Roadmap to make Singapore a leading eco-city

Clarissa Oon, Straits Times 29 Feb 08;

'Singapore way' of sustainable development' was not out of choice but necessity, because of its small size and scarce resources.

A GOVERNMENT panel will release a 10-year roadmap next year for Singapore to grow its economy in an environmentally sound way, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said yesterday.

This inter-ministerial committee aims to make Singapore the leading eco-city in Asia and will look at green solutions in transport, housing and industry, he added.

Mr Mah is co-chairing this recently formed committee on sustainable development, along with Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim.

Other members include Finance and Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Transport Minister Raymond Lim and Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran.

Sustainable development has become a global buzzword as countries try to develop their economies while minimising fallout on the environment.

While the term 'sustainable development' began to catch on only from the late 1980s, Singapore had already adopted such principles from the start of nation building, said Mr Mah in Parliament.

This ''Singapore way' of sustainable development' was not out of choice but necessity, because of its small size and scarce resources.

Now, its strengths include integrated township planning and maximising land use, as well as breakthroughs in water and waste management. Still, Singapore can do better and create an even cleaner and better-quality living environment, he said.

However, Mr Mah stressed this would not be at the expense of economic growth. 'We need to remind ourselves that sustainable development is still about development... We still want growth and we still want good jobs.' Without economic growth, he said, there would not be enough resources to invest in renewable energy or implement cuts in energy consumption.

Renewable energy comes from sources such as the sun, wind and waves, as opposed to fossil fuels like coal and oil. Burning fossil fuels has been blamed for releasing harmful greenhouse gases that cause climate change.

Singapore has also formed another inter-ministerial panel on climate change, with which Mr Mah said his committee would work closely.

Mr Mah was earlier asked by Nominated MP Edwin Khew if more financial incentives would be offered to companies and individuals to encourage green practices. Mr Mah said he would not rule it out.

But it would be one of a slew of measures to address sustainable development, including public education, research and development, and possibly legislation.

This drive would also not be complete without partnerships with community and grassroots organisations, non-governmental organisations and other ground-up movements, he added.

At the end of the day, 'sustainable development is as much about changing lifestyles as it is about new technologies or green buildings'.

Apart from doing more at home, Singapore hopes to share with other cities its model of sustainable development, he added.

It has embarked on a project with China to create an eco-city in the northern port city of Tianjin.

Blueprint on sustainable development to be launched in 2009
Channel NewsAsia 28 Feb 08;

SINGAPORE : Singapore's development into a vibrant and distinctive city will be done in a sustainable way.

And the newly-formed Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development will be launching its blueprint on this next year.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said this will provide a comprehensive road map of initiatives and measures to sustain Singapore's development for the next 10 years and beyond.

Mr Mah was speaking in Parliament on Thursday in response to questions from MPs on Singapore's sustainable development policies.

He also said the government is making plans to rejuvenate the Central Business District.

Land will be released around the Tanjong Pagar area and the Ophir/Rochor corridor will be developed into a vibrant office cluster.

But he stressed the Marina Bay Financial Centre will remain the centrepiece of Singapore's push for more economic growth.

Mr Mah said it will be a "seamless extension of Raffles Place, offering high-quality office spaces along a lively waterfront".

The area generated will be equivalent to two Canary Wharfs in London.

The new financial district is expected to take more than 15 years to materialise depending on demand.

And Mr Mah gave the assurance the government will continue to release land in a calibrated manner to meet such demand. - CNA/ch

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Singapore third in managing environmental challenges

SingaporeSnippets
Today Online 29 Feb 08;

Singapore has been ranked as one of the top three cities in managing environmental challenges such as air pollution, infectious disease and the potential impact of natural disasters, according to a report by MasterCard.

Among 21 key centres of commerce, Melbourne took first place and Johannesburg second. Singapore's placing is partly a result of the Government's action to manage the quality of water, air and waste removal systems. Another contributing factor was the low risk of unpredictable environmental events such as earthquakes.

But Singapore could be susceptible to effects of climatic change, such as permanent flooding due to a rise in sea-level.

Melbourne's Environment Quality Highest, Mumbai Lowest (Table)
Patricia Chua, Bloomberg 28 Feb 08;

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The following table shows the results of MasterCard's Worldwide Insights Report on Urbanization and Environmental Challenges in Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

Cities are ranked highest to lowest in terms of environmental quality as measured by water potability and availability, sewage system, waste removal, air quality, infectious diseases, potential climate change impact and natural disasters.

