Winners at the Asian Environmental Journalism Awards 2013
from Green Business Times
Thu, 24 Oct 2013, 3.00pm @ CR1: Grace Blackham on “Ecological degradation and recovery in tropical peatland ecosystem” from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS
Collaboration with the Government rather than confrontation is the key to successful activism, says Mr Louis Ng, 35. The founder of animal rights group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres)- which recently earned an honourable mention in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's speech to the public service - tells Tessa Wong his cause is much thornier than people think.
Straits Times 19 Oct 13;
What do you think of advocacy in Singapore?
Whenever I go for overseas conferences and (tell people) I'm an activist from Singapore, they always joke: "There is no activism in Singapore."
In the Western world they are taught to speak up, voice their concerns, and to question. But Asians are taught not to question. We accept what the teacher tells us, we are always taught to respect our elders.
That mindset has led us to a very silent activism here, where very few people dare to speak up. But I think it's growing now in Singapore, with Gen Y starting to speak up. I also think that if you take the Western brand of advocacy to say, Asia or Singapore, that would backfire. Asians generally don't like aggression. We try to collaborate a bit more than confront.
If you start doing protests outside some of these groups that exploit animals, it would backfire at this point. If you look at what Acres is trying to achieve and how we are doing it, we always back up what we say with good science. So we don't just say dolphins suffer in captivity, we publish a whole report citing scientific evidence on why we came up with this view.
How does this approach inform Acres' interactions with the Government?
The Government doesn't like confrontation, they are more into collaboration and partnerships. Obviously that is a very fair approach, but what Acres tries to do differently is that we do criticise the Government, but we always offer an alternative.
One example is the wildlife rescues we do. It was reported in the media (that) someone called (the police) about a python on the road. And the police responded by killing the python.
Yes, we could have gone on record and say: "It's really bad, the police don't know what they're doing. Why would you kill a non-venomous animal that would probably go away?"
Or we could approach them and say: "Acres is here, we have the expertise on how to handle pythons, we understand you have limited resources, so let us help you handle the pythons." Which is what is happening now. When you call the police for wildlife rescue, they now forward the call to Acres.
So there is now a win-win. The police can focus on proper crime issues, Acres can help the animal, and the animal benefits because we run on a no-kill policy.
The other approach, which is to just keep slamming the police... I think that always backfires, where you push the Government to one corner and you idealistically expect them to change. I don't think it's realistic at this point.
Some might see your approach as "selling out". How would you respond to such criticism?
I have had that feedback. I do help out with (Law and Foreign Affairs) Minister K. Shanmugam, he's seen at a lot of our events, a lot of people have said: "You are selling out, you are now with the Government."
I now sit on a lot of government-formed committees on animal welfare, and sometimes I do defend the Government's policies. Is that a sell-out? I don't think so. Because I do openly criticise when I personally don't agree with it.
The key is how we approach the issue and how we can try to collaborate to form a win-win solution. If we always form a very combative, very negative approach, then it's human instinct to be defensive. But if we can achieve a state where we can criticise and yet sit down at the same table and talk it out and find a solution, then that obviously is ideal.
But do you think Acres has also benefited from the fact that, of all the issues this Government can move on, animal rights is one of the easiest? Other issues such as manpower, or the preservation of Bukit Brown, can be thornier.
I don't think so. It's a thornier issue actually because for a lot of the animal issues, we are really talking about humans changing their behaviour. For example, when dealing with monkeys, we need people to change. If you buy a residence next to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, we now want you to take steps to change your lifestyle, and that is always the hardest part.
A lot of MPs tell us that their residents say: "Why should I change, I paid millions of dollars for this house, now you want me to mesh up, lock up my bins?" Singapore is a very intolerant society now.
In terms of ministers or politicians taking a lead on animal welfare, that's a bigger step than a lot of other issues, say manpower, where you are not really calling for a lifestyle change.
With Singapore's rapid urbanisation, how do you think we can strike a balance between the needs of humans and needs of animals?
If you look at the recent Population White Paper, a lot more land is going to be developed in Singapore, and obviously there is going to be a lot more human-wildlife conflict here in the coming years as the population grows.
We need to have a look at how we can co-exist with these animals, not just wild animals that Acres is focused on but also dogs and cats. Look at how other countries are doing it.
I go to Laos once a month, there are dogs walking on the street in packs... Most of us who have been to Bangkok, you see dogs everywhere. You go to Egypt and you go to the mall and there are cats walking around, you go to the market you see cats on the carpets they are selling. I ask them: "You don't mind?" No, because they are part of the community.
