This oil spill 'the bad one' — recipe for disaster

Seth Borenstein, Associated Press Yahoo News 30 Apr 10;

WASHINGTON – What makes an oil spill really bad? Most of the ingredients for it are now blending in the Gulf of Mexico.

Experts tick off the essentials: A relentless flow of oil from under the sea; a type of crude that mixes easily with water; a resultant gooey mixture that is hard to burn and even harder to clean; water that's home to vulnerable spawning grounds for new life; and a coastline with difficult-to-scrub marshlands.

Gulf Coast experts have always talked about "the potential for a bad one," said Wes Tunnell, coastal ecology and oil spill expert at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

"And this is the bad one. This is just a biggie that finally happened."

It hasn't quite become a total disaster yet. But it's hard to imagine it not being devastating, said Ed Overton, who heads a federal chemical hazard assessment team for oil spills. The Louisiana State University professor has been testing samples of the spilled crude.

He compared what's brewing to another all-too-familiar Gulf Coast threat: "This has got all the characteristics of a Category 5 hurricane."

If conditions don't change quickly, devastation of the highest magnitude is headed for somewhere along the coast, said Overton, who works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

More than 200,000 gallons of oil a day are spewing from the blown-out well at the site of BP's Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded April 20 and sank two days later. Crews are using at least six remotely operated vehicles to try to shut off an underwater valve, but so far they've been unsuccessful. Meanwhile, high winds and waves are pushing oily water over the booms meant to contain it. Besides BP, a slew of federal and state agencies are scrambling to minimize the onslaught of damage.

Experts in oil spills have drills every few years to practice their response for spills of "national significance." One of those practice runs took place just last month in Maine. The Gulf of Mexico leak is a "combination of all the bad things happening" and makes it far worse than any disaster imagined in the drills, said Nancy Kinner, director of the Coastal Response Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

"This is relentless," Kinner said.

Most Americans think of Exxon Valdez when it comes to spills. But the potential and likelihood here "is well beyond that," said University of Rhode Island ocean engineering professor Malcolm Spaulding. Because the Deepwater Horizon well has not been capped and may flow for months more, it should be compared to a bigger more dangerous one from a well explosion in 1979, said Tunnell. That was Ixtoc 1, off the coast of Mexico. It was the worst peacetime oil spill on record.

The current spill "is kind of a worst case scenario," Tunnell said.

What makes this spill relentless and most similar to Ixtoc 1 is that it's an active well that keeps flowing. The Exxon Valdez was a tanker with a limited supply of oil. The rig 40 miles from the Gulf Coast may leak for months before a relief well can be drilled to stop the flow, Kinner said.

And LSU's Overton said: "I'm not very optimistic that they'll be drilling a relief well in three months."

The type of oil involved is also a major problem. While most of the oil drilled off Louisiana is a lighter crude, this isn't. It's a heavier blend because it comes from deep under the ocean surface, Overton said.

"If I had to pick a bad oil, I'd put this right up there. The only thing that's not bad about this is that it doesn't have a lot of sulfur in it and the high sulfur really smells bad."

The first analysis of oil spill samples showed it contains asphalt-like substances that make a major sticky mess, he said. This is because the oil is older than most oil in the region and is very dense.

This oil also emulsifies well, Overton said. Emulsification is when oil and water mix thoroughly together, like a shampoo, which is mostly water, said Penn State engineering professor Anil Kulkarni.

It "makes a thick gooey chocolate mousse type of mix," Kulkarni said.

And once it becomes that kind of mix, it no longer evaporates as quickly as regular oil, doesn't rinse off as easily, can't be eaten by oil-munching microbes as easily, and doesn't burn as well, experts said.

That type of mixture essentially removes all the best oil clean-up weapons, Overton and others said.

Under better circumstances, with calmer winds and water, the oil might have a chance of rising without immediately emulsifying, but that's not happening here, Kulkarni said. It's pretty much mixed by the time it gets to the surface.

The wind and waves are also pushing the oil directly toward some of the most sensitive coastal areas: the marshlands of Louisiana and surrounding states.

And there are three types of beaches: sandy, rocky and marshy. Sandy beaches, like those in Florida, are the easiest to clean, Overton said. By far the hardest are marshlands and that's where the oil is heading first.

