CO2 Rise In Atmosphere Accelerates In 2008

Gerard Wynn, PlanetArk 26 Feb 09;

LONDON - Increases in the amount of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere accelerated last year, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) told Reuters on Wednesday.

The new data may dampen hopes that a slowdown in industrial output and carbon emissions, which started at the end of last year, will temporarily deflect climate change.

Some analysts had hoped that recession would give the world breathing space to reverse its impact on the climate. The new NOAA data showed that levels of carbon dioxide accelerated slightly last year.

"For us to see (the impact) in the atmosphere it would take a large drop in emissions, but it hasn't happened yet and that's very clear from this data," said Thomas Conway, a NOAA climate scientist who helped compile the figures.

"If the change in emissions is only a few percent we're not going to see that in the atmosphere," Conway told Reuters, explaining that natural processes, whereby for example forests and oceans mop up carbon dioxide, masked small changes in manmade emissions in the short-term at least.

Recession means that developed nations' greenhouse gas emissions will fall by about 2 percent this year, some analysts estimate, although that effect could be much greater if the world slipped into a wider slump or depression.

Emissions are expected to continue to rise in China, which analysts say is the world's biggest carbon emitter.

Levels of carbon dioxide last year reached a global average of 384.9 parts per million (ppm) in the atmosphere, up 2.2 ppm on 2007, compared with a previous annual increase of 1.8 ppm, the NOAA data showed.

Annual increases had been greater in the past decade compared with the 1980s and 1990s, said Conway.

That acceleration was mostly due to increases in emissions, he added, but may also support an unproven theory that oceans, which currently mop up a large part of excess manmade carbon emissions, were becoming saturated.

"There is some evidence that a sink in the southern (Antarctic) ocean is not keeping up ... has been saturated."

Rising global carbon emissions are stoking global warming, most scientists agree. One threshold for dangerous climate change adopted by the European Union is 2 degrees centigrade warming above pre-industrial levels.

"Levels of CO2 at 385 ppm are already approaching a level which in the long-term we have to stay below to have a likely chance of staying below 2 degrees," said Malte Meinshausen, a climate scientist at the Germany-based Potsdam Institute.

It was possible for levels of carbon in the atmosphere to peak and then fall again, however, if people adopted low-carbon sources of energy and technologies which suck carbon dioxide out of the air by burying it underground, Meinshausen added.

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New Products Aim To Save Money And The Planet

Timothy Gardner, Reuters 26 Feb 09;

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Want to save money as well as the planet?

Dual-flush toilets, glitzy homemade club soda kits and reusable bamboo fiber diapers are just some of the eco-products being offered to consumers at the second annual Green Products Expos as the idea of green shifts to thrift amid the economic crisis.

"Last year green products were mostly about women's apparel made out of eco-friendly materials, this year with the economic crunch people are staying at home and looking to see where they can make a few changes to save money," said Kevin Nichols, the head of Propel Media, whose products were shown at the expo.

To reduce water waste Kohler designed efficient toilets that feature two buttons -- one to produce a flush of 1.6 gallons (6 liters) and a second that uses only half that amount for smaller jobs.

Todd Weber, a manager at the company, said an investment of about $500 into a package that includes the dual flush and high-tech shower heads, which trick consumers into thinking they are using more water than they really are, can pay for itself with in one to two years.

The toilets can save a family up to 16,500 gallons of water per year and the shower heads can save more than 20 percent on hot water bills, according to the firm.

Some companies and consumers have become increasingly concerned about water waste with higher temperatures from climate change expected to bring more droughts and melt mountain glaciers, a source of fresh water for billions of people around the world.

The saving of heated water can cut use of fossil fuels and emissions of gases blamed for warming the planet.

Weber said the toilets are selling well in the Pacific northwest of the United States, where consumers are more aware of water shortages, and in Georgia, which recently experienced severe droughts.

For families who like fizzy drinks Sodastream, a company based in New Jersey, sells kits that inject carbon dioxide into tap water to make seltzer water and flavored sodas.

Company manager Steve Smith said the basic $80 kit can pay for itself in three to six months depending on much it is used. It also saves fuel in the transportation and packaging of carbonated beverages.

