13 Apr (Sat): Visit the 2019 Draft Master Plan exhibition with Lepak in SG
wild shores of singapore
Pesta Ubin will happen from 18 May to 30 Jun: Mark your calendar!
Pesta Ubin 2019
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Best of our wild blogs: 1 Apr 19
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New Bukit Gombak Park to be ready in early 2020
Channel NewsAsia 31 Mar 19;
SINGAPORE: Work on the new Bukit Gombak Park began on Sunday (Mar 31), the National Parks Board (NParks) announced in a media release.
The 4.8-hectare park, which is located at Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 opposite the Bukit Batok Driving Centre, is scheduled to be opened in early 2020.
Visitors will soon be able to enjoy its greenery and recreational facilities that will include a hill trek and a nature playgarden, NParks said, adding that residents' feedback on the features were gathered during the planning process.
"Feedback received were varied, and suggestions included having more biodiversity-attracting plants, tranquil areas to enjoy nature, recreational spaces for families and friends, and opportunities for the community to do gardening and be closer to nature," NParks said.
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Singapore uses insects to gobble up food waste
Today Online 1 Apr 19;
SINGAPORE — Some insects, armed with voracious appetites as larvae, are being bred in Singapore to eat discarded food, at the same time creating a rich fertilizer for plants.
Globally, a third of food produced for consumption is wasted, totaling about 1.3 billion tons. If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
Black soldier flies are found all across Singapore. While the adults do not eat as their sole purpose is to mate, the larvae eat almost any organic matter and can stomach up to four times their weight a day. They are capable of converting three tons of food waste into one ton of fertilizers per week.
Mr Darren Ho is the founder of the Insectta, Singapore's first urban insect farm. Since he became a farmer five years ago, he's committed to create a production system where nothing goes waste.
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Malaysia: DoE completes final draft on forming panel
remar nordin The Star 1 Apr 19;
PASIR GUDANG: The Department of Environment (DoE) has completed its final draft for the forming of the Toxic Waste Management and Scheduled Waste National Committee following the chemical spill at Sungai Kim Kim.
Its director-general Datuk Dr Ahmad Kamarulnajuib Che Ibrahim said the draft would be sent to the Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry for approval.
“We have completed the draft. We will present it to the ministry as soon as possible for them to make the final decision.
“The committee will be responsible for any future toxic waste management,” he said during a visit to SMK Taman Pasir Putih here yesterday.
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Malaysia: Johor mulls cloud seeding
mohd farhaan shah The Star 1 Apr 19;
KLUANG: Johor is looking into carrying out cloud seeding to improve water levels at dams in the state, especially at Machap dam which is at a critical level if the current hot and dry conditions continue for longer.
Johor International Trade, Investment and Utility Committee chairman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse said the water level at Machap dam was at now 14.45mm. Its minimum level is 14.10mm.
“The water at Machap dam here flows to the Simpang Renggam water treatment plant, which is about 8.5km away, and to Sungai Ulu Benut and Sungai Machap.
“The two rivers were recently affected by ammonia pollution,” he said after a working visit to Machap dam here.
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Malaysia: Sabah records 1,671 open burning cases
SUZIANAH JIFFAR New Straits Times 31 Mar 19;
KOTA KINABALU: The state fire and rescue department recorded 1,671 open burning cases in Sabah since early this year.
Its director Kamarulzaman Malik Abdullah said 190 cases were recorded in January, followed by 537 cases in February and 994 cases this month.
“We advise the people to reduce their outdoor activity, especially open burning at farms or orchards that can lead to major fire,” he said.
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Mutilated dolphins wash up on French coast in record numbers
Activists say 1,100 dolphins found since January - but real figure may be 10 times higher
Kim Willsher The Guardian 32 Mar 19;
A record number of dolphins have washed up on France’s Atlantic coast in the last three months, many with devastating injures.
Environmental campaigners say 1,100 mutilated dolphins have been found since January, but the real figure could be 10 times higher as many bodies sink without trace. Activists warn the marine slaughter could threaten the extinction of the European dolphin population in the region.
The cause of the deaths is not known but it is thought fishing trawlers catching sea bass off the Atlantic coast may be responsible. Autopsies suggest the dolphins sustain catastrophic injuries attempting to escape nets or when trawler crew attempt to cut them free after they are caught.
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Best of our wild blogs: 31 Mar 19
Student ideas for developing Changi
wild shores of singapore
Night Walk Along Island Club Road (29 Mar 2019)
Beetles@SG BLOG
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NParks launches 36km trail linking Coney Island with Jurong Lake
Channel NewsAsia 31 Mar 19;
SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board on Saturday (Mar 30) launched a 36km trail linking Coney Island Park in the northeast with Jurong Lake Gardens in the west.
The Coast-to-Coast (C2C) Trail cuts across Singapore and takes visitors through a variety of parks and nature areas, with highlights such as Bukit Batok Nature Park and Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.
In addition to an online guide, the trail also comes with its very own augmented reality (AR) app, which uses 3D-animated characters to provide information about native flora and fauna and surrounding areas of interest, NParks said in its media release.
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Commentary: Beyond scarcity and security, does Singapore need a new water narrative?
Have strides made in water management drowned out a longstanding attitude concerning the importance of water conservation? Can a new culture of empowerment and ground-up action reverse that tide?
Lin Suling Channel NewsAsia 31 Mar 19;
SINGAPORE: Water conservation has been an ethos drilled into those of my generation.
I remember my primary school conducting at least one water-rationing exercise. Water coolers, taps and toilets were shut off for a few hours.
It was not the most pleasant experience. At 11, when you had to go, you went. And you only had a small pail of water to flush down your business.
But this deliberately painful exercise indeed underscored how precious timely and reliable access to water was.
RECEDING INTO MEMORY
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Cambodia’s environment, Singapore’s problem
Surekha A. Yadav Malay Mail 31 Mar 19;
MARCH 31 — So, apparently, my neighbourhood smells of urine.
That’s right, Yishun — that proud northern region of our island — denigrated by the ignorant as a hotbed of crime (okay, there were a couple of cat killers) is now literally a pee town?
Honestly, this is rubbish! Firstly, Yishun is a lovely neighbourhood and secondly, I haven’t noticed any urine smell and don’t know anyone who has.
Still, on the online forums it is apparently a thing.
The National Environment Authority has said the urine and burning smells detected island-wide are in fact the result of fires at landfills and farm sites in Johor.
And this brings us to a serious point; from the regional plastic waste that washes up on our shores to the oil slicks that appear due to discharge from passing ships and of course the Indonesian haze that often chokes us in the hot months, Singapore seems to be the perpetual victim of other nations’ inability to take care of their environment.
But is this really the case?
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Malaysia: Is life without plastic bags possible in Penang? Yes, say NGOs
BALVIN KAUR New Straits Times 30 Mar 19;
GEORGE TOWN: Penang non-governmental organisations have called on the state government to ramp up its efforts to tackle the problem of single-use plastic bags in the state.
While welcoming the state government’s move to mull increasing plastic bag charges to 50 sen a piece for consumers, they believe that more needs to be done to beef up existing regulations.
Consumer Association of Penang president S.M Mohamed Idris said that despite Penang being the first state to implement a ‘no free plastic bags policy’ in the country back in July 2009, it is still being widely used in Penang.
“The ‘no free plastic bag’ ruling only applies to shopping outlets but not hawkers and markets,” he said.
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