Best of our wild blogs: 1 Dec 16

November at the Sisters Islands Marine Park
Sisters' Island Marine Park

Singapore Raptor Report – October 2016
Singapore Bird Group

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2 public sightings of python daily: Acres

AVA said 700 cases of public feedback on snakes received between January and October this year
WONG PEI TING Today Online 1 Dec 16;

SINGAPORE — Monsoon season is here and the Republic’s shy population of pythons could be seen more frequently emerging from swelling canals and drains, going by recent images of snake sightings that went viral online.

Last Sunday (Nov 27), one household living in a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat beside a canal in central Singapore woke up to the shocking sight of a two-to-three metre long python climbing up their neighbour’s gate. That image was shared more than 5,000 times.

On Monday, Ms Nazirah Isabella saw a cat being devoured by a python in a canal in the Jalan Besar area. Her photo on Twitter was shared more than 250 times.

Between January and October this year, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore said it has logged 700 cases of public feedback on snakes. These feedback could be related to complaints, sightings or questions. Last year, it received 780 cases of feedback, and 610 cases in 2014.

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) said it receives an average of two calls a day of public sightings of reticulated pythons. And about once a month, it also gets calls from cat-lovers of felines “getting into conflict” with a python.

Urging the public not to be afraid of these creatures that like to stay around water bodies, Acres deputy chief executive Kalai Balakrishnan said: “Singapore is an urban setting (where most of our rivers have been canalised), so canals are a natural habitat for many wild animals including pythons (which) use it as a path to travel through.”

These animals are just travelling around looking for food, so there is no cause for alarm if they are spotted in canals, he added.

If sighted, his advice is to give them a two-to-three metre berth, do not enter the canals to provoke the animals, and give the Acres’ hotline a call so their officer can advise on what to do or send a photo to Acres’ wildlife rescue team with the location of the sighting. The organisation will assess if it needs to despatch a team to relocate the animal “back into the wild”.

The AVA spokesman also advises the public to “not interact with the animal, and ensure that young children and pets are kept away as they may be curious and approach it”.

Indonesian maid Madam Casmiati Sanwikarta felt her legs turn to jelly when she saw a snake on Sunday. She told TODAY: “I imagined that it was biting my leg. My leg, no energy!”

The 48-year-old who was heading to the market at 5.30am retreated indoors. Her employers’ two daughters took turns to look through the peephole at how the snake was slithering up their neighbour’s gate, until the Acres’ team removed it around 7am.

“I thought it was my imagination because I just woke up,” said 13-year-old Clariss Lee, who snapped a picture to convince herself it was real.

In the Jalan Besar incident, Ms Nazirah posted the photo of a python eating a cat under her Twitter handle LollyNia. The 21-year-old salesgirl told TODAY that she was shocked to see that the python “was still moving like (it was) choking” the lifeless-looking cat whose head was in the water.

Commenting on why cats get into trouble more often, Mr Balakrishnan said: “Cats are curious, so when they go closer, the pythons might take it as a meal (as) they are opportunistic in nature.”

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NEA to license used cooking oil collectors from December

Channel NewsAsia 30 Nov 16;

SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency on Wednesday (Nov 30) said it will begin licensing used cooking oil collectors from Dec 1 this year.

It is estimated that there are about 50 used cooking oil collectors here, and the licensing scheme will ensure that these collectors meet waste collection standards, including standards for the proper collection, storage and transportation of used cooking oil, NEA said in its press release.

The used cooking oil collected is processed locally or exported to be converted into non-edible commodities such as biodiesel.

Those who wish to collect used cooking oil will be required to obtain a General Waste Collector (GWC) licence from NEA. All food establishments, such as food retail businesses and food manufacturers, will be required to engage licensed collectors for UCO collection by Jun 1 next year, it added.

Applications for the licence will start from Dec 1, and collectors have until Jun 1 to obtain their licence, the agency said.

Collecting used cooking oil without a licence or engaging an unlicensed collector will each carry a maximum fine of $10,000, as stipulated in the Environmental Public Health (General Waste Collection) Regulations, it added.

- CNA/kk

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Malaysia: Sarawak NCR land - Only 328,000 out of 1.5 million hectares developed, planted with oil palm

GOH PEI PEI New Straits Times 30 Nov 16;

PETRA JAYA: It is estimated that there are 1.5 million hectares of native customary rights (NCR) land in Sarawak.