Marshes are so delicate that just trying to clean them causes damage, Kinner said. Once the oily mess penetrates, grasses must be cut. But it also penetrates the soil and that is extremely difficult to get out, she said.

The normal bacteria that eats oil needs oxygen to work, and in the soils of the marsh, there's not enough oxygen for that process, she said.

It's also the time of year in the Gulf of Mexico when fish spawn, plankton bloom and the delicate ecosystem is at a vulnerable stage.

Hurricane season is fast approaching in June and experts are sure the oil will still be flowing by then. Though it might seem counterintuitive, a big storm could help by dispersing and diluting the worst of the oil, Overton said.

"A hurricane is Mother Nature's vacuum cleaner," Overton said. Normally it cleans things up. But that's not a solution with a continuing spill.

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Oil slick threatens 'frightening' impacts on wildlife

Richard Black BBC News 30 Apr 10;

How bad will the Gulf of Mexico oil spill turn out to be - for wildlife and for people whose jobs depend on wildlife, such as fishermen?

At the moment, the only completely accurate answer would appear to be: we do not know.

For David Kennedy from the US National Ocean Service, it is "a very very significant event, and of great concern".

"I'm frightened," he adds.

But Clifford Jones, an oil and gas engineering specialist from the UK's Aberdeen University, suggests it should not be considered in the same category as the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989, with which it is regularly being compared.

It is a threat to the ecosystem, he allows: but "Exxon Valdez was a supertanker holding 11 million barrels, and exit of oil from it was simply by gravity.
Continue reading the main story

We have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, including a true catastrophe for birds

Melanie Driscoll National Audubon Society

"Whereas this current incident involves a well that's under the sea, and at most about four million barrels will have leaked out before the pressure within the well drops sufficiently for there to be no further discharge."

Whether or not the estimate of four million barrels turns out to be correct - and it is disputed - there is no doubt that the oil is coming out much more slowly than is normal from a tanker spill.

In principle, this allows the authorities greater time to deal with it - although clearly in this case their efforts have met with mixed success.

Oil breaks down naturally in seawater, and in the warm Gulf of Mexico water, this would proceed much faster than in Alaska's Prince William Sound, where the Exxon Valdez ran aground.
Boom time

In oil spills, as in medicine, prevention is always better than cure. And the first priority for authorities in Louisiana and elsewhere along the Gulf coast is to stop oil washing up on shore.

Booms are being deployed, dispersants sprayed, and some patches of oil are being burned. The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is increasing the flow of water through two inland water channels in an attempt to wash oil-tainted seawater out of ecologically important wetlands.

"Home not only to a thriving fishing industry but also a substantial nature reserve, the potential for damage is enormous," says Simon Coxall from the UK's National Oceanography Centre in Southampton.

"Booming the area off with floating dams to protect these areas is the best option; but the size of the spill will exhaust the world's supply of oil booms very quickly."

What makes this region ecologically special is the unusual patterns of land and sea conjured into existence by the lazy and variegated exit of the mighty Mississippi into the Gulf.

Here lie about 25% of US wetlands - areas rich with life, where human occupancy is low, and birds and other animals can thrive.

"For birds, the timing could not be worse; they are breeding, nesting and especially vulnerable in many of the places where the oil could come ashore," warns Melanie Driscoll, a Louisiana-based bird conservation director with the National Audubon Society, the leading US bird conservation group.

"We have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, including a true catastrophe for birds."

The society's list of species potentially affected includes resident seabirds, waders and waterfowl, including heron, brown pelicans and oystercatchers, and migratory birds such as plovers, swallows and buntings that use the Gulf wetlands as a stopover.

The society points out that for some species, this is the now only home they have, with human development further inland having fenced them into these extremities.

The oil slick changes shape and direction rapidly, so predicting where it will make landfall and with what frequency is a hazardous business.

Clearly, the longer it takes BP to stem the flow, the greater the chance that its impacts will be felt further around the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and indeed in its open water.

If the oil flows east, it will encounter the seagrass beds that form a key habitat for manatees, among other species.

"If you've got seagrass beds badly contaminated, clearly the manatees could be seriously affected," says Carl-Gustaf Lundin, head of the Marine Programme at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Here again is a species that is already under severe stress. Fewer than 2,500 adults remain, and the IUCN Red List says the Florida subspecies is expected to decline by at least 20% over the next 40 years, with various factors implicated, including climate change and impacts from boats.

