Humans not on crocodiles’ menu at Sungei Buloh

Tony O'Dempsey Today Online 16 Dec 13;

The letter, “Assess threat of crocodiles at Sungei Buloh” (Dec 12), cited crocodile attacks in Australia.

While I can understand the concern for public safety, I wish to point out that the crocodiles that have taken up residence at the wetland reserve over the past several years are small in size and number.

We are not on their menu, and the risk to the public remains within acceptable limits. Sensible precautions are, however, necessary.

Visitors should not approach the crocodiles or throw sticks or stones at them and should simply back away if one encounters the animal on a trail.

This also applies to monitor lizards, otters, snakes and monkeys, all of which may be encountered at Sungei Buloh. They are capable of inflicting injury when approached or abused.

We are fortunate to have a wildlife reserve like Sungei Buloh, where the coastal habitat has been restored through good management over the past 20 years, to the extent that native animals such as otters and crocodiles are prepared to make it their home.

I have visited it several times with my grandchildren for several years now and am at ease when it comes to their safety; none of them has been eaten by a crocodile.

Crocs at nature reserve don't pose major threat
Straits Times 17 Dec 13;

AS A birdwatcher, I have been a regular visitor to the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve for well over a decade, and can confirm that the presence of estuarine or saltwater crocodiles there is neither a recent occurrence nor a secret ("Crocodile threat underplayed" by Mr Shawn Low; Forum Online, last Thursday). And at no point have the crocodiles posed a significant threat to visitors.

In fact, prominent signs warning visitors of the potential presence of crocodiles have been in place since well before my first visit to the reserve in 2001, and several more have been put up recently.

Mr Low pointed out that crocodiles have attacked humans in Queensland, Australia. It is important to understand that Sungei Buloh and Queensland are different.

The riverine habitats of Queensland are much larger and more extensive than that of Sungei Buloh, allowing the crocodiles in Queensland to grow to a much larger size and form much larger populations.

In contrast, Sungei Buloh is much smaller, which means that while the crocodiles are able to find sufficient food, their size and population are likely to remain small, thus reducing the risk of attacks.

Most crocodile attacks occur when people are in the water. In Sungei Buloh, the raised gravel paths and boardwalks ensure that visitors are kept well away from the water, thus ensuring their safety.

This is not to say there is entirely no risk. It is important to remember that crocodiles are wild animals and will defend themselves when disturbed or provoked. Visitors to the nature reserve must remain respectful and keep their distance from wild crocodiles, even as they appreciate the animals' beauty in their natural habitat.

David Tan Jian Xiong

Sungei Buloh crocodiles unlikely to be a menace
Ben Lee Today Online 19 Dec 13;

I refer to the letter, “Assess threat of crocodiles at Sungei Buloh” (Dec 12).

Over the last 50 years, many wild animals in Singapore have become extinct, due to rapid urbanisation resulting in human encroachments on nature.

As a wildlife advocate since the ’80s, I have spotted several crocodiles in various parts of Singapore during my nature explorations.

Only some of the sightings were reported in the media.

Most notably, media attention on a crocodile at Pasir Ris led to its capture, due to the danger it might have otherwise posed to picnickers and park-goers.

However, in the case of Sungei Buloh, the park is gazetted as a nature reserve, which means more protection for its flora and fauna, as well as better facilities for the public to enjoy their visits.

The crocodiles there are usually found a safe distance from the walkway. Hence, the chance of an attack is almost negligible.

The small number of crocodiles in the reserve is another reason they are unlikely to be a menace. The warning signs that have been put up help to highlight their presence to the public and reduce danger.

Singapore does not have much wildlife left.

Still, we are perhaps fortunate to be able to see animals such as the Oriental smooth-coated otter, du-gong, slow loris, leopard cat, greater mousedeer, Malayan porcupine, wild boar and the estuarine crocodile (saltwater crocodile).

The re-emergence of crocodiles in recent years is a good sign that our rich biodiversity is attracting various fauna, and not only crocodiles.

I hope the ones in Sungei Buloh will be left alone in the wild for the public to enjoy as a learning session on our bio-heritage.

Read more!

Malaysia: Second wave of floods likely to hit 3 states

Audrey Dermawan and Tharanya Arumugan New Straits Times 16 Dec 13;

WARNING: Heavy rain expected in Johor, Terengganu Pahang next week

KUALA LUMPUR: THE Malaysian Meteorological Department yesterday issued a yellow-level warning (heavy rain) for Terengganu (Dungun and Kemaman), Pahang (Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin) and Johor (Segamat and Mersing).

Its central forecast division director, Muhammad Helmi Abdullah, said the third episode of heavy rain expected to occur from Wednesday to Friday would cause a second wave of floods.

He said intermittent rain was expected and this may cause floods at low-lying areas.

"The department has predicted downpour in the three states. It is yet to be known whether there will be heavy rain in Kelantan.

"We will issue an advisory on the level of warning (yellow, orange or red) should there be heavy rain in other states.

"We advise the public to be alert and to be up-to-date with the latest developments through our website and Facebook page."

The public should heed the advice of local authorities on evacuation plans if the situation took a turn for the worse, he said.

Helmi said the downpour would coincide with the presence of the full moon on Tuesday. It would result in unusually high tides that may cause flooding.

Meanwhile, all enforcement agencies, tasked with assisting flood victims, would mobilise their assets when the time comes.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said police, Malaysian Civil Defence Department (JPAM), Rela and other agencies, such as the National Registration Department, were on standby.