However, only 328,000 hectares had been developed and planted with oil palm by independent or organised smallholders through collaboration with various implementing agencies in the state.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas, who is also the State Agriculture Modernisation and Rural Economy Minister said one of the ministry's focuses is to transform the unproductive NCR land into viable economic units with income generating activities.

The large tract of under-utilised land, he said, provide a huge potential for development such as oil palm, rubber and food crops which could improve the livelihood of the people.

When delivering his winding up speech at the state legislative assembly here today, Douglas, said his Ministry is open to any development alternatives as long as it benefits both the landowners and investors on "win-win" formula.

A leasing model, he said, had been proposed and expected to be better than the existing model in term of higher return to the landowner.

Under the model, he said, landowners will rent their land to the investors at a fixed monthly rate per hectare over a lease period of 25 to 30 years.

"Our analysis also show that an average yearly income per hectare will be received by the landowners under the leasing model is about RM720 to RM780. This is actually not something new as it has been practiced by some of the private sector," he explained.

"Hence, we are confident this alternative model is more attracting to the landowners as it promised a regular and assured returns.

We'll engage the landowners and potential investors to fine tune the model," he added.

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Indonesia: Court Rules Against Leuser Ecosystem Lawsuit

Ratri M. Siniwi Jakarta Globe 30 Nov 16;

Jakarta. The Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday (29/11) ruled against a civil lawsuit seeking to protect the Leuser Ecosystem in Aceh, which was filed almost a year ago.

The judges argued that the ecosystem was already excluded from the Aceh Spatial Plan 2013-2033 and that the decision could not be revoked by means of a lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed by the Aceh Citizens Lawsuit Movement (Geram) against the minister of home affairs, Aceh governor and Aceh local administration. It sought to include the Leuser Ecosystem in the Aceh Spatial Plan 2013-2033 to protect it from further degradation caused by mining, logging and palm oil production.

"The facts are indisputable; therefore, we cannot accept the verdict and we will appeal. This is the first ever citizen action lawsuit in Aceh; we are ready to continue the battle," Geram coordinator Nurul Ikhsan said in a statement.

Recognized as a Unesco World Heritage Site, the Leuser Ecosystem is home to Sumatra's endemic wildlife – rhinos, elephants, orangutans and tigers. The ecosystem is also the province's water reservoir.

According to Geram representative Farwiza Farhan, mining operations and palm oil plantations in Leuser result in frequent floods and landslides.

"[By excluding the ecosystem from the spatial plan] they will whitewash the past environmental crimes and pave the way for further ecological destruction and manmade natural disasters," said Farwiza, who is also the founder of nongovernmental organization Forest, Nature and Environment of Aceh.

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Indonesia: One dead, two missing in Central Java landslide

Ganug Nugroho Adi The Jakarta Post 30 Nov 16;

A landslide hit eight residents working on farmland in Karanganyar regency, Central Java, on Tuesday afternoon, killing one and leaving two others missing.

The residents were harvesting rice when the landslide in Tegalsari hamlet, Buluhrejo village, occurred at 5 p.m.

“The landslide happened very fast. I and four others working on the road could escape while three others were working near the [collapsed] cliff,” Paiman, one of the survivors, said on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, a search and rescue team was still searching for the two missing villagers.

Karanganyar Disaster Mitigation Agency head Nugroho called on residents to be alert, saying land in the area was unstable.

“We expect that the landslide was caused by heavy rain that poured over the area on the previous day,” Nugroho said.

Disasters such as floods and landslides could occur in several areas, including Jaten, Gondangrejo and Karanganyar city, he added. (jun)

Schools closed as floods inundate Riau
The Jakarta Post 30 Nov 16;

Heavy rainfall over the past two days has caused flooding in Selat Panjang in Meranti Islands, Riau, prompting the temporary closure of schools in the area.

Acting Meranti Islands regency disaster management head M. Edy Afrizal said on Tuesday the inundation occurred in several streets, disrupting activities in the coastal city.

“The flooding may get worse with a tidal wave,” he said.

Students have been told to stay home until Thursday.

The Pekanbaru office of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG Pekanbaru) predicted that November would be the peak of the rainy season in the province.

