Tiger truths? Not from zoos or TV shows

Both distort the true character of the wildlife they present to the public
Nirmal Ghosh, Straits Times 22 Nov 08;

Zoos often only reinforce people's sense of separateness from nature, contributing to rather than reducing a general lack of understanding of the essential character of nature.

Some years ago, on a now memorable New Year's Eve, I was walking with two friends in a dense jungle in northern India when a wild tiger growled at us from a distance of about 4m.

We kept our cool and simply walked away. The tiger, which had been disturbed while taking its afternoon snooze, sent us an unmistakable signal with a series of menacing growls - but it did not attack.

Had we panicked, run and inevitably fallen in the undergrowth, we would have spooked it and it would have lashed out at us, and I would most probably not be alive today to write this piece.

Whatever the species, animals act for a reason, even if that reason is not readily apparent to humans.

A tiger in its natural state would avoid humans. But if it did encounter a human and it felt threatened, it would first try to drive the human away with a short charge and a series of snarls, designed to intimidate the human into backing off. It would feel threatened if the human made any abrupt move or sound.

If the human did not back down in the face of its threat, but continued to agitate it, the tiger might well attack.

Mr Nordin Montong would have known all this. The 32-year-old from Sarawak, a contract cleaner at the Singapore Zoo, chose a path that would inevitably lead to his own death when he entered the white tigers' enclosure on Nov 13.

The white tigers might not have intended to kill him. They were probably just defending themselves against a perceived threat. As captive-bred tigers, they would have had little or no experience of killing. But just a mauling from such powerful animals would normally be enough to cause severe injuries that could easily lead to death.

Tigers are like all cats big and small - predators by nature even if they have little experience of killing. Prey that runs around, struggles or tries to get away would excite them further, and they would continue to maul this prey until it grew still. Tigers behave no differently from a household cat playing with a ball of string or a mouse.

Yet, at least one visitor to the zoo thought at first that the dreadful scene in the tiger enclosure was a 'show'. Following the tragedy, there has been a scramble to find out more about tigers in order to explain what happened.

It is ironic that after the millions of hours of programming that have been run on TV channels such as Discovery, Animal Planet and National Geographic, we are still far from understanding the realities of nature.

Further, the role that zoos perform arguably does not help us bridge that distance; it might even reinforce the divide.

The days of the measured wildlife documentary are regrettably almost over. TV networks today have to compete with a range of media determined to use shock tactics to draw in audiences whose attention span is decreasing in direct proportion to the increase in news that feeds on and emphasises conflict, sensation, titillation and the bizarre.

Whether a khaki-clad TV personality wading into a swamp and pulling out an anaconda from the water is a true reflection of reality is questionable. Most of the viewing public would not know that, invariably, such scenes are rigged. Snakes and other animals used to produce such sequences are usually already habituated to humans.

It is doubtful whether showing the general public scenes that would not occur in real life furthers their understanding of nature.

The trend towards sensationalism, with ever-increasing scenes of predation and aggression hogging the screens, exploded in the 1990s because of the proliferation of network TV and the competition for audiences.

But the compulsion to sensationalise emerged long before that. In the early 1900s, British writer and cinematographer Cherry Kearton wrote: 'People who try to give us 'sensation' both in films and books appear to imagine that... the wild life of animals is sadly in need of a little 'gingering up'.'

Wildlife is often portrayed as strange, exotic and dangerous, or conversely, cute and cuddly. Both views are distortions.

Animals need not be feared, but they need to be respected, just as much as people respect one another and give one another space.

Zoos, unfortunately, use wildlife as exhibits. White tigers are one example; they have been selectively bred for commercial purposes.

Essentially, white tigers are inbred, and there have been many deaths and deformities in cubs in the process.

Since the original white tiger was captured as a cub from the wild in central India in 1951, there have been only a handful of purported sightings of white tigers in the wild. What value is there in displaying a white tiger in a zoo, therefore, if not as some sort of freak show?

Singapore's zoo does a better job than almost any other in the world of keeping its exhibits in sound condition and also of educating the public.

But the bottom line is that animals in zoos are usually bored and often stressed; captivity is captivity even if the cell is a five-star enclosure.

As a result, zoos often only reinforce people's sense of separateness from nature, contributing to rather than reducing a general lack of understanding of the essential character of nature.

There was some encouraging news in the public response to the tragedy in Singapore. During a New Paper poll of 100 people, 99 said the tigers should not be punished in any way. Many have pointed out that the tigers behaved according to instinct. Senegalese poet-conservationist Baba Dioum famously said: 'In the end, we will conserve only what we love and we will love only what we understand.'

It is questionable whether breeding species selectively for entertainment and exhibition in zoos, and emphasising bizarre and sensational aspects of wildlife in the media, will further our knowledge of the world around us.

# The writer has authored three books on India's wildlife and dedicated himself to wildlife issues for more than 25 years. He is also a trustee of The Corbett Foundation, whose aim is to protect and conserve the Corbett Tiger Reserve in India.

