Las Vegas Water Source Could Run Dry By 2021 - Study

PlanetArk 13 Feb 08;

SAN FRANCISCO - Chances are about even that Lake Mead, the prime source of water for the desert city of Las Vegas, will run dry in 13 years if usage is not cut back, according to study released on Tuesday.

The finding is the latest warning about water woes threatening the future of the fast-growing US casino capital and comes amid a sustained drought in the American West.

The study by two researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, calculates a 10 percent chance that Lake Mead will run dry in six years and a 50 percent probability it will be gone by 2021 absent other changes.

"Our reaction was frankly one of being stunned," study co-author Tim Barnett, a marine research physicist, said in an interview. "We had not expected the problem to be so severe and so up close to us in time."

Climate change -- both man-made and natural variation -- strong human demand and evaporation are all factors affecting water in the lake. "The biggest change right now is taking more water from the bucket than we are putting into it," Barnett said.

The uncertainty about when and if the lake will run dry stems from the natural fluctuations of the Colorado River, the researcher said.

The West has suffered years of drought with the Colorado supplying less water to Lake Mead, which serves Nevada, California, Arizona and Mexico.

The lake created by Hoover Dam provides 90 percent of Las Vegas' water and is less than half full, giving the edge of the lake a bath tub ring visible even far away by air.

(Reporting by Adam Tanner; editing by Todd Eastham)

Lake Mead Could Dry Up by 2021
Andrea Thompson, LiveScience Yahoo News 12 Feb 08;

Lake Mead, a key source of water for millions of people in the southwestern United States, could go dry by 2021, a new study finds.

The study concludes that natural forces such as evaporation, changes wrought by global warming and the increasing demand from the booming Southwest population are creating a deficit from this part of the Colorado River system.

Along with Lake Powell, which is on the border between Arizona and Utah, Lake Mead supplies roughly 8 million people in the cities of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Diego, among others, with critical water supplies.

The system is currently only at half capacity thanks to a recent string of dry years, researchers say.

The study’s findings indicated that there is a 10 percent chance that Lake Mead could be dry by 2014 and a 50 percent chance that reservoir levels will drop too low to allow hydroelectric power generation by 2017. There is a 50 percent chance the lake will go dry by 2021, the study says.

Researchers say that even if water agencies follow their current drought contingency plans, those measures might not be enough to counter natural forces, especially if the region enters a period of sustained drought or if human-induced climate changes occur as currently predicted.

"We were stunned at the magnitude of the problem and how fast it was coming at us," said study coauthor Tim Barnett of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California at San Diego. "Make no mistake, this water problem is not a scientific abstraction, but rather one that will impact each and every one of us that live in the Southwest."

Several studies in recent years have predicted a prolonged period of drought in the Southwest as a result of global warming.

The team's analysis of Federal Bureau of Reclamation records of past water demand and calculations of scheduled water allocations and climate conditions indicate that the system could run dry even if mitigation measures now being proposed are implemented.

"It's likely to mean real changes to how we live and do business in this region," said coauthor David Pierce, a climate scientist at Scripps.

The new study has been accepted for publication in the journal Water Resources Research.

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EU Ministers Urge Caution on Cost of Climate Plan

PlanetArk 13 Feb 08;

BRUSSELS - The European Union's move to a low-carbon economy to fight climate change must not harm its competitiveness, the bloc's finance ministers said on Tuesday.

The executive European Commission last month proposed an ambitious package of measures to help the 27-nation bloc cut greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming, partly by using more green energy sources.

"The Council supports the leading role of the EU when it comes to energy and climate change. However we have to make sure this transfer to a low carbon economy will be carried out in a sustainable manner so economic growth is sustainable and public finances do not suffer too much," Andrej Bajuk, finance minister of EU president Slovenia, told a news conference.

Finance ministers discussed the economic impact and cost of the energy and climate change strategy at their monthly meeting, including such issues as subsidising renewable sources such as wind, wave and solar power, and biofuels made from plants.

"We need to take into account all costs incumbent from the climate energy package proposals. We are talking of very expensive programmes which we believe should be kept within the framework of market forces and efficiency," Bajuk said.

EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said he had told the ministers Brussels estimated the measures would cost "something like 0.5 percent of gross domestic product of the EU" -- equivalent to 60 billion euros ($87.18 billion) a year.

The proposals aim to implement targets set by EU leaders last year to cut CO2 emissions by at least one-fifth by 2020 from 1990 levels, to increase the share of renewables in power production to 20 percent and to boost the share of biofuels used in transport to 10 percent by the same date.

The finance ministers watered down a draft statement that would have made the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme the undisputed vehicle for cutting pollution.

Instead, ministers agreed more guardedly that the ETS was the most efficient allocation method "in principle".

The Commission has shelved until a review in 2011 the idea of imposing tariffs on imports from countries that do not join international efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Sectors such as steel and aluminium have voiced worries that they may be forced out of Europe by having to buy CO2 emissions permits while non-European rivals face no such constraints. Free trade supporters said such a tariff would hurt global commerce.

EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the climate change package was based on a cost efficiency analysis and that the most efficient instruments to tackle the problem were market-based mechanisms like ETS.

Implementing the package was cheaper than paying for the consequences of climate change, Almunia said.

(Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Paul Taylor)

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UN hosts post-Bali ministerial session on climate change

Gerard Aziakou, Yahoo News 12 Feb 08;

Developing and rich nations on Tuesday urged speedy UN-led action to seal a new global pact to reverse climate change by late 2009, with special attention to the needs of vulnerable countries.

Representatives of 117 countries and regional organizations attended a ministerial session of the General Assembly to take stock after last December's Bali conference in Indonesia.

The Bali conference yielded an action plan that set a late 2009 deadline for a landmark new treaty to cut global-warming greenhouse gases once the current Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

"The Bali Action Plan ... reflects a common understanding that no country is immune to climate change," Indonesian Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar told the gathering.

He stressed that while rich nations should take the lead in implementing the plan, its success requires broad participation around the globe.

"More action can be expected to take place in the developing world with more ambitious commitments by developed countries," he added.

Speaking on behalf of the 132-nation Group of 77 and China alliance, Antigua and Barbuda's UN Ambassador John Nashe cautioned that "the road to Copenhagen" where talks on the Bali plan are to be concluded late next year "will be a difficult one, particularly for developing countries and the poorest and most vulnerable."

He called for an "effective and comprehensive global response to cover the four building blocks of the plan -- mitigation (action to reduce the extent of global warming), adaptation (action to minimize the effects of global warming), technology transfer and financing.

"Without rapid and tangible efforts by developed countries in this regard, climate change will lead to increased poverty and will negate our efforts at achieving sustainable development," Nashe said.

However, Sri Lankan Environment Minister Patali Ranawaka countered that "it is not fair to expect the developing nations to shoulder the full burden of responding to climate change impact.

"Historically their contributions to climate change have been minimal and will continue to be."

China's special representative for climate change talks Yu Qingtai pressed for establishment of "effective mechanisms ... as soon as possible to insure that measurable, reportable and verifiable assistance be provided to the developing countries with regard to financial resources, technology and capacity building."

He insisted that Beijing was taking climate change "very seriously."

"While making our own due contribution, we will also help other developing countries to enhance their ability to adapt to climate change," Yu pledged.

Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Slovenian Environment Minister Janez Podobnik however pointed out that under the Bali deal, "all developed and developing countries need to take appropriate action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions."

Dutch Environment Minister Jacqueline Cramer said billions of dollars will be needed over the next 20 years "to place the world on a low-carbon, sustainable energy path, to take measures to protect vulnerable populations from the impact of climate change and to tackle the issue of deforestation effectively."

She said the bulk of the extra financial flows for that purpose would have to come from the private sector.

Cramer urged governments to "create a favorable investment climate and provide the right incentives" through "a post-2012 arrangement that is cost-effective, flexible and fair."

Meanwhile Podobnik noted that the EU fully backed efforts to "achieve a coordinated UN approach to climate change" and called on all member states to support the process.

Several other speakers made it clear that the United Nations, through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), was the only appropriate forum to deal with the issue.

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Liquid coal touted as good fuel bet if ethanol fails

Bruce Nichols, Reuters 12 Feb 08;

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Refining coal into liquids is the next logical step should it become clear that corn-based ethanol is not the solution to the transportation fuel problem, the developer of a coal-to-liquids plant said on Tuesday.

"Does it make sense to burn your food supply ... to make what is in our estimation an inferior transportation fuel?" Robert Kelly, chairman of DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC, told a questioner at Cambridge Energy Research Associates' 2008 conference.

"We've got a huge amount of coal here," Kelly said after a breakfast presentation, noting U.S. coal reserves are among the world's largest. "It is a huge fuel source for the next 50 years if we do it responsibly."

"It's new. We haven't done one in the U.S. at major commercial scale. It's a long development cycle," Kelly said, responding to a questioner who asked why, if coal to liquids is such a good idea, there are not more plants already.

"When we're successful, I think you'll see a lot more," Kelly predicted.

Ethanol is a good oxygenate to improve octane when added to gasoline, but it is not a complete substitute, Kelly argued. It has about 75 percent of the heat content of gasoline, which means it does not add to fuel efficiency, he said.

Liquefied coal, as produced by the Medicine Bow facility planned in southeast Wyoming by DKRW and its partners, will be high in heat content, low in sulfur, relatively low in carbon dioxide emissions and competitive in the marketplace.

Coal-to-liquid fuels can compete in the market without the government subsidies that have boosted ethanol, Kelly said. He argued government should not favor one technology over another.

"Our view is the market ought to decide," he said, adding his plant will make a return on investment of 15 percent with oil at $60 to $70 a barrel and does not hit zero return until oil falls to $27.

DKRW Advanced Fuels, in partnership with Arch Coal Inc and with technologies licensed by General Electric, Exxon Mobil and UOP LLC, plans to start construction on Medicine Bow next year, he said.