Note 1: # Combined ranking is weighted as follows:

Dimension 1 - 70%; dimension 2 - 20%; dimension 3 - 10% Note 2: * Dimension 1 - factors largely under government's control
- water potability & availability, sewage system, waste removal, air quality, infectious diseases

* Dimension 2 - factors not considered under government's control and subject to climate change
- sea levels rising, water scarcity, severe storms, fires

* Dimension 3 - factors linked to unpredictable environmental risks
- earthquakes, typhoons/hurricanes, volcano eruptions

Source: MasterCard Worldwide



India's big cities are worst for air quality
Raphael Minder, Financial Times 28 Feb 08;

India's two leading cities are at the bottom of an environmental ranking due out today that suggests water and air quality will become an ever bigger challenge for the development of Mumbai and New Delhi.

The report, undertaken by MasterCard but based on a compilation of scientific data, puts China's leading cities above their Indian counterparts, even though Hong Kong and Beijing in particular have come under intense criticism over air quality in the run-up to this year's Olympic Games.

"The fact that China is now under a constant magnifying glass does not mean we should ignore other places and some objective facts," said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, economic adviser to MasterCard and author of the report.

"India really has to move fast to prevent slipping down any further," he added.

Over the past five years China has invested about 15 times more than India in transport, sewerage and other infrastructure that contribute to improving living standards in urban centres, according to Mr Yuwa.

Additionally, India's democratic system and policymaking process make it harder to implement reform, while "China can clearly mobilise".

The study ranked 21 leading cities in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Melbourne led the ranking ahead of Johannesburg and Singapore. Among Chinese cities, the worst performer was Shenzhen, the industrial hub next to Hong Kong, which itself was the best-ranked Chinese city.

Mr Yuwa said the weighting given by MasterCard to different environmental problems was subjective and debatable.

But MasterCard used data from the World Health Organisation, other United Nations agencies and national agencies such as the US geological survey and Mercer, the consultancy. The study gave three waterrelated issues - potability, availability and the sewage system - a combined weighting slightly above that of air quality.

However, on air quality alone, Mumbai and New Delhi also came equal bottom, below Jakarta, Cairo, Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

The study also takes into account natural phenomena and Johannesburg's high ranking in part reflects its favourable location in terms of limited vulnerability to natural disaster.

In contrast, Tokyo was ranked lower because of the risk of earthquake, typhoon and volcanic eruption. Sydney also ranked down the list because of the risk of rising sea levels, water scarcity and fires.

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Singapore students and their creature comforts

Total Defence Day shows some S'pore students are TOTALLY DEFENCELESS
Teo Chin Ghee, The New Paper 29 Feb 08;

Teacher, how to eat this?
Some don't even know what sweet potatoes are

WHAT? Eat sweet potatoes? Have lessons in classrooms without lights, fans or aircon? Drink water that's not cold?

This was how some students reacted when asked to forgo their creature comforts for a few hours, as part of the Total Defence Day activities in some schools recently.

And their complaints have prompted some educators and school counsellors to question: Are our children too soft and too spoilt?

The New Paper understands that students from some schools complained when they found out they had to eat sweet potatoes for recess - even though it was only for a day.

The 'sweet potato only' policy was to simulate the Japanese Occupation, when it was a staple for many of these students' grandparents.

Some students had never even heard of sweet potato and wondered how it was to be eaten.

The complaints did not end there.

When lights in the classrooms were turned off, they grumbled that they couldn't make out what was written on the whiteboard, even when natural sunlight was streaming in at 9am.

And going without fans or air-conditioning was a major inconvenience for most.

Some resentful students asked their teachers why the central air-conditioning in the staff room and the general office had not been turned off, questioning why teachers had the luxury of returning to the air-conditioned staff room.

This, even though the teachers had spent most of their time with the students in the classrooms.

Another common complaint: The water from the water coolers was not cold enough.

'BLACKOUT' DAY

To commemorate the day on 15 Feb this year, some secondary schools had organised a 'blackout' day, complete with 'food rationing' to let students experience what their forefathers went through during World War II.

At one school, the blackout lasted from 9am to 11.30am, with the power supply cut off at the classroom blocks.

Students were informed about the surprise blackout only on the day itself.

They had to sit through lessons without lights and go without the cooling comfort of fans.

During recess, the students were given ration coupons for sweet potatoes, the only food sold in the canteen that day.

One of the school's National Education committee members said: 'The theme for this year emphasises the individual's responsibility and how total defence is personal.

'We wanted to personalise the experience for our students so they can play their part.'

However, it seems that the lessons failed to resonate with some students.

When asked by The New Paper, one student's response was: 'We had PE lessons that day and after the lesson, we were just so thirsty.

'No drinks were provided and the drink stalls were closed.

SO HOT

'We could only drink from the water coolers, which had long queues. To make it worse, the fans in the canteen were also turned off. It was so hot.'