So as we progress this fast, we cannot forget about being a gracious society, which is not just being gracious to our neighbours and family and friends, but also to animals.
But living with packs of animals roaming around might be a difficult concept for Singaporeans to accept. How could you convince them?
It's a false perception that Singaporeans are not convinced. Because in all the surveys that have been done , Singaporeans are convinced, the overwhelming majority has said: "Look, we don't want to kill (them), we want more measures in place to prevent the culling of the animals."
But we fall into this misconception because there is a very vocal minority. They are calling AVA (Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority), MPs and community centres repeatedly.
At the same time, we are saying we are here to do something to help animals and residents, and with that approach, residents know we are not trying to alienate their concerns. We are trying to address both and find a win-win solution.
Woodlands, Lentor, Mayflower stations and Mandai depot civil construction contracts worth S$1b awarded by LTA
Today Online 18 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE — Four civil contracts worth S$1 billion have been awarded by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for three Thomson Line stations — namely Woodlands, Lentor and Mayflower stations — as well as Thomson Line’s Mandai depot, the agency announced today (Oct 18).
The Woodlands station contract has been awarded to GS Engineering & Construction. The South Korean firm is also involved in the construction for other stations, such as River Valley and Tampines East stations. When completed, Woodlands station will serve as the interchange between Thomson Line and North-South Line.
The Lentor station contract has been awarded to China Railway No 5 Engineering (Singapore branch). Its parent company has contributed to constructing roads, railways and other public works across China.
The Mayflower station contract has been awarded to Gammon Construction Singapore Branch (GPL). GPL has contributed to other LTA projects, and is currently involved in Downtown Line’s Chinatown station.
These stations will serve to connect the Thomson Line to the North-South and Circle Lines through Woodlands and Caldecott stations respectively to improve connectivity for commuters working and residing in Woodlands, Lentor, Thomson and Ang Mo Kio, said the LTA. They will also serve as Civil Defence shelters.
In addition to the various Thomson Line stations, LTA also awarded the construction of Thomson Line’s Mandai Depot to Jurong Primewide. The company is currently involved in constructing the depot for Tuas West Extension.
Construction works are expected to start by the first quarter of next year. The Woodlands interchange station and Mandai depot are scheduled to be completed in the year 2019 while Lentor and Mayflower stations are scheduled to be completed in 2020.
Fully underground, Thomson Line comprises 22 stations, including six interchange stations: Woodlands, Caldecott, Stevens, Orchard, Outram Park and Marina Bay.
4 Thomson Line contracts awarded
Work on 3 stations, a train depot to begin next year
Daryl Chin Straits Times 19 Oct 13;
MORE than a billion dollars' worth of contracts has been awarded by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to four companies for the construction of three stations and a train depot for the upcoming Thomson MRT Line.
Work on the new Woodlands, Lentor and Mayflower stations, as well as the Mandai depot, is expected to begin in the first quarter of next year, according to a LTA statement released yesterday.
The Woodlands interchange station and Mandai depot are set to be completed in 2019, with the Lentor and Mayflower stations following a year later. South Korean firm GS Engineering and Construction Corp, which is also building the Hillview, Cashew, River Valley and Tampines East stations on the Downtown Line, won the Woodlands tender for $292 million.
Located next to Woodlands Civic Centre, the new station will be connected to the existing Woodlands MRT station on the North-South Line.
The $247 million contract for Lentor station, along Lentor Drive and near Ang Mo Kio Thye Hua Kwan Hospital, went to China Railway No. 5 Engineering Group. The firm is a subsidiary of China Railway Group, the largest integrated railway construction contractor in China, which has built highways and other infrastructure across the country.
Mayflower station, sited next to Kebun Baru community centre along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4, will be constructed by the local arm of Hong Kong-based Gammon Construction, which is also involved in the Boon Lay Extension Trackwork and upgrading of Woodsville Interchange in Serangoon.
The $329 million contract for the Mandai depot, located along the Seletar Expressway, was awarded to Jurong Primewide, a local company that was also behind the first MRT Tuas West Extension.
The LTA said that when completed, the three stations on the 30km Thomson Line, which will double up as civil defence shelters, will make it more convenient for those residing in Woodlands, Lentor, Thomson and Ang Mo Kio to commute to the Central Business District as well as Marina Bay area developments.
Commuters heading from Woodlands South to Gardens by the Bay, for instance, are expected to shave around 25 minutes off travelling time, as a direct train ride will take only 45 minutes.
Comprising 22 stations in all, the $18 billion Thomson line will run fully underground.