He said he had spoken to the armed forces regarding the use of its high-capacity Tetra lorries.
"This time, we are better prepared. With the armed forces roped in, it will be an integrated operation," he said when commenting on preparations for the second wave of floods.

Zahid said they had also requested the use of mobile kitchens and to get JPAM volunteers to cook for victims.

Reports received by the National Security Council stated that high tides in the east coast were expected between today and Saturday.

Preparing for 2nd wave
T. N. Alagesh and Hashini Kavishtri Kannan New Straits Times 18 Dec 13;

YELLOW ALERT: Residents on east coast expecting more floods

KUALA LUMPUR: PEOPLE in the affected areas should be prepared for floods should the intensity of rainfall increase today.

This advice from the Meteorological Department added that the Yellow alert would shift to Orange, signalling the possible start of the second round of floods in the east coast.
"We can detect intensity on our radar only when the situation occurs from our observation and the meteorological stations," said weather forecast centre director Muhammad Helmi Abdullah.

"It is too early to predict how much rainfall to expect. Usually 24 to 48 hours prior to the event, the Yellow alert is set and we will maintain this based on the intensity of the rain."
The highest rainfall recorded was 300mm in a day, which occurred in two consecutive days.

Residents in Terengganu, Pahang and Johor have been advised to prepare for the second wave of heavy rain, from today until Friday. High tides and strong winds in the South China Sea were also expected during this period.

In Bandar Baru Bangi, Welfare Department director-general Datuk Norani Mohd Hashim said it was prepared for the worst based on reports the second wave of floods in the east coast was likely to begin today.

"We have replenished food and other basic supplies at 513 distribution bases and five depots nationwide."

She said more than 5,000 volunteers registered under the department would be deployed to help victims when the floods reoccur.

Norani said 30,000 flood victims had been identified for the RM500 cash aid. She said the department was updating data on those eligible for aid, and once completed, the list would be submitted to the National Security Council for the dispersion of aid.

Norani said the data update would be completed by the end of this week and the distribution of aid to follow.

"We need to make sure only those eligible receive the cash aid. We also have to be careful as one house may not be occupied by just one family but two or three families," she said after the 13th Convocation of the Bangi Industrial Training And Rehabilitation Centre for the Disabled here yesterday.

In Kuantan, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) deployed six helicopters to assist in relief and rescue efforts in the event of the second wave of floods.

Its director-general Maritime, Admiral Datuk Mohd Amdan Kurish, said the agency would station its helicopters -- three Agusta Westland 136 and three Eurocopter Dauphin -- on standby at the air operation branch in Subang to be deployed in case of floods.

"Two units will be used for the agency's routine duties, including patrolling the country's waters, and one will be deployed to flood- hit areas, if required.

"Four other helicopters will be on standby for mercy flights, humanitarian efforts, transporting aid to areas inaccessible by trucks and boats, and search and rescue operations.
"Our assets were involved in distributing aid to flood-hit areas during the first wave of floods that affected the east coast early this month.

"We will continue to work with government agencies, including police and military, to assist during the floods," he said after the passing-out parade of 53 MMEA trainee officers at the Sultan Ahmad Shah Maritime Academy in Gebeng yesterday.

Amdan said MMEA's involvement in providing logistic support in flood-stricken areas did not affect the agency's existing responsibilities in deploying its assets and personnel to patrol the country's waters.

Present yesterday was Eastern Region MMEA enforcement chief, First Admiral Datuk Nasir Adam.

Additional reporting by Fazleena Aziz

Read more!

'Every little helps' is a dangerous mantra for climate change

Plastic bag charges may seem a step forward but nudging and tweaking behaviours will never address climate change; a fundamentally different economic system is needed
Adam Corner Guardian Professional 13 Dec 13;

In 2014, England will follow the example set by Wales and Scotland and introduce a carrier bag charge. If the Welsh and Scottish experiences are anything to go by, the policy will drastically reduce the number of bags in circulation, keeping unnecessary waste out of landfill and removing a little polythene from the diet of our cities' seagulls.

Like recycling, re-using carrier bags has become something of an iconic "sustainable behaviour". But whatever else its benefits may be, it is not, in itself, an especially good way of cutting carbon. Like all simple and painless behavioural changes, its value hangs on whether it acts as a catalyst for other, more impactful, activities or support for political changes.

The evidence from Wales is not encouraging. My colleagues at Cardiff University analysed the impact of the introduction of the carrier bag charge. Although their use reduced dramatically, rates of other low-carbon behaviours among the general public remained unaffected.

To be clear: fewer plastic bags would be a small, good thing. But as a major two-day conference at the Royal Society headquarters in London this week made clear, "every little helps" is a dangerously misleading mantra when it comes to climate change.

The Radical Plan meeting featured contributions from across the physical and social sciences, as well as civil society. The organisers – Professors Kevin Anderson and Corinne Le Quere of the Tyndall Centre – posed contributors a brutally simple question: what would need to happen if we were to do more than simply pay lip service to the idea of avoiding dangerous climate change?

The answers were undeniably radical – and none mentioned re-using plastic bags.

Scientists and engineers described the unprecedented scale of energy system change necessary to decarbonise rapidly. Social scientists argued for a transformation in the way we view ourselves, our consumption, and our role in society. Economists demolished the idea that economic growth could be maintained forever in a fossil-fuel driven, finite world. Policy experts questioned whether our current carbon targets were fit for purpose.

