Best of our wild blogs: 22 Nov 12

Night Dive at Pulau Hantu
from Pulau Hantu

The Lock and Key of Spiders
from Macro Photography in Singapore

Finger-licking food
from The annotated budak

Postcards on positive interaction with our wild animals
from wild shores of singapore

Dragonfly (37) – Chalybeothemis fluviatilis
from Dragonflies & Damselflies of Singapore

Random Gallery - Common Palm Dart
from Butterflies of Singapore

Red-necked Stints in a feeding frenzy
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Investigating food web and trophic interactions in Singapore’s reservoirs, a seminar by Liew Jia Huan (Friday 30 Nov 2012, 10 AM, DBS Conference Room) from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS

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Water quality unaffected by foam escape

Straits Times Forum 22 Nov 12;

PUB, the national water agency, and the National Environment Agency (NEA) thank Mr Roy Kee for his letter ("Foam escape not a laughing matter"; last Friday). We concur with Mr Kee's concern for the quality of water in our waterways.

PUB has a comprehensive routine monitoring system for our water supply.

As Pang Sua Canal drains into Kranji Reservoir, additional laboratory tests were also conducted every day following the incident to test for a range of organic and inorganic compounds present in the reservoir water. The results confirmed that the raw water quality in the reservoir was within the normal range.

To protect the environment and public health, the NEA regulates the use of hazardous chemicals in Singapore to ensure their safe use and handling.

The detergent that flowed into the canal during the fire incident was a substance known as alkyl polyglucoside, which is made from plant-based oils (glucose derived from corn, and fatty alcohols from coconut and palm kernel oils). Alkyl polyglucoside is non-toxic and ultimately biodegrades into environmentally harmless compounds - carbon dioxide and water - within days. It does not contain any hazardous chemicals.

The PUB assures the public that this incident did not affect the water quality in Kranji Reservoir. Moreover, raw water in all our reservoirs is treated at the waterworks to World Health Organisation drinking water quality guidelines before it is supplied to households. We must collectively continue to be extremely vigilant about protecting the quality of our water supply.

Tan Nguan Sen
Director, Catchment & Waterways Department
PUB

Fong Peng Keong
Director, Pollution Control Department
National Environment Agency

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Taiwan urged to offer complete protection to more shark species

Focus Taiwan 21 Nov 12;

Taipei, Nov. 21 (CNA) The capture of 23 rarely seen large sharks off Taiwan's coast over the past decade has prompted local animal protection groups to urge the government to extend the existing ban on catching whale sharks to cover more shark species.

Chen Yu-min, a director of the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan, said at a news conference Wednesday that the accidental catching of a pregnant great white shark Nov. 14 off Taitung County on Taiwan's eastern coast has drawn international concern.

The shark, carrying nine pups, was sold for NT$185,000 (US$6,374.50), with one shark pup kept as a specimen and the remaining eight discarded, Chen said.

Speaking on the same occasion, Hu Yi-min, an instructor at National Chiao Tung University, said that in South Africa, a single shark can generate an average US$100,000 in tourism revenue per year.

"It's deplorable that in Taiwan, a great white shark carrying nine pups was killed and one of her pups made into a specimen before it was even born," Hu said, adding that the incident has prompted Internet users from around the world to leave messages on Facebook pages of the Global Shark Conservation Initiative and the Australian Anti-Shark Finning Alliance to push Taiwan to improve its shark protection measures.

Like the whale shark, the great white and the basking shark have been listed on Appendix II of the Washington Convention CITES as endangered species in which international trade is prohibited, Chen said.

While Taiwan has prohibited fishing, domestic trading, possession, import and export of whale sharks since 2007, it has not implemented such an across-the-board ban on great whites or basking sharks.

Under current regulations, violators of the whale shark fishing ban face jail terms of up to three years plus a maximum fine of NT$150,000.

The Fisheries Administration under the Council of Agriculture even offers a financial incentive of NT$30,000 (US$1,027) for anyone who accidentally catches a whale shark and hands it over for scientific study through electronic tagging.

"We hope the Fisheries Administration will offer similar protection for great white sharks, basking sharks and megamouth sharks," Chen said.

In response, Chou Ching-ho, a Fisheries Administration official, said the government already forbids exports of any of the three shark species mentioned by Chen, in accordance with the CITES stipulation.

As for whether to bar domestic trade in those shark species, Chou said further studies, including obtaining the opinions of local fishermen, will be needed before any decision can be made.

"The economic value of the three shark species is not high and we'll discuss with fishing industry representatives whether to ban domestic trade involving them," Chou said.

According to Chou, it took many years for his agency to prepare for the ban on whale shark fishing ban.