URA chairman Peter Ho considers Boston the epitome of a resilient city. It re-invented itself three times between the 16th and 21st centuries. -- PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
Cheong Suk-Wai Straits Times 19 Oct 13;
THE true test of how ready a city is to tackle all threats is how well it operates in storms as well as in sunny conditions.
Urban resilience has long been the desired goal for urban planners and city dwellers alike.
Now, such resilience is a must-have because deep-pocket corporations and investors are saying they want to move their assets only to cities that will not be shaken easily by sudden or prolonged shocks, whether they are flash floods, smog or a dearth of younger skilled workers.
That's according to global government and education chief Jeffrey Rhoda of technology giant IBM, the company that has long been a champion of the idea of smart cities.
In fact, Mr Rhoda said, the United Nations' new International Strategy for Disaster Reduction secretariat will soon introduce a resilience scorecard to assess how well cities respond to serious stresses such as a thick wind-blown haze or continued mining that strips nutrients from land inhabited by 1.5 billion people.
He said it was now no longer enough to be a smart city or one brimming with bright people, big-name universities and spanking-new systems to capture and crunch data on patterns of urban life. "Investors are looking beyond skills and education to really resilient cities," Mr Rhoda told delegates on Thursday at the Future of Urban Living meet here.
The day-long powwow was organised jointly by the Ministry of National Development's Centre for Liveable Cities and the Eisenhower Fellowships chapter in Singapore. Its president is Ms Lim Soo Hoon, the permanent secretary for performance in the Ministry of Finance.
The trick is knowing exactly when and how to strengthen a city against new threats, said Mr Jordan Schwartz, the World Bank's Singapore-based manager for infrastructure policy.
Mr Schwartz noted that responding decisively to uncertainty needed intuition and experience. He likened it to his 10-year-old daughter, who knew exactly when to jump into the middle of two skipping ropes being held and swung in opposite directions by her two friends.
Mr Schwartz was speaking in a pre-recorded video after being recalled to the United States before the start of the conference.
He added: "That is how a city must function today - understand the moving parts of any situation and jump in at the right point. But urban planners want to be able to predict and replicate things. So they turn to models."
But life was not static like modelling, which is about thinking up scenarios and predicting their likely outcomes.
He suggested that urban planners should instead test their ideas by taking "slices of the system", that is, observe how everyone in their city responded to crises and formulate policies based on those real-life experiences.
In the meantime, Mr Schwartz suggested three ways in which city planners could improve resilience.
The first involves stopping urban sprawl. People used to think that crowding people into cities meant poor living conditions. But Mr Schwartz noted that the increasingly popular view today was that the wealthy and talented loved living in cities. This was why money, jobs and information brokers were now concentrated there.
So city planners should encourage many uses for a single plot of land, including mixed developments. "The opposite of density is not rural bliss, but a widening of the carbon footprint and the loss of economies of scale," he pointed out.
The second way to improve resilience, Mr Schwartz said, is to invest heavily in improving public transportation networks. This is because transport delivers the single largest boost to health and happiness by enabling commuters to get to and from work quickly and smoothly.
His final suggestion: monitor the climate more closely. Mr Schwartz urged urban planners to develop a better understanding of why and how local climates may change, and design their urbanscapes for their most extreme instances.
Fellow speaker Peter Ho, the former chief of the Civil Service here, said the sporadic crises that cities face more often these days were "wicked problems", a complex problem with no easy solutions. Indeed, different stakeholders may have very different views on what the solution should be.
Mr Ho, who now chairs the Urban Redevelopment Authority and is senior adviser to resilience think-tank the Centre for Strategic Futures here, considered Boston in the United States the epitome of a resilient city. It re-invented itself three times between the 16th and 21st centuries.
Citing urban economist Edward Glaeser, Mr Ho noted how Boston started out as a busy port and centre for learning in the 1600s but was eclipsed in the mid-1800s by the port of Philadelphia. Boston surged again during the Industrial Revolution, but sank during the Great Depression.
It got its third wind in the 1990s, transforming itself into a global information hub. "Boston teaches us that nothing is forever," Mr Ho mused.
Mr Rhoda said that at least one mainstay of smart cities, that is, electronic sensors, would help cities be more resilient in future.
Noting that there were now more cheap, top-quality sensors "than grains of rice", he said that sensors would help everyone detect and deal with threats much quicker.
The Star 19 Oct 13;
KOTA KINABALU: Year 2013 has been a record of sorts for Sabah because for the first time in perhaps 50 years, no short-term logging or Form I licences have been issued in forest reserves.
This was part of a deliberate policy to bring down timber harvesting volumes in natural forests to sustainable levels through various measures, said State Forestry Department director Datuk Sam Mannan.