The Gulf waters are already affected annually by fertilisers washing down from southern US farmlands, resulting in a "dead zone" where algae have consumed most of the dissolved oxygen and nothing else can grow.

The Atlantic bluefin tuna is another possible victim.

Over the next six weeks, the western population of this heavily depleted species will spawn in the Gulf of Mexico - principally in the northern portion where the slick is growing.

"The oil would have an impact - it might be toxic to eggs or to the young fry," says Dr Lundin.

"Also, the young hide in sargassum (floating marine plants) - they're very vulnerable at this stage - and this could also be affected by oil."
Human face

Each of these possible impacts on wildlife translates into human consequences.

For tuna and shrimp, you can read jobs in the fishing industry and food supplies for US consumers.

For birds and manatees, you can read tourist income.

No two oil spills are alike; and given the vagaries of winds and sea currents, predicting the likely impact of this one is very difficult.

But you can see why local authorities and conservation groups are beginning to be seriously concerned.

As Oil Slick Drifts Closer, Resource Defenders Gird for Worst Along Gulf Coast
Noelle Straub, Greenwire, The New York Times 30 Apr 10;

Even the frantic preparations to protect the most vulnerable coastlines likely will not prevent devastating harm to key species as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill hits shore at the worst possible time for migration and breeding.

While no one can yet predict the full extent of the damage, experts say more than 400 species in the estuaries are at risk from the slick headed their way.

"It could be very devastating, unfortunately," said David Ringer of Audubon's Mississippi River Initiative. "The timing is pretty disastrous."

Wildlife officials are particularly worried about brown pelicans, which were recently removed from the endangered species list and are currently nesting on barrier islands off the southeast coast of Louisiana.

Breton National Wildlife Refuge, home to about 34,000 birds, is the top priority among the key nesting Gulf Coast areas being recommended by the Fish and Wildlife Service to be protected by booms, said Tom MacKenzie, the spokesman for the service's Southeast Region. In 2005, Breton was hit by an oil spill that killed more than 800 nesting ground pelicans, he said.

"It's those nesting pelicans that we're trying to defend right now," he said.

While four national wildlife refuges are in the immediate danger zone, another 15 along the coast of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida could be hit by the oil, he said.

Over the past few days, berms have been placed at Breton consisting of a series of booms designed to deflect and absorb oil. "They're done in a series of rings almost like a defensive ring if you were going to set up against an invading army," MacKenzie said.

While the booms will help protect nests, little can be done for shorebirds that wade or land in the water, because the oil is already in the ocean, he said.

Several federal agencies are flying over the affected areas to monitor wildlife that could be affected by the oil, such as large flocks of birds, and FWS spotters saw whales swimming in the oil, he said. The first oiled brown pelican was sighted Wednesday on an oil platform near the source of the release.

Other species in particular danger include sea turtles, which will begin nesting "any time now"; gulf sturgeon, which are listed under the Endangered Species Act and migrating upstream to spawn; manatees, which are beginning to spread out along their full range of summer habitat in the Gulf; and numerous species of birds that forage for fish, MacKenzie said.

"This looks like an extremely extensive oil spill that has the potential to impact a lot of resources," he said.

Two whale species may be in the area of the spill, Bryde's whales and endangered sperm whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The greatest threat is if whales get oil in the filtering structure in their mouths, which could lead to starvation and death.

A total of 21 whale and dolphin species that routinely inhabit the northern Gulf are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. There also are five species of threatened or endangered turtles in the Gulf, and one of the only foraging grounds for the endangered Kemp's ridley turtle -- which is in its peak nesting season -- is in the area of the oil spill, NOAA said.

Cleanup, volunteers

BP PLC, which by law is responsible for the cleanup costs, has hired Delaware-based Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, a private nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation organization, to clean oil-coated birds and wildlife.

Five staging areas have been set up to protect sensitive shorelines in Biloxi and Pascagoula, Miss.; Pensacola, Fla.; Venice, La.; and Theodore, Ala. More than 217,000 feet of boom has been placed, with an additional 305,760 feet available.

While government officials and BP are handling all the frontline response currently, they will be looking to conservation groups with local presences to mobilize volunteers, said Audubon's Ringer.

"From our vantage point ... everything that can and should be being done, is being done," Ringer said. "Unfortunately, given the magnitude of what's happening, it's probably not going to be enough to prevent some environmental impact."

