Sergeants of Singapore
Butterflies of Singapore
Brood Parasite: Golden-bellied Gerygones hosting a Little Bronze Cuckoo
Singapore Bird Group
It's a Sign!
Wan's Ubin Journal
Read more!
Best of our wild blogs: 29 Jul 18
Read more!
Firms recognised for green efforts
Jose Hong Straits Times 27 Jul 18;
Property giant City Developments has long championed sustainability in its business, as has consumer titan Unilever, which set out a vision where growth does not have to come with a larger environmental footprint.
For their efforts, both firms were last night crowned the overall winners of the Sustainable Business Awards, the region's leading sustainability awards. Nearly 70 of Singapore's largest firms entered the contest, organised by event producer Global Initiatives, and nearly half of the winners across all categories were Singaporean.
Two new categories were introduced this year - Best Social Enterprise and Best Public Sector Service - to recognise organisations that are not always acknowledged for sustainability, but which have a big impact on their local communities.
The Best Social Enterprise award went to The Bliss Group, which works with marginalised employees and trains them to work in catering. The Best Public Sector Service award went to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore for mobilising the green reformation of the maritime industry.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony at The Fullerton Hotel, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli said that since their inception in 2012, the awards have played an important role in encouraging the positive impact that private companies can have on the environment.
As a positive example, he mentioned Singtel, which set a target of halving its carbon emissions intensity from 2015 to 2030.
Singtel won the best strategy and sustainability management award, and was one of the winners in the climate change category.
Mr Masagos said: "Our winners this year have made significant progress in climate action... The diversity of the companies who participated in the Sustainable Business Awards adds vibrancy to our story of sustainable development."
Ms Fang Eu-Lin, sustainability and climate change leader of PwC Singapore, one of the awards' organisers, said: "The awards... show that many Singapore companies are leading the way in responsible stewardship and sustainability practices."
Read more!
Regulatory measures needed to curb roadkill
Straits Times Forum 27 Jul 18;
The recent reports of roadkill incidents have been saddening (Rare deer put down after 3-vehicle accident, June 18; Pregnant wild boar killed in BKE accident involving 3 cars, June 23).
Losing a member of a species already under threat is a huge blow, and one too many for Singapore's sensitive wildlife.
The rise in the number of roadkill incidents is alarming, and is likely due to the construction works in the vicinity.
Efforts by Mandai Park Holdings (MPH) to mitigate roadkill should be lauded, but they are still clearly inadequate and ineffective.
MPH should also be transparent with its roadkill data, especially when it claims to be "closely monitoring wildlife road incidents within and around the project area" (Many measures in place to reduce wildlife road incidents; March 29).
Its claim that "there has not been an observable increase in roadkill incidents since work began on the Mandai Project" should also be backed up by hard data, which should be made publicly available.
Currently, there are neither incentives to motivate MPH to step up its mitigation efforts norany repercussions for roadkill incidents happening within the vicinity of the works.
There is an urgent need for regulatory measures to be imposed on MPH and future similar works for accountability.
Additionally, the construction of the eco-link bridge should commence as soon as possible.
I implore MPH to ramp up roadkill-mitigation measures, review its wildlife-shepherding techniques, and consider working with the Land Transport Authority to designate Mandai Lake Road as a car-lite zone, in order to best preserve what precious little wildlife is left in Singapore.
Neeraj Prabakharan
Read more!
A move that has been a long time coming: Wildlife experts welcome formation of revamped NParks
Matthew Mohan Channel NewsAsia 27 Jul 18;
SINGAPORE: Having a single agency - the National Parks Board (NParks) - take the lead in addressing wildlife-related concerns is a step in the right direction, local experts said, adding that the move has been a long time coming.
The board will take on the role from Apr 1 2019, as part of the government's reorganisation of food, plant health and animal management functions announced on Thursday (Jul 26).
All non-food plant and animal-related functions of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) will be transferred to NParks from April next year, with a new statutory board taking over food safety and security functions currently overseen by three agencies. With that, AVA will be disbanded.
Local wildlife experts told Channel NewsAsia that the move will allow for the better pooling of resources as NParks seeks to conserve Singapore's natural heritage.
"I welcome the news," said veteran wildlife consultant Subaraj Rajathurai. "For the longest time, we have been worried that the AVA can't cope. They are stretched too thin and are unable to prioritise certain things which we feel are important."