Other steps taken included the phasing out and elimination of short -term logging licences, introduction of reduced impact logging since 2009 with third party and independent auditing.
Mannan said this when responding to queries from various groups on the sharp decline in the state’s forest revenue over the past several years. He added that Sabah’s totally protected areas had been increased by some 60% over the past 10 years and now constitute about 20% of the state’s land mass.
There were now about 1.35 million hectares of protected areas compared to just 840,000ha in 2004.
“Our long-term plan is to create two million hectares of protected areas, or 30% of Sabah’s land mass,” he said.
The increase in protected areas has corresponded with a decline in revenue from the states forests.
Some 1.2 million cubic metres or some 30% of the states total timber production were sourced from forest plantations in 2011.
On loss of revenue due to leakage, he said there is no denying that leakages did occur either deliberately or due to technicalities, and even outright abuse.
IUCN 17 Oct 13;
Two high-seas areas in the Southern Indian Ocean have been added to the network of zones that are closed to deepwater trawling by a fishing industry group, making it the largest such enclosure in the world – IUCN and the Southern Indian Ocean Deepwater Fishers Association (SIODFA) announced today.
Together with the 11 areas that were voluntarily closed to fishing by SIODFA in 2006, the new closures will help protect and conserve the so-called “benthic zone” – the area at the bottom of the sea – and its associated biodiversity. The combined zones cover an area approximately the size of Norway.
“By putting in place self-imposed restrictions with the aim to maintain unsubsidized, profitable and environmentally-sustainable fisheries, SIODFA is setting international best practice for responsible deep-sea fishery management,” says Carl Gustaf Lundin, Director of the IUCN Global Marine and Polar Programme. “We hope that others will follow this example, recognizing how important it is to protect and sustainably use marine resources.”
The two areas now closed to fishing include the Banana Seafloor Feature – an isolated rocky feature off the coast of Madagascar – and a part of the Middle of What seamount of the South West Indian Ridge. These seafloor features are home to coldwater corals and sponges, as well as commercially important fish species, such as alfonsino and the orange roughy. They are often hotspots of marine life and support globally significant biodiversity. Sharks, tuna, marine mammals and seabirds congregate over seamounts to feed.
“By making these areas unavailable to fishing, SIODFA members hope to contribute to the protection and management of their rich and fragile resources,” says Graham Patchell, Chief Scientist of SIODFA.
Bottom trawling can cause significant damage to deep-sea communities which grow and reproduce slowly. The orange roughy, for example, becomes sexually mature at 30-40 years of age and coral reefs are believed to take hundreds, or even thousands of years to recover from physical damage. Indiscriminate fishing has damaged sea-floor fauna in the past.
Formed in 2006, SIODFA is committed to biologically-sustainable and economically-viable commercial fishing operations in the Southern Indian Ocean. Its members include Austral Fisheries Pty Ltd, (Perth, Australia), Kanai Fisheries Ltd (Hokkaido, Japan) Sealord Group (Nelson, New Zealand) and ORAFCO (Jersey, U.K.).
Kathy Xu speaks about shark conservation @ NUS, 25th Oct 2013: 11am from Otterman speaks
Terminalia subspathulata
from lekowala!
Weaving through Bidadari ( Muslim Cemetery )
from Rojak Librarian
Boat operators say location hard to reach, lacks appeal of Clifford Pier
Walter Sim Straits Times 18 Oct 13;
IT HAS been seven years since the iconic Clifford Pier ceased its ferry services.
But boat operators, who have since moved to Marina South, still reminisce about the good old days in the heart of the Central Business District, where business was better and life was more convenient.
Mr Chua Meng Chuan, the owner of CKL Motor Boat, believes the new pier lacks the appeal of Clifford Pier, which was renowned for its art deco facade.
''Marina South Pier is not a tourist attraction. We do not get many walk-in customers,'' said the 58-year-old, who has been in the family business for over 40 years.
He took over from his father, who was a pioneering entrepreneur when Clifford Pier, fondly referred to as Ang Teng Beh Tao (red lamp pier in Hokkien) due to the lights used to direct sea vessels, first opened in 1933.
In the early days, the bustling pier was a landing point for immigrants. It was also where goods made their way in and out of Singapore, and the departure point for tourists who wanted to visit the Southern Islands.
After a 73-year run, the pier was closed on March 31, 2006, to make way for the construction of other Marina Bay projects, such as the Barrage. The building, conserved by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, has been converted into the Fullerton Bay Hotel.