The start of commercial operations is targeted for 2013, Kelly said. When operational, plans call for the $2.5 billion plant to use 8,000 tons of coal mined on site to make 18,800 barrels of gasoline every day.

The carbon dioxide produced will be sold for enhanced oil recovery in the region, where CO2 currently is in short supply and oil field needs are significant, he said. After being used to boost oil output, the CO2 will stay underground, he said.

DKRW chose to build a plant that makes gasoline rather than natural gas, which other coal plants make, because motor fuel has higher potential value in the marketplace. "You can get a much better swing in product pricing," he said.

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Alarm Bells After Death of Tens of Sea Turtles in a Month

Patrick Mayoyo, The Nation (Nairobi) allafrica.com 12 Feb 08;

The killing of 28 sea turtles in less than a month on the Kenyan coast has raised the alarm among conservationists.

Initial investigations portray a catastrophe of international proportions.

The deaths were not only the highest number recorded on the Kenyan coast in less than a month but the biggest set-back to conservation efforts.

According to data compiled by both the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee (Kescom), 22 marine turtles have been killed at Vipingo and two at Kuruwitu both in Kilifi, three at Diani in Kwale and one in Mombasa last month.

The sea turtles are endangered species protected under the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (Cites) that prohibits commercial trade in the animal and its parts.

The programme coordinator of Kescom, Mr Andrew Wamukota, said initial investigations into the matter had disclosed that all the dead turtles had been caught in fishing nets.

This has raised queries on the monitoring of fishing activities in the country as fishermen are supposed to comply not only with local fishing regulations but also international ones.

Mr Wamukota said although the gill nets in which the turtles are caught are not prohibited, fishermen were using them unprofessionally.

"Some of the nets stretch up to long distances and are turned into beach seines thereby resulting in them catching even turtles," he said.

He said following the alarming rate at which turtles had died at the Kenyan coast there's need to review the licensing of gill nets to prevent fishermen from using them unprofessionally.

Possible link

Mr Wamukota said they were investigating the possible link of fishermen from a neighbouring country in the scandal after two of them were arrested fishing in Kenya's territorial waters using a local fisherman's licence.

"The Fisheries Department is set to revoke the licence of the local fisherman as a deterrent to those who are encouraging such underhand fishing practices," he said.

Researches conducted by both the Fisheries Department and the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (Kemfri) show that apart from the threats posed to turtles by artisanal fishermen, trawling remains a big threat to the marine creatures.

Both studies reported a 70 per cent by-catch rate that includes turtles by trawlers and it established that Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) currently in use are not effective in the protection of the animals from trawling activities.

The research shows that there were a total of 18 cases of incidental capture of turtles in the trawl nets during the survey period.

The Current Status of Trawler Fishery of Malindi-Ungwana Bay survey recommends the development of appropriate bycatch reducer devices to curb incidental capture of young fish and turtles.

According to World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) the biggest threats to turtle conservation come from dynamite fishing, indiscriminate harvesting of eggs, conversion of the sandy areas where turtles nest to resorts and other commercial activities.

Coastal resources

Trade in turtle eggs has been a source of income for many fishing communities not only on the Kenyan coast but throughout the entire Indian Ocean region where most of them depend on coastal resources for livelihood.

The turtle egg is popular as a delicacy-with some believing it is an aphrodisiac while its shell is considered a choice material for decorative items among some coastal communities.

According to WWF, Southeast Asia is considered the world's biggest consumer of turtle eggs with Hong Kong, Singapore and Brunei being cited out as some of the leading markets.

Research has shown that although sea turtles have managed to survive natural hazards over the years they are now under severe threat from human activity.

It is because of these developments that the United Nations has put in place concerted efforts to save the endangered species.

Conservationists in the country have consequently put in place a number of initiatives aimed at creating awareness as part of the global effort to protect the endangered sea creatures.

According to Mr Wamukota, there are more than 18 community-based groups involved in different turtle conservation initiatives on the Kenyan coast through the Kescom project.

Mr Wamukota said 25 countries under the Indian Ocean Southeast Asian (IOSEA) region, which include Kenya, have signed a memorandum of understanding for the protection of the sea turtles.

"Through this initiative we are expected to develop an integrated sea turtles conservation framework for the Western Indian Ocean region under the Nairobi convention," he said.

The Kescom official said human impacts contributed to more than 85 per cent of turtle deaths in the country.

"Of the seven known species of marine turtles in the world, five are found in Kenya. They are loggerhead, leatherback, olive ridley, hawksbill and green turtle. Three of them, the green, the hawksbill and the olive ridley nest in Kenya while the others only come to forage," he said.

Mr Wamukota said since 1997 more than 2,000 turtle nests have been reported in Kenya resulting in more than 150,000 hatchings. However, research has shown that out of 1,000 hatchings only one turtle reaches maturity.

Sold by fishermen

He says although studies had shown more than 150,000 turtle eggs have hatched along the Kenyan coast in the past 10 years many of these ended up being sold by fishermen.