If rising landfills are a concern, the Maine Cloth Diaper Co. may have the answer. It produces reusable diapers made out of bamboo fiber.

Murray Perce, a co-founder of the company, said disposable diapers cost about $1,500 from birth to potty training, while bamboo reusables cost about $350, not including water and power bills for washing and drying -- or labor costs.

Perce said sales have not suffered during the economic crisis as consumers see the diapers as a way to save money.

"Sales have been stable this year, isn't that the new up?"

(Editing by Patricia Reaney)

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Scientists find bigger than expected polar ice melt

Yahoo News 25 Feb 09;

GENEVA (AFP) – Icecaps around the North and South Poles are melting faster and in a more widespread manner than expected, raising the sea level and fuelling climate change, a scientific survey revealed Wednesday.

Warming in the Antarctic was "much more widespread than was thought," while Arctic sea ice wass diminishing and the melting of Greenland's ice cover was accelerating, said the International Polar Year survey.

The frozen and often inaccessible polar regions have long been regarded as some of the most sensitive barometers of environmental change because of their influence on the world's oceans and atmosphere.

Preliminary findings from the on-site survey revealed new evidence that the ocean around the Antarctic has warmed more rapidly than the global average, the World Meteorological Organisation and the International Council for Science said in a joint statement.

Shifts in temperature patterns deep underwater meawhile suggested that the continent's land ice sheet was melting faster.

"These changes are signs that global warming is affecting the Antarctic in ways not previously suspected," the statement added.

"These assessments continue to be refined, but it now appears that both the Greenland and the Antarctic ice sheets are losing mass and thus raising sea level, and that the rate of ice loss from Greenland is growing."

During the survey in 2007 and 2008, special expeditions in the Arctic also found an "unprecedented rate" of floating drift ice, providing "compelling evidence of changes" in the region.

But the focus was on the erosion of land-based ice sheets of Greenland and the Antarctic, which hold the bulk of the world's freshwater reserves.

When the survey began two years ago, they were viewed as largely stable areas despite some worrying signs of fringe melting.

"The message of IPY is loud and clear: what happens in the polar regions affects the rest of the world and concerns us all," the joint statement concluded.

The survey also noted that the melting has the potential to feed more global warming in turn as trapped greenhouse gases could be unleashed from melting permafrost.

Study: Antarctic glaciers slipping swiftly seaward
Eliane Engeler, Associated Press Yahoo News 25 Feb 09;

GENEVA – Antarctic glaciers are melting faster than previously thought, which could lead to an unprecedented rise in sea levels, scientists said Wednesday.

A report by thousands of scientists for the 2007-2008 International Polar Year concluded that the western part of the continent is warming up, not just the Antarctic Peninsula.

Previously most of the warming was thought to occur on the narrow stretch pointing toward South America, said Colin Summerhayes, executive director of the Britain-based Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and a member of International Polar Year's steering committee.

Satellite data and automated weather stations indicate that "the warming we see in the peninsula also extends all the way down to what is called west Antarctica," he told The Associated Press. "That's unusual and unexpected."

During the International Polar Year, thousands of scientists from more than 60 countries engaged in intense Arctic and Antarctic research over the past two southern summer seasons — on the ice, at sea, and via icebreaker, submarine and surveillance satellite.

The biggest western Antarctic glacier, the Pine Island Glacier, is moving 40 percent faster than it was in the 1970s, discharging water and ice more rapidly into the ocean, Summerhayes said.

The Smith Glacier, also in western Antarctica, is moving 83 percent faster than it did in 1992, he said.

All the glaciers in the area together lose a total of around 114 billion tons per year because the discharge is much greater than the new snowfall, Summerhayes said.

"That's equivalent to the current mass loss from the whole of the Greenland ice sheet," he said, adding that the glaciers' discharge was making a significant contribution to the rise in sea levels. "We didn't realize it was moving that fast."

Antarctica's average annual temperature has increased by about 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1957, but is still 50 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, according to a recent study by Eric Steig of the University of Washington.

Summerhayes said the glaciers were slipping into the sea faster because the floating ice shelf that would stop them — usually 656 to 984 feet thick — is melting.