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Earth warming to climate tipping point, warns study

Mark Kinver BBC News 30 Nov 16;

A warmer world will release vast volumes of carbon into the atmosphere, potentially triggering dangerous climate change, scientists warn.

Writing in journal Nature, they project that an increase of 1C (1.8F) will release an additional 55 billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere by 2050.

This could trigger a "positive feedback" and push the planet's climate system past the point of no-return.

Previous assessments have not taken carbon released by soil into account.

In their Nature paper, an international team of scientists said that the majority of the Earth's terrestrial store of carbon was in the soil.

They warned that as the world warmed, organisms living in the planet's soils would become more active, resulting in more carbon being released into the atmosphere - exacerbating warming.

"There have been concerns about this positive feedback for a long, long time," said lead author Thomas Crowther, who conducted the research while based at Yale University, US, but now at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology.

"For the past two or three decades there have been literally thousands of studies trying to address this topic and trying to identify whether there are going to be increases or decreases in carbon uptake of the soil in relation to warming or increases in carbon loss."

Considerable losses

Dr Crowther said the uncertainty surrounding the exchange of carbon between the atmosphere and the planet's soils had led to "sizeable differences in the projections of future climate conditions".

He told BBC News: "We are the first study to take a global perspective and then map the variability and able to say that in these areas there are going to be huge losses and in these areas there are going to be some gains.

"Using this approach we can get a robust idea of the whole picture. We show that, actually, the losses are going to be really considerable."

Using data stretching over 20 years from 49 sites across the globe, the team observed that global carbon stocks would fall by up to 55 petagrams (55 billion tonnes) under a business-as-usual scenario, which is roughly equivalent to adding the emissions from a nation the size of the US.

Dr Crowther, whose team had produced a short video on the subject, added: "I do not positive as in 'good' but positive as in it is reinforcing, so it is a process that once it has kicked off, it leads to the acceleration of itself.

"Carbon comes out of the soil, which leads to more warming, which leads to more carbon out of the soil, it is a reinforcing cycle. The concerning thing is that our projection is that we are going to lose 55 petgrams, that's 55 trillion kilograms by 2050. This process is only going to accelerate and accelerate.

In the global carbon cycle, soils act as a depository, a place where carbon is stored in a state that does not directly influence the global climate system.

He observed: "The carbon is trapped in the soil because it is taken from the atmosphere by plant material through photosynthesis. Particularly in cold places, it get stored in the soil for a very long time, and this minimises the atmospheric concentrations.

"In the soil, there are microbes and soil animals, as well as plant roots, and they all use that soil carbon for their growth and activity.

"Where it is really cold, the activity and growth is limited but when it warms, and warming is likely to be disproportionately happening in cold areas, then the more active they are set to become."

Dr Crowther said the increased activity by the organisms would mean that they would consume greater volumes of the carbon in the soil, and this would be released as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

"It is very similar to the way we respire and produce carbon dioxide. Because there is such a huge biomass of microbes and soil animals, that respiration really can be massive," he said.

Map of temperature change

One of the latest milestone in the global effort to curb climate change was the Paris Agreement, which was signed at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) summit, known as COP21, in the French capital city in December 2015.

In it, nations agreed to keep the increase of the average global temperature to below 2C (3.6F) of pre-industrialisation levels.

Dr Crowther said that the soil carbon study highlighted the importance of politicians and policymakers to heed the results of scientific studies on the issue of climate change.

"I really do want to get the message across that the strength of feedbacks like this really do stress the need to meet the targets of COP21," he urged.

"The feedback will exist and it will occur even if we do meet these targets but the magnitude of this feedback is going to be minimised hugely and it is really going to dampen the strength of it and it would prevent these enormous losses we expect by the end of the century if greenhouse gases are cut.

"These findings really do reinforce the necessity to meet those targets."

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Best of our wild blogs: 30 Nov 16

Sisters' Island Marine Park (Pulau Subar Darat)
Offshore Singapore

32nd Singapore Bird Race 2016 Review
Singapore Bird Group

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$100 Billion Chinese-Made City Near Singapore 'Scares the Hell Out of Everybody'

Pooja Thakur Mahrotri and En Han Choong Bloomberg 21 Nov 16;

The landscaped lawns and flowering shrubs of Country Garden Holdings Co.’s huge property showroom in southern Malaysia end abruptly at a small wire fence. Beyond, a desert of dirt stretches into the distance, filled with cranes and piling towers that the Chinese developer is using to build a $100 billion city in the sea.