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Crisis or not, there's still a world to save

Tan Dawn Wei, Straits Times 23 Nov 08;

Two months ago in New York, former cycling champ and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong told a room-full of world leaders, business elites and philanthropists that he was returning to competitive cycling.

It wasn't for the money, fame nor even the thrill of winning yet another Tour de France title, which he has snagged seven times.

It was to raise awareness of the 'global cancer burden', he said, adding that his Lance Armstrong Foundation was launching a worldwide campaign to support the 25 million people afflicted with the disease.

His was among the 250 'commitments' pledged at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting, a highly exclusive, invitation-only annual conference where well-known attendees since its inception in 2005 have included current British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former United States secretary of state Colin Powell, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, billionaire investor Warren Buffett, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, rock group U2's singer Bono and actress Angelina Jolie.

Among those commitments this year: India-based Suzlon Green Power developing clean energy worth US$5 billion (S$7.6 billion) over the next five years that would supply power to 10 million people, mostly in India and China.

American consumer giant Procter & Gamble donating US$11 million worth of clean drinking water sachets to the developing world.

Accounting firm Ernst & Young helping to spread micro-loans in developing countries.

And American President-elect Barack Obama committing to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, wipe out death caused by malaria, cut extreme poverty in half and erase the global primary education gap, all by 2015.

There are lots of promises to save the world, including many big ones. In fact, if you plan to show up at the meeting, you have to come ready with a pledge to do something. And if you don't deliver, you're not asked back the next year.

Such targeted activism sets CGI apart from other conferences - a principle that the initiative started by former American president Bill Clinton prides itself on.

Fed up with attending thousands of meetings where leaders sat around and talked about urgent issues which never amounted to much action, he devised a model that brought decision-makers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) together every year to effect change.

These participants, known as CGI members, define what and how they want to contribute, on the basis that it has to be new, specific and measurable.

The commitments come from corporations, foundations, heads of states and NGOs and can be anything from funds and sharing of skills and resources to time.

It is a model that has seen tremendous results, according to Mr Brett Rierson, deputy managing director of CGI Asia, who was in Singapore recently.

In the last four years since it started, it claims to have reached 200 million people in 150 countries with US$46 billion worth of commitments.

Companies, especially, are realising that if they are making a long-term investment in a particular country, they will need an educated workforce and a stable population without civil conflict.

The best way to do that is to address issues of income and education disparity in these areas, said Mr Rierson.

Now, CGI has turned its attention to Asia. It will hold its first meeting outside the United States next month in Hong Kong over two days.

Those who have already RSVP'd include Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, action star Jet Li and Mr Victor Fung, chairman of Hong Kong's export, distribution and retail giant Li & Fung Group.

Mr Clinton will also be there.

Until CGI came to Asia, very few commitments were for this part of the world, with most going to Africa or the US.

'Asia has made unprecedented progress in a very short time,' said Mr Rierson who has lived in Asia for 20 years.

The number of people living on less than US$1.25 a day in China has dropped from 835 million in 1981 to 207 million in 2005.

The number of people without access to clean water in South Asia has been halved since 1990.

At the same time, there has also been a massive transfer of wealth, with foundations established and trying to find purpose and with lots of money to hand out.

'You got great progress, great solutions meeting with unprecedented wealth looking for something to do,' Mr Rierson said of Asia.

When the world community comes together next month in Hong Kong, the focus will be on three critical areas: education, climate change and public health.

Stakeholders will be looking for creative solutions to bridge the gap in educational disparity and deprivation, develop renewable energy and battle chronic and infectious diseases as well as meet basic nutritional needs.

Some of these innovations already exist. One of Mr Rierson's favourite examples is Barefoot College, started by Indian educator Sanjit Bunker Roy in 1972 in Tilonia, Rajasthan.

'Quite frankly, if you knew what he did, and you had a choice to meet Martin Luther King, Gandhi and him, you'd have a hard time deciding,' said Mr Rierson, who is on leave from the World Food Programme, where he launched its private-sector development activities for Asia-Pacific.

Barefoot College has trained India's illiterate villagers - many of them women - to be solar engineers, teachers, hand-pump mechanics and health-care workers in their own communities.

With two-thirds of India's more than one billion people living in rural areas where there is often no running water and electricity, much less the Internet, literacy isn't at the top of their priorities.

Power and water are.

'He's found a way to electrify tens of thousands of rural villages and the impact that has on people who can actually stay up at night to study or read is massive,' said Mr Rierson.

Mr Roy's programmes have now been expanded across Asia and Africa. He will also be at next month's meeting.

But with the conference coming on the heels of a global recession, are the commitments going to flow in?

There has not been a drop in activities from CGI members, said Mr Rierson, adding that US$8 billion worth of new commitments were made around the same time that US investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed two months ago.

'The challenges will be here a lot longer than this economic crisis, and the advantage of fixing them for a stable business environment for corporations to operate in remains,' he explained.

'It's not altruism. Increasingly, in a more interconnected world, it's in everyone's interest.'

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South Korean leader says invest in climate

Yahoo News 22 Nov 08;

LIMA (AFP) – South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak on Saturday appealed for investment in green energy, saying it would not only help the environment but also boost the ailing world economy.