On the other hand, the three-storey Marina South Pier, which opened on April 1 the same year, is a testament to modernity, with a roof built to look like waves. It houses the $5 million Singapore Maritime Gallery, which was opened last September and showcases maritime achievements in Singapore. Admission to the 1,000 sq m museum, run by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, is free.
Also moored at the pier is a riverboat modelled after the steamers which once travelled the Mississippi River in the US. The Stewords Riverboat, which used to be owned by the A&W fast-food franchise in the 1990s and was originally anchored at Sentosa, hosts two restaurants.
Despite this, the crowds are no longer coming like they did at Clifford Pier. Businesses say that tourist numbers are dwindling, while private charters to the Southern Islands is ''practically non-existent''.
Instead, they stay afloat by offering ferry services to commercial vessels and arranging charters for school excursions to the Southern Islands and Pulau Semakau to visit the landfill. Increasingly, they also work with funeral parlours to take grieving families out to sea to scatter the ashes of the departed.
''People used to be able to walk to Clifford Pier from nearby attractions such as the Merlion and Lau Pa Sat,'' said 64-year-old Michael Goh, operation executive of Singapore Island Cruise & Ferry Services, the only one running regular scheduled ferry trips to Kusu and St John's islands.
He explained how at least 80 per cent of customers in the past were tourists. ''Seeing the boats, they sometimes think it would be a good idea to charter one to head out to the Southern Islands for a quick tour,'' he said.
During the Kusu pilgrimage in the ninth lunar month, which this year runs from Oct 5 to Nov 2, trips to St John's are halted to free up boats. Even so, numbers have been dwindling. There were 47,000 pilgrims last year, down from 77,000 in 2007 and more than 136,000 in 2001.
Stewords Riverboat owner Eric Saw, 62, said that he stopped lunchtime operations a year ago because ''no one came''. He relies on hosting more private functions to ''make up for the difference''.
Business for Watertours, which runs cruises aboard the Cheng Ho, a replica of a Ming Dynasty imperial vessel, has also suffered after moving to Marina South. Operation supervisor Effa Edros, 37, said business is sustained by bookings from hotels, as it cannot rely on walk-ins. ''On some days we have no bookings at all,'' she said.
The reason for the lack of interest?
Businesses blame a lack of public transport to the area and the ''never-ending construction''. Only one bus - SBS Service 402 - connects the pier to Marina Bay MRT. Usually it takes 25 minutes between buses, although the frequency increases to every 10 minutes during the peak Kusu pilgrimage season.
With fewer than 50 spaces, parking for cars is also limited.
Boat operators also lament the lack of meal options, the unavailability of automated teller machines, and an ''impractical'' design which sees the indoor parts of the pier getting wet during rainstorms.
Mr Henry Lim, 58, who has been with boat operator Leng Launches for 38 years, revealed that until an eatery opened two weeks ago there, employees had to make the lengthy trek to the city for lunch.
''We cannot afford to eat at the restaurants every day,'' added Mr Toh Beng Chuan, 65, a boat operator of 51 years, referring to the outlets on the riverboat. ''We used to have places such as Lau Pa Sat and Golden Shoe Market nearby when we were at Clifford.''
Businesses are now pinning their hopes on new transport developments, including an MRT station on the pier's doorstep, to bring back the crowds.
The Marina South Pier MRT is slated to open next year as part of the North South Line extension.
Meanwhile, the Marina Coastal Expressway is also scheduled to open by year-end.
''This is hard to predict, but of course, we hope with their opening the situation will be better,'' said Mr Lim.
One thing will not change however. The organisation serving the interests of the 17 boat operators in Marina South will continue to be known as the Singapore Clifford Pier Motor Boat Association.
Said CKL Motor's Mr Chua, who is the association's secretary: ''It is always good that we have something to hold onto.''
Environmental innovation can lead to commercial advantage, says Tharman
Grace Chua Straits Times 18 Oct 13;
INNOVATIVE companies can avoid sacrificing environmental friendliness for commercial success, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said yesterday.
He was speaking at the opening of sustainable packaging firm Greenpac's new 18,000 sq m premises in Boon Lay.
Greenpac produces packaging for high-tech, delicate equipment like large surgical microscopes but with less reliance on materials like styrofoam, cardboard and wood than other companies. This is not only environmentally friendly but also saves clients shipping costs by cutting packaging weight and size. Some of the packaging is also reusable.
Few firms, conscious of their bottom line, will look only for green products, said chief executive Susan Chong. "But if you give (clients) a (lower) price with green products as a bonus... everybody will want to buy from you."
Over a decade, she has turned the one-woman start-up into a firm with more than 30 staff and a turnover of $70 million a year "while showing that companies can get commercial advantage through environmental value", said Mr Tharman.