Sea levels will rise faster than predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Summerhayes said.

An IPCC panel in 2007 predicted warmer temperatures could raise sea levels by 30 to 50 inches this century, which could flood low-lying areas and force millions to flee.

"If the west Antarctica sheet collapses, then we're looking at a sea level rise of between 1 meter and 1.5 meters (approximately 3 to 5 feet)," Summerhayes said.

The IPY researchers found that the southern ocean around Antarctica has warmed about 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit in the past decade, double the average warming of the rest of the Earth's oceans over the past 30 years, he said.

The warming of western Antarctica is a real concern Summerhayes said. "There's some people who fear that this is the first signs of an incipient collapse of the west Antarctic ice sheet."

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Whale sharks spotted off Kota Kinabalu

Daily Express 25 Feb 09;

Kota Kinabalu: A pair of grayish blue whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) or basking sharks have been spotted off Police Bay, off here, since Sunday afternoon. It is believed they have been in the waters over the last two weeks.

Boatmen from the Gayana Eco Resort and Resort Representative Gillian Tan sighted the world's largest fish, feeding on schooling shrimps on Sunday afternoon while they were travelling back to Kota Kinabalu from the resort between 3pm and 4pm. The resort is sited on the bay.
"The whale sharks were pretty friendly. They came close to our boat about two feet away. There are two of them in the bay approximately 100 metres from the shore. It is estimated that they are about 20 feet in length.

"We are told by marine biologists that they are in the area to feed on the schools of little shrimps, en route to their annual migration destination. We spotted them again today (Tuesday)," Tan told Daily Express.

Going by their migratory behaviour, she said it is well-timed with local productivity of shrimps (in those waters), which form a component of the whale shark's diet. They are known to feed on small crustaceans, schooling fishes, tuna and squids.

"Locally, their presence seems to be predictable as they were also seen in the same area around the same time last year (between January and February)."

Tan e-mailed photos of the whale sharks to the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Environment, Datuk Suzannah Liaw.

Meanwhile, Liaw called on local fishermen to spare the whale sharks if they happened to encounter the marine creatures which normally surface to feed.

"While they are generally considered harmless, it is best not to provoke them," she said.

Whale sharks are found in tropical and warm temperate seas all around the world with the exception of the Mediterranean. Studies reveal that this shark prefers warm waters, marked by high productivity of plankton.

Anatomically, they can grow up to a length of 40 feet and weigh up to 14 tonnes.

Fishing for this shark occurs in Taiwan and the Philippines, among other countries. The whale shark meat fetches a high price in Taiwan. Whale shark fins are sold in the Orient, especially in Hong Kong.

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Marine fish species tracking projects in the Philippines underway

Floro Taguinod, GMANews.TV 25 Feb 09;

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines – The regional office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) called on fishermen to return their catch and on consumers to spare fishes tagged for scientific research.

Marine fishes particularly big eye, skipjack, or yellow fin tuna (locally known as tangi or tambakul), have been tagged by BFAR as part of the Tuna Tagging project spearheaded by the Oceanic Fisheries Program (OFP) under the Secretariat of the Pacific Community based in New Caledonia.

OFP said, the tuna tagging project will “provide better information on fishery exploitation rates and population sizes in the Western and Central Pacific. Data gathered will allow the improvement of regional stock assessment for the 3 species."

According to BFAR regional director Jovita Ayson the project, already underway, is funded by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

The project carries a $10 dollar reward for yellow tag, $50 for green tag and $250 for orange tag. The latter two have accompanying devices inserted on the body cavity of the fish (near abdomen). The tag on the other hand is attached on the back of the fish near the second dorsal fin.

Recently, fisherman Rodrigo Dayaca from Camiguin Island in Calayan, was awarded by the fisheries bureau of P900 as reward for surrendering a 76-centimeter, 6.7-kilogram tagged yellowfin tuna caught along the dormant Didicas island-volcano.

The caught tagged tuna came from a similar project being conducted by the National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries Research Agency in Japan.

Data from the research agency showed that the fish bearing two yellow tags numbered F1131 & F1132, was released from southern Japan in April last year with initial body length of 41 centimeters.