South Korea is one of the rare countries that is setting national goals to cut emissions that cause global warming despite not having obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, which only covered leading economies.

Lee, attending a summit of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Peru, called for greater investment in clean energies such as wind power.

"Although we are now going through an economic crisis, for sustainable future growth we must not neglect common issues of humankind such as climate change and our resources crisis," Lee said.

"We urgently need a new energy paradigm that can get us through the current energy and climate change crisis," he said.

"This is not a path that we can either take or not. It is one we must take for future generations," he said.

However, a survey of Asia-Pacific opinion leaders released at the APEC summit earlier showed that concern about global warming has diminished sharply, with far more people putting priority on addressing the financial crisis.

Lee, who was elected president in December last year, won wide praise as mayor of Seoul for tearing down a highway in the middle of the crowded metropolis and replacing it with a restored river.

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Dozens of whales die in Australian mass stranding

Reuters 22 Nov 08;

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Dozens of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding on Australia's island state of Tasmania, state parks and wildlife officials said Saturday.

A wildlife official contacted by Reuters put the number of stranded whales at 64, and said 13 of those were still alive as of around 8pm local time (0900 GMT).

The whales were discovered by a member of the public at Stanley on the island's northwest coast, local parks manager Chris Arthur said in a statement.

An attempt would be made to rescue the surviving animals on Sunday, he said.

"We have equipment and whale rescue trailers coming from around the state," Arthur said.

Mass strandings of whales occur periodically in Australia and New Zealand for reasons that are not entirely understood.

52 whales die in mass stranding in Australia: report
Yahoo News 22 Nov 08;

SYDNEY (AFP) – Fifty-two pilot whales have died after a mass stranding on Tasmania's northwest coast, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported Saturday.

Thirteen whales were still alive on Anthony's Beach at Stanley on the island south of the Australian mainland, and wildlife rangers and volunteers were trying to stabilise them, the broadcaster said.

"People are moving water around them, people are stopping them from drying and stopping them from getting sunburnt because their biggest problem is they get overheated," said Parks and Wildlife official Chris Arthur.

"Then we're going to try and move some if we can on to trailers so we can move them in to deeper water."

Pilot whales are members of the dolphin family but are considered by experts to behave more like whales.

A number of theories have been put forward as to why whales strand themselves, but the phenomenon remains a subject of scientific debate.

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Wild beavers return to Britain after 400 years

Yahoo News 21 Nov 08;

LONDON (AFP) – Four families of beavers have arrived in Britain for a landmark project which will see them introduced into the wild here for the first time in over 400 years, experts said Friday.

The wild beavers were captured in the Telemark region of Norway and brought to London, where they arrived Thursday and will spend six months in quarantine.

The animals will then be released in Argyll, western Scotland, during the first half of next year.

Experts say they hope the beavers will help create new habits for wetland wildlife in the area by building dams.

"Beavers are native to Britain but were hunted to extinction over 400 years ago," said Simon Jones, project manager for the Scottish Beaver Trial, which is coordinating the animals' reintroduction.

"We are excited to get the trial under way and really see what benefits beavers can bring to Scotland."

Beavers arrive for spring release
BBC News 21 Nov 08;

Four beaver families have arrived in the UK as part of a historic plan to reintroduce the mammals to Scotland for the first time in more than 400 years.

The beavers were flown into Heathrow Airport on Thursday night from Norway.

They will spend six months in quarantine before being released in Knapdale, Argyll, on a trial basis in spring 2009.

The release will be the first-ever formal reintroduction of a native mammal into the wild in the UK.

The Scottish Beaver Trial is being carried out by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.

The beaver families - each consisting of one adult male, one adult female and between one to three yearlings or kits - were captured in the Telemark region of Norway in September.

Iain Valentine, from the Royal Zoological Society, said the captures had been a "complicated process".

"The team in Norway spent long periods of time in specific sites to identify complete family groups, ensuring that none are left behind," he said.

"Another added complication was that beavers are primarily active at night so the beaver families were tracked from boats patrolling the river and caught in the dark.

"The team in Norway did a fantastic job and all the beavers are in excellent health."

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When the families are released, the project partners and Forestry Commission Scotland will continue to oversee the project.

Scottish Natural Heritage will conduct scientific monitoring to assess the environmental impact of the beavers.

Simon Jones, from the Scottish Beaver Trial, said: "Beavers are native to Britain but were hunted to extinction over 400 years ago.

"Beavers hold the potential to create new wetland habitats which in turn increases the appeal to other native species.

"We are excited to get the trial underway and really see what benefits beavers can bring to Scotland."

The scheme to reintroduce the mammals, however, has not been without controversy.

The Association of Salmon Fishery Boards has called the project "recklessly irresponsible" and asked ministers to block further releases until the impact on fish stocks can be assessed.

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Estimating the True Costs of Invasive Species in Great Lakes

John Rothlisberger, University of Notre Dame
LiveScience.com Yahoo News 22 Nov 08;

The Great Lakes currently harbor well-established populations of more than 50 non-native species that were dumped into those waters by ocean-going ships.