In fact, he added, innovation of any sort - environmental or otherwise - can be an advantage. "SMEs (small to medium enterprises) can do well through innovation with all the support the Government is providing," he said.
He added that the Government has several schemes to help such businesses improve technology and efficiency while there are also industrial parks like Tukang Innovation Park, where Greenpac is based, at which specialised firms can share services and collaborate.
Greenpac's $20 million "Green Factory" also features natural skylights, 454 kilowatt-peak (kwp) of solar panels and a rainwater harvesting system that waters a roof garden.
Ms Chong added that the company also plans to calculate the carbon footprint of its products.
Singapore's first "green" factory embraces environmentally friendly practices
Monica Kotwani Channel NewsAsia 17 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE: Greenhub -- Singapore's first "green" factory -- was officially opened on Thursday by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Greenhub's nondescript exterior belies the effort and the attention to detail that has gone into Singapore's first green factory.
The factory embraces environmentally friendly processes all the way from its construction down to its daily operations.
Its self-tinting windows act as a natural cooler, regulating excess sunlight and heat.
There are also solar panels on the rooftop which help offset the office space's annual energy consumption of 160,000 kilowatt-hours per year.
The excess electricity generated is sold off to Singapore Power.
It is also the first industrial building in Singapore to quantify its carbon footprint during the construction phase.
This was in collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, a research institute under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research.
This allows it to benchmark itself against industry norms and to keep the footprint low.
Greenhub is owned by Greenpac, a company that offers redesigned packaging solutions that encourage environmental sustainability.
For example, the crates that the company uses to transport their packages are made from processed wood sourced from ecologically sustainable forests.
Light and reusable, these crates help to reduce freight charges as well as saving the environment in terms of less fossil fuel consumption during the export process.
"We are constantly looking at waste management and upstream - how we can use less and generate less waste," said Greenpac CEO Susan Chong.
She said the company also looks at using the right sustainable material so that it will have lesser challenges in disposing the waste.
"That is probably more effective than just waste management," she said.
At its opening on Thursday, Mr Tharman said Greenpac has transformed itself from a one-person start up 10 years ago into a thriving company with an annual turnover of S$70 million.
Mr Tharman said: "You've done it in a way which shows how many other companies can get commercial advantage through environmental value, through environmental protection as a commercial strategy but the core of it is innovation. That's what Greenpac is about."
"Our SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) can do well through innovation with all the support that the government is providing," he added.
The $20-million building is located close to Boon Lay. It houses Greenpac's warehouse and office space in its 18,000 square metre premises.
- CNA/fa
Melissa Chong Channel NewsAsia 17 Oct 13;
SINGAPORE: Environmental issues, from haze to typhoons, have dominated the news lately.
The journalists behind those stories were recognised at this year's Asian Environmental Journalism Awards on Thursday.
A total of 84 nominations poured in from the region -- a threefold increase from 2012.
The final 13 winners were top journalists, bloggers, news organisations and photographers from 14 countries, including China, India and Malaysia.
They reported on pressing environmental issues in Asia -- from elephant conservation to droughts.
The judges included Member of Parliament Lee Bee Wah, Satwant Kaur from the United Nations Environment Programme and Nominated Member of Parliament Nicholas Fang.
The award hopes to raise the standard of environmental reporting in Asia, recognising journalists who report on truthful, well-researched and pressing environmental issues.
The Singapore Environment Council, which organised the awards, said it hopes to make it the most prestigious environmental journalism award in Asia.
Bagging a merit award in the City Developments Limited (CDL) Environmental Journalist of the Year was MediaCorp's Today senior reporter Neo Chai Chin, who impressed judges with her fresh angle on transboundary haze.
She said: "I went to several communities, villages in Jambi and Riau, basically to get a different perspective of the haze and how it's affecting people on the ground, who are that much closer to the burning than us in Singapore.
"I hope readers get to see a bigger picture of the haze -- it's not just the air that we breathe… we're part of the bigger world out there."
South China Morning Post journalist Jing Li, who was the winner of the CDL Environmental Journalist of the Year, said: "There are some under-reported stories that are happening. Not in the city, but in the village.
"The cancer village I visited recently in April was shrouded in pollution from the nearby chemical industrial compound.
"Lots of people there are getting cancer. Most of the patients just pass away after one or two years. They don't even know how to protect themselves and fight for their rights."
The Environmental Story of the Year, sponsored by Coca-Cola, went to Stella Paul from the Inter Press Services for her account on how drought pushes rural Indian women into the city sex trade.