(By Yang Shu-min and Sofia Wu)

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Why a global climate treaty remains worth fighting for

Governments, businesses and civil society have much to gain from a spirit of determination within the international community
Yvo de Boer guardian.co.uk 21 Nov 12;

Progress towards an international agreement on tackling climate change has been painfully slow, dogged by fundamental disagreements between the countries involved and exacerbated by the financial crisis. Little is expected of the upcoming COP 18 meeting in Doha – so is it time to abandon the idea of a climate treaty altogether? Why not give up and focus on national and regional efforts to tackle climate change?

After all, negotiating a global deal is a slow, frustrating business. Not only is climate science constantly evolving, but the 194 countries that will meet in Doha often have diametrically opposed interests and points of view. Blocking progress is ridiculously easy.

Many of the differences between countries revolve around the concept of historic responsibility. This is the idea that industrialised countries got rich on the back of emitting greenhouse gases so they should act first, and developing countries should be allowed to develop before being called upon to limit their own emissions.

The lack of commitment from much of the industrialised world to accept this burden has contributed to a certain obstructiveness among developing countries. The rich countries are not just reluctant to pay to tackle climate change in poorer countries – they are unwilling to commit resources at home as well. Pre-occupied by the financial crisis, most countries have not seen tackling climate change as something that is in their national interest.

Nonetheless, a global deal remains worth fighting for. Governments, businesses and civil society all have much to gain, for four key reasons.

The biggest benefit would be for the very national and regional efforts mentioned above. A global deal and would bring a robustness and a consistency to climate policies in individual countries. The Montreal protocol tackling ozone-depleting chemicals, signed 25 years ago, is a case in point. While countries can make changes on their own, acting together can be much more effective.

A more consistent policy framework would bring a second benefit. With a legally binding global agreement in place, businesses and investors will know that the direction of travel is not going to change regardless of day-to-day events. Only then will they have the clarity and security they need to make the long-term technology investments that can tackle climate change. Making the wrong assumptions because long-term policies are unclear can lead to costly mistakes in the form of stranded assets, particularly in the field of energy.

Thirdly, a global agreement would create transparency, allowing the efforts of one country to be measured against another and helping to ensure that tackling climate change in one place does not simply move harmful activities to other countries.

Finally, it would also bring an element of standardisation so that all countries would know they are fighting the same battle under the same rules. It would also mean that compliance with these rules would be overseen by civil society groups that could hold parties to account and ensure that countries deliver on their obligations.

The impacts of climate change have started to become clearer in developing and developed countries alike. Many governments are starting to recognise that, it is in their interests to act now, regardless of who is responsible for historic emissions and who is to pay for reducing future emissions. The increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events like superstorm Sandy in the US is beginning to bring the issues into sharper focus for many.

And progress is being made. After the 2009 climate change talks in Copenhagen, countries responsible for more than 80% of global emissions developed targets to cut or limit the growth of their emissions. The ambitions for last year's meeting in Durban were low, yet it produced major achievements. These included kick-starting the $100bn per year green climate fund and setting in train a second commitment period for the Kyoto protocol.

More importantly, though, the Durban meeting also started the international community down the road of all nations working together subject to one legally binding instrument to cut emissions. And crucially, this outcome was evidence of a new spirit of determination within the international community, with delegates refusing to close the conference until an agreement was signed.

But for the agreement to succeed, the benefits of green growth need to be clearer to everyone. Political consensus is important to building a strategy that will survive electoral changes, but the business community must also play a central role. The private sector is going to do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to green growth, so it is important that it makes the case effectively for low-carbon investments.

While it's important that all countries are committed to action to cut emissions and that those actions should be real, measurable and verifiable, it's also clear that many countries will need help from the international community to do so. That help should be subject to the same stringent accountability requirements as the emissions-cutting actions themselves. The best way to achieve this is through an international treaty – yet another reason that such a treaty is worth fighting for at Doha this year.

• Yvo de Boer is special global adviser, KPMG Climate Change and Sustainability, and the former executive secretary of the UN climate secretariat

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UN says carbon cuts too slow to curb dangerous warming

Matt McGrath BBC World Service 21 Nov 12;

A report by the UN says global attempts to curb emissions of CO2 are falling well short of what is needed to stem dangerous climate change.

The UN's Environment Programme says greenhouse gases are 14% above where they need to be in 2020 for temperature rises this century to remain below 2C.

The authors say this target is still technically achievable.

But the opportunity is likely to be lost without swift action by governments, they argue.

Negotiators will meet in Doha, Qatar for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP18) next week to resume talks aimed at securing a global deal on climate by 2015.

The Emissions Gap Report 2012 has been compiled by 55 scientists from 20 countries. It says that without action greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will be the equivalent 58 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide per year by 2020.

That's around 14 gigatonnes above the level that scientists have said is needed to keep temperature rises this century below the targeted level of 2C.