As a student of ecology, I have long wondered what is the total cost of the introductions of so many species, the impact on the ability of these critical water bodies to support sport and commercial fishing and wildlife viewing.

But when I began to investigate this important question for my doctoral research, I discovered - to my dismay - that no cost estimates were available.

So I undertook a study to comprehensively measure such losses caused by the non-native species introduced by ocean-going ships to the Great Lakes. Although my study addressed species introduced into the Great Lakes by shipping, more than 180 non-native species have been introduced to the lakes via various pathways.

How did I measure the losses? I used a new approach to assess ecological damage called structured expert judgment. This approach synthesizes information from scientists and other experts to estimate the values of variables that, for technical or ethical reasons, cannot be measured directly.

My research eventually found me driving in a pickup truck with an international pioneer in the use of structured expert judgment: Roger Cooke, a research chair at Resources for the Future in Washington, D.C. Roger and I were heading north toward Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., where we interviewed Great Lakes fisheries expert Mark Ebener about what these fisheries would look without ship-borne species.

Our interview with Mark was the first of nine we conducted that month with experts throughout the Great Lakes region - including professors specializing in Great Lakes food webs and the natural resource economics of the region, as well as government fishery biologists.

After the interview, we lunched with Mark, who also happens to be an expert on the best places to eat fish fresh from Lake Superior. At an unassuming diner on the town's outskirts, each of us ordered the whitefish platter (whitefish are native to the Great Lakes).

When the waitress brought our meals, I admired the two huge fillets, nestled in a generous helping of fries, sitting next to a scoop of homemade coleslaw. With the first bite, my admiration grew. Whitefish is mild and delicate; some of the early explorers in the Great Lakes region called lake whitefish the "best fish in the world," saying "one could eat it for days and never grow tired of it." Based on the tastiness of my meal that day, I think they were right.

The whitefish is among the natural treasures of the Great Lakes that have been seriously harmed by non-native zebra and quagga mussels. Why? Because one of the whitefish's favorite foods is Diporeia, a nutritious freshwater shrimp that lives in lake sediments. But since the invasive zebra and quagga mussels were introduced and then began dominating lake-bottom habitats, the Diporeia shrimp have been disappearing.

Forced to eat mussels instead of energy-rich Diporeia shrimp, whitefish have become smaller and less healthy. Thus, their market value has decreased, and the profits of commercial fishermen who harvest them have declined.

After another expert interview in Sandusky, Ohio, I sat with my Ph.D. advisor David Lodge at a picnic table on a warm evening in early October. Eating a dinner of perch sandwiches, we looked out over Lake Erie, only a stone's throw away.

Yellow perch are delicious, not too fishy, and have a firm, slightly flaky texture that meshed perfectly with the soft freshly baked bun of my sandwich. The combination of the delicious meal, the scenery, and my thoughts and feelings during this simple moment made it among the most memorable of my graduate school experience.

Nevertheless, the fact that non-native species are damaging populations of yellow perch along with other important species of sport and commercial fish in Lake Erie continues to gnaw at me.

I understand that some people may not particularly care about whitefish platters or perch sandwich picnics or even bird watching at Point Pelee. Nevertheless, in one way or another, everyone in the Great Lakes region benefits from the economic and ecological ecosystem services provided by the natural resources of the Great Lakes.

The results of my interviews with Roger, Mark and many other experts showed that ship-borne invasive species were responsible for more than $200 million in losses to benefits from ecosystem services in 2006.

This figure does not include losses to the Canadian economy, property-value losses in the United States tied to invasive mussel-fueled algae outbreaks, and significant losses to states outside the Great Lakes region, which have been harmed by the spread of zebra and quagga mussels.

I hope that my $200 million estimate of lost benefits will help promote informed decision-making for the control of non-natives species already in the Great Lakes, and the prevention of future invasions.

To this end, my research group issued a press release on my estimate last summer, and the story was picked up in many national newspapers. In addition, Dr. Lodge recently gave a talk about our research to an international regulatory body known as The Great Lakes Commission and we will be presenting this research at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago in February 2009.

Please visit this site for my research group's press release and additional information about the impacts of non-native species on the Great Lakes.

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Coral rocks sold to droves of pilgrims in India

'Ram Setu' rocks selling like hot cakes
Times of India 22 Nov 08;

RAMESWARAM: Ram Setu, the mythical bridge which got embroiled in a controversy over the Sethusamudram project, is back in news. This time for the trade of coral rocks, considered to be a part of the holy structure.

Droves of pilgrims here are buying coral rocks being sold by the agents and tourist guides, who claim that the rocks were a part of the bridge built by the 'Vanara Sena' for Lord Ram to crossover to Lanka to rescue Sita.

"Pilgrims visiting this temple town buy these stones thinking that they are from the Ram bridge. But they are actually coral rocks," an official of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park said.

As coral rocks tend to float naturally, pilgrims believe that the rocks are the ones used by Rama's army and buy it, he said.