While Chinese home buyers have sent prices soaring from Vancouver to Sydney, in this corner of Southeast Asia it’s China’s developers that are swamping the market, pushing prices lower with a glut of hundreds of thousands of new homes. They’re betting that the city of Johor Bahru, bordering Singapore, will eventually become the next Shenzhen.

“These Chinese players build by the thousands at one go, and they scare the hell out of everybody,” said Siva Shanker, head of investments at Axis-REIT Managers Bhd. and a former president of the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents. “God only knows who is going to buy all these units, and when it’s completed, the bigger question is, who is going to stay in them?”

The Chinese companies have come to Malaysia as growth in many of their home cities is slowing, forcing some of the world’s biggest builders to look abroad to keep erecting the giant residential complexes that sprouted across China during the boom years. They found a prime spot in this special economic zone, three times the size of Singapore, on the southern tip of the Asian mainland.

The scale of the projects is dizzying. Country Garden’s Forest City, on four artificial islands, will house 700,000 people on an area four times the size of New York’s Central Park. It will have office towers, parks, hotels, shopping malls and an international school, all draped with greenery. Construction began in February and about 8,000 apartments have been sold, the company said.

It’s the biggest of about 60 projects in the Iskandar Malaysia zone around Johor Bahru, known as JB, that could add more than half-a-million homes. The influx has contributed to a drop of almost one-third in the value of residential sales in the state last year, with some developers offering discounts of 20 percent or more. Average resale prices per square foot for high-rise flats in JB fell 10 percent last year, according to property consultant CH Williams Talhar & Wong.

Country Garden, which has partnered with the investment arm of Johor state, launched another waterfront project down the coast in 2013 called Danga Bay, where it has sold all 9,539 apartments. China state-owned Greenland Group is building office towers, apartments and shops on 128 acres in Tebrau, about 20 minutes from the city center. Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. has begun construction on the first phase of Princess Cove, with about 3,000 homes.

Country Garden said in an e-mail it was “optimistic on the outlook of Forest City” because of the region’s growing economy and location next to Singapore. R&F didn’t respond to questions about the effects of so many new units and Greenland declined to comment.

Singapore Draw

“The Chinese are attracted by lower prices and the proximity to Singapore,” said Alice Tan, Singapore-based head of consultancy and research at real-estate brokers Knight Frank LLP. “It remains to be seen if the upcoming supply of homes can be absorbed in the next five years.”

The influx of Chinese competition has affected local developers like UEM Sunrise Bhd., Sunway Bhd. and SP Setia Bhd., who have been building projects around JB for years as part of a government plan to promote the area. First-half profit slumped 58 percent at UEM, the largest landowner in JB.

A decade ago, Malaysia decided to leverage Singapore’s success by building the Iskandar zone across the causeway that connects the two countries. It was modeled on Shenzhen, the neighbor of Hong Kong that grew from a fishing village to a city of 10 million people in three decades. Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd. unveiled a 20-year plan in 2006 that required a total investment of 383 billion ringgit ($87 billion).

Singapore’s high costs and property prices encouraged some companies to relocate to Iskandar, while JB’s shopping malls and amusement parks have become a favorite for day-tripping Singaporeans. In the old city center, young Malaysians hang out in cafes and ice cream parlors on hipster street Jalan Dhoby, where the inflow of new money is refurbishing the colonial-era shophouses.

Outside the city, swathes of palm-oil plantations separate isolated gated developments like Horizon Hills, a 1,200-acre township with an 18-hole golf course.

“The Chinese developers see this as an opportunity. A lot of them say Iskandar is just like Shenzhen was 10 years ago,” said Jonathan Lo, manager of valuations at CH Williams Talhar & Wong, a property broker based in Johor Bahru. “Overseas investors coming to Malaysia is a new phenomenon so it’s hard to predict.”

Construction soon outpaced demand. To sell the hundreds of new units being built every month, some companies took to flying in planeloads of potential buyers from China, prompting low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd. to start direct flights in May connecting JB with the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

On the first such flight, 150 of the 180 seats were taken by a subsidized tour group organized by Country Garden. Almost half of them ended up buying a residence, the developer said in an e-mail.