The OFP urges anybody who takes hold of a tagged tuna to record its fork length (upper jaw to the fork in the tail), and date and place of recapture. The OFP also said that extra care must be observed in handling the inserted devices.

A similar species tracking effort is also being undertaken by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center involving small pelagics particularly alumahan (Japanese mackerel), hasa-hasa (short-bodied mackerel, Indian mackerel), and galunggong (round scad).

Aside from the Philippines, other participating countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

There are currently 2,400 pieces of the said fish species which were tagged per country-participant and released at predetermined area. The research agency said that results of this study will serve as reference in coming up with comprehensive plan towards the conservation of the fish species.

This project carries $5 dollar reward per tag recovered and returned. - GMANews.TV

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Crack down on illegal clearing to cut human and tiger deaths in Sumatra say forestry officials and WWF

WWF 25 Feb 09;

Jakarta, Indonesia – In the wake of the deaths of six people from tiger attacks in Sumatra’s Jambi Province in less than a month, conservationists are calling for an urgent crackdown on the clearing of natural forest in the province as a matter of public safety.

Tigers killed three illegal loggers over the weekend in Jambi, according to government officials. Three people were killed earlier in the same central Sumatran province. Three juvenile tigers were killed by villagers this month in neighbouring Riau Province, apparently after straying into a village in search of food. And in an unrelated incident, two Riau farmers were hospitalized after being attacked by a tiger last weekend.

“As people encroach into tiger habitat, it’s creating a crisis situation and further threatening this critically endangered sub-species,” said Ian Kosasih, director of WWF’s Forest Program. “In light of these killings, officials have got to make public safety a top concern and put a stop to illegal clearance of forests in Sumatra.”

There is rampant clearing of forests by individuals and corporations in the region for palm oil plantations and pulpwood plantations. This forest loss is one of the leading drivers of human-tiger conflict in the region. About 12 million hectares of Sumatran forest has been cleared in the past 22 years, a loss of nearly 50 percent islandwide. The incidents in Riau occurred in the Kerumutan forest block, a site where many forest fires have been set in the last two months, as well as the location of many plantation developments threatening tiger forests.

Jambi Province is the site of the only two “global priority” tiger conservation landscapes in Sumatra, as identified by a group of leading tiger scientists in 2005. There are estimated to be fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild.

Didy Wurjanto, the head of the official Jambi nature conservancy agency, BKSDA, said his team has increased its patrols following the killings. He is also working with local officials to halt the rampant conversion of forests by illegal loggers and palm oil plantations, which is mostly done by people from outside Jambi.

“The shocking news that six people have been killed in less than one month is an extremely sad illustration of how bad the situation has become in Jambi,” Wurjanto said. “It’s a signal that we need to get serious about protecting natural forest and giving tigers their space, and ensure local governments have sustainable economic development policies in place that include long-term protections for our natural resources.”

WWF is working with officials and communities in both provinces on ways to reduce the conflict and has deployed field staff to the site of the Riau killings to investigate the incidents.

Deforestation behind Sumatran tiger attacks: WWF
Reuters 25 Feb 09;

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia needs to urgently halt the destruction of forests in Sumatra, conservation group WWF said on Wednesday, after six people were attacked and killed by rare tigers in Jambi province in less than a month.

"As people encroach into tiger habitat, it's creating a crisis situation and further threatening this critically endangered subspecies," Ian Kosasih, director of WWF's Forest Program, said in a statement.

Further illustrating the conflict between humans and endangered tigers, three young tigers were killed by villagers this month in Riau province, also in Sumatra, apparently after they strayed into a village in search of food, WWF said.

On Sunday, a tiger attacked and killed a man carrying logs near an illegal logging camp in Jambi in eastern Sumatra, Didy Wurjanto, head of the Jambi nature conservation agency said.

Two other illegal loggers in the same area were mauled and killed on Saturday.

Authorities had trapped a female tiger believed to be behind three killings earlier this month in the area, Wurjanto told Reuters, but the capture had not stopped the latest killings.

