efforts by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) to increase imports of Indonesian vege-tables in the next three years. Its target is to raise them from 6.6 per cent of all vegetable imports to 10 per cent.

Industry experts estimate that about 10 per cent of all imported fresh produce here - mostly vegetables, some chicken and fish - is now brought in as a result of such contracts.

Yesterday, the figure went up another notch. The 99-outlet FairPrice, the largest supermarket chain here, signed a new deal with a farmer in Medan, Indonesia.

It plans to sign another deal this year, bringing to five the number of farms with which it has such contracts. Back in 2005, FairPrice had such tie-ups with only two farms.

The farm in Medan, PT Horti Jaya, is now contracted to pack and supply about 50 tonnes of vegetables a week for FairPrice, an amount the chain hopes to double in the next few years.

For a start, it will supply cai xin, xiao bai cai, bai cai, kai lan and endive.

The chain's director of integrated purchasing Tng Ah Yiam said working with the farm directly ensures a consistent supply and helps maintain quality as well.

He said: 'I don't have to worry if I can get cai xin tomorrow. I give them specifications on quality and they grow and pack it for us.'

Cold Storage now brings in more than a dozen types of produce via contract farming, mostly vegetables such as tomatoes and lettuce. Plans are under way to bring in new produce, it said.

Sheng Siong is exploring the option.

Signing such contracts also benefits the farmers and their workers.

Mr Sunario Chan, 35, owner of the 60ha PT Horti Jaya farm, produces about 65 tonnes of vegetables a week, 80 per cent of it for FairPrice.

He said: 'We grow to order and it allows me to plan ahead. I know when I sow the seeds that I'll get income in three months. It's also a stable one.'

He has hired 80 more workers just to grow vegetables for FairPrice, and pays them 35,000 rupiah (S$5.20) to 58,000 rupiah a day for tasks such as sowing seeds or packing greens for export.

AVA spokesman Goh Shih Yong said such contracts are the best way forward; they can be Singapore's bulwark against global food shortages.

Noting that the Republic imports more than 90 per cent of its food, he said: 'We're vulnerable. This will help us tackle the challenges that affect global food supply and demand in the future. It also helps with traceability.'

AVA chief executive Tan Poh Hong said it is not a matter of just increasing the number of contract-farming deals but also the number of countries where the farms are located.

'This diversifies our supply sources and leads to a resilient supply, as it enables our traders to switch quickly to alternative sources when needed,' she said.

AVA goes on missions overseas to scout for potential food sources and facilitates local importers' tie-ups with overseas farms.

FairPrice is holding an Indonesian products fair at its major outlets until Sept 15. It will feature the Pasar Indonesia range of vegetables, known to be sweeter because they are grown in rich volcanic soil and a cooler climate.

Do vegetables from different countries taste the same?
Straits Times 3 Sep 10;

The Straits Times conducted a blind taste test of five types of vegetables from various countries. All are imported and sold by supermarket chain FairPrice. The vegetable dishes being compared were eaten either raw or cooked the same way, with few additional ingredients. The panel of testers comprised food and beverage consultant Violet Oon, 60, and nutritionist Louisa Zhang, 62.

LETTUCE (RAW)

FROM TIANJIN, CHINA

# Brand/price: Oasis China Lettuce, $1.40 a head

# Verdict: Very flavourful and crisp with a delicate texture. Best eaten in salads or sandwiches.

FROM CALIFORNIA, THE UNITED STATES

# Brand/price: US Iceberg Lettuce, $1.60 a head

# Verdict: Bland and tasteless. Has a rough texture. Best used with tastier foods like sandwich fillings.

FROM MEDAN, INDONESIA

# Brand/price: Frsharvest Iceberg Lettuce, $1.40 a head

# Verdict: Sweeter than the other two. It has a rougher texture.

TOMATOES (RAW)

FROM CAMERON HIGHLANDS, MALAYSIA

# Brand/price: No brand, $1.90 a kg

# Verdict: Sour, tangy and mono-dimensional in flavour. Less juicy. Good for steamed fish and Nonya dishes like assam fish.

FROM MEDAN, INDONESIA

# Brand/price: Frsharvest Tomato (extra large), $1.90 a kg

# Verdict: Complex in taste, juicier. Best eaten in salads or used for Italian dishes like pizza and pasta.

POTATOES (BOILED IN STOCK)

FROM SHANDONG, CHINA

# Brand/price: Holland Potato, $1.50 a kg

# Verdict: Less gluey and firm. Versatile and can be used for all sorts of dishes, from curries to baked potato recipes.

FROM IDAHO/WASHINGTON, THE UNITED STATES

# Brand/price: US Russet Potato, $1.60 for five

# Verdict: Softer with a creamy taste. It cooks faster than the other two. Best when eaten mashed or roasted. It is too soft for curries and would crumble.