"It is important to know that we're separating managing wildlife from management of food-related issues," he added. "Putting the two together in the past was a bit up in the air ... We cannot have too many agencies spoiling the broth. This move will allow people to work closer together to find solutions."
Tackling issues such as the illegal wildlife trade, and finding a solution for animal-human "conflict" are issues that the new-look NParks should seek to address, added Mr Rajathurai.
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Dr Shawn Lum, president of Nature Society (Singapore) (NSS), hailed the move as one which will bring together the best of both worlds.
"I'm very encouraged by this. It's quite similar to what some have been requesting for years - but it's even better now that it's under one agency," said Dr Lum.
"I think at every level our response to wildlife-related issues will be now streamlined. We take the best of AVA's animal expertise and bring that together with the NParks' experience on the ground and in the field, and what we could get is something even better than the sum of two groups previously.
"The AVA are very committed to these issues, and they have very good people who are doing a good job, but I think now that it is under a single agency, you can have a shared sort of objective and the response can come from one agency instead of two, so there would be better coordination."
This sentiment was echoed by chief executive officer of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore Elaine Tan, who stressed the need for NParks to tackle the loss of biodiversity.
"It is a welcomed move that NParks, with its comprehensive knowledge on conservation, will take the lead on biodiversity issues including wildlife conflict, illegal wildlife trade, and the protection and conservation of precious natural resources," she added.
But for the NParks to function optimally, Dr Lum of NSS believes that the agency has to be given more financial support. This could allow them to designate more resources to track wildlife, delegate more manpower to monitor the illegal wildlife trade and even draw up more programmes to encourage more young people to go into conservation policy, he added.
"If we invested just a little bit more in some key human resources, we could truly realise the potential of this new arrangement. It's already very good but it could be even better."
Source: CNA/mt(ms)
Bringing all animal-related functions under NParks welcomed by groups
Low De Wei Straits Times 27 Jul 18;
Animal and green groups generally welcomed the transfer of animal-related functions under the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) to the National Parks Board (NParks), saying it can lead to greater efficiency and more effective policies.
The move will combine NParks' expertise in wildlife conservation and horticultural science, and AVA's in animal and plant health, said the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, and the Ministry of National Development.
Under changes announced yesterday, the AVA will cease to exist by next April, with about 300 of its staff moving to NParks.
Dr Siew Tuck Wah, president of animal welfare group SOSD, said having a single lead agency in dealing with wildlife might streamline the management of wildlife here.
NParks currently deals with public tip-offs on wildlife spotted in a park or nature reserve, but cases in which wildlife wander into urban areas are referred to AVA.
Dr Siew said this means that if SOSD wants to carry out sterilisation or rescue operations for a stray dog that wandered into a park from a road, it has to go through multiple agencies.
MORE RESOURCES NEEDED
As the jurisdiction (of NParks) becomes wider, there must be more investment to reap the benefits of structural change and manage thorny issues such as wildlife smuggling.
DR SHAWN LUM, president of the Nature Society (Singapore), calling for more resources to be allocated to manage and monitor wildlife.
Other groups expressed hope that the combined expertise of AVA and NParks will lead to better targeted action on environmental and wildlife issues here.
Acres, or the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, welcomed the move, saying "it makes more sense to approach and handle issues holistically".
Ms Elaine Tan, chief executive of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore, said it hopes NParks will take the lead on issues including human-wildlife conflict, illegal wildlife trade and conservation of natural resources.
Mr Jaipal Singh Gill, executive director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), said it hopes NParks will put animal welfare firmly on the agenda.
Wild boars were spotted around Tuas bus interchange in June last year. Such encounters between humans and wildlife are rising.
As for the Nature Society (Singapore), even as it welcomed the potential cutting of red tape, it called for more resources, especially manpower, to be allocated to manage and monitor wildlife.
Its president Shawn Lum said there will be increased instances of human-wildlife conflict, but the agencies managing wildlife are currently very stretched.
"As the jurisdiction (of NParks) becomes wider, there must be more investment to reap the benefits of structural change and manage thorny issues such as wildlife smuggling," said Dr Lum.
Read more!
55 Ministry of National Development scholarships awarded this year
Jolene Ang Straits Times 27 Jul 18;
SINGAPORE - Three years ago, student Dayna Cheah went on an intertidal field trip to Pulau Hantu to observe the coral and other marine life in the area.
