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It would be a shame if farms in Singapore are valued only for their economic production, because they have potential to be a success story for Singapore, says Kranji Countryside Association president Kenny Eng.
Kenny Eng Channel NewsAsia 19 Mar 17;
SINGAPORE: I read with interest the Government’s plan to transform the farming sector in Singapore last week. It had key strategies we expected to see: overcoming space constraints with technology, using resources more efficiently and developing a generation of “agri-specialists”.
I was hopeful because it showed us that agriculture is getting increased policy attention, and symbolised a growing recognition that despite being a city-state, Singapore must take growing some of its own food seriously.
The farming transformation map identified many technologies that farms can look to to increase productivity: vertical farming, climate-controlled systems and robotics to name a few. Indeed, for a small market that imports 90 per cent of our food, Singapore’s food supply can be threatened by climate change and geopolitical uncertainties, and technology can be one answer. Developing strong local capabilities in agriculture at this stage in the game may be a belated move, but better late than never.
The Government also rightly pointed out that skilled workers would need to support this effort. So engineers, architects, researchers and entrepreneurs should all be co-opted into building Singapore’s farming and food future.
However, the farming transformation map was also a missed opportunity to address inherent problems and wider possibilities of our agricultural sector. There was a strong focus on scarcity and intensification, but more can be done to connect the dots of a natural and social ecosystem and more holistically develop the agricultural sector.
I wish I could say that we will be able to easily transform our agriculture sector into one with high-tech, productive and profitable farms envisaged, but we have to ask ourselves some hard questions first.
First, are farmers able to adopt technology, and why or why not? The trouble is that agricultural technologies have not taken off in Singapore because of underlying business factors. High risks, lack of financing and limited farm tenures hold us back. A 30 per cent upfront government grant to buy a machine or install a system does not fundamentally address common challenges faced by the local farmer of having no money for basic infrastructure, no assurance that his farm is on ground protected for agriculture and few talent joining the industry. As production capabilities are inextricably linked to business prospects, the farm transformation map may be asking farmers to fly before they even walk.
Second, are we measuring the right outcomes? Although “people development” and “multi-disciplinary expertise” were mentioned in the roadmap, they still only refer to people and expertise that support intensification. Yet agriculture’s success surely cannot be defined solely by yields – farming and related enterprises have intrinsic value for education, tourism, community and nation building. In these important aspects that add immeasurable value to primary production, the transformation map misses the mark.
AGRICULTURE'S IMPORTANCE TO SINGAPORE
Agriculture is one of humankind’s oldest pursuits and one that enabled civilisation to thrive.
Singapore, like inhabited lands across the world, was once an agrarian society that produced nearly all our own food. Orchard Road was a gambier plantation, Punggol had pig farms and every kampong had free range chickens and organic vegetables. At our independence in 1965, we produced 60 per cent of our own vegetable demand, 80 per cent of poultry, 100 per cent of eggs and even exported pork. We published a farming journal and even organised a large agricultural show attended by the late founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew in 1965.
In our quest for economic growth, rapid industrialisation was achieved at the expense of small farms that were gradually phased out. By 2014, only one per cent of land – most of which were located within the Kranji countryside – was used for agriculture. 62 farms will be relocating in 2019 to make way for defence training grounds. Depending on the land size farmers will be given, this move may shrink agricultural land to 0.5 per cent. And efforts to develop the sector are still very much focused on achieving the goals of land intensification and primary production.
There is some background to this focus. The global food crisis in 2007 that led to a 12 per cent increase in prices of Singapore’s food imports may have marked a first turning point in the Government’s policies on agriculture – giving urgency to shore up Singapore’s self-sufficiency in core food items to buffer against supply shocks. Given a context of land scarcity and urban pressures, it is no wonder that intensification of primary production seemed to have become the key priority for Singapore’s agricultural sector.
Yet, there is much to be done to marry policy intent and ground realities. Unlike other sectors in Singapore with long-term policy, infrastructure and other forms of support, farms do not have a sound enough business footing to invest heavily in expensive and unproven technology. They also have short land leases, making it harder for returns on investment to be worthwhile.
Farmers also say that while increasing support for the core food items of vegetables, eggs and fish has helped many of them, it leaves out others who produce nutritious and safe food for Singapore and are equally deserving of assistance. Indigenous root vegetables, fruits and herbs, goat’s milk and frog meat are some examples.
In an age of climate uncertainty and rapid urbanisation, there may be merits to protecting indigenous agriculture and farmers’ livelihoods. For as long as we turn to the land rather than labs for food, agriculture should be taken seriously as an industry and rendered the appropriate support as the sector faces new challenges.
Models of development surrounding farming have changed drastically in the last decades. While higher productivity and yields were achieved through land intensification and industrial farming methods of Green Revolution in the 1960s and 70s, many of these developments have reached a plateau because of soil and environmental degradation.
But there is more to be optimistic about, if we decide to invest seriously into this sector. The new waves of agricultural thought now encompass not only the higher end of biotechnology such as gene editing, but also simply going back to basics, creating a healthy environmental ecosystem for crops and livestock, and letting nature take its grand course. Importantly, agricultural thought leadership embraces inclusiveness: uplifting smallholder farms, giving them reasons to stay on their land and raising awareness of rural lifestyles to increasingly urban populations.