While sweet potatoes may not be a favourite food among teenagers, what particularly shocked one teacher was learning that some students had never eaten it before.

He said: 'We actually had some students coming up to us, asking, 'How do I eat them?'.'

A similar food-rationing activity conducted two years ago at another school on Total Defence Day was also poorly received by the students.

The school's Total Defence Day co-ordinator recalled: 'It was a one-off event. The students didn't exactly like sweet potatoes and it was rather wasteful because we had leftovers.'

Some parents and teachers approached by The New Paper believe the students are spoilt.

Mrs Grace See, a parent of three children, said: 'From young, they have led such pampered lives. They have 24-hour air-conditioning and a maid to meet their every need.

'I know of a friend's nephew who simply refuses to go to non-air-conditioned places to eat.'

Teachers, who spoke to The New Paper on condition of anonymity, generally agreed.

One of them gave an interesting example: 'I know a 10-year-old student who goes home on the school bus.

'There was a time when he simply stood there after getting off, refusing to go home because his maid wasn't there to carry his bag and take him home.'

Another teacher said: 'Students these days are definitely spoilt. When you take away certain privileges that they are used to having, then they appear handicapped and cannot cope.'

One vice-principal noted that students these days are not used to such hardships because of a different lifestyle.

She added: 'They are, therefore, not able to appreciate the programmes that schools have planned for them.'

However, another teacher said some students today are becoming more independent in their search for knowledge, with the help of computers.

'So while they depend on their parents for some basic needs, they are now less dependent in other areas, like their academic work,' she added.

Others, like Shuqun Secondary School principal Tan Chin Eng, warned against generalising.

He said: 'Sometimes, it depends on the family background of the students.

'The students who complained could be those who have the basic necessities in life and have not gone through any hardships.

'However, it is also not wise to generalise that students these days are spoilt.'

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The human cost of palm oil boom

Mata Jeli: A perspective on Indonesian Affairs
Bruce Gale, Business Times 29 Feb 08;

LAST July, about 1,500 angry villagers attacked the grounds of an oil palm plantation company in South Sumatra. Overwhelming police, they burned several buildings and at least 30 machinery units, including tractors and dump trucks, as well as a number of cars. According to police, some threw Molotov cocktails while others stole computer units, cash boxes and car accessories.

The incident, which took place in the Ogan Komering Ulu regency, was the culmination of a lengthy land ownership dispute with Laju Perdana Indah, a subsidiary of the Salim Group. It was also typical of the unrest being reported throughout the archipelago in recent years as plantation companies seek to increase their acreage in response to high international commodity prices.

Agriculture Ministry data show that oil palm plantations have grown by more than 200 per cent during the last decade - from 2.7 million ha in 1998 to 6.1 million ha in 2006. And with the price of crude palm oil in Rotterdam hitting a record high of US$1,000 (S$1,400) per tonne last month, the demand for more plantation acreage is likely to grow.

A joint report issued earlier this month by a group of nongovernment organisations, including Friends of the Earth and local NGO Sawit Watch, assessed the human cost of this oil palm boom. Entitled Losing Ground, the 108-page study argues that while talk of climate change has created a growing market for biofuels that can be produced from crops such as oil palm and sugar cane, it is not just virgin forests that are under threat. Local communities in Indonesia's outer islands are also paying a heavy price.

Although many indigenous communities have lived on the same land for generations, their rights are not clear under Indonesian law. Land alienation for plantations has also been made easier by recent legislation that allows companies working with local governments to take over traditional lands if they show that their business is in accordance with official development plans.

The Losing Ground report alleges that while Indonesian law requires plantation companies to consult local communities and carry out an environmental impact assessment before obtaining a land use permit, this rarely happens. And when such consultation does take place, it is often tainted by allegations of intimidation and corruption.

One community liaison officer employed by an oil palm developer allegedly told researchers he was given a fund for bribing village chiefs. Demonstrations against plantation companies by local residents are also common, says the report, often triggering a heavy crackdown by local police and the company's own security forces.

Then there are the broken promises. According to one unnamed West Kalimantan villager quoted in the report: 'They promised to set up irrigated rice fields, a school, (provide) electricity, build a road, fish ponds. As it turns out, none of that was true. Now they do not even want to build our school or repair the track leading to the longhouse - so we are beginning to have second thoughts about them and not trust them any more.'

Sawit Watch said that in January it was monitoring 513 such conflicts between plantation companies and local communities around the archipelago.

Independent assessments appear to back up at least some of the report's findings. The November 2006 issue of the Asia Food Journal (a trade publication), for example, warned potential investors about the problem of land ownership, adding that 'local opposition to the establishment and expansion of plantations may lead to heightened social tension, causing unrest, security issues, and the disruption of operations'.