But across almost all of the papers presented at the conference, there was an inescapable consensus: a fundamentally different economic system is required, if we are serious about avoiding dangerous climate change, based on nurturing wellbeing rather than stoking corporate profit.

This is, of course, not a new idea. But what was striking was the convergence across contributors from the breadth of the physical and social sciences. The clear message was that unrestrained capitalism is incompatible with decarbonisation: the sums simply don't add up.

Many sceptics see the issue of climate change as no more than a figleaf for ushering in a new era of socialism. The conclusions of the Radical Plan conference are unlikely to convince them otherwise. But for the vast majority of us – who say we "get" climate change, but still somehow cling on to the idea that small, incremental behavioural changes will be sufficient – the conference should be a wake-up call.

Nudging, tweaking, or cajoling people into piecemeal behavioural changes like re-using plastic bags is not a proportionate response to climate change. Engaging the public through their personal carbon footprints is really only a means to an end – and that end is a political and economic system that has sustainability as its central organising principle.

And if these sound like radical statements, unbecoming of the stately, reserved sentiments associated with the Royal Society, then consider the prospect of a world that is four or even six degrees hotter and the havoc and suffering that would be inevitable. This is also a radical choice.

Clearly, economic systems do not overhaul themselves – and in a democracy, majority support is a prerequisite for any significant societal shift. Politicians do not take risks if they don't think the electorate will support them. And civil society cannot function without a diverse supporter-base.

This means that public engagement still lies at the heart of the challenge of climate change, but it is a form of public engagement that goes way beyond plastic bags. And any public campaign that treats minor behavioural change as a valid goal in itself is also taking a radical stance: complicity in a dangerously warmer world.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 15 Dec 13

Second Planting, Twice Lucky.
from Gamefish And Aquatic Rehabiliation Society

Favourite Nectaring Plants #3
from Butterflies of Singapore

Read more!

Malaysia: Poaching gone wild

Victoria Brown The Star 13 Dec 13;

Illegal wildlife trade in Malaysia may be rampant, but we should work to plug gaps in enforcement rather than concede defeat.HUSKS being sawed off, tigers being skinned, bears kept in captivity to harvest bile, and endangered animals being eating by humans.

Wildlife poaching and trade is becoming a huge problem in Malaysia.

I spoke to the Southeast Asia regional director of wildlife protection NGO Traffic Dr Chris Shepherd and he told me that Malaysia plays an important role in the global wildlife trade.

Malaysia is not only a source of exotic wildlife to be sold off in the black market, but we are also a consumer of illegal wildlife items, and transit point for several poachers around the world.

“Tigers are being poached all over Malaysia. Malaysia is also a source for pangolins, freshwater turtles and many more, for both the domestic market and export. Sambar deers are also being poached in a serious way which is mostly used for local consumption at the local restaurants,” said Shepherd.

The illegal slaughter of these animals have already caused banteng (wild cattle) and rhinos to be extinct in Peninsular Malaysia.

“Tigers are dwindling, and that’s sad because Malaysia really has a chance to keep its tigers. We will lose them if we don’t change,” said Shepherd.

Shepherd says that there is no excuse for the senseless drop in our wildlife population.
“The only reason it happened was because there wasn’t enough effort to protect them. The habitat is still there,” he said.

“There’s enough habitat to have over a thousand tigers for example, they’re just getting emptied out,” said Shepherd.

It is estimated that less than 500 tigers can be found in the wild in Malaysia.
“Everything is in decline. It’s very depressing that we’re losing so much wildlife so fast. Even though people know about this, the most depressing thing is that so little is being done,” said Shepherd.

The worse thing is that these illegal items harvested by poachers are relatively easy to find in Malaysia.

“Malaysia is one of the top five countries in the world for availability of illegal bear bile medicine.

“And it’s in the “group of eight” countries known for illegal ivory smuggling. It’s also a major consumer and transit point for illegal tortoises from India and Madagascar,” said Shepherd.

This business is not only responsible for the dwindling amounts of wildlife in Malaysia, but these poachers are earning millions out of the illegal trade.

“Anson Wong is just one of them. There are other dealers that is of the same scale as Anson Wong operating in Malaysia, and the authorities really need to do something about this because these guys are operating in huge volumes and big money,” said Shepherd.

He says that the authorities are aware of the issue, but corruption and complacency is a problem.

“There’s no way that dealers can operate on such a large scale without the authorities becoming aware of it. But being aware about it and doing something about it are different things,” said Shepherd.

He says that illegal wildlife trade has to become a priority for the government.
“The authorities have to be going after the big dealers in Malaysia and putting them out of business. They are completely plundering Malaysia’s forests and they think that they are untouchable. This has to change,” said Shepherd.

He says that authorities should be catching the big players and putting them in jail and slapping them with a huge fine (and not just a slap on the wrist).

“The wildlife trade is worth billions, if someone is earning millions of dollars of wildlife what good is it going to do fining them a thousand dollars?”

“Malaysia has really good laws actually, some of the best laws. But they are not always being enforced as well as they should be. We have the tools to tackle wildlife trade but if you don’t use them they are useless,” said Shepherd.

Everyone has to see that wildlife poaching is get worse year by year, with species being wiped out because of the trade.

“We have already seen the results of this kind of activities in other countries. Cambodia has no more tigers. Thailand has no more rhinos.