Even if the most ambitious pledges from countries to cut emissions are honoured, the gap is likely to be eight gigatonnes, an increase of two gigatonnes on last year's estimates.

"Eight is a big number," says Dr Joseph Alcamo, chief scientist of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), "that's about the total greenhouse gas emissions of the entire industrial sector in the whole world right now."

The United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) says the increase in the levels of emissions in this year's report is due to projected economic growth in some developing countries and the removal of some emissions cuts that were counted twice.

"The report provides a sobering assessment of the gulf between ambition and reality," says Achim Steiner, the executive director of Unep.

Mr Steiner says that bridging the gap remains technically possible from large reductions in power generation and transport.

The report also highlights examples of relatively inexpensive actions that have been effective in curbing emissions at national level. These include higher performance standards for vehicles and appliances, and economic incentives to reduce deforestation. Many of these actions have been taken for economic reasons but are having the added benefit of reducing emissions.

Lead author, Dr Monica Araya says it is crucial that this approach continues.

"If we want politicians to endorse these policies they have to be able to go out there and sell them on the basis of the benefits they create for their people and not just for the planet."
Critical talks

The report is meant to inform negotiators at the COP18 climate meeting that begins in Doha next week.

According to Christiana Figueres, who will lead the talks on behalf of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, it should help governments identify how ambitions can be raised.

"It is a reminder that time is running out but that the technical means and the policy tools to allow the world to stay below a maximum 2C are still available to governments and societies," she said.

The UNEP report follows on from a new analysis by the World Meteorological Organisation that says the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2011. It suggests that CO2 has now reached concentrations of 390.9 parts per million, or 140% of the pre-industrial levels of 280ppm.

The impact of these gases has been significant, says the WMO, causing a 30% increase of the warming effect on the climate between 1990 and 2011.

Swift action needed to tackle widening emissions gap: U.N.
Nina Chestney PlanetArk 22 Nov 12;

Greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 could be between 8 billion and 13 billion metric tonnes (14.33 billion tons) above what is needed to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius, a United Nations' Environment Program (UNEP) report showed on Wednesday.

The annual report, prepared by UNEP and the European Climate Foundation, studied a range of estimates to assess whether current pledges for emissions cuts are enough to limit the worst effects of climate change.

It found the gap between countries' emissions cut pledges and what is needed to stay under what scientists say is the limit to avoid devastating effects from global warming has widened since last year's estimate of 6-11 billion tonnes due to higher-than-expected economic growth and other new data.

The World Bank warned this week that the world is likely to warm by 3-4 degrees by the end of the century and extreme weather will become the "new normal", affecting every region in the world.

Scientists say emissions will have to peak before 2020 and fall to around 44 billion tonnes (gigatonnes) by 2020 to have a good chance of limiting temperature rise to below 2 degrees.

Based on 2010 data, global emissions are estimated around 50 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) - 20 percent higher than 2000 emissions and 14 percent above the level needed in 2020 to stay under 2 degrees, UNEP said.

"If no swift action is taken by nations emissions are likely to be at 58 gigatonnes in eight years' time," the report said.

"Even if the most ambitious level of pledges and commitments were implemented by all countries and under the strictest set of rules, there will now be a gap of 8 billion tonnes of CO2e by 2020," the report added.

TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE TO CLOSE EMISSIONS GAP

In 2010, countries agreed to limit temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels but many countries have failed to enact emissions cuts to back up their promises.

U.N. scenarios indicate that cuts of 25 to 40 percent are needed to limit temperature rise.

Delegates from over 190 countries will meet in Doha, Qatar, next week for a U.N. conference to work on emissions cuts under a new climate pact which will only come into force in 2020.

If the necessary emissions cuts are delayed, costs could be at least 10 to 15 percent higher after 2020, the UNEP warned.

Estimates vary on the cost of inaction on climate change but it is projected to reach trillions of dollars.

If current emissions pledges are increased, more ambitious cuts are brought to the table and stricter accounting rules adopted, it is still technically feasible to close the emissions gap but swift action was needed, UNEP said.

Emissions could be reduced by around 17 billion tonnes from the building, power generation and transport sectors by 2020.

"Yet the sobering fact remains that a transition to a low- carbon, inclusive green economy is happening far too slowly and the opportunity for meeting the 44 billion metric tonne target is narrowing annually," said Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director and U.N. Under-Secretary General.

In response to the report, U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres said that although time was running out, technical and policy tools were still available to allow the world to stay below 2 degrees.

"Governments meeting in Doha now need to urgently implement existing decisions which will allow for a swifter transition towards a low-carbon and resilient world," she said.

Environmental campaign group Greenpeace said coal use has caused over two thirds of the rise in CO2 emissions and that governments must speed up the deployment of clean energy.