If Singapore is to be serious about farming, seeing it not as just as a possible economic engine but a sector with potential for innovation and lifestyle transformation, then we need a new approach now – one with a more rounded development trajectory for the local agricultural industry. We can take a wait-and-see approach. But if we do so, it is likely that 50 years from now, the natural and indeed the social ecosystem of farms in our present countryside would be long gone and rebuilding it organically would be close to impossible.
A DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT TRAJECTORY: TRANSFORMING SINGAPORE'S COUNTRYSIDE
As early as 2004, some of us in Kranji were already looking at a different development model. Farmers themselves were acutely aware of the need to innovate and change their business models to remain relevant and viable in a city-state where land and labour is expensive. So we looked to other countries and found that small farms at the fringes of cities, also known as peri-urban farms, made use of their proximity to urban populations to offer services and experiences beyond primary production.
We got rules for farms changed so that farmers could build education centres, museums, cafes and farmstays on their premises. These amenities were never intended to replace primary production but to enhance and preserve farms, and to give the farming cluster new life as a lifestyle destination.
Bed and breakfasts and vineyards in the countrysides of developed nations provided good referenced, but Singapore has an even more attractive proposition: Kranji is only 30 minutes away from the city, with different types of farms co-existing. It is also just a stone’s throw from the historic Kranji War Memorial and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, and safe under the watch of our nearby defence forces.
It is a gem of an ecosystem, and should be protected and developed as a national treasure. Countries that have protected their peri-urban areas, such as the Netherlands, Japan and Australia, are far ahead in food security than others who have not, such as India, Myanmar and Indonesia.
Many of us in Kranji have always held the view that the last one per cent of land used for agriculture must achieve multiple goals and not just that of primary production. Visitors to Kranji can testify that local farms have continuously evolved through innovation. The introduction of enterprise, value creation and destination marketing strategies into traditional farming business models have enabled us to achieve higher productivity and commercial viability while creating good jobs and contributing to the larger Singaporean community.
In a way, maybe innovation does not always need to involve adopting the latest production technology in farming – it should also encompass artisanal processing, visitor experience and concept innovation. There have been companies that evolved their plant nursery businesses to landscape and events companies offering naturally inspired lifestyles. And in Kranji, we focused on developing the countryside, which contains the ecosystem in which the industry thrives - running a private shuttle bus service to farms and getting installed a directional sign for Kranji farms that identified the area as a tourist destination.
Visitors to the Kranji countryside now total more than 20,000 each month. This tell me that such forms of innovation drive demand in our digital age and city, which in turn generates revenue and investment for building core capabilities.
GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITIES AS ENABLERS
Agricultural businesses in Singapore need to capture value where they can and work together with the government and community to grow multi-dimensionally. With the help of government agencies such as the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), SPRING and Singapore Tourism Board (STB), many farms have indeed upgraded their capabilities and offerings in the last decade.
AVA’s support enabled the first hydraulic vertical vegetable growing system developed by local farm Skygreens to open its doors in 2011. SPRING’s grants helped our egg farmers purchase much needed labour-saving and processing technologies. As a result, egg productivity increased over the past five years. STB supported the first ever Go-local campaign in 2009 and subsequently the 27th Commonwealth Agriculture Conference that saw 300 international delegates visit our tiny countryside in 2016. Throughout the years, it has also introduced many foreign journalists to the area and the result is more tourist interest in our local farms.
The community has also played an important role in the countryside’s transformation. When we launched the first Kranji Countryside Farmers’ Market in 2014, 4,000 people showed up and wiped out limited stocks in two hours. Nearly three years down the road and into its ninth edition, the quarterly event now attracts 12,000 people who see the value in knowing the farmers who produce their food and bringing their families to the countryside for a day out.
The community has been vocal in supporting the preservation of farms as many share the view that Singapore’s farms have an intrinsic value for national education, conservation and tourism. Many people who I have talked to also say they see the countryside as an inalienable part of Singapore’s heritage and nation building.
CAN FARMS AND OUR COUNTRYSIDE SURVIVE?
I distinctly remember, nine years ago, addressing an auditorium full of young farmers from around the Commonwealth on value creation for smallholder farms. Facing farmers who own thousands of hectares of land and businesses worth millions, I thought I would be laughed at when I highlighted how Singapore’s farms hope to diversify their income, build a brand and attract young talent.
Instead, many young farmers told me that they knew deep in their bones this direction is the future of agriculture. In a primary industry of diminishing margins and rising costs and risks, reinvention is necessary. The reinvention the brightest minds in farming talk about has more to do with human ingenuity, resilience and creativity than any technology silver bullets.
Can farms and our countryside survive in the global city of Singapore? Having grown accustomed to their lonely struggles, farmers in Singapore today are heartened by the growing awareness and support of the industry, though the future still looks uncertain.
We hope for a bolder and more balanced transformation map, and one that recognises the intrinsic value the farming community captures for Singapore and Singaporeans – in heritage, education and promoting a sustainable and green way of life. We know the community behind us grows. And we hope that despite being the underdog of the economy, we can be another one of Singapore’s softer success stories.
It would be a shame if we were valued solely for our economic production.