Many endangered turtles dying on Texas Gulf Coast
Ramit Plushnick-masti, Associated Press Yahoo News 30 Apr 10;

HIGH ISLAND, Texas – Flies buzz everywhere and the stench is overwhelming as biologist Lyndsey Howell stops to analyze the remains of yet another endangered sea turtle washed up from the Gulf of Mexico. "It's been on the beach for a while," Howell says, flipping over the decomposing, dried-out shell.

More than 30 dead turtles have been found stranded on Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula south of Houston this month — an unusually high number that has puzzled researchers, in part because most are so decomposed that there are few clues left about why they died.

The number of strandings on these shores is double what scientists and volunteers normally see as the turtles begin nesting in April, says Howell, who patrols the beaches as part of her job with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Of the 35 turtles found, all but three were dead. Thirty-three were Kemp's ridleys, an endangered species researchers have spent decades trying to rehabilitate.

Many of the turtles appear to have propeller wounds from boats or have become entangled in fishing nets or lines, Howell says. Others have parasites or are emaciated.

The increase in deaths comes as the turtles swim closer to shore to nest and shrimping season gets into full swing along the upper Texas coast, said Roger Zimmerman, lab director of the NOAA marine fishery laboratory in Galveston.

"Historically, they increase about this time of year. ... This is a few more than we would normally expect," Zimmerman said. "We are concerned and we'll keep an eye on it."

Researchers are also watching the massive oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. If the oil were to begin moving in the direction of the Texas Gulf — which isn't predicted at the moment — many Kemp's ridleys swimming in to nest would be right in its path. In 1979, after an oil spill off the coast of Mexico, Kemp's ridleys were airlifted to cleaner waters.

Shrimping has long been blamed for sea turtle deaths. Shrimpers are required to install grid-like devices in their nets that are designed to allow turtles to escape. Shrimpers caught without the turtle excluder devices — or TEDs — may be fined thousands of dollars and have their catch seized by federal regulators.

Still, some are reluctant to invest $800 on the TEDs or are angry over the extra work they create aboard the shrimp boats, so they gamble they won't be caught.

"When there is more shrimp, there are more turtle strandings," Zimmerman said. "That correlation has been well-documented."

Educating fishermen, the public and shrimpers about preserving Kemp's ridleys is part of a new federal recovery plan expected to be approved in the coming months. The goal is to upgrade the Kemp's ridleys from endangered to threatened within six years — but that depends on having 10,000 nesting females per season. Currently, there are about 6,000.

Nesting season begins in mid-April and lasts into July. Most Kemp's ridleys nest on a beach in Mexico or at Padre Island in south Texas. But increasing numbers have been seeking out the shores of Galveston and Bolivar.

Howell and Zimmerman hope the deaths indicate the population has increased and even more turtles are heading toward the Texas Gulf Coast to nest.

But there's no knowing for certain.

"This is a needle-in-a-haystack thing," said Andre Landry, a marine biology professor at Texas A&M University in Galveston. "It's a difficult situation, pinpointing a cause of death in an animal that may be compromised by decomposition."

Possible economic hit of Gulf oil spill
Reuters 30 Apr 10;

(Reuters) - An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico washed up to coastal Louisiana wildlife and seafood areas on Friday as the U.S. government struggled to avert what could become one of the nation's worst ecological disasters.

Following are some of the estimated costs from the spill as well as its impact on share prices and markets.

CLEAN UP COSTS

- Fitch's Energy Team estimates containment and clean-up costs could reach $2 billion to $3 billion.

- BP Plc's Chief Executive Tony Hayward said the company would clean up the mess and compensate those affected. Transocean owned and operated the rig that exploded and sank last week, causing the spill. BP hired Swiss-based rig company Transocean Ltd to run the rig and oversee the project.

- "We are taking full responsibility for the spill ... We are going to be very, very aggressive in all of that," he told Reuters on Friday.

OIL COMPANIES

- Shares of oil services companies tumbled on Friday in the aftermath of the spill. BP is down around 14 percent and Transocean down 20 percent since the rig explosion on April 20.

- Shrimp fishermen in Louisiana have filed a class-action lawsuit against BP, Transocean, Halliburton and Cameron, accusing them of negligence.