Two new award categories were introduced this year -- the Environmental Blogger of the Year and CITIC Telecom International Environmental Photograph of the Year. These went to Kavitha Rao and Sridhara KS respectively, both from India.
- CNA/ec
TODAY among winners of awards given for best Asian environmental journalism
Kenneth Cheng Today Online 18 OCt 13;
SINGAPORE — During the haze crisis in June, she ventured, not once, but twice to the hazardous fire zone in Indonesia to get to the bottom of the story. Her perseverance paid off at the 2nd Asian Environmental Journalism Awards (AEJA) yesterday, where TODAY senior reporter Neo Chai Chin clinched the Merit Award under the CDL Environmental Journalist of the Year category.
Pioneered by the Singapore Environment Council last year, the AEJA recognises exceptional works in environmental journalism in Asia.
The South China Morning Post’s Jing Li received the CDL Environmental Journalist of the Year award.
Her story on the emergence of “cancer villages” highlighted a public concern over the link between pollution and the rising incidence of cancer. In these villages, cancer is widespread and its people suspect it has to do with the pollution from nearby petrochemical plants.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim said the recent haze was an example of how environmental journalists were pivotal in helping Singaporeans make sense of the crisis.
“Environmental journalists play an essential role, by providing timely information and well-researched perspectives on environmental issues and creating a ‘green’ consciousness throughout society,” he said.
Other merit winners from Singapore included photojournalist Douglas Ho from Singapore Press Holdings, sustainable-business website Eco-Business.com, and environment blogger and consultant Eugene Tay.
At the height of the haze crisis, Ms Neo, 31, flew out to Riau in Indonesia — where the highest numbers of hot spots were detected — to cover the issue.
She returned a week later and travelled to Jambi, also a smog-hit province, to look at sustainable farming methods used by farmers there in reducing the number of hot spots.
The experience, Ms Neo said, counts as some of the most memorable she has had as a journalist.
“Smoky air notwithstanding, it felt right to be close to ‘ground zero’, where the burning was taking place. It was definitely different from reporting from Singapore,” she said.
Her reporting stood out and resonated with the panel of judges.
“Her coverage of the haze went over and beyond what many were doing,” said Mr Jose Raymond, Executive Director of the Singapore Environment Council and an AEJA judge.
In other categories, Ms Stella Paul from India, who works for Inter Press Services, bagged the Coca-Cola Environmental Story of the Year.
The Guardian’s Kavitha Rao from India was named Environmental Blogger of the Year, while Sridhara KS netted the CITIC Telecom International Environmental Photograph of the Year.
The Lee Foundation Excellence in Environmental Reporting by a Media Organisation award went to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Ruben Sario The Star 17 Oct 13;
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah environmental groups are concerned over reports that a scrapped proposed coal-fired power plant project in the state’s east coast is being re-looked at.
The groups including Green Sabah Unite to Re-Power the Future (SURF) want the government to stick to its decision to abandon plans for a coal-fired plant in the state. Green SURF includes various NGOs such as Partners in Community Organisations (PACOS).
According to PACOS executive director Anne Lasimbang, authorities should instead push ahead with a 300mW gas-fired power plant in Lahad Datu.
Lasimbang said a statement by Deputy Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Mahdzir Khalid last month that authorities were considering at reintroducing the coal-fired plant project to boost electricity supply in Sabah was worrying.
Lasimbang said the Federal Government made a commitment in safeguarding Sabah’s environment and health of the people when it cancelled the coal-fired power plant project in Feb 2011.
She said authorities should instead focus on tapping the widely available renewable energy options such as biomass and biogas.
Lasimbang said this was recently reaffirmed by Natural Resource Deputy Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit who said that utility firm Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) could consider biogas to generate power.
Dawos had said that there was a huge opportunity for the production of biogas in Sabah due to the presence of palm oil mills.
Lasimbang said Green SURF was seeking a meeting with Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili on the government’s seriousness at reviving the scrapped coal plant project.
She added that countries are moving away from dirty fuel, and that it was a waste of time to discuss about a coal plant for Sabah again.
Vento Saudale Jakarta Globe 17 Oct 13;
A rare Javan leopard has been caught alive by a conservation team in Sukabumi, West Java, after residents reported that the animal had been seen wandering around the outskirts of their village.
A team from the Indonesian Wildlife Conservation Forum (Foksi) at Taman Safari Indonesia caught the critically endangered animal last week. Residents had earlier reported seeing the leopard near Girimukti village, in Ciemas subdistrict, and the team caught the animal to prevent it from being killed.
Locals suspected the big cat had been preying on livestock.
“In the past few weeks I have been communicating with some of the residents to prevent the Javan leopard from getting killed,” Hendra, one of the team members, told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.