FROM NORTH SUMATRA, INDONESIA

# Brand/price: Brastagi Granola Potato, $2 a kg

# Verdict: More gluey and firm. Best used for curries and stews because it will not fall apart.

CABBAGE (BOILED IN STOCK)

FROM SHANDONG, CHINA

# Brand/price: China Round Cabbage, $1.10 a kg

# Verdict: Bland and crisp. Sweet when cooked. It has a more intense green colour. Best used in soups and for dishes like lontong and coleslaw.

FROM MEDAN, INDONESIA

# Brand/price: Brastagi Cabbage, $1 a kg

# Verdict: Stronger flavour, more tasty with a rougher texture. Bitter when raw, which probably means it contains high levels of antioxidants. Best used in soups and for dishes like Hokkien mixed rice.

CHINESE CABBAGE/XIAO BAI CAI (BLANCHED)

FROM SINGAPORE

# Brand/price: Yili Farm Xiao Bai Cai, $1.35 for 400g

# Verdict: Crunchy, less fibrous, more flavourful and firm, good for stir-frying.

FROM JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA

# Brand/price: FP Taiwan Sio Peck Chye, 65 cents for 220g

# Verdict: Less fibrous, crunchy and crisp. Good for both soups and stir-fries.

FROM MEDAN, INDONESIA

# Brand/price: Pasar Xiao Bai Cai, 80 cents for 250g

# Verdict: More fibrous and sweeter than the other two. Good for soups.

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SESB studying alternative energy after coal-fired power plant let-down

Mungutan Vanar The Star 3 Sep 10;

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s power producer is studying the possibility of using alternative energy following the rejection of the Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment report for the controversial Lahad Datu coal-fired power plant.

Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd deputy chairman Datuk Bung Moktar Radin said several possibilities were being studied for alternative power generation to meet the state’s needs.

He said a Japanese company had proposed to regulate the power in the east coast of Sabah through a system using batteries.

“SESB is studying the system before making a decision,” he said, adding that this could help mitigate power shortage in the area.

“The state government has accepted the Department of Environment’s decision to reject the report for the proposed 300MW coal-fired power plant project in Sinakut, Lahad Datu,” he told reporters after a function on Wednesday.

The proposed coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu had come under fire from a coalition of environmental groups in the state, arguing that the location was too close to environmentally sensitive areas like the Coral Triangle and that this could affect eco-tourism.

The coalition had even brought their objections to the Parliament in Kuala Lumpur.

The proposed plant was to meet the power shortage in the area, which was frequently subjected to outages.

Bung said SESB now needed to move ahead and look at other energy sources that would provide stable electricity supply for consumers in the state.

He said SESB was also considering a system of mini-hydro dams to be set up along the Liwagu River and upper Padas river as well as looking at an area between Sipitang and Lawas for a similar hydro facility.

However, he said locations for hydro generation had to be located along fast flowing rivers.

Read more!

Anson Wong pleads guilty to exporting snakes without permit

M. Mageswari The Star 2 Sep 10;

SEPANG: A businessman pleaded guilty at the Sessions Court here Wednesday to exporting 95 snakes without permit last week.

He posted bail on Thursday.

Wong Keng Liang, better known as Anson Wong, 52, believed to be an international wildlife trader, admitted to exporting 95 Boa Constrictor - which is endangered species - without permit at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 8.50pm on Aug 26.

The Boa constrictor is a large, heavy-bodied species of snake and variable in drawing and color. They are very adaptable and live in a number of habitats in different climates.

It is a member of the Boidae family found in Central America, South America and some islands in the Caribbean.

The snakes were found in a luggage bag while Wong was in transit from Penang to Jakarta.

Wong could be fined a maximum of RM100,000 or jailed up to seven years or both under Section 10(a) of the International Trade of Endangered Species Act 2008.

Prosecuting officer Faridz Gohim Abdullah, from Perhilitan (Wildlife and National Parks Department), applied to the court to set his bail at RM50,000 in one surety.

Sessions Court judge Zulhelmy Hasan set his bail at RM50,000 in one surety. Zulhelmy also ordered Wong to surrender his passport pending disposal of the case.

The judge set Sept 6 for mention pending appointment of a lawyer.

Meanwhile, Wong posted bail Thursday.

It had been reported by The Star in February that Wong had been linked to a Dec 15 seizure in the United States of various types of animals from an exotic animal outlet.