Despite a ban on the trade of coral rocks under the Wild Life and Marine Life Protection Acts, they are being sold at five places -- 'Seetha Theertham,' 'Ram Theertham,' 'Lakshman Theertham,' 'Kandhamadhanaparvam' and at an ashram -- in the island at rates varying between Rs 500 and Rs 1000 per piece, he said.

Gopinathan, a tourist guide, said they get a nominal commission for each stone sold through them. The stones were even presented to VIPs visiting the island, stating that it was auspicious to keep them at home, he said.

According to officials here, many marine species like sea horse, turtles and dugong, whose sale is prohibited under the Marine Life Protection Act, are also being sold openly.

Denying receiving any complaint about sale of coral rocks in the area, Gulf of Mannar Marine National park officials say they are not in a position to monitor such a vast coastal belt but they would look into the matter.

The 'Ram Setu' (Adams Bridge) has been in the limelight after BJP and its allied outfits protested the present alignment of the Sethusamudram project, charging that it would damage the mythical structure.

Following the protest, dredging of the bridge has been stopped and the case is being heard in the Supreme Court which has suggested that the government explore alternative site for the project.

The Sethusamudram project aims to create a navigable channel from the Gulf of Mannar to the Bay of Bengal through the Palk bay and Palk Straits.

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Best of our wild blogs: 22 Nov 08

Nordmann’s Greenshank at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Observing the nesting of the Mangrove Pitta
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Rock Louse
on the annotated budak blog

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Mangrove's many uses: Good news, bad news, ugly truth

By Peter Ng, Wang Luan Keng & Kelvin Lim
Straits Times 22 Nov 08;

Sweet offeringsThe Nipah Palm is the only true mangrove palm in Singapore. The attap chee commonly found in chendol desserts are nipah palm seeds preserved in heavy syrup. The sugary sap from the inflorescene stalk can be used to make toddy (an alcoholic beverage), fermented to vinegar, or boiled down to make palm sugar, known locally as gula melaka . The large, feathery leaves can be used for thatching huts (hence the term attap huts). Bags, baskets, hats and brooms can be made from the mid-rib of the leaflets. The young leaves may also be used as cigarette wrappers. Leaves grow up to 9m long.-- PHOTO: COURTESY OF WANG LUAN KENG

Water purifier
The Avicennia spp found in mangroves are able to desalinate the water their roots dwell in, leaving pure salt crystals on their leaf surfaces that fall off in the breeze. Scientists hope it could help them uncover cheaper ways to desalinate water. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF JEAN YONG

A sturdy presenceAn extremely sturdy wood, timber from mangrove trees is used in scaffolding for builders and to prevent landslides. One of the best sources of charcoal is wood from the mangroves, Rhizophora apicolata is grown throughout South-east Asia to make charcoal. After controlled burning, the charcoal absorbs odours, pesticides, chemicals, metals and even drugs from the air and water. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF JEAN YONG

See, food
One of four species of mud crabs found in Singapore, the Giant Mud Crab is the largest of the edible crabs which can be found in mangroves. This ferocious species is named after Scylla, the many-headed monster in Greek mythology. It feeds on cockles, clams and oysters. It is found in many parts of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. It weighs close to 3 kg. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF PETER NG

Clotting agent
There are two species of Horseshoe Crabs in Singapore. In existence for more than 400 million years, they have blue blood which has, for decades, been tapped for medicine because it clots in the presence of bacteria toxic to man. After being killed for years for this property, researchers at the National University of Singapore learnt how to clone the proteins responsible for this important clotting activity. The crabs can measure up to 45cm, including the tail. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF WANG LUAN KENG

ONE of the classic westerns is Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. In this movie, the moral lines between the good, bad and ugly are often blurred. Good men turn bad, and 'criminals' become heroes.

As to man's use of mangroves, the issues can be just as confusing.

As much as we realise how important mangroves are to us in terms of coastal protection, useful products and seafood, we also destroy them as we develop our economies, build new factories, start new developments and begin fresh ventures.

Mangroves can also be killed, damaged or affected by many indirect human activities.

Huge amounts of human waste, dumped in the seas, end up on the shores of mangroves. And nylon nets continue to tangle and kill crabs and fish years after they have been discarded.

Mangrove forests are very much a threatened habitat. Two-thirds of the world's mangroves were lost during the 20th century.

There is a regional awareness to want to reverse what has been done - replanting mangroves, mitigating developments and factoring conservation into projects.

Take, for example, Singapore's Semakau Landfill - even a national marine landfill that started in controversy over a decade ago had a mangrove replanting programme.

Ten years down the road, these mangroves have grown - and stand as a symbol of how Singapore can balance development and conservation.

Well-managed mangrove forests like Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and Pasir Ris Park are fantastic outdoor classrooms for students to learn about habitats, conservation and sustainable living.

If for nothing else, mangroves need to be conserved for our own selfish human needs.

Mangroves provide many important ecological services. Perhaps one of the most important of these is coastal protection. Mangrove forests not only reclaim land naturally, but also can prevent shoreline erosion and reduce sedimentation in coastal waters.

Their roots can absorb heavy metals and certain pollutants. The development of a mangrove forest stabilises sediment profiles and improves soil chemistry.

Various studies have also shown that areas with healthy mangroves have better quality sea water.