“A lot of [Chinese developers] say Iskandar is just like Shenzhen was 10 years ago”

Buses disgorging Chinese tourists at Forest City in November were met by dozens of sales agents, with the women dressed in traditional Sarong Kebaya outfits similar to those worn by Singapore Airlines Ltd. stewardesses.

The visitors filed into a vast sales gallery where agents explained the enormity of the project using a replica of the finished town, with model buildings as tall as people. They viewed show flats with marble floors and golden-trimmed furniture, dined on a buffet spread and were encouraged to sign on the spot. A two-bedroom apartment cost as little as 1.25 million yuan ($181,400), about one-fifth of the price of a similar-sized private apartment in central Singapore.

But JB is not Shenzhen. The billions poured into the economic zone in southern Guangdong in the 1980s and 1990s by Hong Kong and Taiwanese firms was soon dwarfed by Chinese investment as factories sprang up all along China’s coast.

In Malaysia, investment growth is slowing, slipping to 2 percent year on year in the third quarter, from more than 6 percent in the previous quarter. The value of residential sales in Malaysia fell almost 11 percent last year, while in Johor the drop was 32 percent, according to government data.

“I am very concerned because the market is joined at the hip, if Johor goes down, the rest of Malaysia would follow,” said Shanker, at Axis-REIT Managers, who estimates that about half the units in Iskandar may remain empty. “If the developers stop building today, I think it would take 10 years for the condos to fill up the current supply. But they won’t stop.”

Developers have a pipeline of more than 350,000 private homes planned or under construction in Johor state, according to data from Malaysia’s National Property Information Centre. That’s more than all the privately built homes in Singapore. Forest City could add another 160,000 over its 30-year construction period, according to Bloomberg estimates, based on the projected population.

“Land is plentiful and cheap,” said Alan Cheong, senior director of research & consultancy at Savills Singapore. “But buyers don’t understand how real estate values play out when there is no shortage of land.”

The developers haven’t been helped by government measures designed to prevent overseas investors pushing up prices. In 2014, Malaysia doubled the minimum price of homes that foreigners can buy to 1 million ringgit, and raised capital gains tax to as much as 30 per cent for most properties resold by foreigners within five years.

The stream of new developments has scared away some investors, pushing developers to concentrate more on finding families who will live in the apartments, said Lo at CH Williams. Profit margins have fallen to around 20 percent, from 30 percent when land was cheap a few years ago, according to his firm.

Singapore billionaire Peter Lim’s Rowsley Ltd. said last year it will no longer build homes in Iskandar and will instead turn its Vantage Bay site into a healthcare and wellness center.

“The Chinese players have deep financial resources and are building residential projects ahead of demand,” Ho Kiam Kheong, managing director of real estate at Rowsley said in an interview. “If we do residential in Iskandar, we would be only a drop in the ocean. We can’t compete with them on such a large scale.”

UEM Group Bhd., the biggest landowner in Iskandar, is selling plots to manufacturers to boost economic activity in the area.

“The market is joined at the hip, if Johor goes down, the rest of Malaysia would follow”

“Industries are the queen bee,” creating jobs and wealth for local residents, said Chief Executive Officer Izzaddin Idris. “That will bring a demand for the houses we are building.”

U.S.-based chocolate maker Hershey Co. is among those building a plant in Iskandar, joining tenants such as amusement park Legoland Malaysia and Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios—a franchise of the U.K.-based movie studio.

Meanwhile, sales reps sell a Utopian dream—a city of the future with smart, leafy buildings and offices full of happy, rich residents.

“It will take a while for all the parts to fall into place: infrastructure, manufacturing, education, healthcare and growth in population,” said Ho at Rowsley. “But I have no doubt it will happen eventually.”

—With assistance from Emma Dong.

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Malaysia: Kuala Terengganu struck by worst flooding since 2013/14 disaster

SIM BAK HENG New Straits Times 29 Nov 16;

UALA TERENGGANU: Cityfolk here briefly went into panic mode when continuous heavy downpour, which began at 8am, swiftly inundated major parts of the city, disrupted traffic, flooded homes and generally brought life to a standstill.

Many were immediately reminded of severe floods which paralysed much of the state from Dec 2013 to Jan 2014, displaced thousands of households and caused millions in damage.

The worst affected districts today were the areas of Taman Sri Intan 1 and 2, Batas Baru, Tok Jembal, Kampung Padang Air and Gong Badak, where water levels rose to as high as 1 metre by 10am.