The UNEP report involved 55 scientists from 22 countries.

(Editing by Keiron Henderson and James Jukwey)

Developing nations push rich on climate targets ahead of talks
Stian Reklev PlanetArk 22 Nov 12;

Talks on a new climate change treaty in Qatar next week will not advance unless rich countries promise more ambitious cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, four major developing nations said.

The four nations, Brazil, China, India and South Africa -known in climate talks as the BASIC bloc - released a joint ministerial statement late on Tuesday saying responsibility for the outcome of the latest round of U.N. climate talks in Doha lay in the hands of rich countries.

"Ministers reaffirmed that the Kyoto Protocol remains a key component of the international climate regime and that its second commitment period is the key deliverable for Doha, and the essential basis for ambition within the regime," they said.

They added that rich nations must produce more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which fall far short of what scientists say are needed to avoid runaway climate change.

The Kyoto Protocol, the only international treaty to set legally binding targets on cutting greenhouse emissions, expires at the end of the year. Around 30 European nations and Australia have signaled they are ready to take on new targets.

But major emitters such as Canada, Japan, Russia and the United States will not take part, saying the U.N. pact will have no environmental impact until it imposes similar targets on large developing nations, including China and India.

China and India are the world's biggest and third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, respectively.

A report released this week by the World Resources Institute, a U.S. think tank, showed two-thirds of the world's planned coal-fired power plants will be built in China and India, ensuring their carbon output will continue to soar.

Developed countries are keen to begin negotiations on a new treaty to cap emissions from all countries.

At last year's U.N. climate talks in Durban, negotiators agreed that such a deal must be reached by 2015 at the latest, and go into force in 2020.

But the BASIC countries said even a new treaty should be negotiated along the same principles as the current U.N. climate convention, keeping a division between rich and poor nations.

The Kyoto Protocol states that countries are bound by the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities", which puts most of the burden for combating climate change in the hands of rich nations with larger historical rates of emissions.

"The Durban Platform is by no means a process to negotiate a new regime, nor to renegotiate, rewrite or reinterpret the Convention and its principles and provisions," they said, signaling they will not accept the same treatment as rich countries in any new treaty.

The statement shows the developing nations are concerned about the pace of the negotiations, said Li Yan, a climate campaigner with Greenpeace China.

"Big developing countries, especially China, will need some time to do its homework and think of what it can do," she said.

(Editing by David Stanway and Ron Popeski)

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Best of our wild blogs: 21 Nov 12

Sylvia & Zipper the rescued common palm civets
from Life of a common palm civet in Singapore

Unspottable
from The annotated budak

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Indonesia: Sumatran tiger poaching remains high

Antara 20 Nov 12;

Jambi (ANTARA News) - The poaching of Sumatran tiger in Kerinci Seblat National Park, Jambi, remains high as 120 tiger meshes to trap the large cat species were found and secured by the National Park Board.

Head of Area II Kerinci Seblat National Park Board (TNKS), Dian Rusdianto said the tiger meshes were set by poachers to trap the tigers so that they could illegaly sell the animals.

The traps, however, not only pose serious threat for the Sumatran tigers population but also other protected animals in the national park, Rusdianto who is also a field director of Sumatran tiger preservation program (PHS) in TNKS said.

"We have sent three suspects of tiger poaching for legal process. Two of them are village heads in Merangin and a civilian," Dian Rusdianto said here Tuesday.

The Kerinci Seblat has the most sumatran tiger population than other national parks in Indonesia. Data from 2011 census shows there are 165 tigers live in the national park.

However, the threats come not only from the poaching and illegal traps. The 1.4 million-hectares national park is threatened by encroachment of the protected forest area.

Thus, the natural habitat of Sumatran tigers and the other protected animals, including the tigers` prey, is diminishing.

However, sumatran tigers could survive better than the javanese one-horned rhinoceros in term of diminishing habitat.

"Actually, the most important thing is to preserve the tigers` preys as the big cat can breed in almost every (environment) condition provided the preys are still available and preserved," Rusdianto said, adding that the one-horned rhino, in other hand, needed a naturally preserved habitat to breed.

The shrinking natural habitat would also lead to conflicts between human and animal. "There are some conflicts between tigers or even bears and human. Those might be caused by the damaged natural ecosystem," Rusdianto said.

(A059)

Editor: Maryati

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Yangtze River expedition points to decline of endangered finless porpoise

WWF 20 Nov 12;

Yichang, China -- Scientists from a research expedition that is looking to find out how many finless porpoises now live in the Yangtze have spotted 10 individuals in a 630km section of the river, fewer than detected in the area during a similar study six years ago.

A combination of visual and sonar identification are being used to guarantee the independence and accuracy of the findings, according to the expedition team, which docked near the city of Yichang Monday afternoon.