Mangrove trees are the best natural protection against tsunamis.

During the catastrophic tsunami in December 2004, many coastal zones and towns in Aceh, Sumatra, were wiped out. However, in areas where mangrove forests were still intact, the villagers escaped unscathed.

The mangrove forests, with their complex natural barrier of roots and trunks, substantially reduced the force of the destructive waves.

This prompted some governments in South-east Asia to start planting mangroves as a natural defence against storms.

In Singapore, Nyrieh, or xylocarpus granatum, is a useful tree species that assists in the removal of the dangerous metal boron - used in the metal industry - from coastal mangrove areas.

Such multiple roles of mangroves are important for Singapore as the country is becoming increasingly reliant on coastal sea water for desalination.

In addition, there is emerging scientific evidence that mangroves are important for the well-being of coral reefs and even the ocean's bio-geochemical cycle, with regard to its sources of marine organic carbon.

On Semakau, the mangroves planted there not only help to protect the shore, but also act as an excellent bio-indicator for the landfill. If any of the toxic substances inside the landfill leak (though the engineers assure us this cannot happen), the trees will be among the first to feel the effects.

Their death will be a sure sign that something has gone wrong.

More recently, the idea of mangrove forests as 'carbon sinks' is becoming more apparent.

It has been estimated that one hectare of mangrove forest can roughly absorb 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide generated by a vehicle (using about 2,500 litres of fuel) in a year.

Indonesia, with its 4.5 million hectares of mangroves, can thus use them to absorb the carbon dioxide emissions of about five million cars, a scenario presented by Professor Ong Jin Eong, a mangrove expert from Penang, Malaysia.

This surely is a bargaining chip for any carbon sequestration and trading, given that mangrove plants are able to photosynthesise and grow using undrinkable sea water, unlike our inland rainforest plants.

A group of scientists from the National Institute of Education (Nanyang Technological University), Universiti Sains Malaysia and Australian National University are building on these earlier findings and conducting further experiments to understand how tides and increased air temperatures due to global warming will affect the ability of our mangrove forests to absorb carbon dioxide.

We are only beginning to realise how valuable mangroves are to us. How many more bioactive substances do the plants and animals there have? How much can we learn from them about building and architecture? Can they help us reduce erosion and in greening Singapore? Can they help desalinate sea water to help with Singapore's freshwater needs?

The good news is that despite the grave threat to mangroves, a large number of new discoveries have been made in recent years, including new species found in Singapore.

The bad news is that very little is known about this complex ecosystem.

The ugly truth: Mangrove forests are greatly under-appreciated and undervalued.

We must not lose them only to then realise that their loss is fatal to our own survival.

This passage was adapted from a new book, Private Lives: An Expose Of Singapore's Mangroves.

Professor Ng is the director of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research at the National University of Singapore, Ms Wang is an education and research officer at the museum, and Mr Lim is its collections manager.

Mangroves - more than mud and mozzies
Only about 5 per cent of mangrove swamps are left in Singapore, but this muddy land where salt water meets fresh is a safe haven for a wealth of plants and animals, as highlighted in a new book here.

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WWF gala dinner for the Coral Triangle

Boost for coral cause
Straits Times 22 Nov 08;

A WORLD Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) gala dinner last night raised between $400,000 and $500,000 to help protect South-east Asia's coral reefs.

The money will go to conservation projects in the Coral Triangle, which spans the waters off Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands.

The area is home to more than 75 per cent of the world's coral species, as well as over 3,000 species of fish, turtles and marine mammals. It faces problems such as overfishing, destructive fishing methods, and coral bleaching, in which corals lose their colour due to pollution and climate change, among other things.

Millions of people who live in the Coral Triangle depend on the ecosystem for food and income.

The funds raised will support WWF initiatives such as coral research and a consumer guide on sustainable seafood.

At the dinner, a gown worn by South African Olympic swimmer and model Charlene Wittstock was auctioned off.

WWF officials said tentative totals suggested that the event raised $400,000 to $500,000 in donations. That total does not include the auction proceeds.

GRACE CHUA

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Eating Green

How that burger, nugget or plate of chicken rice hurts the earth
Carol Leong, Today Online 22 Nov 08;

THIS month, Al Gore, the Nobel Prize-winning ex-Vice-President of the United States, pleaded with President-elect Barack Obama to “begin an emergency rescue of human civilisation”.

The President of the Maldives has floated the radical idea of buying another nation because his beautiful island state might sink beneath the turquoise waves from climate mayhem. And Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reminded rich nations of their responsibility to ditch their “unsustainable way of life”.

The world’s finest brains are struggling to come up with solutions to allow humanity to live a fairly prosperous life without gouging our carbon footprints even deeper on Mother Nature’s battered face.

It can be argued that climate change is, at heart, a lifestyle problem. Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the 2007 Nobel prize-winning head of the United Nations inter-governmental panel on climate change, suggested that people living in rich nations should be vegetarian once a week.

“Give up meat for one day (a week) initially, and decrease it from there,”Dr Pachauri, who is a vegetarian, told The Observer newspaper in September.