"And a belief among some Kenyan communities that if you take turtle oil you will get cured of asthma has also greatly contributed to the high turtle mortality in the country," he said.

Mr Wamukota said it is estimated that about 30,000 hatchings were reported on the Kenyan coast last year although the exact number will be established after all the data has been compiled.

The campaign to enhance sea turtle conservation activities in the country have been intensified through an integrated project sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAid).

Thee project brings together different stakeholders who include WWF, Kescom and the KWS.

"This project aims to involve more Government institutions and local communities in sea turtles conservation activities," he said.

He said the project would help build the capacity of the community monitoring system, introduce satellite sea turtles monitoring and spearhead awareness and education campaigns.

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Best of our wild blogs: 12 Feb 08

My bird garden
for and by the birds on the bird ecology blog

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Energy outlook for Asia: The future is fraught

Richard Halloran, Straits Times 12 Feb 08;

A FRESH assessment of Asia's energy future asserts that the region, along with the United States, is being confronted with a 'daunting challenge' as oil consumption is rising much faster than production and the end of the world's oil supply is in sight.

'Today,' says a book published by the East-West Centre, the research and educational institute in Honolulu, 'the challenge of energy security is greater than ever. The days of cheap and plentiful oil are over. World oil production is likely to reach a peak some time in the next 10 to 15 years.' It will level off and decline after that.

The book's principal authors, researchers Fereidun Fesharaki and Kang Wu, warn: 'Coupled with emerging supply limitations, the Asia-Pacific region's increasing demand for oil raises fears of tensions among Asian nations and between Asia and the West.'

Mr Frederick W. Smith, the chief executive officer of FedEx, the world's largest express transport company with 700 airplanes and 80,000 trucks that drink prodigious litres of jet fuel and petrol, is more pointed. Writing in Newsweek, Mr Smith says: 'It shouldn't be forgotten that the proximate cause of World War II was the US oil embargo against Japan.'

He adds: 'The first Gulf War was caused totally by oil - it was Saddam Hussein's insistence that he owned certain oil fields that led to his invasion of Kuwait and (the US) ouster of his forces there.'

What he calls 'the subsequent presence' of the US in the Middle East, evidently meaning Iraq, has been driven by oil. Mr Smith says some analysts think 40 per cent of US military spending 'can be attributed to protecting the oil trade'.

Indeed, the competition for energy in Asia, even more than the confrontations between North and South Korea, China and Taiwan, and India and Pakistan, could be the cause of hostilities across the entire region, with unpredictable consequences.

The East-West Centre's book - Asia's Energy Future - points to the obvious cause of the increased consumption of oil, which is economic growth. 'Since 1900,' author Fesharaki says in an overview, 'well over one-half of the annual growth in global oil consumption has originated from Asia and the Pacific.'

In one year, 2004, 'China alone accounted for nearly one-third of the growth in oil consumption in the entire world'. India was not far behind, the book says, 'and this pattern is projected to continue'.

The demand is 'driven primarily by the growing number of motor vehicles'. Heavy industry is partly responsible in China, slightly less so in India, which emphasises information technology.

A complicating factor: Half of China's oil imports come from the Middle East while India is even more dependent on Middle Eastern sources. That is not likely to change, which gives Beijing and New Delhi reason to dip into the power politics of that already volatile region.

Both nations, the book says, are experiencing 'a renewed emphasis on hydropower and nuclear energy'. Hydropower in China accounted for 3 per cent of the nation's energy in 1980 and is expected to rise to 8 per cent by 2015.

The famed - and controversial - Three Gorges hydroelectric plant is scheduled to be completed next year at an enormous cost in funds, displaced people and submerged cultural treasures.

China appears to have lagged in nuclear energy, which produced only 1 per cent of the nation's needs in 1993. But Beijing plans to build enough nuclear plants to meet 4 per cent of demand by 2020.

In India, hydroelectric capacity provided 26 per cent of installed power capacity in 2005 but has been growing at a rate slower than demand. Nuclear power then accounted for only 3 per cent of electrical generation but that is expected to double this year.

To counter these trends in oil production and consumption, the East-West Centre researchers, who are experts in the energy field, assert: 'Business as usual is not an option.'

They recommend policies to reduce price volatility, such as building strategic oil reserves. They also advocate policies to bring a better balance between supply and demand, such as reducing bottlenecks in transport.

The authors call on political leaders in the US, the world's largest consumer of energy, and the Asia-Pacific region, the fastest growing consumer of energy, 'to make bold and profound changes'. They insist: 'Half-measures are not enough, and they may even make the situation worse.'

They suggest that 'high oil prices, although painful for consumers, may provide a needed incentive'.

But they close, with academic understatement, on a less than confident note: 'Heightened competition in international oil markets may work against cooperative efforts.'

The writer, formerly with The New York Times in Asia and Washington, writes about Asia from Honolulu.

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Singapore fiscal incentives for eco-friendly business suggested: PwC

PwC favours carrots for Singapore's green push
Matthew Phan and Chen Huifen, Business Times 12 Feb 08;

It suggests slew of fiscal incentives for eco-friendly business measures

(SINGAPORE) High on the Budget 2008 wish list from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) this year is an item that wasn't there just a few years ago, but which should not be unexpected today.