Initial results suggest a drop in the population of the world’s only freshwater finless porpoise but the results are pending until late next month when the evaluation is finalized.

"We have spotted 10 finless porpoises from Wuhan to Yichang, the first leg of the survey, mainly in the lower reaches of the Honghu section, upper reaches of the Dongting estuary, upper and lower reaches of the river near Jianli county and the section adjacent to Gong'an county, with few discoveries elsewhere," said Wang Kexiong, deputy head of the research expedition and an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB).

Shipping traffic, infrastructure to blame for population decline

The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis), which numbers between 1,200 to 1,500 in the wild, lives mainly in the central and lower reaches of the 6300km Yangtze River and two large adjoining lakes, Dongting and Poyang.

Estimates from the 2006 survey say that the finless porpoise is expected to decline to around 200 by 2035 - Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List – but more recent studies say that the species could become extinct in 15 years if nothing is done to protect them.

Scientists on the expedition point to the growth of commercial shipping traffic and the construction of dams and other large-scale infrastructure projects as some of the major reasons behind the decline of the rare species.

“In order to study human impacts on finless porpoises in a scientific and comprehensive manner, we will count the number of cargo and fishing ships in the Yangtze from Yichang to Shanghai to evaluate the pressure posed by shipping and fishery activities on the endangered species," said Zhang Xinqiao, expedition team member and WWF finless porpoise programme officer.

The expedition team, which first set sail on 11 November, is scheduled to depart Yichang for Wuhan on 20 November, travelling along the Yangtze through the provinces of Anhui, Jiangxi, and Jiangsu to Shanghai, wrapping up the voyage in late-December when the first research report is to be published.

Led by China's Ministry of Agriculture and organized by the IHB, WWF and Wuhan Baiji Dolphin Conservation Fund, the expedition comes only six years after the Baiji dolphin - another rare cetacean and close relative of the finless porpoise - was declared functionally extinct.

"Statistics will be finalized after we take into consideration the validity of calculation, density of distribution, width of the river, sailing length and areas covered," said Wang Kexiong from the IHB.

Shipping, overfishing pushing Yangtze finless porpoise towards extinction
WWF 28 Nov 12;

Wuhan, China – The number of endangered finless porpoise spotted in an ongoing research expedition along the Wuhan-Yichang section of the Yangtze River has declined drastically with growing evidence pointing to impact of shipping and overfishing pushing the rare animal towards extinction, scientists on the expedition say.

The survey team has visually identified 39 individuals of the Yangtze finless porpoise – endangered on the IUCN Red List – during the 1,252km round-trip voyage on Wuhan-Yichang-Wuhan section of the river.

"Based on visual and sonar identification, the number of the Yangtze finless porpoises we've spotted is about one-third of the detected in the area during a similar study six years ago," said Wang Kexiong, deputy head of the research expedition and an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB).

Most of the 39 finless porpoises were spotted in the waters close to the Yanshou Dam, near the city of Yichang, Gong'an county, Chenglingji and Luoshan.

The distribution became concentrated and its location moved up stream compared to results in 2006, when the majority of discoveries were made across a wider area.

"The changes could be attributed to the comparatively gentle flow and rich fishery resources in waters near Yanshou Dam and Gong'an," said Wang.

The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis), which numbers between 1,200 to 1,500 in the wild, lives mainly in the central and lower reaches of the 6300km Yangtze River and two large adjoining lakes, Dongting and Poyang. Recent studies say that the species could become extinct in 15 years if nothing is done to protect them.

The expedition team is due to depart Wednesday for Shanghai before heading back to Wuhan late next month when the initial results of the research are expected to be announced.

Calculation of the number of cargo and fishing ships in the Yangtze started from Yichang onward to evaluate the pressure posed by shipping and fishery activities on the endangered species.

"Shipping traffic and fishing activities can cast an influence on the survival of the Yangtze finless porpoises. The relatively concentrated distribution and fixed location could possibly result from excessively busy shipping traffic in certain sections of the river that may have severed route of communication of the porpoises," said Zhang Xinqiao, expedition team member and WWF finless porpoise programme officer.

For instance, in the waters off Shijitou in Xianning and Hannan district of Wuhan that have the busiest traffic of fishing and cargo shipping so far, little traces of porpoises were detected, said Zhang.

A total of 80 fishery boats and 697 cargo ships were counted by the team from Yichang-Wuhan. Twenty-seven cargo ships were calculated within 30 minutes in the waters off the Hannan district of Wuhan, while the number in Shijitou stood at six.

Led by China's Ministry of Agriculture and organized by the IHB, WWF and Wuhan Baiji Dolphin Conservation Fund, the expedition commenced on November 11 and comes only six years after the Baiji dolphin - another rare cetacean and close relative of the finless porpoise - was declared functionally extinct.