FISHERIES/TOURISM

- The cost to the fishing industry in Louisiana could be $2.5 billion, while the impact on tourism along Florida's Gulf coast could be $3 billion, Neil McMahon, analyst at investment firm Bernstein, said in a research note on Friday.

- Omega Protein, the world's largest producer of omega-3 fish oil, relies heavily on a Gulf fishery, and its share price extended Thursday's sharp losses on Friday morning, losing another nine percent to $5.40.

MARKETS

- Analysts have said the spill could be a supportive factor for U.S. crude futures, but negative for Brent if it began to disrupt oil imports in the U.S. Gulf.

Oil prices rose on Friday, heading for a third straight monthly gain, driven by expectations of global economic recovery and hopes of a bailout package to help Greece avoid debt default.

(Source: Reuters)

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Trees provide big savings for every dollar invested by increasing property values, saving energy

USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station EurekAlert 29 Apr 10;

BERKELEY, Calif. April 29, 2010. Trees can provide beauty and shade in urban areas, but they also can improve air quality, conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions, and filter storm water. A new publication released by the Pacific Southwest (PSW) Research Station/USDA Forest Service can help residents along the northern California coast to calculate these benefits.

The "Northern California Coast Community Tree Guide: Benefits, Costs, and Strategic Planting," is the latest in a series of Forest Service publications that help people to quantify the tangible and intangible benefits of urban forests. It is a joint product of the station's Center for Urban Forest Research and the University of California, Davis.

"The northern California coast, which includes the area between Brookings, Ore., and San Luis Obispo, Calif., accounts for the largest proportion of total benefits to residents, businesses, and communities," explains Greg McPherson, lead author and station research forester. "We used measurements gathered through in-depth research of urban trees in Berkeley to model the annual benefits produced by tree species of certain sizes and we compared maintenance costs, like planting and irrigation, to benefits."

McPherson and his colleagues' results show that the quantity of the average annual net benefits increases with tree size—large-stature trees, for example, produce the highest benefit-to-cost ratio. His research team also found that, over a 40-year period, 100 large street trees provided $516,800 in benefits, far outweighing their $113,400 maintenance costs. The net benefit was $403,400; or for every dollar spent on tree management, residents receive $4.56 in benefits.

"This tree guide can easily be adopted for use by people in communities in this climate zone to calculate future benefits from proposed and existing tree planting projects," says McPherson. "It also gives advice on strategic selection and location of trees to maximize benefits."

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The research information and findings are integrated in "i-Tree Streets," a free software program, which is now used by more than 5,700 people worldwide. The software combines tree inventory, benefit, and cost data to report on the structure, function, and value of municipal forests. To download i-Tree, visit http://www.itreetools.org.

To download a copy of the "Northern California Coast Community Tree Guide: Benefits, Costs, and Strategic Planting," visit http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/cufr/tree_guides. Or, write to PSW Research Station; Publications Distribution; 240 West Prospect Road; Fort Collins, CO 80526-2089. To order by phone, call (970) 498-1392 and ask for "PSW-GTR-228." Contact: Greg McPherson, research forester, phone: (530) 759-1723; e-mail: gmcpherson@fs.fed.us The Pacific Southwest Research Station/USDA Forest Service, is headquartered in Albany, California. The station develops and communicates science needed to sustain forest ecosystems and their benefits to society. It has laboratories and research centers in California, Hawaii, and the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands.

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Japan seeks arrest of anti-whaling ship chief

Harumi Ozawa Yahoo News 30 Apr 10;

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan is seeking an international arrest warrant for the head of anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd over high-seas clashes in Antarctic waters, media reports said Friday.

Tokyo will seek Interpol's help to arrest Canadian Paul Watson for ordering his crew to harass whaling ships in clashes in which Japanese crew were allegedly injured by rancid butter projectiles, broadcaster NHK reported.

Watson, speaking in New York, said "the arrest warrant is just totally political, it's nothing. I'm not concerned, and Interpol is not going to extradite me on a politically motivated charge."

"We save whales, and we are going to continue to go down to the southern ocean," the 59-year-old environmental campaigner and captain of the group's Steve Irwin vessel told reporters in comments broadcast in Japan.

The reported arrest warrant and Interpol request, which the Japan Coast Guard declined to confirm, are the latest act in a long-running battle between Japan and the US-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Japan hunts whales under a loophole to an international moratorium that allows the killing of the sea mammals for scientific research and does not hide the fact that the meat is later sold in shops and restaurants.