'Tax and the Environment', it reads.

The first wish is for the creation of a National Fund to promote and finance 'green' initiatives, with donors rewarded by tax deductions. The other 15 bullet points suggest how Singapore could encourage environment-friendly behaviour.

Some are obvious and generic, like encouraging business and individuals to adopt energy-efficient practices, or subsidies or clean energy research.

Others are technical and more targeted.

For example, the government might want to consider 'on an immediate basis,' having zero rating of GST for the procurement of energy-saving devices, said Abhijit Ghosh, tax partner at PwC Singapore.

Or it might give enhanced capital allowances, say 125 per cent of cost, on energy-efficient equipment used by business.

A capital allowance refers to a deduction granted to firms that purchase fixed assets for use in their business. Only certain assets qualify, such as machinery, furniture or electrical equipment.

PwC also suggested giving tax deductions for approved programmes for carbon offsetting - for example, where a firm buys carbon credits to offset the greenhouse gases emitted when its executives fly overseas.

Generally, the 'carrot' approach, or giving companies incentives to change their behaviour, are more effective than the 'stick', said Mr Ghosh.

New Zealand wanted to adopt the 'stick' approach last year with a carbon tax, but is now reconsidering and thinking of fiscal measures that would be fair to everyone, he said.

Further, a group of British Columbian economists has argued that poor people will disproportionately bear the burden of a carbon tax, because it is essentially a flat tax on an essential resource, he said.

'The well-off will be able to buy their way out of any responsibility and continue to buy Hummers and 5,000 sq ft homes,' the economists said, according to Mr Ghosh.

A 'carrot' approach would thus be more equitable, if the Singapore government is considering any fiscal measures, he said.

While the government has recently introduced non-fiscal initiatives, 'we believe that fiscal measures should also be considered as early as possible, provided the government is prepared to use tax policy to address this issue', he said.

Some businesses here appear to be echoing the same tone. According to Phillip Overmyer, chief executive of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce, one of the top items on his association's Budget wish list is a package of incentives that 'will encourage corporate participation in eco-friendly initiatives'.

'For example, the provision of investment allowances in certain kinds of energy equipment,' he said. 'So you might allow someone to take a tax deduction for some portion of a new (energy-efficient) equipment that they put in place. Or, we could provide deduction against tax for architectural and engineering fees that are directly related to building a building that meets global standards for energy savings.'

The Budget wish list of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) includes a further cut in the corporate tax rate to bring it closer to 15-16 per cent, reduction in personal income taxes, as well as the abolition of estate duty.

Although the latter two will not have a direct impact on companies, SICCI executive director Pradeep Menon said they will help alleviate cost pressures indirectly.

'Companies are hoping that there will be a significant cut in personal taxes to help employees manage rising costs,' explained Mr Menon. 'If they can make some savings on that front, it will then indirectly lead to less pressure on wage push.'

As for estate duty, he reckons eliminating it will have a long-term impact on Singapore's business environment, as it continues to draw more people to start and retain their businesses and families here.

'It's also a part of wealth management as we try to attract more people to bring in their wealth and manage it out of Singapore,' he added. 'As they build up their wealth, there's always this concern about the fact that they have to pay estate duty, when they pass it on.'

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Genting $4.9billion loan for Sentosa Integrated Resort

Genting Int'l gets $4.2b loan for Sentosa resort
Fiona Chan, Straits Times 12 Feb 08;

GENTING International has secured a massive $4.19 billion in syndicated funding that will pay for about two-thirds of the integrated resort it is building in Sentosa.

The funding is a record for Genting and one of the largest syndicated credit deals in Singapore banking history. It comprises $4 billion in loans and a $192.5 million banker's guarantee facility, Genting said yesterday.

The company is the sponsor for the funding for Resorts World at Sentosa. Five banks are involved as arrangers and underwriters: DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

The credit facilities were obtained on the eve of Chinese New Year at around 6pm, but much of the work on getting the loan started around November last year, Genting said.

The Singapore-listed company, a unit of Malaysian casino operator Genting Bhd, added that the process was 'relatively smooth', given the group's long-standing relationships with the banks.

This is despite the global credit crunch and volatile stock markets that have resulted from the United States subprime mortgage meltdown.

But 'notwithstanding the current market conditions', DBS said it expects the financing to be completed 'very successfully and in good time'.

This is due to Genting's 'impeccable standing', coupled with the 'iconic nature of this project', said DBS managing director and head of syndicated finance Peter Chan.

Genting was reported in October to be seeking a loan of $3.2 billion. But higher building expenses have pushed up its original budget for the casino by about $800 million to nearly $6 billion now.

Its $4.19 billion funding is slightly less than the $5 billion that Las Vegas Sands borrowed to build Singapore's other casino in the Marina Bay area.

That loan, arranged by eight banks including Goldman Sachs and Singapore's three banks, is said to be the largest private Singapore dollar-denominated financing ever completed.