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Global investors call for action on serious climate danger

David Fogarty PlanetArk 21 Nov 12;

A coalition of the world's largest investors called on governments on Tuesday to ramp up action on climate change and boost clean-energy investment or risk trillions of dollars in investments and disruption to economies.

In an open letter, the alliance of institutional investors, responsible for managing $22.5 trillion in assets, said rapidly growing greenhouse gas emissions and more extreme weather were increasing investment risks globally.

The group called for dialogue between investors and governments to overhaul climate and energy policies.

The call comes less than a week before major U.N. climate talks in Doha, Qatar. Almost 200 nations will meet in Doha from November 26 to December 7 to try to extend the Kyoto Protocol, the existing plan for curbing greenhouse gas emissions by developed nations that runs to the end of 2012.

On Sunday, the World Bank said current climate policies meant the world was heading for a warming of up to 4 degrees Celsius by 2100. That will trigger deadly heat waves and droughts, cut food stocks and drive up sea levels.

"Current policies are insufficient to avert serious and dangerous impacts from climate change," said the group of investors from the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia.

The investments and retirement savings of millions of people were being jeopardized because governments were delaying tougher emissions cuts or more generous support for greener energy.

The group said the right policies would prompt institutional investors to significantly increase investments in cleaner energy and energy efficiency, citing existing policies that have unleashed billions of dollars of renewable energy investment in China, the United States and Europe.

But many economies were still going to be heavily reliant on polluting fossil fuels such as coal, and policies needed to be implemented to speed up the shift to cleaner energy, the investors said.

They issued seven action points, including slashing fossil fuel subsidies and boosting carbon markets, for governments to focus on and said the re-election of Barack Obama in the United States and the leadership change in China were an opportunity to push for tougher climate talks.

"Strong carbon-reducing government policies are an urgent imperative," said Chris Davis, director of investor programs at Ceres, a U.S.-based coalition of investors and green groups.

"Hurricane Sandy, which caused more than $50 billion in economic losses, is typical of what we can expect if no action is taken and warming trends continue," said Davis, who also works for the Investor Network on Climate Risk, which groups 100 institutional investors with assets of more than $11 trillion.

(Editing by Robert Birsel)

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Natural resources can affect value of sovereign bonds - UNEP

Nina Chestney PlanetArk 20 Nov 12;

Countries' natural resources should be considered when assessing sovereign credit risk as their worth can affect the underlying value of sovereign bonds, the United Nations' Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Monday.

Pressures on nations from the overuse and scarcity of water, food, forests and minerals, coupled with the effects of climate change, are currently mostly left out of models used to set sovereign credit ratings.

"Commodity markets, food prices and food and resource security are becoming increasingly volatile, exacerbated by climate change-caused weather extremes and uncertainty," UNEP said in a study.

"Raters, investors and governments alike will therefore need to not only become more aware of the repercussions of these trends on a country's economy but also better able to assess the impact of these risks within sovereign credit risk assessment."

Demand for natural resources exceeds the world's ability to provide them by one and a half times. Many countries find they cannot provide resources from within their own borders, import bills rise and there is fierce competition for resources.

"Bonds are not shielded from the impact of resource constraints and environmental degradation," UNEP said.

"Together with increasing volatility in commodity prices and human consumption of natural resources, these issues are gradually being recognized as having the potential to affect the risk profile of bonds."

Sovereign bonds - securities issued by governments to raise money on capital markets - account for more than 40 percent of the global bond market. At the end of 2010, outstanding sovereign debt equaled $41 trillion.

Traditionally, they have been considered a reliable and risk-free investment by fund managers but in the past two years that view has been challenged as Europe's sovereign debt crisis took hold and helped deepen the global economic downturn.

As a result, some investors see a need to understand wider emerging risks in bond markets, such as environmental factors.

The report analyzed the risks associated with five countries - Brazil, France, India, Japan and Turkey.

"We tried to find a direct link between the net resource- rich (countries) and sovereign credit risk," Ivo Mulder, programme officer at UNEP Finance Initiative, told Reuters.

"In terms of resource balance and trade-related risk, Japan comes out as more vulnerable than the other four countries. In terms of degradation of natural capital, India and Turkey are the most prone to those risks."

UNEP found that in the short-term - a period of up to five years - a 10 percent change in commodity prices could alter a country's trade balance by between 0.2 to 0.5 percent of gross domestic product.

Over five to 10 years, a 10 percent cut in the productive capacity of renewables and natural resources could lead to a reduction in the trade balance of between 1 and over 4 percent of a nation's GDP.

Sovereign wealth and pension funds can help drive the move to more comprehensive risk frameworks by requesting rating agencies to account for environmental risks, UNEP said.

This could prompt changes to accounting standards in both countries and companies.