Vietnam lost its last rhino two years ago when it was shot,” said Shepherd.

Poaching and illegal traders are a even bigger threat to many species than habitat loss. So let’s learn from the mistakes of other countries and take action!

It is our concern that that poachers are killing protected animals in our jungles. It is concern that poachers are driving our wildlife to extinction for their own gain!

We can’t be sitting down thinking that somebody else is doing something or that it isn’t our problem. Stand up and take action!

“The public has to keep speaking up, the public has to stop eating at restaurants selling illegal wild meat.”

“The public has to stop going to shops that sell illegal medicines. If a shop sells bear bile, don’t go there. Don’t buy anything there.

Don’t even buy your bread there. Report it. It shouldn’t be just the NGOs making noise,” said Shepherd.

Everyone is going to lose at the end of the day if nothing is done.

Shepherd says that it’s not too late for Malaysia to turnaround and save our wildlife.

“Malaysia is unique in that there still is a good chance to keep its wildlife. There is still a lot of wildlife here and there are still many species still in good population numbers. Whereas other countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, it is already too late for many species,” says Shepherd.

So let’s take a stand for our animals. Report shops selling illegal products from the trade. Urge for better wildlife enforcement and penalties. Speak up before it’s too late!

Read more!

Indonesia: Orangutans fight for survival as thirst for palm oil devastates rainforests

Palm oil plantations are destroying the Sumatran apes' habitat, leaving just 200 of the animals struggling for existence
Gethin Chamberlain The Observer 15 Dec 13;

Even in the first light of dawn in the Tripa swamp forest of Sumatra it is clear that something is terribly wrong. Where there should be lush foliage stretching away towards the horizon, there are only the skeletons of trees. Smoke drifts across a scene of devastation.

Tripa is part of the Leuser Ecosystem, one of the world's most ecologically important rainforests and once home to its densest population of Sumatran orangutans.

As recently as 1990, there were 60,000 hectares of swamp forest in Tripa: now just 10,000 remain, the rest grubbed up to make way for palm oil plantations servicing the needs of some of the world's biggest brands. Over the same period, the population of 2,000 orangutans has dwindled to just 200.

In the face of international protests, Indonesia banned any fresh felling of forests two years ago, but battles continue in the courts over existing plantation concessions.

Here, on the edge of one of the remaining stands of forest, it is clear that the destruction is continuing.

Deep trenches have been driven through the peat, draining away the water, killing the trees, which have been burnt and bulldozed. The smell of wood smoke is everywhere. But of the orangutans who once lived here, there is not a trace.

This is the tough physical landscape in which environmental campaigners fighting to save the last of the orangutans are taking on the plantation companies, trying to keep track of what is happening on the ground so that they can intervene to rescue apes stranded by the destruction.

But physically entering the plantations is dangerous and often impractical; where the water has not been drained away, the ground is a swamp, inhabited by crocodiles. Where canals have been cut to drain away the water, the dried peat is thick and crumbly and it is easy to sink up to the knees. Walking even short distances away from the roads is physically draining and the network of wide canals has to be bridged with logs. The plantations do not welcome visitors and the Observer had to evade security guards to gain entrance.

To overcome these problems, campaigners have turned to a technology that has become controversial for its military usage but that in this case could help to save the orangutans and their forest: drones.

Graham Usher, from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, produces a large flight case and starts to unpack his prized possession, a polystyrene Raptor aircraft with a two-metre wingspan and cameras facing forward and down.

The £2,000 drone can fly for more than half an hour over a range of 30-40km, controlled by a computer, recording the extent of the destruction of the forest.

"The main use of it is to get real time data on forest loss and confirm what's going on with fires," he says.

They can also use the drone to track animals that have been fitted with radio collars. Graham opens his computer and clicks on a video. Immediately, the screen fills with an aerial view of forest, then a cleared patch of land and then new plantation as the drone passes overhead. "We are getting very powerful images of what is going on in the field," he says.

The footage is helping them to establish where new burning is taking place and which plantations are potentially breaking the law. Areas of forest where the peat is deeper than three metres should be protected – the peat is a carbon trap – but in practice many plantations do not measure the depth.

"They shouldn't be developing it but the power of commerce and capital subverts all legislation in this country. There is no law enforcement or rule of law," says Usher.

The battle to save the orangutans is not helped by the readiness of multinational corporations to use palm oil from unverified sources. Hundreds of products on UK supermarket shelves are made with palm oil or its derivatives sourced from plantations on land that was once home to Sumatran orangutans.

Environmental campaigners say that the complex nature of the palm oil supply chain makes it uniquely difficult for companies to ensure that the oil they use has been produced ethically and sustainably.

"One of the big issues is that we simply don't know where the palm oil used in products on UK supermarket shelves comes from. It may well be that it came from Tripa," says Usher.

In October, the Rainforest Foundation UK singled out Superdrug and Procter and Gamble (particularly its Head and Shoulders, Pantene and Herbal Essences hair products) for criticism over the use of unsustainable palm oil. A traffic light system produced using the companies' responses to questions from the Ethical Consumer group also placed Imperial Leather, Original Source and Estée Lauder hair products in the red-light category.