Major roads became unpassable, including Jalan Sultan Omar, Jalan Kamaruddin and Jalan Batu Burok, with long lines of vehicles stuck until waters began to gradually subside after 1pm when the rain began to die down.

State Civil Defence Department deputy director Amir Sarrafudin Zalman urged people stay calm, as water levels near rivers and along coastal areas had not yet reached alarming levels.

He said the water was receding extremely slowly because of high tide. "The situation is compounded by several clogged drains in the city.

The situation is (still) under control, but we will (continue) monitoring, and will alert the public on the latest flood situation in the state," he said.

Checks showed that some families incurred damage to their property, as the sudden rise in flood waters had caught many by surprise.

Many were not able to save their belongings, as they were either at their workplace, or still sleeping, when waters rose.

Flash flood strikes Terengganu, 92 people from 19 families evacuated
ZARINA ABDULLAH New Straits Times 29 Nov 16;

TERENGGANU: Heavy rains for the past 12 hours have resulted 92 people from 19 families seeking shelters at three relief centres in Kuala Terengganu and Kemaman.

The victims were forced to leave their houses after their housing areas were inundated by about one metre-deep water following a flash flood.

State Welfare Department's flood portal stated that as of 8pm, 72 people from 15 families have been placed at SK Badrul Alam Shah in Kemasik.

Another 16 people from three families were moved to SK Telok Kalong, in Kemaman. In Kuala Terengganu, a family of four had sought shelter at the SK Gong Tok Nasek, in Kuala Terengganu.

Meanwhile, district police chief Deputy Superintendent Mohd Suhaimi Ali said Jalan Kuala Terengganu-Kuantan near Merchang, which was closed since noon, has been opened to all vehicles at 5.30pm.

East Coast lashed by heavy rain
SHARANPAL SINGH RANDHAWA The Star 30 Nov 16;

KUALA TERENGGANU: Flash floods and thunderstorms threw life into chaos in various places across Terengganu, causing several road closures – and it was only the beginning of the bad news.

Worst is yet to come, said Terengganu Civil Force’s deputy director Mejar Amirsarafudin Zalman.

He said there would be high tides measuring about 2.5m in Kuala Terengganu and up to 3.2m from today for eight consecutive days, which could cause more major floods in the event of rain.

In Kuantan, it poured for more than 12 hours with the rains starting at 6am and stopping only at 7pm, a sign that the monsoon was about to hit the east coast of the peninsula.

The flash floods in Terengganu yesterday, which started after a heavy downpour at about 2am, caused two major roads in Batu Burok here and Serating Merchang in Marang to be closed to light vehicles, while Jalan Sultan Omar and Jalan Kamarudin near Kuala Terengganu Specialist Centre was inundated with water up to 0.4m. The road was not closed.

As of 6.30pm, the Serating Merchang road in Marang had reopened to vehicles.

Some low-lying areas around Kuala Terengganu, Kemaman, Dungun and Hulu Terengganu were affected but no major damage to properties was reported.

Eighty-seven evacuees from Kemaman and Kuala Terengganu were now taking refuge at SMK Badrul Alam Shah in Kemasik; SK Teluk Kalong in Kijal, Kemaman, and SK Gong Tok Nasek here.

They were all from Kampung Sarang Lang, Kampung Baru Kanan, Kampung Baru Kiri, Kampung Gong Cengal (all in Kemaman) and Kampung Gong Tok Nasek.

According to Mejar Amirsa­rafudin, the cause of the flash floods was the heavy downpour which met with the high tides although clogged drains could also be the reason for certain areas in the city centre.

He also urged the public to be more responsible and stop circulating false flood pictures through WhatsApp.

“We also urge the public not to panic following the spreading of photographs as some were taken in a way to make it look like a disaster.

“The Civil Defence Force is monitoring the situation constantly and we are in contact with all respective agencies including the Meteoro­logical Department and Department of Irrigation and Drainage for immediate reports on flood eventualities,” he said, adding that the public could log on to www.etindakan.terengganu.gov.my or call the operation room for information.

Meanwhile, Mahathir Md Daud, from Kampung Durian Burung here, said it took only 10 minutes for the water level to rise and inundate his house in the morning.