He pointed out that if people in rich countries just halved their meat consumption, it would do more to reduce CO2 emissions than if they halved their car usage.

“The human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually every major category of environmental damage now threatening the human future: Deforestation, erosion, fresh water scarcity, air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice, the destabilisation of communities and the spread of disease,” the Worldwatch Institute has warned.

It says that each person on the planet eats on average 43kg of meat a year. Americans, the world’s most extravagant carnivores, ate double the world’s average — about 90.7kg of meat and fish per person per year.

Singaporeans have the dubious distinction of matching the Americans; according to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore, we ate 90kg of meat and fish per person in 2007. The difference in the numbers is 700 g of roast chicken. Cowabunga!

Do we really want an American reputation of resource profligacy?

Here are some mind-numbing factoids of the devastation wrecked by our addiction to eating animals.

Global warming: A 2006 UN report concluded that global livestock farming generates roughly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than allof transport combined. Jokes aside, cowsbelch and fart methane, which is 23 times more poisonous than CO2, the gas belched by jumbo jets, SUVs, and 18-wheeler trucks. Animal manure generates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that has 296 times the warming effect of CO2.

Rainforest destruction: Every year,32 million acres of rainforest — an area the size of England — is destroyed for the meat industry.

Water scarcity: Environmental author John Robbins estimates that it takes about 1,135 litres of water to feed a vegan for a day, while a carnivore consumes about 14 times more.

Ocean depletion: Very tiny ocean fish are turned into animal feed. A New York Times report says: “When it comes to farmed fish, there is a net protein loss: it takes three pounds (1.36kg) of fish feed to produce one pound of farmed salmon. This protein pyramid is unsustainable. It threatens the foundation of oceanic life.”

So, are Singaporeans willing to give up chicken rice, beef rendang, roast pork and curry fish head permanently?

“No,” said Loh Yeow Nguan, a vegan triathlete and education officer of the Vegetarian Society. “To them, no chicken rice is unthinkable. But I think they’re willing to reduce it.”

He added: “I’ve noticed a subtle shift in attitudes in the past year — people pay more attention now when we talk of meat reduction to slow down climate change. Three years ago, they would not have listened.”

When culinary authority Mark Bittman, who fronts the influential Minimalist column in New York Times and who describes himself as a “meat-first kind of guy” writes a 996-page vegetarian cookbook, you know attitudes have shifted by a quantum of solace. He’s now a “flexitarian” — because “the world is changing in a way that is going to push all of us, reluctantly or not towards being at least semi-vegetarian.”

Do a green, effective “Pachauri” sacrifice for Earth; ditch the chicken rice once a week and learn to cook buckwheat noodles with garlicky peanut sauce instead. If being a herbivore seems impossible, aim for green carnivore status.

Anyway, did your frugal great-grandmother ever say you’ve got to eat meat three times a day? She treated her meat like a very precious condiment, because she knew its real price. We’ve forgotten.

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Green energy in Singapore

Power to the greenies
Some home owners enjoy free energy, thanks to their green efforts
Tay Suan Chiang, Straits Times 22 Nov 08;

Home owner Christophe Inglin's utilities bill is the envy of most people. For at least the past two months, he has not had to pay a single cent.

In fact, SP Services, which provides electricity, water and piped gas supplies, had to credit him about $30 each month.

It is all thanks to the solar panels that he has installed on the roof of his semidetached home in Siglap. They use the sun's heat to generate energy to power all the appliances in the house, including air-conditioners and water heaters.

These panels are plugged into the national electricity grid and contribute power to it, hence saving him the need to pay for electricity.

Mr Inglin, 46, is managing director of solar systems integrator Phoenix Solar and has been running the Singapore office for the last two years. He has 90 panels from the 10-year-old German company on his 2 1/2-storey house, harnessing sunlight to give him this free power.

On average, the utilities bill for a conventional home of the same size can be as much as $600 a month.

The panels cost $105,000 to install, with a 30-year payback at today's tariff rates. But before you rush out to buy them, he says the goal of using solar panels is to keep energy usage levels low. 'They are definitely not for saving money,' he cautions, because of the high cost.

The electricity generated by the solar panels can power his home's 20 fans, eight air-conditioners and other appliances such as the refrigerator and TV.

During the monsoon season when there is less sun, the family taps on electricity from the power grid.

The Swiss-born Singapore permanent resident lives with his Singaporean wife, Patricia, a management consultant, their twin boys Sean and Martin, and daughter, Yvonne.

Tapping on solar power

They moved in seven months ago from a terrace house in Joo Chiat.

Mr Inglin, who also chairs the clean energy committee of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, made the conscious effort to make his home green.

He has a rainwater collection system at the back of his home where water is collected and stored in a 6,000-litre underground tank. It is used to water the garden and wash his car. He says that with the rainy season now, the tank rarely runs dry.

He declined to reveal how much he paid for the house but says he spent about $800,000 on renovations. It includes the installation of the solar panels.

Part of the renovations included creating a 20m lap pool, which can be expensive to maintain as its pump requires lots of energy to run.