A separate report by Greenpeace, also issued in October into Sumatran palm oil production, accused Procter and Gamble and Mondelez International (formerly Kraft) of using "dirty" palm oil. The group called on the brands to recognise the environmental cost of "irresponsible palm oil production". According to the Rainforest Foundation's executive director, Simon Counsell, part of the problem is that even companies that do sign up to ethical schemes, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, cannot be certain that all the oil they receive is ethically produced because of the way oil from different plantations is mixed at processing plants.

"The smaller companies sell to bigger companies and it all gets mixed. Even those companies making some effort cannot be certain that what they are getting is what they have paid for," he said.

Driving out of Tripa, the whole area appears to have been given over to palm oil plantations; some long-established, 20-25ft tall trees in regimented rows, others recently planted. Every now and again there is a digger, driving a new road into what little forest remains, the first stage of the process that will end with the forest burned and gone and replaced with young oil palms.

There is a steady flow of lorries loaded with palm fruits, heading for the processing plant not far from the town of Meulaboh. From there, tankers take the oil to the city of Medan for shipping onwards.

It is outside Medan that the orangutan victims of clearances are taken to recover, at the SOCP's quarantine centre. These are the animals rescued from isolated stands of forest or from captivity. Those that can be will eventually be released back into another part of the island.

Anto, a local orangutan expert, says the spread of the plantations is fragmenting the remaining forest and isolating the orangutans.

"Then people are poaching the orangutans because it is easy to catch them," he says. "People isolate them in a tree and then they cut the tree or they make the orangutan so afraid that it climbs down and is caught. After that they can kill it and sometimes eat it. Or they can trade it."

This is what happened to Gokong Puntung and his mother. The one-year-old ape – now recovering with the help of SOCP – was rescued from Sidojadi village in February. He had been captured a month earlier in the Tripa forest.

A group of fishermen spotted Gokong Puntung and his mother trapped in a single tree and unable to reach the rest of the forest without coming down. The men apparently decided to try to grab the baby in the hope of selling it. One climbed the tree, forcing the mother to fall to the ground, where another man set about her and beat her with a length of timber. In the confusion, mother and baby became separated and the fishermen were able to get away. They sold the animal for less than £6 to a plantation worker.

"We got information from people who heard an orangutan crying in one house," says SOCP vet Yenny Saraswati. "They went in the house and found the baby orangutan in a chicken cage. The owner said he had bought it from people who had taken it from the plantation."

It was a very unusual case: more often, the mother is killed.

"They are very good mothers – better than humans," she says. "A lot of human mothers don't care for their babies, but I have never seen an orangutan leave its baby. They always hug them and don't let them cry."

That's why poachers tend to kill the mothers, says Anto. "They hit it with sticks. One person uses a forked stick to hold its head and the others hit it and beat it to death. But the young orangutans they sell."

The effect on Tripa's orangutans has been disastrous. Cut off from the population on the rest of the island, they teeter on the brink of viability; experts say they really need a population of about 250 to survive long term and, because orangutans produce offspring only once every six or seven years, it takes a long time to replenish a depleted population.

Those that remain in the forest face other dangers. Some die when the forest is burned, others starve to death as their food supply is destroyed.

If the orangutans did not already have it tough, there may yet be worse to come: gold has been found in Aceh's remaining forests and mining is starting.

"If there is no government effort to protect the remaining area, we will never know the orangutans here again," says Anto.

"If this continues they will be gone within 10 years."

In response to the criticism over its use of unsustainable palm oil, Superdrug said it "is aware of the complex issues surrounding palm oil and its derivatives, which are currently used in some of its own-brand products, and is committed to working with its suppliers to use sustainable alternatives when they become widely available."

Estée Lauder Companies, which makes Aveda hair products, said: "We share the concern about the potential environmental effects of palm oil plantations, including deforestation and the destruction of biodiversity and habitats."

The statement said that its palm oil (made from the pulped fruit) came from sustainable sources. But the company said the majority of its brands used palm kernel oil (from the crushed palm fruit kernels) and that it was working to develop sustainable supplies.

"We are committed to acting responsibly and will continue to work with our suppliers to find the best ways to encourage and support the development of sustainable palm kernel oil sources."

PZ Cussons, which makes Original Source and Imperial Leather products, along with the Sanctuary SPA range, said it was committed to using raw materials from sustainable and environmentally friendly sources wherever possible.

The company said it had "embarked on a sustainability journey" and was working with other producers to gain a better understanding of the supply chain and "to promote the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products". Mondelez International (formerly Kraft) said it wanted to eliminate unethical plantations from its supply chain by 2020.

"We fully share concerns about the environmental impacts of palm oil production, including deforestation. As a final buyer, engaging our supply chain is the most meaningful action we can take to ensure palm oil is grown sustainably," said a spokesman.

"Palm oil should be produced on legally held land, protecting tropical forests and peat land, respecting human rights, including land rights, and without forced or child labour.

"We expect palm oil suppliers to provide us transparency on the proportion of their supplies traceable to plantations meeting these principles by the end of 2013 and to eliminate supplies that do not meet these criteria by 2020."

Procter & Gamble, which makes Head and Shoulders, Herbal Essences and Pantene products, said it was "strongly opposed to irresponsible deforestation practices and our position on the sustainable sourcing of palm oil is consistent with our corporate sustainability principles and guidelines.

"We are committed to the sustainable sourcing of palm oil and have set a public target that, by 2015, we will only purchase palm oil from sources where sustainable and responsible production has been confirmed."

FIGHT FOR EXISTENCE

Orangutans are facing extinction as their habitats are becoming fragmented and agricultural production expands.