Kenny Eng is president of the Kranji Countryside Association, a non-profit organisation founded in 2005 that promotes local agriculture, food security and sustainability.
- CNA/sl
Audrey Tan AsiaOne 17 Mar 17;
Singapore's murky waters are an unexpected treasure trove of marine life, and the greatest proof of that now hangs at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.
The skeleton of a 10.6m-long sperm whale takes pride of place there, and it is little wonder why.
It is the first sperm whale to be documented in the Republic.
Jubi Lee, as the whale is affectionately known, was found dead and floating off Jurong Island two years ago, when Singapore was having its golden jubilee celebrations.
Observations showed it had suffered a deep cut that may have been caused by a collision with a ship.
But the whale still had a story to tell.
Researchers have documented findings based on their study of the sea mammal, to raise awareness of the importance of marine conservation.
The story of how the giant sea creature was treated is being told in a new book launched recently by the museum.
"The 50th year of Independence, 2015, was marked by the return of the Singapore whale," wrote Professor Tommy Koh, chairman of the museum's advisory board, in the foreword.
"Unlike the whale of 1892, this whale was actually found in Singapore's territorial waters."
He was referring to a 12.8m Indian fin whale that had been found in Malaysia.
It was hung at the old National Museum in Stamford Road from 1907 to 1974 before it was given to Malaysia.
The 155-page book, titled A Whale Out Of Water: The Salvage Of Singapore's Sperm Whale, details how the whale was found, scientific discoveries arising from the carcass, and how museum staff worked round the clock to preserve its skeleton.
One important discovery was what researchers found in the gut of the whale: Other than the remains of squids - a major part of its diet, they also found plastic cups.
"Mixed emotions were felt as we discovered both the astounding appetite of a whale and the devastation humans are causing to nature," wrote the authors, museum staff Iffah Iesa, 25, and Kate Pocklington, 30.
"Among the thousands of indigestible squid beaks and eye lenses, was a collection of plastic wrappers and cups."
The book retails at the museum shop for $26.
But from now till the end of this month, it will be sold at a promotional price of $16.
Visitors can also view footage of the whale's dissection at the museum's new Out Of The Water exhibition.
New Straits Times 19 Mar 17;
SEGAMAT: There is no necessity to quarantine areas found positive for H5N1 bird flu for the time being, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S.Subramaniam.
He said this was because there had not been any cases of H5N1 infection affecting humans and the Health Ministry was making efforts to ensure it would not happen.
The ministry is implementing various preventive measures and giving awareness to those concerned.
“We are disseminating information on health care by putting on protective wear such as face mask, apron and gloves to ensure that those handling chicken do not come in contact with chicken fluid,” he told reporters here tonight.
Earlier he attended a Segamat District Information Office dinner here with about 200 people including media personnel.
According to Kelantan Veterinary Services Department today, two new locations had been found positive for H5N1 in Pasir Mas.
– BERNAMA
H5N1 outbreak: 30,927 birds culled, 11,804 eggs destroyed as of Friday
Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah New Straits Times 18 Mar 17;
KOTA BARU: The State Veterinary Services Department has culled more than 30,927 birds and destroyed 11,804 eggs in its operation to curb the spread of avian flu H5N1 in Kelantan since early this month.
The department, in a statement today, said the figures were accurate as of Friday. It said that 28 locations in six districts have been hit with the virus, including two new locations detected in Pasir Mas yesterday.
Kota Baru recorded the highest number of locations affected by the virus with a total of 14 areas, followed by Pasir Mas (six) and Tumpat (three). The others are Tanah Merah and Bachok.
"At the two new locations in Pasir Mas, the department has culled 554 birds and destroyed 415 eggs," the statement said.
The department added it would continue to carry out surveillance at all the 28 locations from time-to-time and so far, its officers have taken samples from more than 3,000 birds.
No new bird flu locations in Kelantan, situation under control
The Star 19 Mar 17;
KOTA BARU: There has been no new location in Kelantan found to be affected by the bird flu (H5N1) epidemic, said the state Veterinary Services Department.
The department said 426 fowls and 463 eggs were culled on Saturday and that the monitoring will be continued.
"As of yesterday (Saturday), 28 locations in six districts have been confirmed to be positive for the H5N1 virus, namely Kota Baru (14 locations), Pasir Mas (six), Tumpat (three), Tanah Merah (one), Bachok (one) and Pasir Puteh (three), involving 43 premises.
"A total of 31,353 fowls and 12,267 eggs have been destroyed. As many as 3,012 samples were taken from 502 owners," the department said in a statement.
It said the epidemic had been brought under control within a 30km-radius of Kampung Pulau Tebu covering six districts affected by the virus.
"The situation is under control and confined to the affected areas, involving only free-range chicken of small rearers. Roadblocks were set up to control the movement of fowls from Kelantan," it said.
"To date, there has been no cases of infection among humans.
"The public are urged to report to the nearest Veterinary Department if there are instances of chicken death," the statement said.
On March 15, the Kelantan state government was reported to have declared the bird flu epidemic (H5N1) a state disaster after several free-range chickens died from the disease in Kampung Pulau Tebu, Tunjong here on March 6. - Bernama
Antara 19 Mar 17;
Bandung (ANTARA News) - A flood triggered by the overflowing of Citarum River swept through the three sub-districts of Dayeuhkolot, Baleendah, and Bojongsoang in Bandung district, West Java, on Saturday (March 18).