“This is the first time a flash flood occurred in the 45 years that the house has been standing. Everything happened so quickly that we were unable to carry anything.

A car makes its way down a flooded road in Kuala Terengganu.

“We will have to start packing and moving our belongings to a higher place as the flash flood was a warning there could be a bigger one coming soon,” he said, adding that the floodwaters had caused slight damage to his sofa set and the motors in his two refrigerators.

Housewife Rosmah Engah, 36, from Kampung Batu Penunggul, Marang, was a very frustrated woman.

She said such flash floods were a norm every time it rained heavily for six continuous hours in her area.

She blamed poor drainage for causing the flash floods which saw her house inundated at about noon.


Terengganu floods: More people move to relief centres at two districts
SHARANPAL SINGH RANDHAWA The Star 30 Nov 16;

KEMAMAN: More people have been evacuated from floods as the Fire and Rescue Department starts monitoring river banks due to the high tide phenomenon.

The number of flood evacuees increased to 316 from 79 families on Wednesday from 87 evacuees on Tuesday night.

Civil Defence Force deputy director Major Amirsarafudin Zalman said the evacuees were housed at five centres in Kemaman and Kuala Terengganu.

Kemaman has 303 victims from 74 families placed at three centres while 13 victims from five families were housed at two centres in Kuala Terengganu.

The five evacuation centres are SMK Badrul Alam Shah in Kemasik; SK Teluk Kalong, in Kijal, Kemaman, Kampung Titian Berayun JKKK hall, SK Gong Tok Nasek and SK Chendering in Kuala Terengganu.

"The victims were all from Kampung Sarang Lang, Kampung Baru Kanan, Kampung Baru Kiri, Kampung Gong Cengal (all in Kemaman), Kampung Gong Tok Nasek and Kampung Chendering in Kuala Terengganu," Amirsarafudin said.

As of 8.20am, SMK Badrul Alam Shah in Kemasik shelters the most number of evacuees at 256 victims from 65 families followed by SK Teluk Kalong with 42 victims from eight families.

The first three evacuation centres (SMK Badrul Alam Shah, SK Teluk Kalong and SK Gong Tok Nasek) were opened between 3.50pm and 4.55pm on Tuesday.

Bernama reports that the Terengganu Fire and Rescue Department is monitoring rivers, beaches and several high risk areas due to the high tide phenomenon and incessant heavy rain since early Wednesday.

Its chief, Che Shaari Abdullah, said the monitoring of the areas which began from 9pm, involved a team of 30 divided into three groups.

"The groups are making checks in villages, towns, the shoreline and rivers. We are also placing markers to indicate the water level.

"Based on the initial checks, the situation is still under control although with a slight increase (in water levels)," he told reporters after conducting a check at Batu Buruk beach area.

Che Shaari also advised visitors to be on the alert and not to visit or carry out activities at risky areas throughout the monsoon season.

The Meteorological Department had forecast rains in Terengganu for the next five days which also coincides with the high tides of up to 3.2m in Kemaman and 2.5m in Kuala Terengganu.

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Malaysia: Connected mangroves

IZWAN ISMAIL New Straits Times 28 Nov 16;

Telecommunication solutions provider Ericsson uses tech to help rehabilitate mangrove areas in Sabak Bernam, writes Izwan Ismail

OVER the past years, soil and river pollution in the Sabak Bernam coastal area in Selangor has resulted in severe dwindling of mangrove trees in the area.

This in turn has led to serious erosion of the area which, if not addressed, will cause more damage.

To this end, Ericsson has stepped in to offer its expertise and technology know-how in monitoring the growth of mangroves and, at the same time, gauge the environmental condition.

Its vice president of solutions for Malaysia and Sri Lanka, Sebastian Barros, says farmers are very worried about erosion there.

“Much had been done. The affected community planted new mangrove saplings but the exercise was not very successful. Due to the harsh weather conditions, growth was affected and saplings died. Monkeys also destroyed the young trees,” he says.

IOT & TECHNOLOGY

What Ericsson is doing is to bring the wonders of Internet of Things (IoT) and wireless technology to the area, specifically Kampung Datuk Hormat. “We want to rehabilitate the mangrove areas which have eroded and are disappearing,” says Barros.

According to him, mangrove trees can hold up to 100 times the effect of tsunamis as they act as an essential natural barrier.