Banks bet on IR developer with $4b loan
Arthur Sim, Business Times 12 Feb 08;

THE credit markets may have become more risk averse lately, but banks still appear bullish on the Resorts World at Sentosa, home to one of Singapore's two planned integrated resorts (IRs).

In a statement released yesterday, Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd (RWS), a subsidiary of Genting International, announced that it had secured $4 billion credit facilities for its IR development.

Five local and international banks - DBS Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), Royal Bank of Scotland and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation - will underwrite, bookrun and arrange the syndication of the loan, which has a tenure that extends to end-2015.

The credit facilities will fund two-thirds of the $6 billion IR at Sentosa, with the remaining to be funded through the equity raised from Genting International's rights issue last year.

RWS chief executive Tan Hee Teck said: 'Amid the turmoil in the global credit markets, they have given us a resounding vote of confidence.'

That RWS's gaming component could be a key factor in instilling this sense of confidence among the banks is perhaps not so surprising if one considers the latest gaming revenue figures coming out of Macau.

Citigroup analyst Anil Daswani believes that January 2008 could prove to be a record month for Macau with gross gaming revenue projected to be around 11 billion Macau patacas (S$1.94 billion).

Gross gaming revenue averaged only 6.77 billion patacas per month last year and according to Citi's estimates, the highest monthly revenue so far was 8.6 billion patacas set in October 2007.

In a Citi report, Mr Daswani said: 'The continuing strong growth in Macau gaming revenues should be immune to the possible recession in the United States, in our view. History also suggests that the gaming industry in fact outperformed the market during recessionary periods in the last decade.'

RWS's own estimates have put the number of expected visitors by 2010 at 15 million. These people could, of course, also be visiting RWS's other attractions, including the Universal Studios theme park.

Peter Chan, managing director and head of syndicated finance at DBS, added: 'Notwithstanding the current market conditions, we believe that based on the impeccable standing of the sponsor, coupled with the iconic nature of this project, as well the strong team of arrangers put in place, we should see this financing being completed very successfully and in good time.'

Genting's gamble
Casino developer borrows $4.2 b to fund building of IR
Today Online 12 Feb 08;

Genting International, a unit of Asia's biggest gaming operator by market value, borrowed as much as $4.2 billion to fund the building of its casino resort in Singapore, more than double its outstanding debt.

The unit of Kuala Lumpur-based Genting Bhd hired DBS Group Holdings, Oversea- Chinese Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, HSBC Holdings and the Royal Bank of Scotland to arrange the borrowing, it said in a statement.

"It is a big gamble," said Mr Lim Kok Boon, chief investment officer at Fortis Private Banking, which manages US$9.5 billion ($13.5 billion) in assets. "It is hard to tell how it is going to pan out for them, but clearly the casino project cannot fail as Genting International and the Singapore banks will be badly implicated."

The company's funding will help it to compete with the Las Vegas Sands as both race to open the first casino resort here in about two years. The two gaming developments will have Singapore's casino market for at least 10 years before the government opens up the industry to further competition.

Genting International's funding will add to the $2.17 billion raised in an August rights offer and $450 million of convertible bonds sold in April to fund its project on Sentosa. The development will include South-east Asia's first Universal Studios theme park.

The company's borrowing consists of a $4 billion loan and $192.5 million in a bank guarantee facility, the statement said. The company has US$1.4 billion of outstanding debt. Genting International declined to comment on the terms of the loan except that it is "very happy" with them.

"The credit facilities were raised as scheduled and planned for the development," said Mr Tan Hee Teck, chief executive officer of Resorts World at Sentosa. "Despite the challenging environment in the global credit markets, the banks have been very supportive."

The mall and gaming resorts are part of Singapore's efforts to triple tourism revenue to $30 billion by 2015. The Republic ended a four-decade casino ban in 2005.

The Singapore resorts aim to capture a slice of the regulated gambling market in the Asia-Pacific region, expected to expand 16 per cent a year to US$30.3 billion in 2011.

Genting Bhd runs casino resorts in Malaysia. Genting International, which holds the parent company's overseas assets, also owns the UK's biggest casino operator, Stanley Leisure. — Bloomberg

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World Cities Summit to be held in Singapore

Business Times 12 Feb 08

SINGAPORE will host the first World Cities Summit, a premier international conference on public governance and sustainable development of cities, from June 23-25 this year.

The summit, which has as its theme 'Liveable and Vibrant Cities', will discuss the challenges of urbanisation and examine best practices for the sustainable development of cities.

Discussion topics include issues related to effective governance, urban planning, infrastructure development, environmental sustainability, quality of life, and economic competitiveness.

The event will feature several prominent and internationally renowned speakers, including Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank; Noeleen Heyzer, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific; and Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hussayen, minister for water and electricity in Saudi Arabia.

The World Cities Summit is jointly organised by Singapore's Civil Service College, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and the ministry of national development.