To keep costs low, Mr Inglin sets the pump to run only twice a day. It is powered by energy generated from the solar panels.

When it came to choosing appliances for the home, the family went for those that were energy-efficient, such as their washing machine and air-con.

They did away with air-con entirely on the ground floor as they wanted the indoors and outdoors to blend seamlessly.

While sliding doors by the dining area allow direct access to the pool, architect Cheng Liang Gek of Art & Architecture Collaborative installed aluminium louvres below the glass roof to prevent too much sunlight from entering the home.

Lawyer Lee Boon Siong, 70, is another home owner who is going green. He installed solar panels in his two-storey-plus-attic conservation shophouse in Neil Road to help power appliances in his home and heat water up for his use.

He also has a special lighting system in his attic which captures light through a roof dome and channels it down an internal reflective system.

'I don't need to use lights powered by electricity anymore,' says Mr Lee, who is also honorary president of the Poh Ern Shih temple at Pasir Panjang. He spent about $23,000 on the solar panels and he estimates that he saves $755 a year on his energy bills.

He was inspired to turn his home into an eco-friendly one after putting in green features at the temple such as solar panels.

'Solar power is free, so why not tap it?' he asks.

10 tips on saving energy at home
Straits Times 22 Nov 08;

1 The air-conditioner may do a good job at keeping your home cool but it also uses the most electricity. Use a fan instead, especially during this rainy season. Switching to a fan can save about $70 a month on your electricity bill.

2 If you must use the air-con, set the temperature to 25 deg C or higher. The colder you set it, the more energy the air-con needs to run. Every degree raised saves you about $25 in electric bills annually.

3 Switch off all home appliances at the socket instead of leaving them on standby, which still consumes power. Doing this saves about $70 a year.

4 Choose energy-efficient light bulbs which use up to 80 per cent less electricity than incandescent ones to produce the same amount of light.

Switching to energy-efficient bulbs can save about $20 a bulb annually.

Look for labels on the packaging which indicate they are energy-efficient.

5 When buying a new air-con or refrigerator, check the energy labels. Pick an appliance that has a four-tick mark over a one-tick model. The more ticks, the more energy efficient it is. An air-con with four ticks saves about $460 in power bills a year compared to a one-tick model, and a four-tick fridge saves about $130 a year over a model that has only one tick.

6 Clean your air-con filter regularly. A dirty filter means it has to work harder and so consumes more energy.

7 Do not fill your fridge to the brim. Overloading hinders air circulation and reduces the machine's cooling capabilities. Also, allow hot food to cool before putting it in the fridge so that the fridge does not have to work harder to keep its items cool.

8 Switch off the computer completely when not in use for long periods. Leaving a desktop switched on for eight hours daily will cost about $20 monthly. Alternatively, consider buying a laptop as it uses less energy than a desktop one.

9 Keep your curtains drawn during the day, and especially on warm afternoons. The home will feel cooler and this lessens the need for air-conditioning.

10 Air-dry your clothes instead of using a dryer. When ironing, start with items that need lower temperatures; avoid heating and re-heating the iron.

# Tips from the National Environment Agency

Other green buildings
Straits Times 22 Nov 08;

# Fusionopolis@one-north

This science and technology centre was opened last month and is not just a hub for research and innovation, but a green one to boot.

Not only are there lots of greenery on the ground floor but there are also 13 sky gardens which provide green 'lungs' to the development.

The centre uses special glass for its facade that reduces heat gain. It also has motion light sensors in its meeting rooms and toilets, which result in energy savings of 50 per cent compared with conventional lighting.

# Cliveden at Grange

Talk about clean and green. The restrooms at the condo's clubhouse will have waterless urinals. These use an eco-friendly biotechnology cleansing system that requires no flushing. Instead, cultured bacteria eradicates the stench from waste liquids, doing away with the need to use water.

The 110-unit condo in Grange Road, due to be completed in 2011, will have a rainwater 'harvest' system to irrigate its landscaped grounds. Also, the carpark has sensors that activate ventilation fans when carbon monoxide levels hit a preset level, helping to reduce maintenance costs.

# Treelodge@Punggol

This is the first public housing project to win a government award for being environment-friendly.

The 712-unit project, due to be completed in four years, won a platinum award under the Green Mark scheme, an annual award introduced three years ago by the Building and Construction Authority which evaluates buildings for their environmental impact and performance.

Developed by the HDB, the project at the junction of Punggol Road, Punggol Drive and Punggol Place has been dubbed an 'eco-precinct'.

Green features include solar-powered corridor lighting, the use of recycled rainwater to wash common areas and plenty of greenery on its rooftop to help lessen the effects of heat.

# Ocean Financial Centre

It may be providing prime office space in bustling Raffles Place but this commercial building has much to offer the global, not just corporate, environment.

The centre, due to be completed by 2011, will use glass on its exterior that is said to have a 'low emissive coating' to allow more light to enter while minimising heat gain.

Among other green features is the use of an Eco Switch Control Programme to control temperature and light fittings to minimise power consumption during off-peak and lunch hours.

Like the residential Punggol HDB project, this building, too, has already won a Green Mark platinum award.

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