And in 2007, Ms Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, chairman of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, predicted that millions of people in West Kalimantan alone were likely to become 'biofuel refugees' over the next few years.

Supporters of the oil palm plantation expansion argue that the industry has provided employment to large numbers of poverty-stricken Indonesians. Official plans call for the biofuel industry to provide job opportunities for 3.5 million people by 2010.

Opponents counter that plantation labourers are often brought in from other parts of the archipelago, a move which raises the prospect of ethnic tensions while doing nothing to benefit local communities. Moreover, many such workers only receive daily wages, and usually have no access to insurance or social security schemes.

There is, however, another way of looking at the problem.

Dr H. S. Dillon, a former member of the National Human Rights Commission and an independent commissioner of Astra Agro Lestari (one of Indonesia's largest government-run plantations companies), points out that many NGO criticisms lack historical perspective.

'The current situation,' Dr Dillon told me last week, 'is not as bad as it was during the Suharto era.' In president Suharto's time, the oil palm sector was dominated by state-run companies that could act with impunity, calling on the support of the police and military whenever they faced local opposition.

Dr Dillon does not deny that such abuses still occur. But he argues that, as a result of democratisation, they are now more likely to be reported in the national and international media.

'The big players are far more vulnerable now,' he says. 'Most are private companies, many of which are run by local ethnic Chinese conglomerates.'

Historically, such groups have not been known for their corporate social responsibility. But the situation is changing.

Last year, at least 10 Indonesian plantation companies joined the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Established in April 2004, the RSPO is a joint initiative of companies and global NGOs which support the production and trade in palm oil while minimising its negative social and environmental effects.

But last month's Losing Ground report was a reminder that Indonesia still has a long way to go.

Read more!

Letters on dealing with abandoned pedigree dogs: Ban import of pets

If you want pets, please adopt one that has been abandoned
Time for pet owners to reflect on their actions

Today Online 29 Feb 08;
Letter from TAN CHEK WEE
Letter from MARIANNE MAES

I REFER to the report, "More abandon pedigree dogs" (Feb 28).

My work as a homecare doctor brings me to homes across the social strata.

I see dogs tied to fences with short leashes. I see rabbits confined in fish tanks. I see turtles swimming desperately to keep afloat in pails of water.

I once saw a poodle kept in a cage with its paws on a base of grills so that it is easier for the domestic helper to clear the excrement from the bottom tray.

With animal welfare shelters filled beyond the brim, I hope the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore will now consider the many appeals by those concerned about the welfare of animals: Ban the import of pets, stop local breeding and impose compulsory "pet responsibility" classes before a dog licence is issued.

There are more than enough abandoned animals to satisfy the needs of genuine adopters.

I appeal to people seeking animal companionship to adopt pets from shelters instead of buying them from pet shops.

I COULDN'T agree more with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals chief Deirdre Moss' view that too many people in Singapore are buying pedigree dogs on the spur of the moment.

That there are more purebred dogs being abandoned is a reflection of the nonchalant attitude of a certain section of society towards pet ownership.

There is a saying that goes: One is judged by the way he treats an animal.

Looking at the disturbing trend of more strays being picked up, I'd say that the public should start reflecting on their actions.

How to prevent the dumping of pedigree dogs
Letter from Tan Ai Ling (Mdm), Straits Times 29 Feb 08;

I REFER to the article, '1,521 pedigree dogs dumped'.

With the stricter laws on pet licensing, the problem will only worsen. May I suggest the following to tackle the problem?

Pet shops should be microchipping and completing the registration of microchip numbers to buyers who are able to prove that their abode is approved for the type of dog purchased.

Immediate registration should be part of the service and the duty of responsible pet shops which should then send details to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority for licensing. This should curb impulsive buys.

Also, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should seriously consider campaigns that avoid depicting animals as cute. After all, most animals that end up there are euthanised, not candidates for resort-living.

I appeal to everyone considering a dog - the cost is not the initial outlay, but the thousands of dollars spent on vet bills and damaged furniture as well as the hundreds of hours spent cleaning, training and integrating a dog into your family.

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Wildlife Trade Booming in Burmese Casino Town

Stefan Lovgren, National Geographic News 28 Feb 08;

In a run-down casino town in northern Myanmar (Burma) market-goers can find everything from bear paws to tiger parts—evidence of a booming wildlife trade. However, recent crackdowns by governments in Southeast Asia may slow the illegal business, experts say.