A joint press statement from the organisers said the summit will bring together ministers, city mayors, senior government officials, experts and business leaders from around the world, including a good number from Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

The inaugural World Cities Summit will be held at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

During that same week, Singapore will launch the inaugural Singapore International Water Week 2008, which has as its theme 'Sustainable Water Solutions for Cities'.

A third event, the East Asia Summit Conference on Liveable Cities, is also being held in conjunction with the World Cities Summit. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will officiate at the joint opening ceremony for all three events and will deliver the keynote address.

Apart from the plenary sessions and breakout tracks, the World Cities Summit will offer site visits for delegates to engage practitioners and get a better understanding of policy implementation.

Singapore to host first World Cities Summit
Fiona Chan, Straits Times 12 Feb 08;

SINGAPORE will host the world's first-ever international conference on the public governance and sustainable development of cities in June.

The World Cities Summit will focus on the challenges of urbanisation and discuss how to develop 'liveable and vibrant' cities, the theme of the conference.

About 300 ministers, mayors, senior officials and business leaders from around the world are expected to attend the three-day event, which is organised by the Ministry of National Development, the Singapore Civil Service College and the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

The summit's strategic partners include the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and several United Nations programmes.

Speakers will include ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Saudi Arabia's Minister for Water and Electricity Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hussayen. They will discuss important issues facing cities such as urban planning and conservation, solid waste management, land transportation and environmental sustainability.

The conference will be at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre from June 23 to 25. It will be held at the same time as the inaugural Singapore International Water Week, and in conjunction with the East Asia Summit Conference on Liveable Cities.

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'Stop live animals exports for slaughter'

Paul Eccleston, The Telegraph 12 Feb 08;

A worldwide campaign aimed at banning the long-distance transport of live animals for slaughter has been launched in London.

Animal charity workers shot secret film footage during a two-year long investigation of the global trade in live animals which they say is cruel and unnecessary.

The Handle With Care coalition is using shock pictures of animals being shipped around the world in overcrowded and filthy conditions before they are finally slaughtered.

They hope consumers will be so horrified by the images of sheep, cattle, horses, pigs and chickens moved in horrendous conditions in journeys that can take weeks they will embarrass governments into finally banning the trade.

Rules on minimum standards of care for live animals in transit - including regular feed, water and rest - are frequently flouted. To save on costs animals are also illegally crammed into lorries, containers and ships where they do not have enough room to lie down.

And animals are shipped from one side of the world to the other for slaughter so that producers can charge higher prices by fraudulently claiming the meat was locally sourced.

The Handle With Care coalition, made up of leading UK-based animal welfare charities the World Society for the Protection of Animals, Compassion in World Farming, the RSPCA and the International League for the Protection of Horses claims thousands of animals die in transit every day from disease, hunger and stress in overcrowded and filthy conditions.

They say human health is also being put at risk because animals being transported can help spread potentially deadly diseases such as bird flu across the world.

The coalition says that animals should be reared and then slaughtered at the nearest possible abattoir and the meat frozen before being shipped.

World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) Campaigns Director Leah Garcés said: "British people are growing increasingly concerned with the way animals are treated and I am sure they will be horrified by the cruelty and suffering that can clearly be seen in this new undercover film.

"We were determined to show people the truth of this hidden and brutal traffic in animals - if you see it for yourself - you just know it must be stopped."

The campaign will focus on four of the worst routes involving animals:

#Sheep from Australia to the Middle East.

Australia is the world's biggest exporter of live animals and every year sends millions of sheep to the Middle East in vast ships. More than 30,000 die annually on the journey which can take three weeks.

#Cattle from Brazil to Lebanon.

Cattle can spend 3-4 days without food and water on road transporters before arriving at the port for shipment. They are herded into overcrowded holds where 10 per cent will die during the 18-day sea journey.

#Horses from Spain to Italy.

100,000 horses are transported across Europe for sale every year mainly from Spain to Italy where they are slaughtered for food. Lorries are supposed to transport about 16-18 horses at a time in individual stalls but often 25-30 are packed in together for distressing journeys that take two days.

#Pigs from Canada to Hawaii.

Pigs reared in extremely low temperatures in Alberta are moved on overcrowded trucks to California before being shipped to Hawaii. Forced to endure extreme temperatures lying in their own waste many die from stress during the seven day journey. Those that survive are then slaughtered and their meat sold as "Island Produced Pork".

The coalition claims that the technology to freeze meat before it is shipped abroad has been available for more than a century and there is no reason to continue the export of live animals.

Compassion in World Farming Chief Executive Philip Lymbery said: " The cruelty these animals endure is completely unacceptable in the 21st century. This trade is one in which millions of animals suffer cruel and unnecessary journeys each year. It must stop."

Campaigns and demonstrations in the 1990s led to a huge fall in the number of live animals sent for export from the UK. In 1995 2m sheep and lambs and 500,000 calves were exported. By 2007 the numbers had tumbled to 80,000 sheep and lambs and 70,000 calves.

The coalition is demanding a stricter enforcement of EU laws governing the live transport of animals and hopes that existing laws will be strengthened when they come up for review in 2009.