Two of the trader’s companies were found to have been supplying animals to the outlet.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) had claimed that CBS Wildlife and Sungai Rusa Wildlife, both owned by Wong, were supplying various types of animals and wildlife to US Global Exotics (USGE).

Wong pleaded guilty to trafficking in wildlife in the US and was sentenced to 71 months jail in 2000.

Man charged with animal trafficking
New Straits Times 3 Sep 10;

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian who served time in the United States nine years ago for animal trafficking, was charged with a similar offence at the Sepang magistrate’s court on Wednesday.

Anson Wong Kheng Liang, 53, was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport last week while allegedly trying to smuggle 95 boa constrictors out of the country.

He was on transit from Penang to Jakarta when Kuala Lumpur International Airport authorities spotted Anson taking a bag with a broken lock held together with a rope.

Wong was charged on Wednesday and was granted bail of RM50,000, which he could not post.

After spending a day in prison, his younger brother, Wong Kheng Fuan, bailed him out yesterday.

If convicted, Wong faces a fine of between RM100,000 and RM1 million for each animal, or seven years’ jail, or both.

His case will be fixed for mention this Monday.

Wong was arrested in Mexico City in 1998 and was extradited to the US three years later where he was sentenced to 71 months imprisonment.

Wong had pleaded guilty to 40 counts of smuggling, conspiracy, money laundering and violations of US wildlife protection laws.

It was dubbed one of the largest cases of illegal trade ever prosecuted in the US.

Malaysia Uncovers Nearly 100 Live Reptiles In Bag
Royce Cheah PlanetArk 3 Sep 10;

Malaysian airport security arrested a convicted wildlife smuggler after finding almost 100 live reptiles in his luggage, the country's Wildlife and National Parks Department said.

Anson Wong, already convicted of trafficking in wildlife in the United States, was in transit from the Malaysian island state of Penang to the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Thursday when Malaysia Airlines staff at Kuala Lumpur airport were alerted to a bag that had broken while on a conveyor belt.

The department, in a statement issued late on Saturday, said its enforcement officers found 95 boa constrictors, two rhinoceros vipers and a matamata turtle inside the luggage.

Boa constrictors are subject to regulations or a complete ban in international commercial trade as they are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

The statement said Wong would remain in detention for two days. Under Malaysian law, if found guilty, he could face seven years in jail and fines of up to 100,000 ringgit ($32,000) for each animal or both.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Wong had previously pleaded guilty to a trafficking in the United States in 2001 and was sentenced to 71 months in jail.

TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring organization, said Malaysia must "rise to the challenge" of confronting new evidence of its role as an hub for those engaged in wildlife smuggling.

"Their attempt at mocking Malaysia's legal system must be dealt with head-on," said Kanitha Krishnasamy, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Senior Programme Officer.

On Friday, Thai customs officials found a two-month-old tiger stashed in a bag filled with tiger toys which had been checked in for an international passenger flight.

(Editing by Ron Popeski)

'Lizard King' admits to smuggling 95 live snakes
Yahoo News 3 Sep 10;

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – A Malaysian wildlife trafficker has pleaded guilty to smuggling 95 endangered boa constrictors and could face up to seven years in jail, officials said Friday.

Anson Wong, 52, nicknamed the "Lizard King" and described as one of the world's most-wanted smugglers of wild animals, was arrested at the airport last week after he tried to smuggle the live snakes to neighbouring Indonesia.

The Wildlife and National Parks Department has said Wong was arrested after his luggage broke while on the conveyor belt, and airline staff later found snakes and a turtle in his bag.

He was charged in court on Wednesday under laws which prohibit the export of animal without a permit, the department's law and enforcement assistant director Rozidan Md Yasin confirmed to AFP.

He said Wong pleaded guilty to the charge and was out on bail.

Wong faces a fine of up to 100,000 ringgit (32,000 dollars) for each animal and up to seven years in prison.

Wong earned the nickname "Lizard King" for smuggling wildlife, in particular reptiles. He was reportedly sentenced to 71 months in jail in the United States in 2001 after he pleaded guilty to trafficking charges.

Despite efforts by Southeast Asian authorities to crack down on animal smuggling, the practice still persists in the region, posing a threat to several species, activists say.

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Burger King to stop buying palm oil from SMART

* Burger King joins Nestle, Unilever in delisting SMART
* Says valid concerns raised about impact on rainforest
Sunanda Creagh Reuters AlertNet 2 Sep 10;

JAKARTA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Burger King Holdings Inc , the No. 2 U.S. hamburger chain, said it would stop buying palm oil from Indonesia's PT SMART Tbk, citing concerns over environmental sustainability and rainforests.