She was amazed to find that a small and urbanised country like Singapore could still sustain a vibrant marine life and ecosystem.
But a year later, on a trip to the nearby Sisters' Islands, Ms Cheah was "heartbroken" to see signs of mass coral bleaching in the reefs there.
The 19-year-old, a former National University of Singapore (NUS) High School of Mathematics and Science student, said: "(Pulau Hantu) sparked something in me, to see the resilience of our animals and marine life. But (the Sisters' Islands corals dying) is one image that has stayed with me every day throughout the last two years."
Ms Cheah is one of 41 undergraduates who received the Ministry of National Development Executive Development and Growth Exchange (MND Edge) scholarships on Friday (July 27).
She will be pursuing a degree in natural sciences at Britain's Cambridge University and will join the National Parks Board (NParks) after completing her studies.
A total of 55 people received MND Edge scholarships at a ceremony. Fourteen in-service staff received scholarships in the postgraduate category.
The MND Edge scholarship programme is a joint talent development project offered by MND and its statutory boards. Scholarship recipients will join the statutory boards after they graduate.
"The balance between conservation (of the environment) and development (of the country) is delicate," said Ms Cheah. "I hope to help integrate the two so we can have a city in a jungle, and so people will actually know how to appreciate and interact with nature."
Addressing the scholarship recipients at the MND Auditorium in Maxwell Road, Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong said: "For some, Singapore may seem very built-up and well-developed... Nearly every inch of land is optimised, developed and planned for; is there any more space for development?
"The short answer is yes. With long-term planning, we are able to free up large parcels of land for future development... There is still much more that needs to be done."
Scholarship recipient Teo Ning Ginn, who will be reading environmental studies at NUS, has an interest in the efficiency and sustainability of local farms.
Ms Teo, 19, said: "When I do farming work and get to interact with plants and animals, I feel at peace. The satisfaction of eating something I grew myself is wonderful to me."
Ms Chan Yu An, also 19, who plans to study veterinary science, said: "I hope I will be able to manage issues relating to wildlife and livestock in Singapore."
Read more!
Malaysia: Sarawak activates drought ops centres statewide as heatwave looms
stephen then The Star 27 Jul 18;
MIRI: Sarawak has activated its divisional drought crisis operation centres statewide on Friday (July 27).
The State Disaster Relief Committee headquarters in Kuching issued the directive, which was signed by head of the secretariat Major (Rtd) Ismail Mahedin.
The directive has been distributed to all relevant government agencies and departments involved in disaster mitigation and management in the state including the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department.
Miri Fire Chief Supt Law Poh Kiong confirmed that his office in Miri received the directive at noon.
"The directive on the activation of the drought-crisis ops centre in the divisions in the state is with immediate effective," he added.
The order to activate the ops centres is to enable all the divisional disaster relief ops room to liase with the central ops centre in state capital Kuching to prepare for water shortages.
The Sarawak Disaster Relief Committee which handles all forms of natural disasters including floods and drought will be coordinating relief efforts between the central and divisional operation centres to monitor and assist areas hit by water shortages.
In many parts of Sarawak, including Miri, midday temperatures have risen to as high as 35 degree Celsius.
Read more!
Malaysia: Pygmy elephant calf dies after being caught in snare trap
natasha joibi The Star 27 Jul 18;
KOTA KINABALU: A Borneo pygmy elephant calf was unable to survive the trauma of being caught in a snare trap set by poachers and died hours after being found.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga confirmed the calf's death at the Sungai Taliwas Forest Reserve in Lahad Datu, and said it was found with a snare trap wire still wrapped around its right foot on Thursday (July 26).
"Unfortunately, it died the night of our visit," he said, adding that they would provide more details once these were provided by the veterinary officer.
Tuuga himself came across the calf – which was alone and isolated from the rest of its herd – while he was accompanying Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Assafal Alian on a working visit to Kawag Tourism Centre on Thursday.
He added that this was not the first incident of its kind and there had been at least 18 elephant deaths reported this year.
It is believed that the calf was separated from its group due to its injuries, which worsened each time it moved as the trap tightened further around its foot.
It was reported that the elephant was sedated so that it could be treated and relocated, but it came too late to save the animal's life.
Read more!