"The flood was caused by rains since Saturday morning. According to our monitoring of the area, the water level in the three sub-districts reached 60 centimeters to 1.2 meters high," coordinator of the districts disaster response agency (Tagana) Dadang Wahidin said on Saturday evening.
The flood forced local residents, who had earlier fled their flooded homes, to evacuate to higher ground, he noted.
"At around 03.00pm, some residents returned home, but because of todays flood, they evacuated again," he stated.
Some 500 families are taking refuge, he added.
Channel NewsAsia 18 Mar 17;
LIMA: A sudden and abnormal warming of Pacific waters off Peru has unleashed the deadliest downpours in decades, with landslides and raging rivers sweeping away people, clogging highways and destroying crops in a potential sign of a global El Nino pattern this year.
At least 62 people have died and more than 70,000 have become homeless as Peru's rainy season has delivered 10 times as much rainfall than usual, authorities said Friday.
About half of Peru has been declared in emergency to expedite resources to the hardest hit areas, mostly in the north where rainfall has broken records in several districts, said Prime Minister Fernando Zavala.
Peru is bracing itself for another month of flooding.
A local El Nino phenomenon, the warming of surface sea temperatures in the Pacific, will likely continue along Peru's northern coast at least through April, said Dimitri Gutierrez, a scientist with Peru's El Nino committee.
Local El Ninos in Peru tend to be followed by the global El Nino phenomenon, which can trigger flooding and droughts in different countries, said Gutierrez.
The U.S. weather agency has put the chances of an El Nino developing in the second half of 2017 at 50-55 percent.
While precipitation in Peru has not exceeded the powerful El Nino of 1998, more rain is falling in shorter periods of time - rapidly filling streets and rivers, said Jorge Chavez, a general tasked with coordinating the government's response.
"We've never seen anything like this before," said Chavez. "From one moment to the next, sea temperatures rose and winds that keep precipitation from reaching land subsided."
Some scientists have said climate change will make El Ninos more frequent and intense.
In Peru, apocalyptic scenes recorded on cellphones and shared on social media have broadened the sense of chaos.
A woman caked in mud pulled herself from under a debris-filled river earlier this week after a mudslide rushed through a valley where she was tending to crops.
Bridges have collapsed as rivers have breached their banks, and cows and pigs have turned up on beaches after being carried away by rivers.
"There's no need to panic, the government knows what it's doing," President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said in a televised event, urging people to stay clear of rivers.
In Lima, the capital, classes have been suspended and running water has been restricted after treatment systems were clogged - prompting a rush on bottled water that produced shortages at some supermarkets.
The vast majority of people affected by the extreme weather are poor, including many who built makeshift homes on floodplains that had been dry for 20 years, said Chavez.
"There's no electricity, no drinking water...no transit because streets are flooded," said Valentin Fernandez, mayor of the town Nuevo Chimbote.
Chavez said Peru must rethink its infrastructure to prepare for the potential "tropicalization" of the northern desert coast, which some climate models have forecast as temperatures rise.
"We need more and better bridges, we need highways and cities with drainage systems," said Chavez. "We can't count on nature being predictable."
(Reporting by Mitra Taj; Additional reporting by Reuters TV; Editing by Leslie Adler)
- Reuters
Flash floods take dramatic toll in Lima and northern Peru
Channel NewsAsia 19 Mar 17;
LIMA: Flash floods and landslides hit parts of Lima, leaving some communities cut off from roads on Saturday (Mar 18), as others in Peru fled rising rivers, and millions fretted that they won't have drinking water.
The government announced Saturday that so far this year 72 people have died as a result of heavy rains and flash floods around the country.
Peru's geographic extremes help fuel the often deadly force of the mudslides known locally as huaycos, the indigenous Quechua word for flash flood-landslide.
The South American nation of over 30 million has plenty of extremes: its Pacific coastal deserts in the west are interrupted by the soaring Andes, famed for the Inca people and Machu Picchu in the south. Further east, Peru has hot Amazon basin lowlands.
The tremendously steep mountains combine with many rocky and sandy areas that lack the topsoil found in more temperate places, meaning fewer trees are there to stop mudslides.
After weeks of heavy rain swept toward the coast late this week, many riverbeds in coastal areas went from empty to overflowing in no time.
In Lima, some residents on the outskirts of the capital of 10 million awoke Friday to realise their bedrooms were filling with water.
On Thursday and Friday, 10 people died in a landslide in the northern town of Otuzco. Seven of them were in trucks crushed by the huge flow of earth.
Others found themselves cut off by mudslides that blocked portions of the main highway linking Lima to the centre of the country.
In one dramatic scene, rescuers used zip lines to help residents of Lima's Huachipa neighbourhood escape over the torrent of brown water that was once their street, as it swallowed up cars and trucks.
The floods have been triggered by the weather event known as El Nino, a warming of surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean that wreaks havoc on weather patterns every few years.
'A DIFFICULT SITUATION'
But this year it has hit Peru particularly hard. "It's a difficult situation, there's no doubt about it. But we have the resources" to deal with it, said President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.