"In light of these killings, officials have got to make public safety a top concern and put a stop to illegal clearance of forests in Sumatra," said WWF's Kosasih.

About 12 million hectares (29.65 million acres) of Sumatran forest has been cleared in the past 22 years, a loss of nearly 50 percent islandwide, according to WWF.

The Sumatran tiger is the most critically endangered of the world's tiger subspecies.

Forest clearance often for palm oil or logging, killings due to human-tiger conflict, and illegal hunting for the trade in their parts, have led to tiger numbers halving to an estimated 400-500 or less on the Indonesian island from an estimated 1,000 in the 1970s, conservationists say.

(Reporting by Ed Davies and Telly Nathalia; Editing by Valerie Lee)

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Wangari Maathai calls on armies to join the Billion Tree Campaign

UNEP 24 Feb 09;

Nairobi, 24 February 2009 - The world's armies and UN peacekeepers around the globe should join the Billion Tree Campaign as it strives to reach its target of 7 billion trees planted by the end of 2009, according to Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai.

Speaking during the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)'s Governing Council meeting, Wangari Maathai, who is the co-patron of the Billion Tree Campaign, appealed to Heads of State around the world.

"Imagine all soldiers marching for the planet," the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate said.

"While the armies of the world are waiting to fight an enemy that comes with a gun, we have another enemy, an unseen enemy, an enemy that is destroying our environment," she added. "The enemy that takes away our topsoil, takes away our waters, destroys our forests, destroys the air we breathe, clears the forest."

"This is the unseen enemy and it cannot be fought with a gun ? this enemy can be fought with a tree," Wangari Maathai said. "So you can imagine how wonderful it would be if every soldier on this planet started seeing himself and herself as a soldier for the planet ? holding a gun on one side and a tree seedling on the other, to fight this unseen enemy which is actually more dangerous to us than the other enemy."

Her words come as a growing number of governments, communities and people around the world join the Billion Tree Campaign. The campaign, which is under the patronage of Wangari Maathai and His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, has now catalyzed the planting of 2.6 billion trees in 165 countries around the world, far exceeding its original target.

On 22 February, Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez personally planted the 40 millionth tree in Lima, concluding the country's National Tree Campaign of Afforestation and Reforestation. Peru plans to plant another 60 million trees by 2010.

So far, the roll of honour of the countries where the biggest number of trees have been planted is headed by Ethiopia (700 million trees), Mexico (470 million trees) and Turkey (400 million trees).

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Outrage as protected forests go under the hammer in Russia

WWF 25 Feb 09;

Vladivostok, Russia - Protected forest in Russia including a “maternity hospital” for the Amur tiger and unique Korean pine stands have been sold for logging in controversial circumstances and in the face of protests by WWF-Russia and the local population.

Last week the Forestry Agency of Primorskii Province in south-eastern Russia auctioned off more than 400 forest plots, covering four wildlife refuges and five Korean pine nut harvesting zones.

The auction, which for unknown reasons was held two days before the scheduled date, ignored new regulations on three regional and one federal wildlife refuge.

Also ignored were long standing appeals by local people asking to lease two of the pine nut harvesting zones to collect nuts, medical and edible plants and conduct responsible hunting, appeals which had the support of WWF and Ministry of Naturу Resources and Ecology of Russia.

“Unfortunately we cannot prevent tending cutting in protective forests by simply pointing to the the breaches of the law,” said Denis Smirnov, forest program coordinator, WWF Russia Amur branch. “Tending of forest in Primorye has been long a loophole for conducting large-scale illegal cutting.”

Pavel Sulyandziga, first vice-president of the Association of Indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of Russia, said: “In the village of Krasnyi Yar local aboriginal tribes cannot get permission to cut trees for construction of houses or for firewood.

“This is at a time when the Korean pine nut harvesting zone is being prescribed for logging. This zone belongs to us but over 15 years we have not been able to get approval to establish the territory for traditional nature use. The auction demonstrates a cynical attitude of authorities to the issues of aboriginal people.”

The areas sold include areas in the Chyornye Skaly refuge that are habitat for goral – small hoofed animals with a goat-like appearance that are enlisted in the Russian Red data book. The Amur “maternity hospital” is in the Tayozhnyi refuge, the Korean pine stands in five Korean pine nut harvesting zones including one in the Bikin River.