(Editing by Catherine Evans)

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Best of our wild blogs: 20 Nov 12

Awesome creatures of the Northern Expedition
from wild shores of singapore

Odd combination
from The annotated budak

Ubin nature walk (10 November)
from Rojak Librarian

Yellow-Rumped Flycatcher Taking A Bath
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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Dolphins arrive at Resorts World Sentosa

Today Online 19 Nov 12;

SINGAPORE - Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) today welcomed a group of bottlenose dolphins from the Philippines.

According to RWS' Marine Life Park blog, the dolphins arrived safely under the care and supervision of RWS' experienced team of veterinarians and marine mammal specialists. As the animals acclimate to their new home, they will remain under a restricted quarantine period.

The Philippines authorities yesterday approved the export of 25 Indo-pacific bottlenose dolphins to RWS's Marine Life Park, after animal welfare groups tried to block the export of the dolphins in a court case.

"We look forward to introducing our dolphins to our Singaporean community and international guests through observation, educational and interactive opportunities," said RWS in its blog.

First batch of dolphins here at RWS
Animals now under quarantine; the rest will be arriving in groups
Straits Times 20 Nov 12;

THE first batch of dolphins have arrived at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) after it was reported that a court in the Philippines had issued export permits for them.

RWS said on its blog that the first group of bottlenose dolphins arrived yesterday afternoon at its Marine Life Park, where they will be quarantined.

The company said on the blog: "Our dolphins arrived safely from the Philippines under the professional care and supervision of our experienced team of veterinarians and marine mammal specialists."

The company's spokesman would not provide any more details, including the duration of the quarantine period or even how many dolphins are here.

The park, which is set to open by Dec 7, will eventually have 25 dolphins.

The dolphins are here despite strong protests from animal rights groups to release them back to the wild.

They had been kept at a facility in Subic Bay in the Philippines since 2008 while the Marine Life Park was being constructed.

The protests escalated into a court case last month after the groups, including the Earth Island Institute, Philippine Animal Welfare Society and the Compassion and Responsibility Philippines, filed a suit alleging that it was illegal to export the dolphins.

Last month, a court in Quezon City denied a petition by the animal welfare groups to stop the dolphins' export.

And on Sunday, the Philippine Star reported that the Department of Agriculture had issued the export permit.

It was not clear when the permit was issued.

RWS' spokesman said the rest of the dolphins will be arriving in groups. They will then be introduced slowly to their new home.

The public will be able to see them only next year.

NG KAI LING

Singapore gets dolphins after tussle with activists
(AFP) Google News 20 Nov 12;

SINGAPORE — A first batch of dolphins has arrived at a new oceanarium in Singapore after activists failed to have the animals' transfer from the Philippines blocked, officials said Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Marine Life Park, part of the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino, told AFP that the bottlenose dolphins had arrived on Monday and were under quarantine. He declined to disclose how many animals had been transported.

The resort acquired 27 dolphins from the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific between 2008 and 2009. Two of them died and the remaining 25 have since been kept in the Philippines pending their transfer to Singapore.

Animal rights activists in the Philippines last month filed a civil suit to stop the animals being transported to Singapore, saying that their capture violated an international treaty on the trade of endangered animals and plants.

While a court in the Philippines initially agreed to a temporary ban on exporting the dolphins, another court later overturned it.

A Singapore-based animals rights group has also opposed the inclusion of the dolphins in the marine mark, saying catching them from the Solomon Islands is detrimental to the survival of the species there.

A picture on the park's blog on Tuesday showed four bottlenose dolphins "undergoing acclimatisation in their new residence".

When all the dolphins are ready, they will be housed at the park's twin attractions: the S.E.A Aquarium and Adventure Cove Waterpark.

The aquarium is touted as the world's largest with 100,000 marine animals spanning over 800 species in 45 million litres (12 million gallons) of water, while the water park features slides and wave pools in addition to marine life.

The park is set to open to the public on Thursday but the dolphin attraction will only be ready next year.

RWS' Marine Life Park opens tomorrow
Sentosa will have two underwater attractions with park's opening
Ng Kai Ling Straits Times 21 Nov 12;

SENTOSA will be host to two underwater attractions when Resorts World Sentosa opens its Marine Life Park tomorrow.

RWS' oceanarium - billed as the world's largest with 100,000 animals spread over 8ha - is sited about 1.5km from the 21-year-old Underwater World.

Ticket prices are comparable - $29 for the oceanarium at Marine Life Park and $25.90 for Underwater World.

Travel agents interviewed said Underwater World will face an uphill battle to hold its own.

When Underwater World opened in 1991, it was the biggest of its kind in Asia with over 2,300 marine animals. On average, it receives about 1.5 million visitors every year.