Greenpeace has accused the palm oil giant of clearing peatland and forests with high conservation value that shelter endangered species.

Burger King is the latest in a series of big buyers, including Nestle and Unilever, to announce they would delist SMART as a supplier of palm oil, which is used in a wide variety of products ranging from make-up to chocolate.

Fast-Food Giant Cuts Ties With Sinar Mas
Jakarta Globe 2 Sep 10;

US fast food giant Burger King said on Thursday that it would no longer buy palm oil from Sinar Mas or its subsidiaries, after Greenpeace’s successful campaign against the Indonesian group’s land-clearing practices.

Burger King joins the likes of Unilever, Nestle and Kraft in shunning Sinar Mas in a move that will increase pressure on other corporate buyers of its palm oil products, such as Pizza Hut, KFC and Dunkin’ Donuts.

The news comes on the same day that Burger King, the second-largest US fast-food chain, announced that it had agreed to be bought by investment firm 3G Capital for $24 per share, or about $3.26 billion.

Indonesia is the biggest producer of palm oil, which is used in everything from biscuits to cosmetics, but environmentalists say plantations are behind deforestation blamed for habitat loss and greenhouse gas emissions.

Burger King said a recent independent audit of Sinar Mas palm oil unit Smart’s land-clearing practices — commissioned by Sinar Mas in response to the Greenpeace allegations — revealed activities “inconsistent with our corporate responsibility commitments.

“We believe the report has raised valid concerns about the sustainability practices of Sinar Mas’s palm oil production and its impact on the rainforest,” Burger King said on its Facebook page.

“As part of our … corporate responsibility program, Burger King Corp. is committed to sourcing our products from sustainable suppliers.”

It said it was looking for a new palm oil supplier for its 176 restaurants supplied by Sinar Mas.

“In addition, we are notifying our suppliers of our intent to discontinue the use of palm oil supplied by Sinar Mas in the manufacturing of our products.”

Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology has been struggling to repair its image after a Greenpeace campaign led several foreign buyers to cancel major contracts.

Greenpeace says the company is clearing high-value peat forest against Indonesian law and failing to wait for environmental studies before starting operations in sensitive areas of Borneo.

The company has acknowledged mistakes have been made in small areas, but denies it is a “forest destroyer.”

Rampant deforestation, much of it illegal, is a major reason Indonesia is the world’s third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and is driving species like Sumatran tigers to extinction.

Smart’s credibility took a blow last month when auditors Control Union Certification and BSI Group, authors of the independent verification report, complained that it had misrepresented elements of their findings.

The company had trumpeted their report as evidence that Greenpeace’s allegations were false, but the auditors said the probe’s “key findings” included that it had violated Indonesian law on forest management.

It also found that Smart had initiated operations on almost 38,000 hectares of land on Borneo before mandatory environmental studies had been completed.

Greenpeace welcomed Burger King’s announcement.

Greenpeace forest campaigner Rolf Skar wrote in a blog: “This is another blow for Sinar Mas, which had hoped its self-commissioned audit would convince corporate customers and the media that it was a sustainable company."

Smart president director Daud Dharsono has rejected any suggestion the company was trying to dodge the findings of its own audit or mislead shareholders.

Agence France-Presse

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Mangrove thieves in Selangor flee the scene

Stuart Michael The Star 3 Sep 10;

LOGGERS, boatmen and ring leaders involved in mangrove stealing at various locations off Port Klang in Selangor have vanished from the scene for fear of being detained or charged for their illegal activities.

During a recent three-week operation headed by the Selangor State Forestry Department, the team succeeded in crippling the entire mangrove-stealing operation. Five foreigners were nabbed and detained for two weeks.

Meanwhile, the state has removed and confiscated the mangrove trees that have been felled and placed at the collection areas.

State Forestry assistant director (operations and enforcement) Mohd Yussainy Md Yusop said the 30 tents had also been removed by the loggers. They have left behind some empty cooking gas tanks, clothes and other utensils.

On Aug 30, StarMetro in an exclusive report entitled “Mangrove Crooks” revealed how the mangrove thieves operate by stealing mangrove trees which led to the state Forestry Department declaring war on them.

Yussainy said the boats that used to ferry the mangrove logs were now empty and moored at the jetty.

“We will continue to conduct raids at these collection areas and the islands off Port Klang every week for the next two years to ensure a complete stop to these activities.

“There are no more foreigners staying on the island doing this job. When we first conducted the raid, they bolted and did not return to their tents.

“We have increased patrolling around these islands to ensure mangrove trees are not being felled,’’ he said.