Indonesia: HAkA, Google Voyager, take Leuser Ecosystem online
The Jakarta Post 27 Jul 18;
The Natural Forest and Environment of Aceh (HAkA) non-governmental organization has teamed up with Google Earth to promote the Leuser Ecosystem, a 2.6 million-hectare forest conservation area in Aceh and North Sumatra, as a tourist destination to all digitally connected people around the world.
The Leuser Ecosystem project was launched Thursday on Voyager.
Voyager is a Google Earth feature that “provides opportunity to explore” places around the world through videos, pictures and texts, Google Earth outreach program manager Tomomi Matsuoka said on Wednesday.
Matsuoka explained that Google Earth chose HAkA because it had participated in Google’s annual user summit every year since 2015. She also highlighted that the Leuser Ecosysten was the last place on the planet where the endangered Sumatran elephant, tiger, rhinoceros and orangutan coexisted in the wild.
Using Voyager, people around the world could explore the Leuser Ecosystem in eight story panels and learn about its ecological importance.
HAkA social media officer Irham Hudaya Yunardi said the Leuser Ecosystem was home to 8,500 plant species, 382 bird species and more than 105 mammalian species.It was also a life-support system that provided resources and functions, such as clean water and flood control, for millions of people in Aceh. The ecosystem also helped mitigate climate change with its peat swamp forests.(stu)
Read more!
Indonesia: 44 hotspots detected in Musi Rawas, S Sumatra, during January-July
Antara 27 Jul 18;
Musi Rawas, S Sumatra (ANTARA News) - As many as 44 hotspots had been detected in Musi Rawas District, South Sumatra Province, during the January-July period.
The hotspots were found in 14 sub-districts in Musi Rawas, Paisol, Head of the Musi Rawas disaster mitigation office, said here, Thursday.
Among the affected sub-districts were Muara Kelingi, Muara Lakitan, Muara Beliti, and Selangit.
However, he believed that the hotspots did not come from forest fires but from chimneys of state oil and gas company Pertamina and hot zinc.
None of the hotspot came from forest fires, he noted, adding that if there is one, he would closely monitor and check them with the cooperation of the military and police.
Meanwhile, the government is preparing a number of anticipatory measures to overcome the potential of forest and land fires, ahead of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang.
"The steps have been many and easily `manageable," Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar stated, after a coordination meeting on anticipation of forest and land fires ahead of the Asian Games in the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs Building, in Jakarta, on July 24.
She explained that the anticipatory steps to prevent forest and land fires are mostly carried out in South Sumatra, such as water bombing and weather modification for rain.
In addition, she added that the government has also set up various surveillance posts in certain hotspots by providing guidance to farmers on the method of planting oil palm ahead of the planting season and arresting those who burn land.
Besides, the Peat Restoration Agency (BRG) will drill 200 artesian wells in six villages in Ogan Komering Ilir, a land fire-prone area that could spread the haze to Asian Games venues in Jakabaring sport complex in South Sumatra`s city of Palembang.
"There will be 200 artesian wells. We are focusing on areas that could affect the Asian Games. Based on analysis, we have started to build (artesian wells) in six villages in OKI (Ogan Komering Ilir), which could spread the haze to Jakabaring," BRG`s Deputy of Construction, Operation and Maintenance Alue Dohong remarked here on Wednesday.
reporting by Marjamin/Indra
(f001/INE)
(T.SYS/A/KR-BSR/A/H-YH)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Disaster Mitigation Agency assures Asian Games will be free from smoke
Antara 27 Jul 18;
Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Willem Rampangilei. (ANTARA /Rosa Panggabean)
Raja Ampat, W Papua (ANTARA News) - Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Willem Rampangilei has assured the public that the 18th Asian Games will be free from smoke from land and forest fires.
"Both the central and regional governments have collaborated to handle and prevent smoke. The cooperation is aimed at assuring the public that there will be no longer smoke disaster in the rest of the year particularly during the Asian Games," he said on the sidelines of the Asian Games 2018 torch in Raja Ampat, West Papua province.
The central and regional governments have taken strategic steps to prevent hotspots in the areas vulnerable to land and forest fires, he said.
The steps include familiarizing the public with the programs, mobilizing officers to conduct land and air patrols, mapping disaster-prone areas and applying weather modifying technology to combat fires. he said.
"We have monitored hotspots so that we will not be late to extinguish fires in peatland," he said.
Should fires happen, the government will be ready to conduct land operations involving the military, police, regional disaster mitigation boards and all relevant parties.