On a 2007 trip to Möng La, on Myanmar's border with China, wildlife photographer Karl Ammann found a vast array of animal body parts used in traditional Chinese medicine, including bear paws and gall bladders, big-cat teeth—and even a freshly dismembered tiger penis.

Some of the animals will become "bush meat," often-endangered species not commonly consumed by people that are killed illegally and eaten as delicacies.

"What I had not seen anywhere else in Southeast Asia was the amount of animals sold for food," the Swiss-born Ammann said in a telephone interview from his home in Kenya.

"There were cages stacked on top of each other with captured animals: black bears, macaques, small primates, pangolins, rare birds, all kinds of reptiles, and tables filled with butchered animals with bullet holes through their heads and their throats cut.

"It's one of the worst scenes I've ever seen," he said.

Ammann has traveled on his own dime several times to wildlife-trade hot spots throughout Asia and Africa. He often poses as a buyer and photographs what he calls animal abuse in the hope that others will take notice.

"I'm an activist who likes to document things and show them to the rest of the world, so that people can't say they didn't know this was going on," he said.

Time Magazine recently named Ammann a Hero of the Environment. He has been credited as almost single-handedly raising awareness of the bush-meat trade.

Wildlife Trade

Some experts say bush-meat and illegal wildlife trade may be worth U.S. $8 to $10 billion in Southeast Asia alone—a reasonable guess, according to Steven Galster, the Bangkok-based director of the conservation group Wildlife Alliance.

Wildlife trade further endangers already threatened or endangered species and often damages their habitats in the process, according to TRAFFIC, an organization that monitors the industry.

For instance, trade operators often dump cyanide in the ocean to kill fish or log trees to gain access to animals in protected areas, damaging the environment.

What's more, people who handle wildlife and wildlife parts—from the traders to the consumers—are put at greater risk of contracting infectious diseases such as SARS, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its Web site.

An international agreement, CITES, was created in 1973 to encourage member countries to stop illegal wildlife trade within their borders.

In 2005 Southeast Asian countries formed the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) with the same goal of stamping out wildlife crime, Galster said.

His organization's encouragement of the network's member countries—such as Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia—to stick to the agreement is already influencing the market, he said.

For example, more raids and confiscations have taken place, and some traffickers who just years ago sold tiger skins on the open market are now hiding their wares, Galster said.

Las Vegas in the Jungle

Nestled in the hills of northern Myanmar, Möng La is not under control of the country's military junta but is instead part of an autonomous fiefdom run by the militia leader and alleged reformed drug lord Sai Leun.

The town used to be known as "Las Vegas in the Jungle" for its many casinos that catered mostly to Chinese citizens and tourists who traveled across the border to gamble.

But most of the casinos had to close in 2005 after the border was shut down by the Chinese government, who also imposed a ban on their officials and citizens against visiting Möng La.

Now it appears that wildlife trade has replaced other illicit industries—such as drug-dealing, prostitution, and gambling—as one of the most lucrative economic activities in the area. New roads built mostly by Chinese logging companies reach previously inaccessible parts of the forest where more wildlife can be taken.

"Before there was a lot of subsistence hunting, and it was hard to get stuff to markets," Ammann said.

"Now traders go by motorbike to pick up whatever they can. The hunters have totally new houses, all paid for by profits from wildlife."

China Influence

The close proximity to China also makes Möng La a hub for the global wildlife trade.

Colin Poole, director of the Asia program at the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York, said China's booming economy fuels the industry, which includes endangered species.

Animals are not only being used in traditional Chinese medicine but also being exported to large food markets in Guangzhou and other Chinese cities, where affluent Chinese can now afford to purchase imported wildlife products.

"The increasing wealth in southeastern China is dramatically increasing demand, particularly for exotic food species," he said.

Though China is a "huge driver" of wildlife trade in Southeast Asia, Wildlife Alliance's Galster said, the European Union and North America are also players in the business.

"We're seeing exotic species being poached and smuggled out of this region to parts of Europe and the United States," he said.

Liquid Gold

In Möng La, most animals for sale are openly displayed. Food stalls advertise dishes of pangolin, or "scaly anteater," and bear meat.

On back streets, dealers keep some animal items out of public view, according to Ammann.

"In one of the dealer rooms, I was offered a huge tiger skin and a corresponding box of tiger bones," Ammann said.

"In another place, a woman came by to buy four bear paws [used to make soup] for a restaurant. They sold for U.S. $150 a piece."

Bear bile, which is taken from the gall bladders of sun bears and Asiatic black bears and referred to as "liquid gold," is popular in traditional Chinese remedies and is thought by some to cure eye irritations, fevers, and liver problems.

On his trip, Ammann visited a bear-bile farm outside the town, in a place known as Möng La Paradise.