The federal wildlife refuge Leopardovyi – a key habitat for the Amur leopard - just established in October 2008, was withdrawn from sale following an official demand from Yurii Trutnev, Russia’s Minister of Nature Resources and Ecology, to Sergei Darkin, Governor of Primorskii Province.

As in 2008, a contract for forest protection, maintenance, restoration and tending cutting in 12 Primorye forestries will be signed in 2009, with the only claimant being the governmental organization Primorskii Forestry Enterprise. WWF-Russia alleges that the enterprise and its contractors have conducted illegal logging disguised as tending cutting.

“Having taken the decision to sell plots of protected forest to the Primorskii Forestry Enterprise, the Forestry Agency of Primorskii Province has turned a blind eye to the enterprise’s participation in illegal logging,” said Smirnov. “Probably the Forestry Agency has weighty reasons to once again give a green light to dishonest forest users.”

WWF-Russia is asking law enforcement bodies to recognize as invalid the decision of the Forestry Agency to place orders for forest protection, maintenance, restoration and tending cutting with the Primorskii Forestry Enterprise in 2009.

“We predict this sale will precipitate a new round of illegal logging in Primorye and devastate areas important to wildlife and local indigenous people,” said Smirnov.

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Bumper rice harvest could bring down consumer prices

But economic slowdown will affect the poor and their access to basic foods
FAO 25 Feb 09;

25 February 2009, Rome - The 2008 rice bumper harvest is coming to a close with better-than-expected production that could help ease consumer prices, FAO said in its February Rice Market Monitor. But the agency warned that the global economic slowdown could outweigh the gains for the poorest of the world's rice consumers, because of falling incomes and rising job insecurity.

FAO currently predicts global paddy production in the 2008 season to rise to 683 million tonnes, 3.5 percent more than in 2007 and the fastest rate of growth for three years. The increase will be due to a 2.2 percent increase in the amount of land cultivated globally as farmers and governments reacted to the high prices. The global 2008 rice harvest ends in Asian northern hemisphere countries around May.

Rapid increases in the price of rice -- the staple food for around two and a half billion people - and other cereals played a major role in the food price shocks last year, characterised by high fuel and fertilizer prices that triggered political unrest in many countries.

Down but still high

Global rice prices for 2008 ended the year on average 80 percent higher than in 2007 despite the steady decline since their peak levels in May, FAO said. The price of a tonne of the benchmark Thai white 100 percent second grade was $611 in January compared to $385 in the same month in 2008 having risen to a peak of $963.

"One positive effect of the high rice prices in 2008 was that farmers and governments took up the challenges and opportunities and planted more, boosting production despite high fuel and fertilizer costs and a scarcity of quality seed," said FAO Senior Economist Concepcion Calpe.

Favourable weather in many parts of the world also helped to sustain yields in the face of high fuel and fertilizer prices.

Slowdown to hit consumers

Soaring rice prices last year led governments round the world to take a variety of measures to try and dampen the effects on the poor.

"If last year they (governments) had to intervene on two conflicting fronts, both to stimulate rice production and to keep rice affordable to consumers, they may face even greater challenges in 2009 in the context of the severe global economic slowdown," FAO said in its report.

"In this context, governments may again have to intervene, this time to sustain rice producer prices while also protecting the purchasing power of their populations, at a moment when demands for public help from other sectors are quickly intensifying."

Much of the global production gain for the 2008 paddy season is expected to be concentrated in Asia, with bumper harvests expected in both large and small producing countries.

African harvest soars

African countries are also forecasting exceptional results and rice production is expected to rise by an impressive 18 percent due to government support and increased use of new, high-yielding and resilient seed varieties. As a result, rice imports to Africa are now expected to decline to their lowest level since 2004.

The excellent 2008 paddy crop is expected to lead to a strong rebuilding of world rice reserves this year to 118 million tonnes, in milled rice equivalent, the highest level since 2002 and nine million tonnes more than in 2008. Traditional importing countries are forecast to replenish their reserves by over one million tonnes to some 20 million tonnes, but most of the world stock increase is likely to be concentrated among exporting countries.