The government announced it would release 2.5 billion soles (US$760 million) in emergency funds to rebuild affected areas. Over half a million people were getting assistance.
While Peruvians have been dealing with huaycos for centuries, many poor residents of cities and towns build makeshift homes in areas that they may not realise could be flash-flood zones.
At times, authorities tell different groups to move, but they voice frustration that they have nowhere to go. And authorities' presence in the poorest peripheral districts, many perched on mountainsides, can be inconsistent.
The inundation came as the National Emergency Operations Center said at least 72 people have been killed in Peru this year in natural disasters. A total of 72,115 have lost their homes.
Some opposition politicians have called for the president to declare a national state of emergency, instead of local ones.
Among them were a few lawmakers urging Kuczynski to drop a bid for Lima to host the 2019 Pan-American Games so that more funds could be used for recovery efforts.
ROADS BECOME RIVERS
In metro Lima - areas such as Huachipa as well as Carapongo - locals had to form human chains to avoid being swept away to their death.
Police and firefighters also used zip lines to evacuate people from the roofs of their homes.
Frank Luis Limache, a resident of Huachipa, told El Comercio he was trapped with a group of more than 30 people. "Please. Help us. We are trapped in here and haven't eaten since last night," he said.
The Rimac River in Lima toppled a pedestrian bridge linking El Agustino and San Juan de Lurigancho.
In the Punta Hermosa district south of Lima, a getaway of posh beach flats, the usual upscale quiet was jarred by a huayco that on Wednesday swept a farm woman, 32, far from her farm, leaving her standing awkwardly near the beach with her bloodied cow. Caked in mud, her distraught image has become one of the local symbols of this flash-flood season.
Meanwhile, city authorities slapped tight restrictions on drinking water use due to worries over the cloudiness of local river water.
Those who could afford it, pounced on supermarkets and neighbourhood shops to buy drinking water, causing shortages in many areas. In less-well-off areas, people lined up to fill buckets from tanker trucks.
- AFP/ec
Bloom of jellyfish at Pasir Ris mangroves!
wild shores of singapore
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Beetles@SG BLOG
The Star 17 Mar 17;
KLUANG: The State Economic Planning Unit (Upen) has been tasked with coming out with a plan to clean and rehabilitate polluted rivers in Johor.
State Health, Environment, Educational and Information committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said the directive was made at the state executive council meeting on Thursday.
Upen was told to coordinate with the relevant agencies when implementing its plan.
“We are focusing on rivers which are the main source of raw water supply to treatment plants,” said Ayub.
He said that among the 28 rivers categorised as polluted were Sungai Jibong, Sungai Singgol, Sungai Semenchu, Sungai Simpang Kanan, Sungai Sembrong and Sungai Kim.
Among the measures to be taken were relocating squatter settlements now at the river banks and shutting down illegal businesses operating near the rivers, he said.
He was speaking after attending the World Kidney Day 2017 state-level celebration at Hospital Enche Besar Hajjah Khalsom yesterday.
Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar had directed the state government and local authorities to come down hard on those polluting rivers.
The directive came after the Sultan made a spot check by boat along Sungai Tebrau with his son Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman on Wednesday.
The Ruler expressed his regret over the irresponsible dumping of rubbish into the river, saying that this was one of the main causes of floods in Johor Baru.
Ayub also said state authorities were closely monitoring the H1N1 avian flu outbreak in Kelantan although there were no cases reported in Johor.
Ayub said chickens and ducks here were safe for consumption and that the authorities were prepared, should there be an outbreak in the state.
Stern warning to river polluters
KATHLEEN ANN KILI The Star 17 Mar 17;
JOHOR BARU: Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar has ordered the state government and local authorities to come down hard on those responsible for polluting Sungai Tebrau.
Sultan Ibrahim, accompanied by his son Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman, made a surprise visit by boat to check on the polluted river on March 14.
In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, the ruler expressed regret over the irresponsible dumping of rubbish into the river.
Sultan Ibrahim cited this as one of the main causes of flash floods here.
The post, which had garnered more than 5,000 likes, was attached with a video showing the ruler manning an airboat while his son travelled beside him on another airboat.
Environmentalist Vincent Chow called on the state government to take action against those responsible for river pollution in Johor.
The Malaysia Nature Society (MNS) chairman said that Sungai Tebrau once had a lot of shellfish but their population has declined over the years and currently only South American and African catfish inhabit the river.
“Our local marine species cannot survive in the water there which has very low oxygen levels.
“The river has been contaminated by factory effluents and solid waste from upstream where residential and industrial areas are located,” he said when contacted here.
Chow noted that river pollution has not been addressed effectively so far and it was high time the authorities do something about it before it is too late.
Chow said although there are sufficient policies and laws to protect rivers in the state, enforcement was lacking.
“If the pollution is not addressed soon, the state government will likely have to fork out a lot more to clean the river in the future.
“The government should enforce the law and educate the people on the consequences of dirty rivers,” he said in calling on the authorities to meet with related non-government organisations on the matter.
Citing Sungai Johor as another example, Chow said that the upper part of the river had been polluted due to sand mining, which has been going on for more than 15 years.
“The muddy discharge streams down the river.
“The pollution has affected marine life as the population of fish and udang galah (giant fresh water prawns) has dwindled by some 60% to 70%,” he added.