"I've seen badly kept chimps and gorillas, but I've never before seen 80 bears kept in a commercial setting in totally disgusting conditions ... never having a hope in hell of getting out of there alive, and every day getting milked through a catheter in their stomachs."

At the Chinese border, Ammann found dozens of bears locked in cages for sale.

"These bears are mostly used for meat and electrocuted when a dealer comes along and buys a bear for a banquet in China," he said.

Brink of Extinction

Richard Corlett is a tropical ecologist at the University of Hong Kong.

"There is now a market for almost any volume of any vertebrate species," he said.

"It is easier to name the species without a trade value, [such as] tapirs, in most areas."

Myanmar's forests are rapidly shrinking due mostly to China's growing demand for timber. Unless pressure from the international community convinces the Chinese and Burmese governments to make changes, these forests will continue to get smaller as wildlife trade increases, experts predict.

Already many species, including freshwater turtles, are simply disappearing.

Two of the three species of Asian rhinos in southern Asia are locally extinct in many places, and some countries have lost them altogether, experts say.

For example, less than 60 Javan rhinos, one of the rarest large mammals in the world, remain in the wild.

"Apart from the obvious animals—big cats and rhinos—I worry most about the less obvious [species] such as pangolins," Corlett said, "where huge numbers are traded and we know nothing about [the] impacts."

Read more!

Japanese schoolkids have whale of a lunchtime

The Herald Sun 28 Feb 08;

JAPAN'S whaling researchers dumped 10 tonnes of unsold whale meat into primary school lunches, labelling the event "traditional school lunch week".

In a desperate attempt to revive the flagging market, the Institute for Cetacean Research (ICR) supplied the research by-product to 254 Yokohama schools over two days last month, hoping to give their young palates a taste for whale meat.

Faced with a reported 3000 tonne inventory of unsold meat from last year's cull, the ICR contacted the Yokohama City Education committee, suggesting the department include research meat in their school lunches.

A total of 200,000 lunches of whale meat salad marinated in sesame sauce were served on January 21 and 22. Yokohama children have not eaten whale meat as part of school lunches in 26 years.

The ICR refused to comment on its controversial programs.

Following the delivery of a 131,267 name petition to the Democratic Party of Japan on Thursday, ICR spokesman Gabriel Gomez refused to take calls yesterday, accusing The Daily Telegraph of "activism".

The ICR shares an office with the private whaling company Kyodo Senpaku, who contract staff for the research fleet and manage the sale of the meat in Tokyo's Toyomi Bay area. The cold storage facility housing the inventory of unsold meat is also located nearby.

Manager of health education at the Yokohama City Education Committee, Ms Atsukjo Ito, who co-ordinated the lunch days, would not say whether the schools bought the meat, but said there were no plans for a second program.

Proving once again that the scientific program is a facade for commercial scale hunting, leading Liberal Democratic Party Upper House member Yoshimasa Hayashi, who chairs Japan's International Whaling Commission committee, yesterday admitted there was a deliberate attempt to revive the domestic market for the meat.

He said he saw no problem with feeding the meat to children as part of a public relations campaign.

"We are trying very hard to regain a market for whale eating," Mr Hayashi said.

But, in a surprise concession, Mr Hayashi said Japan would seriously consider ending whaling operations in the high seas if they were allowed to extend its coastal whaling program.

"There is a chance of an agreement. It will depend largely on US leadership to bridge the differences at the IWC," he said.

Mr Hayashi said Japan's withdrawal from the IWC was still an option should this week's meeting fail to make any progress on legitimising their whale cull.

Read more!

US Horseshoe crabs and threatened shorebird

Groups seek to protect the shore bird
Yahoo News 29 Feb 08;

A migratory bird environmentalists say is threatened because of horseshoe crab fishing should be listed under the Endangered Species Act, a coalition of environmental groups say in a letter to federal officials.

The letter was sent by the American Bird Conservancy, American Littoral Society, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Defenders of Wildlife, Delaware Audubon, Delaware Nature Society, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, National Audubon Society, and New Jersey Audubon Society. The groups ask Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall to list two subspecies of Red Knot under the act.

"The science was clear years ago that the Red Knot faces imminent extinction yet the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to list this bird. The causes of the Red Knot's decline have only gotten worse in the two years since that decision. The most recent information leaves no doubt that the Service should list it immediately," said Jason Rylander, staff attorney for Washington, D.C.-based Defenders of Wildlife.

The medium-sized shore bird flocks to the Delaware Bay each spring after flying nonstop from South America. They feast on horseshoe crab eggs to nearly double their body weight in less than two weeks before flying to their breeding grounds in the Arctic.