Reported by Michael Siahaan
(T.S012/B/KR-BSR/B/H-YH)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Read more!
Vietnam to limit waste imports as shipments build up at ports
Reuters 26 Jul 18;
HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam will stop issuing new licenses for the import of waste and crack down on illegal shipments as thousands of containers of paper, plastic and metal scrap build up at the country’s ports, raising concerns about the environment.
Waste imports into Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries have risen significantly since the Chinese government banned the entry of several types of solid wastes from the beginning of this year, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
The authorities need to “prevent waste from entering Vietnam to keep the country from becoming a dumping site, affecting the environment and people’s lives,” the government said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The surge in waste imports has caused congestion at several Vietnam ports, with around 6,000 containers now sitting at entry points that need to be handled, the ministry said in a statement earlier this week. The ministry did not say how much waste Vietnam has imported this year.
Waste-processing is a supplemental source of raw materials for Vietnam’s paper, plastic and steel industries.
“The demand for paper and plastic scraps as materials for production does exist, but this benefits only the processors, not the environment,” according to the government statement.
Malaysia’s government on Tuesday also revoked the import permits of 114 factories that process plastic waste, following local media reports of increased pollution in areas where the factories operated.
Malaysian Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said the factories affected will have three months to bring their operations up to speed with international environmental standards before they can reapply for the permits, according to a report by national newswire Bernama.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in Wednesday’s government statement that Vietnam will track down the owners of the containers piling up at its ports and launch criminal investigations into any illegal imports or violations of environment law.
Pollution is a political risk for Communist-ruled Vietnam, where nationwide protests have been held to save trees and against a steel firm accused of polluting the sea.
One of Vietnam’s worst environmental disasters happened in 2016, when a steel plant being developed by Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Corp contaminated coastal waters and unleashed an outpouring of anger throughout the country.
An editorial published on Monday in The People’s Daily, a mouthpiece of China’s Communist Party, said the nation’s ban on solid waste imports will have a “temporary impact” on countries that have waste recycling industries, but that it will eventually lead to better global standards in the long run.
The editorial said China’s ban will help improve the country’s environment and “promote the universal international principle that producers of waste should be responsible for the whole life cycle of that waste.”
Reporting by Khanh Vu, with additional reporting by Joseph Sipalan in KUALA LUMPUR and David Stanway in SHANGHAI; Editing by Tom Hogue
Read more!
Myanmar: Floods force thousands from homes
AFP Yahoo News 27 Jul 18;
Hpa-an (Myanmar) (AFP) - Floodwaters have forced thousands from their homes in southeast Myanmar, local police said Friday, as authorities and volunteers scrambled to provide food and aid to the victims.
Heavy monsoon rains have pounded Karen state, Mon state and Bago region in recent days and show no sign of abating, raising fears that the worst might be yet to come.
Photos and videos showed residents of Karen's state capital Hpa-an boating down streets that had turned into rivers while others were forced to escape on foot through waist-deep water.
Vast swathes of the surrounding land lay submerged while 11 temporary camps have been set up around the city.
"There are more than 6,000 people displaced in Hpa-an and about 4,000 in Myawaddy," the head of Karen state police force Kyi Linn told AFP, referring to a second town on the border with Thailand.
A social welfare ministry official previously said 16,000 people had been displaced across eight townships in Karen state.
The number affected in Mon state and Bago region has not yet been confirmed.
"The children's school has closed," said Khin San Win, who fled her home which was thigh-deep in water for a shelter in Hpa-an along with her sick husband and their three children.
"We're being given food but we aren't able to pay for anything else as we can't work."
State-run media published pictures on Friday of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi visiting Karen state the day before, talking to victims, relief workers and volunteers.
The Global New Light Of Myanmar said her government had freed up 200 million kyat ($140,000) to help those displaced and that rebuilding destroyed bridges would be a priority.
"We are now delivering food to flood victims who don't want to leave their homes," said volunteer Ni Ni Aung in Kyonedoe town, adding they would have no choice but to leave if the rains worsened.
So far no casualties have been reported.
Like its neighbours, Myanmar faces severe flooding every year and climate scientists in 2015 even ranked it top of a global list of nations hardest hit by extreme weather.
That year more than 100 people died in floods that also displaced hundreds of thousands across the country.
Some 138,000 people were killed in 2008 when Cyclone Nargis lashed vast stretches of Myanmar's coast.
Read more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
visitors since Nov 07