Johor EPU to plan clean-up of polluted rivers
ZAZALI MUSA The Star 16 Mar 17;
KLUANG: Johor has directed the state Economic Planning Unit to come up with a long-term plan to clean up and rehabilitate polluted and dirty rivers in the state.
State Health, Environment, Education and Information committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said the state EPU would coordinate with the relevant agencies and departments in implementing the plans.
Ayub said there were six rivers in the state classified as polluted, including Sungai Tebrau, Sungai Skudai, Sungai Segget and Sungai Alor Merah in Pontian.
"The cleaning up and rehabilitation process will focus on rivers which are the main source of water for water treatment plants," he said.
He said the decision was made during the weekly state Cabinet meeting on Wednesday following a directive by Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar to the state government and local authorities.
Sultan Ibrahim made the order after a spot check by boat to observe river pollution along Sungai Tebrau on March 14.
The Ruler was accompanied by his son Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Sultan Ibrahim had expressed regret over the irresponsible dumping of thrash into the river.
"Among the measures to be taken by the authorities are to relocate illegal squatter settlements and companies operating along the rivers in Johor," said Ayub.
He said this at a press conference after launching the state-level World Kidney Day 2017 celebration at Hospital Enche' Besar Hajjah Khalsom here on Thursday.
Gov't dept tasked to clean up Sungai Tebrau, run awareness campaigns
Chuah Bee Kim New Straits Times 16 Mar 17;
JOHOR BARU: The state’s Economic Planning Unit and Department of Irrigation and Drainage have been tasked to coordinate the clean-up of Sungai Tebrau, where the quality of the river has been found to be slightly polluted.
The river, which is also inundated with rubbish, will undergo a clean-up programme with the help of representatives from various government departments.
State Health and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat told a press conference here today that the 32km long river is dotted four illegal squatter areas and 1,166 industrial players.
The river, which starts from the Senai International Airport, runs through Kg Maju Jaya, Kempas, Bandar Dato Onn, Pandan Wholesale Market and Kampung Bakar Batu before flowing into Tebrau Straits.
Of the 1,166 industries, nine did not have proper discharge facilities. The river also has eight tributaries and the cost of maintaining the eight tributaries is RM90,000 per month.
“We are in the midst of relocating the squatters to flats. At the same time, we need to organise awareness programmes as public awareness is not there.
“When the awareness is not there, no matter how many times we make the effort to clean the river, the rubbish woe will re-surface,” he added.
“Cooperation among the different government departments is important in our bid to improve the quality of the river (currently classified under Category Three),” he said.
Besides Sungai Tebrau, another six rivers in the state are also being reviewed under the Water Blueprint. One of the rivers is Sungai Skudai.
Also present at the press conference were Johor Department of Environment director Datuk Dr Mohammad Ezanni Mat Salleh and Johor Baru City Council mayor Datuk A Rahim Nin.
Rahim said Sungai Tebrau has many tributaries, which flows into the Tebrau Straits, and can affect the neighbouring country.
He added that plans are afoot to install trash traps, however, this would add to the local council’s monthly RM90,000 maintenance cost.
The inspection of Sungai Tebrau was made after Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar had personally visited the site and called for a clean-up of the river.
In another matter, Mohammad Ezanni said the death of fishes in Danga Bay here recently was not caused by the rubbish pollution but the weather condition.
Johor to raise awareness on keeping rivers clean
KATHLEEN ANN KILI The Star 18 Mar 17;
JOHOR BARU: The state government will be going all out to raise awareness and educate the public on the importance of river cleanliness.
Johor Health, Environment, Education and Information Committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said that awareness in the community was an important factor to ensure the rivers are kept clean.
“I have made a visit along Sungai Tebrau and from my immediate observation, piles of rubbish are more noticeable near squatter settlements by the riverbanks.
“As such, we will put more focus on educating the public on river cleanliness and the effects of dumping rubbish into the river,” he said.
Ayub added that there was no point for the authorities to keep on clearing rubbish from rivers, if the community did not play its part.
“We have also roped in youth councils from each district to be our eyes and ears and monitor activities along the rivers statewide,” he said.
He explained that the cleanliness of river did not fall on the shoulders on a particular department but was the responsibility of a network of agencies.
“The Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) looks into issues by the riverbanks but the water quality is under the prerogative of the Environment Department (DOE) which monitors water quality.
“Moreover, if the source of pollution is from the surrounding industries then DOE is in charge, but if it has to do with animal rearing, then it falls on the shoulders of the Veterinary Department,” he said.
In a Facebook post, Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar had ordered the state government and local authorities to come down hard on those responsible for polluting Sungai Tebrau.
Sultan Ibrahim, accompanied by his son Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman, made a surprise visit by boat to check on the polluted Sungai Tebrau on Tuesday.
Expressing his regrets over the irresponsible dumping of rubbish into the river, the ruler cited the pollutants as one of the main causes of flash floods here.
Meanwhile, Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) mayor A Rahim Nin, who was also present at the press conference, said the council would be installing rubbish traps along Sungai Tebrau to deal with the load of trash.
“However, as stressed earlier, education is key to contain rubbish being dumped into the river and keep it under control.
“Currently, MBJB carries out clean-up works on eight tributaries along Sungai Tebrau, at a cost of RM90,000 a month,” he added.