Environmentalists say harvesting of horseshoe crabs for bait is threatening the birds' survival. Fishermen say other factors could be affecting the birds — such as habitat destruction or global warming — and that a limited harvest or a harvest in which only male crabs are collected would not hurt the birds.

In New Jersey, some state lawmakers have proposed a bill that would ban the harvesting of horseshoe crabs, the red knot's prime food. Earlier this month, New Jersey's Marine Fisheries Council rejected a proposed moratorium on the harvest of horseshoe crabs, setting the red knot on what bird-lovers say is a path to certain doom.

The letter sent Wednesday cites a new report that found smaller populations and lower body weights of both subspecies.

Read more!

Indonesia faces power crisis

Poor planning, ageing plants, rising demand could lead to more outages
Business Times 29 Feb 08;

(JAKARTA) Sudden blackouts on two key Indonesian islands last week may be just the start of a spiralling two-year power crisis that could stymie economic growth, curtail resource exports and trigger social unrest.

Outages on the main commercial islands of Java and Bali, the country's worst since a day-long blackout brought Jakarta to a halt in August 2005, were due to storms that hit coal deliveries and exposed the precarious balance of Indonesia's power supply.

After chronic underinvestment and steadily growing demand from an economy growing at its fastest pace in a decade, analysts now see a crisis on the horizon for the world's fourth-most populous nation, which holds elections next year.

'The situation in Indonesia is worse than anywhere else in Asia,' said Joseph Jacobelli, head of Asia-Pacific utilities research at Merrill Lynch.

Jakarta has managed to stave off the kind of supply crises seen in China and India in recent years, but as growth picked up after the 1997-98 financial crisis, plants built in the previous decade are showing their age and straining to meet demand.

Officials said the blackouts were due not to a lack of power plant capacity but of fuel - ships carrying coal from Kalimantan were unable to reach port and unload their cargoes due to stormy weather, forcing two major power plants to cut production as their coal stocks dwindled to only two or three days' supply.

State electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) staged planned power cuts in Jakarta's commercial and residential areas over the weekend in order to save precious supplies.

Critics blamed the crisis on poor planning, and said that PLN should have been better prepared, with larger stockpiles.

The firm may now require plants to double stocks to 30 days.

But even with sufficient fuel supplies, Indonesia is struggling to meet peak period demand, officials say, a situation set to worsen until new plants are built by 2010 - provided the government can overcome a legacy of investor resistance.

'Indonesia will inevitably face more power shortages. The political will to tackle the problem is there, but efforts are too few and too late,' said Citigroup economist Anton Gunawan.

The interim choices are clear but costly - buy more diesel and fuel oil to revive expensive oil-fired generators; limit coal exports to ensure domestic supplies; or reduce the government's popularity by instituting more rolling blackouts.

Of the 17,500-megawatt (MW) installed capacity on Java and Bali - about three-quarters of the country's total - only about 15,500 MW are in operation since many of the plants are old and inefficient, said a PLN official who declined to be named.

With evening demand peaking at 15,200 MW, the plants operate at a razor- sharp 2 per cent supply cushion, a dire situation made worse when plants shut for maintenance or repairs. At peak times, demand can exceed capacity, the PLN official said.

Given its abundant natural resources, Indonesia should be well placed to meet its own energy needs. It is Asia's only Opec member, the world's second-biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer, and the biggest thermal coal exporter.

But last week's blackouts showed the need to address energy policy urgently to keep Asia-Pacific's sixth-largest economy ticking along after last year's 6.3 per cent growth - its fastest in a decade but still trailing giants China and India.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants to attract billions of dollars of investment for infrastructure, including the power sector, to spur economic growth and reduce high unemployment.

But the power industry is one of many infrastructure woes plaguing this sprawling archipelago of 226 million people, along with unsafe ferries, single-track railways and scruffy airports.

In August last year, PLN signed power plant deals worth around US$2 billion with China's Shanghai Electric Corp and Dongfang Electric Corp as part of Indonesia's plan to build 10,000 MW of additional capacity, an increase of 42 per cent nationwide.

The vital tourism industry on Bali is also alarmed, fearing a further blow to a reputation already tarnished by deadly bomb attacks in recent years, on top of higher costs if the island's hotels and restaurants have to buy stand-alone diesel generators to keep the lights on.

'There were losses, and the smaller hotels and restaurants are the worst hit,' said Perry Markus, secretary-general of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association's Bali chapter.

If the blackouts continue, 'it would affect our image as a tourism spot', he said. -- Reuters

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No impact from UK Energy Saving Day

Richard Black, BBC News 28 Feb 08;

The UK's first Energy Saving Day has ended with no noticeable reduction in the country's electricity usage.