Populations of orangutans have been broken up into groups and this is causing a problem for the survival of the species.

The WWF estimates that a century ago there were more than 230,000 orangutans living in the wild, now they think there are only 41,000 in Borneo and 7,500 in Sumatra. Others put the figures at 54,000 in Borneo and 6,600 in Sumatra.

Some conservationists predict that orangutans could disappear in as little as 20 to 30 years, others think it could happen in a few hundred years.

Orangutans share 96.4% of their genes with humans.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 14 Dec 13

Arrival of the Jerdon’s Bazas – December 2013
from Bird Ecology Study Group

#15 Tampines Eco Green Park
from My Nature Experiences

Guest blog: Conservation Photography – Changing the world one photograph at a time from ARKive blog by Jemma.Pealing

Read more!

Malaysia: All set for second wave of floods

New Straits Times 14 Dec 13;

24-HOUR STANDBY: Govt agencies ready should heavy rains coincide with high tide next week
GOVERNMENT agencies in east coast states of the Peninsula have been put on 24-hour standby in preparation for a second wave of flooding.

Reports received by the National Security Council (NSC) stated that high tides in the east coast with a depth of 3.6m would occur between tomorrow and Saturday.

Terengganu NSC secretary Mohd Sarif Hassan said, should heavy rainfall similar to last week's hit the state, flood prone areas especially those in Kemaman, would be inundated again.
"If heavy rain coincides with the high tide, flood is expected to hit (low-lying) areas including in Kemaman and Kuantan (Pahang).

"However, it depends on the rainfall location. During last week's incident, the heavy rains mostly occurred in Kuantan."

Sarif said the council had taken several steps to improve flood response missions.
This included getting the cooperation of telecommunication companies to ensure the communication breakdown that happened last week would not recur.

"All agencies related to rescue and aid distribution operations, including the armed forces, police, Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence Department and Welfare Department, are on high alert to face the second wave, should it occur.

"The agencies had also prepared more land vehicles and boats to give a quicker response to victims, who had also been notified to be ready for evacuation.

"Besides that, we are going to have a meeting with telecommunication companies tomorrow to discuss a smooth communication network."

Sarif said the communication breakdown that occurred during the initial days of flooding had affected rescue and aid distribution missions.

The communication towers in several areas here were not functioning as electricity was cut off because of the floods.

Meanwhile, residents living in low-lying areas in Tumpat were fully prepared to face the second-wave of flood following a recent warning by the Meteorology Department.

Several of them said they had yet to clean their homes and belongings after the recent flood and would wait for the second wave before taking action.

"We cleaned only the important items for daily use while the rest remained on higher ground because we are afraid of another round of floods," said villagers from Kampung Simpangan Hilir, the most affected flood area in Tumpat.

In Kuantan, the authorities and victims of the floods which hit last week have begun preparations to face the second wave.

The floods, described as the worst since 2001, had forced more than 40,000 victims to be evacuated to relief centres with some forced to moved to a second centre after the existing premises were affected by flood waters.

Resident who suffered major losses in the floods also complained that there were delays in channeling assistance to flood victims in several areas while some claimed the centres faced a shortage of supplies.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob yesterday told reporters that all the relevant agencies were geared up to face the second wave.

"The state government is in the midst of fine-tuning their standard operating procedures (SOP) on ways to tackle the floods and we hope with the new SOP, we can overcome problems related to the disaster.

"Problems arose during the recent floods because of the large number of flood evacuees at relief centres.

"We have identified the problems and looked into suitable measures to overcome them, including sending food items to relief centres, overcoming the shortage of essentials and evacuating the victims to relief centres," he said at Yayasan Pahang after attending a post-mortem by the Pahang Disaster Relief Committee.

State police chief Datuk Sharifuddin Abdul Ghani said the force had stationed its personnel at flood-prone areas and also prepared to mobilise additional manpower and equipment in case of floods.

A state Fire and Rescue Department spokesman advised the public to be on the alert and keep themselves updated with the latest developments to ensure they were prepared to move.

"Those living in low-lying areas have been informed about the nearest relief centres, in case the floods return.

"Most of the evacuees who seemed lost during the floods last week are now well prepared.
"It is important that the victims do not panic and obey the instructions of the authorities," he said.

Most of the families whose homes were badly damaged in the floods, had already moved their valuables and furniture to higher structures.

Businessman Jamil Saidin, 34, who suffered losses of more than RM30,000 in the recent floods, said he had already sent his wife and two children to a relative's house in Felda Jengka in Maran.

"Since there was a warning about another flood, I have also moved my belongings to a safer place and, fearing for the safety of my family members, I decided to send them to a relative's house," he said, adding that most people were not taking things for granted this time.

Floods clearing in Terengganu, but situation not improving in Pahang
The Star 14 Dec 13;

KUALA TERENGGANU: The final 22 flood victims sheltered at Sekolah Kebangsaan Pasir Putih in Marang were allowed to return to their homes Friday night.

This development brought an end to the floods that hit a number of districts in the state so far this Northeast Monsoon season.

According to the National Security Council portal, Marang was the last district in the state to be free of the floods.

The floods that hit the state from early this month Dec 2 affected the Kemaman, Dungun, Marang, Hulu Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu and Setiu.

In Pahang, a total of 5,870 people from 1,497 families were being sheltered at 55 relief centres in four districts.