The Star 17 Mar 17;
THERE are aggressive wild monkeys to be dealt with among 318,816 of the primates nationwide as a result of human-wildlife conflict.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said rapid development and encroachment of natural habitat had led to humans coming into conflict with the animals.
The “conflict monkeys” were among 30,786 cases of wildlife disturbances recorded by Perhilitan (Department of Wildlife and National Parks) between 2012 and 2016.
“Measures such as population culling, trapping, tracking, relocation of monkeys and elephants were carried out to reduce human-animal conflicts,” Dr Wan Junaidi told Datuk Noor Eshauddin Mohd Harun (BN-Kota Tinggi) during question time.
“For example, we launched a RM50,000 pilot project to trap 2,000 monkeys in Petaling and Hulu Langat on a contract basis,” he added.
Dr Wan Junaidi said 1,102 monkey traps costing RM3.8mil were still needed under the community programme to catch the primates.
In addition, Dr Wan Junaidi said some 302km of elephant electrical fencing was erected in Johor, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak and Kelantan between 2009 and 2015.
However, he noted that an additional 220km of electrical fencing costing RM11mil was still needed in Kedah, Pahang, Johor, Perak and Terengganu.
“There is also a need to place satellite collars on 32 herds of elephants to track them as part of an early warning system,” Dr Wan Junaidi said.
He agreed to consider a proposal by Noor Eshauddin to set up a fund to compensate victims of attacks by elephants, which damaged their crops and property.
Indonesia backs NGO and corporate initiative to prevent forest fires
SIMON ROUGHNEEN Nikkei Asian Review 15 Mar 17;
JAKARTA -- Malaysia's environment minister is sure that 2017 will not see a repeat of the choking, eye-watering smog that covered parts of his country, as well as Singapore and areas in Indonesia, for around two months in 2015.
"We are very likely to be haze-free this year. Even if it comes, it will not be as serious as before," said Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Minister for Natural Resources and Environment, on March 2.
Mostly caused by the burning of peatland and forests to clear land for plantations in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's haze has for three decades been a near-annual blight that makes air in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, two of Asia's most dynamic cities, almost unbreathable and in turn, diminishes economic output.
Prolonged bouts of the haze, such as in 1997 and in 2015, caused diplomatic ructions as Singapore railed against neighboring Indonesia over the impact of the pollution on its citizens and their livelihoods.
But a new Indonesian government-backed alliance of farmers, businesses, environmentalists and concerned citizens aims to prevent more debilitating blazes in southern Kalimantan and western Sumatra, home to much of Indonesia's lucrative palm oil and pulpwood sectors.
"The Indonesian government is very serious on tackling the forest fires," said Prabianto Wibowo, assistant deputy minister for forestry at Indonesia's economic co-ordination ministry, speaking at the Responsible Business Forum in Jakarta on March 15. As well as damaging relations with Singapore, 2015 fires cost Indonesia's economy an estimated $16bn according to the World Bank.
It was announced at the forum that Malaysian plantation operators Sime Darby and IOI Group -- which has been embroiled in a long-running land rights dispute in Sarawak in Malaysia -- will join the year-old Fire Free Alliance, a collaboration that "focuses on fire prevention through community engagement."
The FFA is made up of environmental groups and major forestry and agriculture companies such as pulp and paper giant Asia Pacific Resources International, or APRIL, as well as major palm oil players Musim Mas Group and Wilmar International.
The flammable peat soil -- which makes up 11% of Indonesia's land area -- can burn for weeks and its effects can be deadly. Some estimates suggest that 100,000 deaths were related to the last major bout of haze in 2015 -- fires that were exacerbated by hot dry weather caused by El Nino, a recurring climate pattern on the southern Pacific Ocean that sometimes brings dryer, warmer weather than usual to nearby countries.
Governments disputed that death toll, saying it was impossible to attribute mortality in every case to the acrid air caused by the fires. Nonetheless, pollution levels typically jump way above what is deemed safe when Indonesia's forests are burning. In 2015, for example, Malaysia's air pollution in areas affected by the drifting smoke was 10 times the level that the World Health Organization says causes premature deaths.
"It has an impact on people's health, and on the economy and on tourism," said Aurelie Charmeau, director of research at the Singapore-based People's Movement Against Haze. "I avoid going out during this haze, you smell it, you can feel it, it is more difficult to breathe."
But there is a long way to go before Indonesia is likely to be described as fire-free. So far, the FFA takes in just over 200 villages covering roughly 1.5 million hectares of land -- just over a quarter of what the government estimates to be 731 villages in 7 of Indonesia's 34 provinces where burning takes place.
"I do believe if we get more companies involved it will be a success," said Lucita Jasmin, director of sustainability and external affairs at APRIL, referring to the FFA. But she acknowledged that "there is no target date for getting the 700-plus villages involved."
Hard habit to break
Indeed getting everybody on board will be challenging, as setting fires to forests -- a modern version of the ancient practice of slash-and-burn clearances -- is seen as the cheapest way to clear land for new plantations.
"Engaging with communities and changing behavior takes time," said Jasmin. Indonesia is home to thousands of plantations run by smallholders who have meager resources to clear their plot of land to make way for lucrative cash crops.