Sea Shepherd has sought to obstruct Japan's whalers for years and this year said they had their most successful season yet by preventing the harpoon ships from killing hundreds of the ocean giants.

Japanese authorities say the activists injured Japanese crew with chemical burns by throwing bottles of butyric acid, which the Sea Shepherd group describes as rancid butter stink bombs.

Japan's Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu said "Japan should take decisive action. We should not leave such cases hanging in the air. Regardless of whether they are pro- or anti-whaling, what they did was a crime."

In one of the clashes, the Sea Shepherd's futuristic powerboat the Ady Gil, carrying six crew, was sliced in two in a collision with the whaling fleet's security ship the Shonan Maru II in January. It later sank.

The Ady Gil's captain Peter Bethune, 45, subsequently boarded the Shonan Maru II from a jet ski with the stated intent of making a citizen's arrest of its captain for attempted murder and to present him with a bill for the boat.

Bethune, a New Zealander, was detained and is now under arrest awaiting trial for trespass, causing injury, vandalism, carrying a knife and obstructing commercial activities. If convicted who could face up to 15 years jail.

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Ministers huddle in bid to jump-start climate talks

Marlowe Hood Yahoo News 30 Apr 10;

PARIS (AFP) – More than three dozen environment ministers are to meet near Bonn, Germany this weekend in a bid to revive global climate talks left mangled and moribund after the UN summit in Copenhagen.

It will be the highest-level political meeting on climate since the much-criticised December conference fell spectacularly short of delivering the binding treaty that nearly all nations say is needed to spare the planet from the worst ravages of global warming.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, host to the next UN conference in Cancun at year's end, will kick things off late Sunday, setting the tone for the two-and-a-half-day closed-door brainstorming session.

"It is the return of the ministers, who are there to give political guidance to (technical) negotiators," said Brice Lalonde, France's climate ambassador. "What counts at this point is political initiative."

One avowed aim of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue -- named for the castle where it is to be held -- is confidence building.

Climate talks so far have been "hampered by lack of trust and leadership," German Environment Minister Norbert Rottgen said bluntly in the letter of invitation.

The upcoming deliberations, he added, should "contribute to the necessary inspiration and political direction for upcoming negotiations."

Just how hard that may be was laid bare in Bonn only weeks ago at the first meeting since Copenhagen of the 194-nation UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the main vehicle for global talks.

The only thing that the negotiators seemed to agree on was that the session was tense and riven by mistrust.

"If we see another failure in Cancun, that will cause a serious loss of confidence in the ability of this process to deliver," the UNFCCC's outgoing Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer, warned at the time.

The Petersberg talks appear designed to sidestep some of the biggest political landmines that derailed Copenhagen, focusing instead on narrower issues where at least some progress has been made such as technology cooperation, verification regimes and fighting deforestation.

"But the question is, can you get incremental progress on some of these 'building block' issues without a full-blown deal on a new treaty," said Alden Meyer, a climate policy analyst at the Washington-based Union for Concerned Scientists.

One of the potential deal-breakers in the long run is a disagreement between the United States and China -- the world's two major carbon polluters -- on how to divvy out the job of slashing CO2 emissions, and whether both countries should face the same legal constraints.

"Washington says that any legal instrument it takes part in must have the same degree of 'bindingness' for China as it has for the US, which China clearly rejects," Meyer said.

Developing countries argue they are not historically responsible for climate change, and thus should be allowed to take purely voluntary steps to help fix it.

Japan and Russia, meanwhile, have become more vocal in saying they will not re-commit to cutting greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol unless both the United States and the developing giants such as China and India accept some kind of commitments too.

The United States was the only advanced economy to reject Kyoto, whose obligations expire at the end of 2012, calling it unfair because it made no demands of major emerging economies.

The fate of the Protocol -- fiercely defended by developing countries -- is as contentious as it is unclear.

One way to avoid failure at Cancun may be simply to lower expectations.

Indeed, all the major players seem to have given up on the goal of a legally binding treaty by year's end that would spell out the path for reducing emissions enough to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the target embraced by the 11th-hour Copenhagen Accord.

Voluntary pledges currently registered in the Accord put Earth on track for a 3.5 C or even a 4.0 C world by 2100, far above the threshold for dangerous warming, said Alden.