Pekan still has the highest number of evacuees with 4,347 in 37 shelters followed by Kuantan (736 people in four relief centres), Maran (724 in 12 centres) and Bera (63 in two centres) - Bernama

Read more!

Indonesia: Sumatran Tiger, on the Brink of Extinction, to Get New Conservation Zone

Ari Susanto Jakarta Globe 13 Dec 13;

Solo. The Forestry Ministry says it plans to build a sanctuary for the critically endangered Sumatran tiger in Riau province in a bid to protect the subspecies from extinction caused by deforestation and poaching.

Novianto Bambang, the ministry’s director for biodiversity conservation, said on Wednesday that the sanctuary would be designed in a semi-natural environment similar to a true tiger habitat. He said it would be a new home for illegally captured and trapped tigers.

The design is still being decided by experts from Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and will be ready next year.

“There are now only around 300 individual tigers left in their natural habitat, mostly scattered in the forests of Jambi and Riau. It is a very critical situation that requires a quick response,” Novianto said.

Satyawan Pudyatmoko, the dean og UGM’s School of Forestry, said that if the subspecies was to survive for another a hundred years, efforts needed to be made to secure land for at least 250 tigers with approximately 100 square kilometers of living space per individual.

The current habitat of the tiger in Sumatra covers a combined 144,000 square kilometers, but only 29 percent of it is protected. The rest is open to logging, clearing for agriculture and other human activity.

“Indonesia is the only country to lose two subspecies of tiger, the Javan and Balinese tigers. If we don’t save the Sumatran tiger immediately, it will follow the others into extinction,” Satyawan said.

The Sumatran tiger population has declined precipitously within the last four decades. Satyawan said the subspecies numbered more than 1,200 individuals in 1970, before rapid deforestation and poaching caused numbers to decline.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, around 100 tigers worldwide are killed per year for their body parts. WWF says 97 percent of wild tigers have been wiped out in just over a century, with only 3,200 left globally.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 13 Dec 13

Dec 14th Sat & 15th Sun Guided Walks
from a.t.Bukit Brown. Heritage. Habitat. History.

Marine litter featured in a magazine for Singapore school children from wild shores of singapore

Damselfly larvae devour a fish and a mosquito
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Read more!

Malaysia: Curb turtle egg trading in Sandakan – BMRI

enne Lajiun Borneo Post 13 Dec 13;

KOTA KINABALU: It takes five months for a Green Turtle hatchling to grow up to a length of five inches before it reaches maturity and begins to breed.

In the wild, the sea turtle eggs and hatchlings are faced with many dangers. The sea turtle eggs have been known to be harvested and sold illegally to consumers, while hatchlings are left at the mercy of nature and their predators. Due to this, their survivability ratio is extremely low.

“Depending on the situation, it varies between one to every 5,000 and one to every 10,000,” said Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Borneo Marine Research Institute (BMRI) director Professor Dr Saleem Mustafa.

Further aggravating the conservation problem of the sea turtle is their late maturity.
In warmer waters, the sea turtles reach maturity and begin breeding between 20 and 25 years old, but in cooler waters, the process of maturity is attained much later in life for the sea turtles at 30 years old to 35 years old.

Due to these issues affecting the sea turtles, it is hence crucial that more efforts are necessary to educate the public, namely the fishing community, as well as the declaration of more marine areas as protected areas, stressed Dr Saleem.

It is also crucial to address and investigate the illegal trading of turtle eggs in Sandakan, he said.

“More public awareness campaigns must be held to curb the trading of turtle eggs in Sandakan because despite the rules and regulations that have been put in place, a lot of trade activities on turtle eggs were still taking place in Sandakan.

“Why are all these turtle eggs confiscated time and time again in Sandakan? Why does it have to be Sandakan all the time? It could be that the law enforcement is not very active in Sandakan. It could also be that there is a niche market and people like eating turtle eggs in Sandakan. Or there could be traders trading turtle eggs illegally,” he said.

He added that the matter should be investigated further as most of the incidents were occurring and confined to Sandakan district.

The sales of turtle meat, fortunately, were not rampant.

“I think sea turtles should be allowed to mature and breed,” he stressed.

Dr Saleem also cited that it was likely that the turtle eggs that were illegally traded may have come from islands around Sandakan that are not within the Turtle Islands Park.

And for this reason, Dr Saleem lauded the declaration of more areas as protected marine areas.
“If more areas were given that status, they would be better managed,” he said.

He commended that the proposal to establish the Tun Mustafa Marine Park, which will cover over one million hectares and possibly will become the largest Southeast Asia marine park.

“The one million hectares will really make a difference. There is an abundance of seagrasses at the area (sea turtles consume seagrasses) and sea turtles are also nesting within the zone,” he said.

Dr Saleem stressed that contrary to the beliefs of some, gazetting more areas as protected zones would be beneficial to the society in general.

“When we discuss about the marine park, they think we are putting restrictions but these restrictions are not meant to deprive the people of their livelihood but rather geared towards the sustainable management of marine resources,” he described.

He mentioned further that the effort will include the introduction of sustainable fishing methods that would allow the marine life to regenerate its population.

The key idea is to allow the marine life, including sea turtles, to mature and breed at least once before they were caught, he said.

As for now, there is no clear estimation on the current population of sea turtles in Sabah.

“We don’t know. But certainly there have been more sightings of the (sea) turtles since the conservation measure has been put in place. Also it is difficult (to estimate their population) but the sightings have improved and I think the population will increase as more areas are deemed protected marine areas,” he said.