Jo White, Director of Campaigns for the international League for the Protection of Horses, said: " You cannot put a price on cruelty. This trade is cruel and unnecessary and must be brought to an end.

"Our message is that logic and compassion must be applied to farm animals and they should be sent to the nearest slaughter house. If you have passed the slaughter house you have already gone too far."

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Consumers must stop forest destruction

John Nelson, BBC's The Green Room 11 Feb 08;

Some people may not sit so comfortably on their patio furniture if they knew where the wood came from, argues John Nelson. In this week's Green Room, he says the demand for wood products is threatening the long-term survival of communities around the globe.

Most DIY enthusiasts would be shocked to find that their new garden decking helped to increase the poverty of hunter-gatherer communities in the Congo Basin of Central Africa.

What about the recently purchased hardwood table and chairs? Did these come from a 300-year-old tree that, until cut down for export to Europe, supplied a hundred poor people in Cameroon with oil, protein and medicine?

Armed with this knowledge, would the customers' new furniture be quite so comfortable?

Ngola Baka typifies Pygmy hunter-gatherer communities in Cameroon; it is small, remote, cash-poor and surrounded by small fields of manioc and plantain to supplement a varied and healthy forest diet based upon meat, fish, fruits, nuts, honey, leaves and mushrooms.

Since there is no dispensary, and little money, medicines are found in the forest, in the barks, roots and leaves gathered during hunting and gathering excursions up to 20km (12 miles) away.

Diminishing returns

Forest biodiversity is at the heart of Baka community subsistence, and Congo Basin forests are widely recognised as a global asset. The UK government has committed more than £50m ($25m) towards protecting them.

The wealth of the basin's rainforests is also targeted by big business. Logging and mining companies are legally entitled to exploit millions of hectares.

Only two kilometres from Ngola Baka, for example, the community forest gives way to an industrial logging concession. The Moabi tree found there is particularly favoured by loggers for its hard, dark wood and high market price.



The Moabi's fruit is also a key component of Baka subsistence, especially for the rich oil pressed from the nut. People rely upon it for their survival.

Last year, it was harvested by Baka women in a forest grove 12km from the village, in the middle of the logging concession, as has been done seasonally for years.

But those trees are now gone, cut down during 2007 and exported to Europe to make garden furniture and coffee tables. Ngola Baka is a poorer, hungrier place as a result of European tastes for luxury.

Last week I saw once again - like a scratched record repeating a verse - how the systematic exploitation of such areas by industrial loggers progressively undermines the welfare of indigenous forest communities.

New forest-use maps, created by local Baka communities with the support of the UK Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) and the Centre for Environment and Development in Cameroon (CED), illustrated the huge overlap between Baka traditional lands and the legal boundaries of neighbouring logging concessions.

We discovered that up to 40,000 hectares of forest used by Ngola Baka are now being logged. Moabi are targeted along with a host of other tree species used by Baka. The future of the community is at stake as its forest is stripped of trees. This should be stopped, but who on Earth is going to do that?

Cameroon law stipulates that commercial loggers must consult with local communities over their logging plans.

They must help local communities to document their traditional use areas, negotiate with them where overlaps are identified, and establish mechanisms to avoid conflicts with communities in areas targeted for logging.

However, there is little evidence that this occurs anywhere in Central Africa. The results are systematic, long-term degradation of forest wealth, reduced forest community welfare and increasing poverty of an indigenous population experiencing jaw-dropping rates of mortality for children aged under five.

Logging on

Up to now, indigenous communities such as Baka have been powerless to stop logging from occurring on their lands. However, with the support of a few progressive European donors, some have started to document their traditional lands.

They are entering into dialogues with government, conservation agencies and logging companies to negotiate protection for their forest rights.



New GPS mapping technologies developed for use by non-literate communities such as Baka are helping forest communities to take over documentation of their traditional forest use.

They are putting themselves on the map and being given a stronger negotiating position with loggers, as well as with conservation and development agencies targeting their regions.

But these fire-fighting efforts by communities and their local supporters alone are not enough. Without significant additional support from European timber dealers - the buyers who drive the industrial wood trade - indigenous communities will remain powerless to stop their forests being destroyed by unscrupulous producers.

Their children are doomed to increasing poverty because there is too much money being made in Europe.

Most European consumers do not understand the impact on poor African communities of their timber purchases, due to the lack of information about where it comes from and how it is produced, and the impacts of its harvest on forest community welfare.

I believe that if most knew the reality, they would be far more discerning about what they bought.

The cruelty of battery poultry farming in the UK, which has received so much attention recently, pales into insignificance when compared with the logging injustices and increasing poverty of indigenous forest communities who simply want their children to survive childhood, to gain greater access to health services, and to learn to read even a little bit.

Europeans, and consumers across the globe, have the power to stop the disaster that is overwhelming forest peoples, but will they take up the challenge?

John Nelson is Africa policy adviser for the Forest Peoples Programme, a UK Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) working to support forest communities around the world to secure their lands and destinies

The Green Room is a series of opinion articles on environmental topics running weekly on the BBC News website

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