According to a 2012 report by consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, such small landholders account for about 38% of Indonesia's palm oil plantations. "You cannot just say to the communities 'don't do that' without offering an alternative," Jasmin said.
To help address the misuse of the vast archipelago's terrain, Indonesia's government is currently drafting a new land law, according to Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil.
Speaking at the Responsible Business Forum, Djalil did not address the haze issue, possibly because Indonesia's forests are the domain of a separate ministry, and many of Indonesia's plantations are still considered part of the officially forested area.
"How much forest does this country need?" Djalil asked. "We have to address this issue and promote economic development for smallholders."
Attempting to overturn some of the impact of the now decades-old burning, in 2016 the Indonesian government established the Indonesian Peatland Restoration Agency, which aims to restore 2 million hectares of degraded peatlands in seven provinces over a five-year period. President Joko Widodo will meet leaders of Indonesia's indigenous forest communities in northern Sumatra on March 17, where those leaders are expected to ask the president to make good on his pledge to return 12.7 million hectares of land to community ownership -- a move campaigners say will help preserve forests and curb pollution.
But demand for palm oil has seen the sector expand dramatically in the last two decades. Growth is likely to continue, putting further pressure on land and forests and adding to the incentive for cash-strapped farmers or landholders to slash and burn and in turn grow oil palm.
A palm oil market analysis published by Zion Market Research last year put the value of the global market at $65.73 billion in 2015, and $92.84 billion by 2021. Once mainly used for cooking, the versatile palm oil is now a vital ingredient in everyday products such as shampoo, lipstick, chocolate and ice-cream. Indonesia and Malaysia are sources of more than 80% of the world's palm oil and the product is Indonesia's third biggest export after coal and gas.
Despite its utility and ubiquity, palm oil has been described as "the world's most hated crop" due to its links to deforestation and pollution. If the FFA can help curb the torching of Indonesia's forests, it will do much to offset this bad publicity and to preserve the archipelago's ecology and biodiversity.
Indonesia's rainforest is the world's third largest after Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but forest pyrotechnics have reduced it drastically. A 2014 report by the University of Maryland calculated that Indonesia lost more than 6 million hectares of forest between 2000 and 2012 and has seen its forest loss overtake that of Brazil's Amazon, an area of jungle four times larger.
Such destruction is making life difficult for some of the world's rarest animals as habitats have been destroyed to make way for plantations, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature in mid-2016 classifying Borneo's orangutans as critically endangered.
As well as persuading smallholders to stop slash-and-burn, public pressure on bigger companies could also yield results. The 2015 haze crisis spawned the "We Breathe What We Buy" campaign in Singapore that targeted products linked to Indonesia's forests. The campaign urged customers to buy only palm oil and wood-based products from sustainable sources -- putting the spotlight on FFA members such as APRIL, Wilmar International and Musim Mas, which have headquarters in the city state.
Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post 17 Mar 17;
Academics from several universities across Indonesia have recommended the government revise Government Regulation (PP) No. 57/ 2016 on Peat Ecosystem Protection and Management Regulation, saying that the regulation is not pro-people and its implementation could damage plantation activities in Indonesia.
Indonesia Land Science Association (HITI) chairman Budi Mulianto said the recommendation would be immediately conveyed to the government to show their concerns over the fate of farmers and plantation companies, which might face economic impacts from the implementation of the PP.
Budi, who is also a land expert from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), said many farmers and plantation companies cultivated oil palms on peatlands. He said he was worried that if PP 57 was not revised, farmers and plantation companies operating on peatlands would have to stop their plantation activities
“To anticipate the matter, we will recommend the government revise PP 57. Within the next two weeks at the latest, the recommendation will have been sent to the government,” Budi told The Jakarta Post after a seminar at the North Sumatra University in Medan on Thursday. (ebf)
Antara 17 Mar 17;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government has allocated some Rp320 billion (US$23.9 million) from the disaster management reserve funds for reforestation program along the river basin areas in West Java and West Nusa Tenggara provinces.
Chief of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Willem Rampangilei stated that the government would speed up reforestation of river basin areas to avert natural disasters that have increased during 2016.
"The vice president has demanded the implementation of the program immediately, as this is an emergency situation. We have agreed to take some Rp320 billion from disaster management reserve funds ," Willem said after a meeting on river basin reforestation in West Java and West Nusa Tenggara here on Thursday.
Of the total funds, some Rp62.9 billion would be allocated for river basin reforestation in West Nusa Tenggara and the remaining would be used for a similar program in West Java.
The program is scheduled to begin in April, Willem noted.
The program would include changing the cultivation pattern in the slopes area, development of supporting facilities such as water, and land conservation facility.
In 2016, BNPB had recorded 2,384 natural disaster events, an increase from 1,732 events recorded in 2015.
Deteriorating environmental conditions have become a major cause of natural disasters.
"In this case, we are focusing on reforestation of the land in West Java and West Nusa Tenggara, including the river basin areas. The vice president has instructed such program to be implemented throughout the country," Willem remarked.
Meanwhile, Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya asserted that the ministry has entered its final stage of reforestation of Cimanuk and Citarum upper stream river basins, as well as river basins in West Nusa Tenggara.
"We will have conventional planting and seedling, as well as aerial seedling in the forest areas," she said.(*)
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