BMRI senior lecturer, Dr Pushpa M. Palaniappan interjected that they have begun tagging sea turtles in Sipadan and in Mabul since 2010.

“We have tagged 545 sea turtles in Sipadan since 2010, while in Mabul, we have tagged 200 sea turtles,” she said.

“No one expected that such a small area would have that many sea turtles,” she exclaimed.

The project was geared towards checking the growth rate of the sea turtles and to study their food preferences. The tags, costing RM12 each, were provided by the Sabah Parks.

“We have held eight field trips so far, and we have caught one sea turtle repeatedly for five times. It hasn’t showed any signs of fear towards our divers as we have adopted the JS method of catching the sea turtles,” she said.

Dr Pushpa explained that the JS method was an award winning device that has been developed by two individuals from Borneo Divers Sdn Bhd and Sabah Parks.

“So far it has won three awards … it was developed in 2010,” she said.

With the new method, they were able to catch and lift the sea turtles onto the waiting boat above for examination and tagging without overly stressing them.

“Manually, the procedure would have been very stressful for the sea turtles and very dangerous for our divers. But with the adoption of this new method, we were able to catch and examine 50 sea turtles in a day. Prior to that, we were catching between three and four sea turtles a day, and it took a lot of effort,” she said describing the procedure.

Most of the sea turtles captured and later released were probably residents within the area.
The project was the collaboration of UMS, Sabah Parks, WWF-Malaysia and Borneo Divers.

Read more!

Ozone Hole Won't Heal Until 2070, NASA Finds

Tia Ghose LiveScience.com Yahoo News 12 Dec 13;

SAN FRANCISCO — The banning of ozone-depleting chemicals hasn't yet caused detectable improvements in the Antarctic ozone hole, new research suggests.

Instead, changes in the South Pole's ozone hole from year-to-year are likely the result of natural variations in wind patterns, researchers said here Wednesday (Dec. 11) in a press conference at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

"Ozone is produced in the tropics, but it's transported by the winds from the tropics to the polar region," said Anne Douglass, a scientist with the Aura project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. That transport "varies a little bit from year to year."

The findings suggest that measuring the total size of the ozone hole says little about ozone depletion, and that it's misleading to use the hole's extent alone to measure environmental progress. In fact, people won't be able to see the true impact of reducing ozone-munching chemicals in the atmosphere until around 2025, Douglass and her colleagues said. And, they added, the hole won't be completely healed until 2070. [Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth]

Big hole

Ozone is a molecule made up of three oxygen atoms, and the ozone layer, which stretches from heights of 12 to 19 miles (20 to 30 kilometers) above the Earth's surface, protects life on Earth by shielding it from ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Until the 1990s, the widespread use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) for refrigerants and aerosols created an ozone hole in the Earth's stratosphere (the second layer of the atmosphere from Earth's surface) over Antarctica. CFCs deplete ozone, because they can bind to oxygen molecules in several chemical reactions, breaking ozone down into regular oxygen molecules. Without the ozone there, harmful UV rays can reach the planet's surface, posing a threat to humans and Earth's other life forms.

An international agreement called the Montreal Protocol, first signed in 1987, gradually phased out the use of CFCs, and the amount of the chemicals in the atmosphere has slowly declined since.

Missing piece

The classic way of measuring the hole is by measuring the total area that contains less than 220 Dobson units of ozone. But the ozone layer extends vertically throughout the stratosphere, so using just one measure is like "looking at a flat table," Douglass said.

That traditional measure may miss what's really going on in the stratosphere. For instance, in 2012, the ozone hole shrank to record lows, even though the level of CFCs in the atmosphere hadn't declined dramatically, said study co-author Natalya Kramarova, also at NASA Goddard. Paradoxically, the ozone hole in 2011 was about as big as it was in 2006, even though CFCs should have declined in those years due to the phasing out of their use.

So Kramarova took a closer look at data gathered by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, which showed ozone levels with altitude. The small size of the ozone hole in 2012 was a result of weather bringing in more ozone at higher levels of the stratosphere than usual to Antarctica, masking the depletion at lower levels. [101 Stunning Images of Earth from Orbit]

In a second study, researchers used the Aura satellite's Microwave Limb Sounder to peek inside the ozone hole through chemicals such as nitrous oxide, which inversely varies with levels of chlorine, a byproduct of CFCs, in the Earth's atmosphere.

The researchers found that in 2011, chlorine levels were lower despite the ozone hole's big size. Using a computer model, they showed that weather conditions would have lowered the amount of ozone over Antarctica anyways, and that the big hole was a result of winds from the tropics carrying less ozone to the area than in the years before.

"This is a meteorological effect, it has nothing to do with chemistry," said study co-author Susan Strahan, a NASA Goddard atmospheric chemist.

CFCs are incredibly stable molecules that must travel high into the stratosphere before breaking down, so though the phasing out of CFCs is working, the impact of the Montreal Protocol won't be noticeable in the ozone layer until about 2025, Kramarova said.

Until then, annual measures of peak ozone hole size should be taken with a grain of salt, the researchers said.

The hole won't likely be fully healed until about 2070, Kramarova said.

Of course, for people in the Southern latitudes, UV exposure is only dependent on the size of the hole, so it doesn't matter whether weather patterns or CFCs are responsible for its extent.

Read more!