Best of our wild blogs: 2 Mar 19

3 March: World Wildlife Day 2019 focusing on marine species for the first time
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

10 Mar (Sun): Join us at Labrador Park to explore Berlayar Creek!
Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs

Singapore Raptor Report – January 2019
Singapore Bird Group

A Vibrant Blue – The Butterfly Pea Flower
BES Drongos

Balloons the no. 1 marine debris killer of seabirds
wild shores of singapore

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Feeling hot? Here's why February was one of the hottest in 90 years

Channel NewsAsia 1 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE: This February was the third hottest Singapore has seen in 90 years, but the next two weeks may get even warmer, said the Meteorological Service Singapore on Friday (Mar 1).

While February has traditionally been the driest month in the year, other factors contributed to the heat last month.

Singapore is currently in the dry phase of the northeast monsoon, when prevailing winds bring in air that does not generate as much rain compared to December and January, said one expert.

"The relative lack of clouds during this period tends to result in more direct sunlight reaching the surface, so it feels 'hotter'," said Assistant Professor Winston Chow from the National University of Singapore's Geography Department.

He added that this is normal at this time of the year.

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Johor’s chief minister says there are plans to stop buying treated water from Singapore

FARIS MOKHTAR Today Online 1 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE — Malaysia’s state of Johor may stop relying on the treated water it buys from Singapore, Johor Chief Minister Osman Sapian said on Friday (March 1).

He added that there are plans to treat its own water although this is still in the early stages.

In a statement issued by Mr Osman’s office at about 5pm that was seen by TODAY, it was mentioned that he made those comments in a speech at the closing ceremony of a two-day Johor government retreat with the Federal Cabinet in Putrajaya. The event was also attended by Malaysia’s premier Mahathir Mohamad.

Mr Osman said in Malay: “I would like to touch slightly on the water issue with Singapore. I would like to say that there are plans not to rely anymore on Singapore to obtain treated water that we have been buying from them all these years.

“But this plan is still in its early stages and I cannot reveal further details at this point until we have finalised the plan.”

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Mozzie population cut by 70% in Tampines West study site: Masagos

Cheryl Teh Straits Times 2 Mar 19;

The mosquito population in a Tampines West study site has been reduced by 70 per cent, after the release of sterile males which produce eggs that cannot hatch.

These are the latest results from Project Wolbachia, a scheme labelled after the genetically modified males. The encouraging results were revealed by Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli on Facebook on Thursday.

"We have been exploring innovative solutions to suppress the Aedes aegypti mosquito population, to prevent the spread of dengue and Zika," he added.

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Feeling the heat: Johor businesses, residents activate contingency plans amid dry spell

Norbakti Alias Channel NewsAsia 1 Mar 19;

KOTA TINGGI, Johor: Businesses and residents in the Kota Tinggi area are making contingency plans for water supplies, after a dry spell that has seen water levels at major dams hovering around the critical mark.

Businesses and residents interviewed by Channel NewsAsia said this is not the first time they have encountered a dry spell and had made plans to manage the situation.

A worker in a vegetable farm, who only wanted to be known as Krish, said the farm owner has constructed a pond to make sure that there is enough water in the event of a prolonged dry spell.

“We had gone through dry season previously and experienced water shortage,” he recounted.

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Indonesia: Vice President appreciates Nahdlatul Ulama`s recommendations on plastic waste reduction

Antara 1 Mar 19;

Vice President Jusuf Kalla beats a drum to mark the conclusion of the Nahdlatul Ulama`s (NU`s) National Meeting of Ulemas and Conference at Miftahul Huda Al-Azhar Islamic Boarding School in Citangkolo, Banjar City, West Java, on Friday (March 1, 2019). (ANTARA FOTO/Adeng Bustomi/aww).

Banjar Patroman, W Java, (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla officially concluded the Nahdlatul Ulama`s (NU`s) National Meeting of Ulemas and Conference here on Friday by appreciating a recommendation highlighting the importance of reducing plastic waste for environmental conservation and preservation.