Although lower prices are good for consumers, export prices below US$400 per tonne for top quality white rice could adversely affect producers and hamper polices geared towards self-sufficiency in many importing countries, FAO said.

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Best of our wild blogs: 25 Feb 09

Whale shark on 60 Minutes
on whale sharks in captivity on lovesharks.sg

The resurrection of Lazarus?
on the wonderful creation blog

Mystery of the lost toucan solved
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Grey-headed Fish Eagle @ MacRitchie
on the Nature Spies blog

Darter or snake bird sunning
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Wildfacts updates: Semakau Checklist - more photos!
on the wild shores of singapore blog

Seen on STOMP: Dead bird. How did it die?
on the Lazy Lizard's Tales blog and instant trees

Shades of grey
on the annotated budak blog

Pygmy Seahorse Species Explosion!
on the FiNS Blog

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Ban shark finning activities in Sabah: Council

Daily Express 24 Feb 09;

Semporna: The Semporna Tourism Action Council (STAC) has proposed that a ban be placed on shark fishing and finning activities in Sabah to protect the State's diving industry.

Responding to reports that divers are threatening to boycott the State if such activities continue, the council which was initiated in October 2007 to ensure that sustainable tourism development, marine conservation and environmental protection are in place in the district, said sharks were an important tourist attraction for divers.

A national daily had on Feb 16 reported that shark finning activities have being going on for several years at the Ligitan island group area and apparently that has upset divers.

"Why should we contribute to the decline of a beautiful area by supporting a place, which does not protect its own resources," a diver was quoted as saying and urged resorts to lobby Sabah Parks to prohibit shark finning in the area.

The report also quoted State Fisheries Director, Rayner Stuel Galid as saying that shark finning was not illegal in Sabah.

"Those with valid fishing licence had the right to fish in the area provided they did not encroach on protected areas," he said.

This, said Galid include fishing for sharks, adding that the only protected species of shark under the current law was the whale shark.

STAC in a statement, Monday said that the presence of the sharks contributes to the diving industry of Sabah, particularly in Semporna, adding that most scuba divers are attracted to places with good shark populations.

The council is headed by the District Officer and comprises members from the Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, Sabah Parks, Sabah Fisheries Department, Sabah Tourism Board, as well as non-governmental bodies such as WWF Malaysia and local tourism players and business communities.

It said that on Feb 17, it held a meeting to discuss the matter of shark finning activities in Mabul and in the meeting, the National Plan of Action (NPOA) on the Conservation and Management of Sharks which is being implemented by various agencies led by the Fisheries Department since 2006 was highlighted.

However, the council felt that if the shark population can be restored through the implementation of the NPOA and that shark fishing can be proven to be sustainable then there would be no need for a ban on the activity.

In the meantime, the council said that it would conduct awareness campaigns among the local communities in Semporna and Mabul on shark fishing and finning.

It also said that the Environmental Action Committee (EAC Semporna) has been formed and hoped that any future constructive comments or environmental concern is addressed appropriately for immediate action.

While thanking the public for their concern, the council felt that the issue had been blown out of proportion, which could effect the local communities that depend on tourism for their livelihood.

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Maybe a smaller Singapore population would be better

Straits Times Forum 25 Feb 09;

I REFER to the article, "Crunch time for PMETs: Money no object, but mindset is" (Feb 13), by Mr Aaron Low.

It is sad to note that many PMETs - professionals, managers, executives and technicians - the group which form 51 per cent of our labour force, are now jobless. While we are mindful that protectionism is not applicable in today's globalised world, we need to ask ourselves if we have accepted too many foreigners in a small country like Singapore.

In the early 1970s, our Government advocated the "Two is enough" family planning policy so that parents could better cope with the material and psychological needs of their children. Similarly, the Government could better maintain social stability and provide its people good governance with a smaller population.

However, looking at the current dire economic situation and how many of our very own local talent - mainly the PMETs - have to bear the brunt of job losses and retrenchments, it is apparent that a population size of close to five million is beyond what Singapore can cope with.

Lisa Tan (Ms)

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