E-Day asked people to switch off electrical devices they did not need over a period of 24 hours, with the National Grid monitoring consumption.

It found that electricity usage was almost exactly what would have been expected without E-Day.

Colder weather than forecast in some regions may have led to higher use of heating, masking any small savings.

The event also received very little publicity, despite having backing from campaign groups such as Greenpeace, Christian Aid and the RSPB, and from major energy companies such as EDF, E.On and Scottish Power.

"I am afraid that E-Day did not achieve the scale of public awareness or participation needed to have a measurable effect," said E-Day's organiser Dr Matt Prescott in a message on his website.

The Grid's final figures showed national electricity consumption for the 24 hours (from 1800 Wednesday to 1800 Thursday) was 0.1% above the "business-as-usual" projection.

Lofty aims

The E-Day concept started life as Planet Relief, an awareness-raising BBC TV programme with a significant comedy element.

But in September the BBC decided to pull the project, saying viewers preferred factual or documentary programmes about climate change.

The decision came after poor audiences for Live Earth, and public debate over whether it was the corporation's role to "save the planet".

Dr Prescott then decided to see whether he could mount E-Day as an independent operation, and secured the backing of important partners such as the National Grid and the UK's major energy companies.

They are obliged by the government to offer customers ways of improving energy effiency, and some used E-Day to contact people interested in loft and wall insulation.

The event was launched on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral in central London by Dr Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, who described climate change as a "moral issue".

"Let us remember people in the Ganges delta who are already feeling the effects of sea level rise and climate change," he said.

"The science changes year by year - though rarely in the right direction - but the moral imperative remains the same."

Lessons learned

Dr Prescott had hoped E-Day might bring a small but measurable reduction in electricity use, perhaps in the order of 2-3%, equivalent to the output of one or two fossil fuel fired power stations.

The idea was to demonstrate that numerous small personal actions could make a dent in greenhouse gas emissions.

But, he acknowledged on his website: "E-Day did not succeed in cutting the UK's electricity demand.

"The drop in temperature between Wednesay 27 February and Thursday 28 February probably caused this, as a result of more lights and heating being left on than were originally predicted."

"I will do my best to learn the relevant lessons for next time."

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Wood industry in Riau on brink of collapse

Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post 28 Feb 08;

The wood processing industry in Riau, including sawmills and molding firms, is on the brink of collapse due to a scarcity of raw material supplies, said the head of Riau's Indonesian Wood Community (MPI), Hotman Butar-Butar.

Hotman said on Wednesday that wood supplies were falling because many forest concession holders were involved in rampant illegal logging practices in the province.

"The (illegal logging) cases involving a number of forest concession holders are being investigated by the Riau Police," he said.

"There is no clear information as to when the investigation will be completed. The problem is that we depend heavily on them."

Hotman said nearly half of the 150 sawmills registered at MPI had stopped operations and "similar hardships" were affecting 35 registered molding firms in the province.

Nearly 30 percent of 35,000 workers employed at the wood processing industry had been laid off, he said.

"If the log scarcity prevails until next month, more companies will go bankrupt and thousands of other workers will be jobless."

Hotman further said since January 2007 the Riau Police had frozen some 175,000 hectares of forests owned by 18 forest concessionaires.

He said the "problematic causes" that led to the forests being frozen included the extension of logging licenses, annual working plans and unlicensed machinery.

Jhony Setiawan Mundung, head of the Riau office of the Forum for the Indonesian Environment (Walhi), said he deplored the slow pace at which police investigations took place around illegal logging cases.

He rejected an opinion which said freezing forest concessions would cause an increase in unemployment in the sector.

"It was just disclosed by a man who is in need of wood in a large quantity," Mundung said.

A report by WWF conservation group released Wednesday said that Riau province had lost 65 percent of its forests in the past 25 years as companies used the land for pulpwood and palm oil plantation.

Indonesia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, driven by voracious demand for commodities and weak law enforcement.

Emissions from deforestation, and in particular peatland -- which is made up of deep layers of semi-decomposed vegetation -- have made Indonesia the world's third-largest carbon emitter, behind the United States and China.

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Best of our wild blogs: 28 Feb 08

International Year of the Frog 2008
funky frogs and why they are important on the leafmonkey blog with lots of froggy links; also on the budak blog.

Pacific Reef Egret
a black one spotted on the bird ecology blog

Plants and Espionage
a common plant with an uncommon use on the garden voices blog

Tamarind
the sweet and sour of it on the budak blog

Announcing David Bickford’s new webpage!
on The Biodiversity crew @ NUS blog

The bird and the spider
strange behaviour on the urban forest blog

Dancing crabs
on the urban forest blog

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