Besides that, they can hold carbon up to five times better than other trees.

The area is also home to 100 species of fauna, including snakes and crabs.

CONNECTED WAYS

The project, which started in September 2015, is called Ericsson’s Connected Mangroves, the first of its kind in the world.

It combines cloud, machine-to-machine and mobile broadband to help the local community in Kampung Datuk Hormat to better manage the growth of mangrove saplings.

After the affected areas were identified, volunteers from Ericsson, NGOs and the villagers planted mangrove saplings that were equipped with special sensors which could monitor real-time information about soil and weather conditions, fires, water levels and any intrusion from third parties.

This ensured positive growth and rehabilitation of eroded coastlines.

“Data is compiled and sent directly to a cloud system where users, such as farmers, NGOs, analysts and authorities, can have access to it and so understand more about the current status of the saplings,” says Barros.

SLOWLY BUT SURELY

Ericsson’s aim is to plant 10,000 mangrove trees by end of 2018. To date, it has planted 3,000.

“By combining ICT innovation with collaborative partnerships built on a shared vision, we now see a higher percentage of mangrove saplings that are likely reach maturity.

In addition, through the Internet of Things (IoT) solution, the community has been empowered to use data to manage the environment and take action to support the mangroves,” he says.

It was estimated that only 40 per cent of mangrove saplings had reached maturity in recent years.

But pilot results from the project have shown an improvement of 50 per cent in the mortality rate.

“This implies that with the Connected Mangroves approach, for every 1,000 saplings, around 700 or more can reach adulthood,” says Barros.

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Malaysia Seriously Mitigating Global Warming, To Ratify Paris Agreement

Azman Ujang Bernama 14 Nov 16;

MARRAKECH, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is seriously doing its part in mitigating global warming and plans to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change before the end of this year, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said here Monday.

Wan Junaidi, who is leading the Malaysian delegation to the 22nd meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Forum on Climate Change (COP 22) underway in this Moroccan city, said as one of the 191 signatories of the Paris Agreement, Malaysia had pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 45 per cent by 2030 compared with the 2005 level.

"Energy, industrial processes, agriculture, land use, land use change, forestry and waste are among the sectors under the scope and coverage of our reduction commitment," he said when opening the first ever Malaysia Pavilion under the COP series.

The Pavilion serves as a platform for Malaysia to showcase and highlight the country's achievements that include activities related to climate change mitigation as well as demonstrate its commitment towards the cause.

The conference at the level of officials from all the 191 signatory countries of Paris Agreement began last week while the three-day High-Level meeting among ministers kicks off tomorrow.

Virtually all member countries are showcasing ongoing and future sustainable development projects under a massive tent-like city here.

Wan Junaidi said Malaysia's biological diversity was rcognised as among the world's richest and one of the 12 megadiverse countries in the world.

"Our economic growth, that is crucial for our well-being, also places pressure on our flora and fauna," said Wan Junaidi, who has been heading the ministry over one-and-half years and has been pushing hard to introduce stronger new laws to protect the country's bio-diversity.

He has consistently emphasised the need to strengthen efforts in conservation to ensure balanced development in pursuit of green growth and contribution to the global Sustainable Development Agenda.

The ministry's secretary-general Datuk Seri Azizan Ahmad said credit for Malaysia having its inaugural Pavilion at last after 22 COP meetings had taken place should be given to Wan Junaidi who fought hard to get it approved by the Cabinet.

One of the projects being showcased by Malaysia at the Pavilion is Forest City, a smart city development located at Johor's Iskandar Malaysia adjacent to the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link.

Forest City, a joint-venture between Country Garden Holdings and Esplanade Danga 88, is branded as a prime model of a future city and comprises of four islands designed as an ideal destination for a new generation of Malaysians and foreigners who seek to live and work in a compact and walkable mixed-used of metropolis with a variety of civic, cultural and recreational amenities set within a lush tropical landscape.

Forest City is expected to generate an estimated RM197.7 billion of GDP by 2035 or 7 per cent of total GDP of Johor and creating over 220,000 jobs half of which are skilled workers.

The Malaysian delegation to COP22 includes Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Utama Idris Haron, Malaysian Ambassador to Morocco Datuk Jamal Hassan and secretary-general of the Ministry of Green Technology, Energy and Water Datuk Seri Dr Zaini Ujang.

-- BERNAMA

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