"It's a fine attraction. However, when juxtaposed against a spanking new development like Marine Life Park, it would certainly lack that bit of lustre," said Ms Jane Chang, spokesman for Chan Brothers Travel.

Travel agents said Underwater World could remain attractive by lowering its ticket prices.

A spokesman for the Association of Singapore Attractions said that while the two attractions have the same theme, they offer different experiences.

She added that Underwater World could bring in new exhibits and have promotional packages.

Underwater World, which is run by Haw Par Corporation, could not reply by press time.

RWS' new attraction features 49 marine habitats. Visitors will go on an underwater tour of different regions starting from South- east Asia to East Africa.

Though visitors will be able to see about 40,000 animals from about 500 species at the aquarium, this is fewer than half of the intended 100,000 animals from 800 marine species that will eventually be showcased.

An "open ocean habitat" at the aquarium will bring visitors face to face with deep-ocean species such as rays, sharks, groupers and wrasses.

This habitat is the largest in the aquarium, with the biggest viewing panel measuring 36m wide and 8.3m tall. When all the animals are in this habitat, there will be more than 50,000 of them from 70 species.

Eleven hotel suites on the other side of the aquarium have floor-to-ceiling windows offering views underwater, giving guests a submarine-like experience. They cost a cool $3,000 or so a night.

The Marine Life Park comprises the S.E.A. Aquarium and Adventure Cove Waterpark, which has six water slides.

The waterpark will also open tomorrow and tickets - sold separately from the aquarium - go for $29 as well. Tickets for children and senior citizens cost $20 each.

Activities such as diving with the sharks and getting up close with dolphins at the waterpark will be available later.

The first batch of dolphins arrived on Monday from the Philippines. They are still being quarantined.

An RWS spokesman said that the well-being of its marine life is a priority.

"Depending on our team's assessment of the various habitats to introduce more marine animals, we expect our 100,000 marine residents to call Marine Life Park home by next year."

With the opening of Marine Life Park, RWS is fully operational and will hold its grand opening ceremony on Dec 7.

World's largest oceanarium opens Nov 22 at RWS
Sara Grosse Channel NewsAsia 20 Nov 12;

SINGAPORE: Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) will open the world's largest oceanarium on November 22.

The S.E.A Aquarium, which is one of the attractions of the Marine Life Park, will be home to 100,000 marine animals spanning over 800 species in 45 million litres of water.

The centrepiece of the Aquarium is the Open Ocean Habitat with a viewing panel that stands at 8.3 metres tall by 36 metres wide.

Besides schools of fish, visitors can expect to see stingrays, zebra sharks and Queensland groupers. And over time, new species will be added to the aquarium.

The 25 controversial bottlenose dolphins, which animal activists have been lobbying to release back to their natural habitat, will also call this place home. They will be on display next year to help provide a complete experience.

"Marine Life Park is more than just the dolphins. We are here to present to visitors and guests that walk through our attraction that there is a huge urgent need in the marine environment for conservation and education, and dolphins is one of the components," said Biswajit Guha, Director of Conservation & Education at the Marine Life Park.

For those who want to get wet and wild, the challenge lies at the Adventure Cove Waterpark, which has the region's first hydro-magnetic coaster and a 620-metre Adventure River.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to snorkel with thousands of fish at the Rainbow Reef.

- CNA/il

World's largest aquarium to open
Resorts World Sentosa's Marine Life Park welcomes visitors from tomorrow
Teo Xuanwei Today Online 21 Nov 12;

SINGAPORE - The Marine Life Park, the last of Resorts World Sentosa's (RWS) attractions to open, will welcome visitors starting tomorrow although they will not be able to see one of its controversial attractions - 25 bottlenose dolphins - until next year.

The first group of the dolphins arrived in RWS on Monday but will be off-limits while they acclimatise. RWS declined to specify a date visitors will be able to see them.

The attraction comprises the world's largest aquarium and a water theme park. Tickets for these two are sold separately, at S$29 for adults and S$20 for children for each attraction.

The S.E.A. Aquarium will house some 100,000 marine animals of over 800 species that come from 49 different habitats, including the tropical waters of the Strait of Karimata, which connects the South China Sea to the Java Sea, and freshwater lakes and mangroves in East Africa.

Its centrepiece is the Open Ocean habitat with over 50,000 marine animals that visitors can view through the world's largest aquarium panel (the size of two rows of three double-decker buses).

The well-heeled can enjoy the habitat away from the crowd by booking one of the 11 duplex suites with floor-to-ceiling viewing panels. Booking opens at the end of the year and rack rates are S$3,000 a night.

At the Adventure Cove Waterpark, thrillseekers can choose from six different waterslides, including the Riptide Rocket where your dinghy gets propelled through the 225m course in only 40 seconds.

Visitors can also snorkel among thousands of fishes, feed rays, or interact with sharks and dolphins.

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