Yussainy added that as of July 1, the state had not issued any licences to companies or individuals to cut mangrove trees in the area.

He added that the department wanted the mangrove forest to be rehabilitated.

He said it would take about 25 years for the mangrove swamp around Port Klang to rehabilitated to its original state.

“This is because the environment has been damaged by the felled mangrove trees. We will also step up conservation efforts by planting more mangrove trees in these areas,’’ he added.

State Agriculture, Natural Resources and Entrepreneurial Development Committee chairman Yaakob Sapari, who was attending a buka puasa event in Shah Alam recently, said he had received the report on this matter and urged the relevant authorities to cooperate with the State Forestry Department.

On allegations of his involvement in this issue, Yaakop denied it, saying there is no proof.

“Let the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission investigate and it will show that I am innocent,’’ he added.

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Tarzan Chameleon Found in Tarzan Forest, Near Tarzanville

Discovered on Madagascar, the new species is probably extremely rare.
Christine Dell'Amore National Geographic News 2 Sep 10;

There's a new, scalier lord of the jungle: Tarzan the chameleon.

Five-inch-long (13-centimeter-long) Calumma tarzan was found recently in a tiny patch of forest on the vast African island of Madagascar, a new study says.

The new species' name has multiple roots. For one thing, the chameleon's habitat—in what locals call the Tarzan Forest—is near the village formerly known as Tarzanville (recently renamed Ambodimeloka).

For another, the team thought naming the new species after the vine-swinging "ape man" might be a good way to "promote the conservation of this species and of course of the forest that it's living in," according to study leader Philip-Sebastian Gehring, an evolutionary biologist at the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany.

After all, "Tarzan stands for a jungle hero and fighting for protecting the forest," Gehring said.

Unique Snout Gave Tarzan Chameleon Away

The Tarzan chameleon was found on a 2009 night survey in eastern Madgascar, which lies off the east coast of mainland Africa.

Scientists immediately recognized the reptile as unique from other chameleons, due to its flat, spadelike snout, Gehring said.

Though the species' numbers are unknown, Gehring and colleagues suspect the Tarzan chameleon will be added to the ranks of critically endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

Tarzan Forest Fragmented

Rampant deforestation—which has accelerated throughout Madagascar since a 2009 political coup—has turned the chameleon's habitat into a patchwork of isolated forest fragments, some no bigger than a soccer field.

Combined, the fragments account for just about four square miles (ten square kilometers), Gehring said.

Even so, the team found up to 60 chameleons in one fragment alone, suggesting the new species can survive in the remaining pockets—and that the Tarzan chameleon could still come out swinging.

Tarzan-chameleon study published August 20 in the journal Salamandra.

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Ancient Australian reef raises hopes for coral as seas warm

Yahoo News 2 Sep 10;

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian scientists Thursday said they had discovered a sprawling ancient reef in chilly southern waters which could hold new hope for the future of coral as sea temperatures rise.

Researchers used high-resolution sonar and sophisticated drilling to find the fossil reef near a living coral site at Lord Howe Island, 600 kilometres (400 miles) off southeastern Australia -- the world's southernmost reef.

Around 20 times the size of the modern reef, the fossil site flourished between 9,000 and 7,000 years ago, before perishing, it is thought, due to an abrupt rise in sea levels linked to melting of the Antarctic ice sheet.

Lead researcher Colin Woodroffe said the discovery showed coral had once thrived in the southern waters and might do so again as climate change warms the seas, bleaching and destroying reefs further north.

"As global temperatures warm, the reefs in the tropical areas are increasingly stressed, particularly by coral bleaching, and there's been some suggestions that reefs might be able to expand further towards the poles but not much evidence of that," Woodroffe told AFP.

"Our evidence here is that indeed there was a reef, at this limit, that was much more extensive, and that does look quite promising in terms of the opportunity for the reef to expand again."

Woodroffe, from the University of Wollongong, south of Sydney, said the research showed corals may be able to recolonise south as more tropical habitats became hostile and find "refuge" in reefs usually considered too deep for coral growth.

His team will next take their search 26 kilometres south of Lord Howe Island to Ball's Pyramid, a volcanic remnant that juts spectacularly from the ocean, to see if there was a similar reef there and explore why the fossil reef had perished.

"We'd like to interpret why it is that that reef gave up in the past, (it's) just a hypothesis at this stage that it was the speed of sea-level rise," he said.

"But it may be related to temperature changes in the past as well, that's an alternative hypothesis."

Scientists say corals are vital to marine life because they provide habitats for a vast variety of creatures and absorb large levels of poisonous carbon dioxide.

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