To this end, Kalla urged the conference`s participants to stop using plastic containers and bottles designed for one-time use. Instead, they were encouraged to use glass cups and glass coffee mugs because they could be reused.

"So, to resolve this problem of plastic waste, please return to using glass bottles or others that can be washed again and again. And when you go out for coffee, please ask for a glass cup," he said, adding that with a total population of around 260 million people, Indonesia is currently the second biggest contributor to the world`s plastic waste after China.

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Best of our wild blogs: 1 Mar 19

16 Mar (Sat): Marine Open House at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

CDL E-Generation Challenge 2019: Win tickets to the Arctic
Green Drinks Singapore

Discover your natural heritage at a Love MacRitchie walk, Jan – Jun 2019
Love our MacRitchie Forest

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Malaysia: Wolbachia Project showing results

Veena Babulal, Teoh Pei Ying New Straits Times 1 Mar 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: MALAYSIA’S long battle with dengue may show some sign of relief with the Health Ministry ’s release of Aedes mosquitoes infected with the Wolbachia bacteria.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Institute for Medical Research’s (IMR) pilot project involving the release of the infected vector in Shah Alam and Keramat two years ago had begun to show encouraging signs.

This came at a crucial time because as at Feb 23, there was a 163 per cent jump in dengue cases compared with the same period last year.

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Malaysia: A week on, firemen still battling peat fire in Pengerang

venesa devi The Star 28 Feb 19;

PENGERANG: Scores of firemen are still battling to put out a peat fire near Jalan Penawar here since last week.

Bandar Penawar Fire and Rescue station chief Mohd Fadli Ismail said the fire was believed to have started on Thursday (Feb 21) at 8.47am.

"The total area of the field is about 400ha but we have managed to stop the fire from spreading to the whole area.

"About 10% of the fire has been put out while more than half of the field has been rescued from the spread of the fire," he said.

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Malaysia: Firefighters put out 70 per cent of forest fires in Gebeng

Bernama New Straits Times 28 Feb 19;

KUANTAN: The Pahang Fire and Rescue Department has put out the fire in 70 per cent of 60 hectares of forest land in the Gebeng industrial area here which occurred last Monday.

Its director Nor Hisham Mohamad said the strategy to create blockages and raise the water level in the area had stopped the fire from spreading to other areas.

“The early strategy to control the fire in the main area and flooding it seemed to be effective in putting it out by the fourth day today.

“We are using a tactical combination, which is to raise the overall level of water by building blockages while our firefighters put out the fire directly, “ he told reporters here today.

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Malaysia: Dams drying up fast in some states like Johor

Olivia Miwil, Mohamed Basyir New Straits Times 28 Feb 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: DAMS in some states are drying up due to the hot and dry weather, with Sungai Lebam Dam in Johor at below the critical level.

Residents in Kota Tinggi, Johor, have been advised to use water sparingly as the water level in Sungai Lebam Dam is almost 2m below the critical level.

Johor International Trade, Investment and Utilities Committee chairman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse said the normal water level in the dam was 14m, while the critical level was 12.7m, but current readings showed it was at 10.9m.

“The current hot and dry spell is a cause for concern to the Johor government.

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Malaysia: 'Temperatures will soar to 38℃'

Veena Babulal New Straits Times 28 Feb 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: MALAYSIANS have to bear with the current heatwave a little bit longer as temperatures are expected to soar to 38°C at the end of next month or beginning of April.

The Meteorological Department’s National Weather and Geophysics Operations Centre director Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said it was possible for temperatures to reach 38°C due to the hot and dry conditions, usually experienced during the tail-end of the northeast monso on.

“In Perlis, Kedah and Perak, the temperatures are expected to reach 38°C even though the normal temperatures in those areas range from 32°C to 34°C.

“Since it’s only the end of February, we may have to brace for two more months of hot weather before there is some relief, with increased showers nationwide during the inter-monsoon period at the end of April,” he told the New Straits Times here yesterday.

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