He said he and his team began honing in on the leopard’s whereabouts on Friday by following its footprints and droppings. The team then placed two cages in the area, baiting the cages with live goats to trap the leopard.
“Last Saturday night, the villagers heard some noise and they suspected the leopard had entered the cage to prey on the livestock,” Hendra said.
The team estimated the male leopard to be between 8 and 9 years old and to weigh about 45 to 50 kilograms. The leopard was taken away by the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) along with local officials, and was brought to Taman Safari zoo in Cisarua, Bogor.
Earlier this month, a Javan leopard was shot dead after it invaded a house in a village in the East Java district of Lumajang and attacked three officials who were attempting to capture it.
The leopard, believed to be from the forest-covered slopes of nearby Mount Semeru, ran into the house in Sumber village after being spotted and subsequently chased down by local residents who were attempting to drive it away, according to Taman Safari Indonesia director Tony Sumampauw.
The big cat invaded a house belonging to Mulyadi, who immediately fled along with his family. The villagers asked for help from the local authorities, and a team from Taman Safari II in Prigen, East Java, was sent to capture the animal.
When the team arrived, they found a crowd surrounding Mulyadi’s house and immediately launched efforts to check on the animal.
As they opened the door to take a look at the leopard, it attacked two officials from Taman Safari and a police officer. Another police officer then immediately shot the animal.
The three officials attacked by the leopard sustained minor injuries and were treated at a hospital.
The Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas) is a leopard subspecies that exists in the wild only on Java.
It has been classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2008, with the population estimated to be less than 250 mature individuals. It is protected under Indonesian law.
Javan Leopard Dies in Its Cage After Surgery
Jakarta Globe 22 Oct 13;
A Javan leopard freed by conservationists from a wild-boar trap in the Kuta Agung village of Cilacap, Central Java, died on Friday last week in its isolation cage in the Serulingmas Recreational Park in Banjarnegara, Central Java. It was undergoing medical treatment by veterinarians for several weeks.
Banjarnegara Culture and Tourism Office chief Achmad Aziz said the animal immediately received intensive treatment after being freed from the trap by staff of the Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) in Central Java.
“It had undergone three surgeries to heal the wounds it sustained from the trap. However, because the leopard had made lots of movements [subsequently], the stitches reopened,” he said. “It is possible that the wounds got infected and eventually caused the leopard to die on Friday.”
Separately, Central Java BKSDA chief Chrystanto said the animal will be buried in the park.
“The leopard has actually been operated and it took 100 stitches because of a serious wound on the stomach. The leopard is a protected animal and its numbers are very limited,” Chrystanto said.
He added that there have been several cases in which leopards were found wandering outside their habitat in Central Java, such as in the district of Jepara.
“That is why we will immediately put together an action plan to rescue leopards with other related entities,” he said.
The death of the Javan leopard came shortly after Taman Safari Indonesia zoo’s animal rescue unit, together with the Wild Animal Conservation Forum captured a male Javan leopard found roaming around a residential area in the Ciangsana village of Sukabumi, West Java.
Residents had earlier reported seeing the leopard near Girimukti village, in Ciemas subdistrict, and the team caught the animal to prevent it from being killed.
The Javan leopard is said by conservationists to be one of the rarest and most endangered species in the world.
A 2008 census by the International Union for Conservation of Nature showed that there were only an estimated 250 Javan leopards remaining in the wild.
However, according to a report by Tempo.co, not all of the leopards captured or killed so far were wild animals. Several captures in recent years suggest the animals had owners, but that they may have been set free deliberately.
According to Anton Ario of Conservation International Indonesia, the pet leopards were found wandering around West Java’s Sukabumi and Kuningan districts.
In Sukabumi, a pet Javan leopard was shot to death when it entered the National Police’s education complex in 2010.
“We found out from the autopsy results that there was plastic in its belly,” Anton said, as quoted by Tempo.co.
Anton said another pet leopard was also found in the Kuningan district of West Java and suspected to belong to a local dangdut singer.
In 2012, the animal was captured alive using a tranquilizer gun after being cornered in a resident’s henhouse. It was subsequently moved to the Cikembulan Animal Park in Garut, West Java.
Conflicts between the endangered animal and humans have continued to surface in recent years, raising public concerns.
“Contact between Javan leopards and humans today can easily occur, the main reason being the clearing of forest areas for plantations and farms,” Hendra W., a representative from the Taman Safari Indonesia zoo’s animal rescue unit in West Java, said last week , as quoted by Kompas.com.
In another incident, a Javan leopard was shot dead after entering a house in Lumajang, East Java.
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