A binding outcome this year is "unfortunately" unlikely, Europe's Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard said earlier this month, while US chief negotiator Todd Stern last week cautioned that expectations for Cancun must be "realistic."

And on Sunday, the so-called BASIC group of developing economies -- China, India, Brazil and South Africa -- said in a joint statement that a legally binding deal should be concluded at the December 2011 UN climate meeting in South Africa "at the latest".

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Best of our wild blogs: 30 Apr 10

世界候鸟日特别折纸活动 Special origami session for world migratory bird day
from PurpleMangrove

This Morning At Pasir Ris Shore
from colourful clouds

Red-headed Quelea dismantling Baya Weaver nest
from Bird Ecology Study Group and White-throated Kingfisher’s eyelid

Striped Eel-Tailed Catfish @ Pulau Hantu
from sgbeachbum

"Biodiversity loss rampant: everyone must act now"
from Celebrating Singapore's BioDiversity!

Patrons of nearby McDonald's leave a mess in West Coast Park
from The Lazy Lizard's Tales

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More Singapore farmed fish at supermarkets

Growing demand from customers hooked on freshness of local fish
Jessica Lim, Straits Times 30 Apr 10;

MORE than ever, the catch of the day is now coming from a local farm.

As consumers get hooked on local seafood produce, supermarket chains like Sheng Siong and FairPrice are buying more fish stocks from local breeders.

Sheng Siong now sells 400kg of live local fish a day, up from 100kg two years ago.

And selection has increased with demand.

It used to stock only Asian seabass, but has now added grey mullet and milkfish to the list of local choices.

Singapore's largest supermarket chain FairPrice, with 98 outlets, stocks more than 10 varieties of locally farmed fish, including golden pomfret and black tilapia. It stocked five varieties last year.

Sales have risen 20 per cent from the figure in the middle of last year, it said.

Local farms, which together produced 5,689 tonnes of fish last year, have reeled in other chains such as Prime Supermarket and, most recently, Shop N Save and Giant, which each carry about 300kg of fresh local fish per week.

The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) said imported fish take three to five days to reach a customer from the time they are caught, compared with the 12 hours needed to move them from a local farm to the supermarket shelf.

Buying local is also a hedge, said Mr Chong Wee Cheong, chief executive of the Prime supermarket chain.

'Foreign supply is full of uncertainty,' he said. 'If there is a disease outbreak or problem and there is a shortage of fish, they (other countries) will cater to domestic demand first.

'It is best we support our local production, so we are less dependent.'

For land-scarce Singapore, which imports more than 90 per cent of its food, fish farming is one of the few options for local production, which then supplies both domestic and overseas markets.

AVA's plan is to boost local fish supplies from 4 per cent to 15 per cent in the next five years.

In a bid to help the industry, where fish stocks can be wiped out overnight by a bad storm or disease outbreak, the government agency also breeds fast-growing fish in laboratories and supplies fry to fish farms to increase their yield.

AVA's efforts are paying off. More farms are springing up, with 14 new ones in the last five years. There are 106 farms now, rearing varieties from the grey mullet and Malabar grouper to the spiny lobster and green mussel.

Metropolitan Fishery Group owner Malcolm Ong, who operates a 2ha farm near Lim Chu Kang, harvested 300kg of fish a day when he first started out in 2008. The 47-year-old now hauls up more than six times that amount daily.

His new target is 1,000 tonnes this year, and 3,000 tonnes in the next three to five years. 'We have also started to look for new sea space to expand our farm,' said Mr Ong, who also exports to Malaysia and hopes to double the size of his farm this year.

Kwee Siong Fish Farm owner Yeo King Kwee, who runs a 2ha fish farm off Lim Chu Kang, plans to double output by year end. He started supplying marine tilapia to supermarkets last week.

Having a local fish supply has not seen prices fall, however, as market prices prevail. But customers are snapping them up anyway. 'When I buy a fish from a Singapore farm, I know it is fresh,' said housewife Gwen Lee, 61, who buys local fish from FairPrice.

Others, like Mr Joseph Zagrodnik, 34, buy Singapore-farmed fish for another reason as well. 'They are fresher, of course,' said the teacher, who has lived in Singapore for 22 years. 'But buying locally also helps sustain our economy.'

Environmental concerns
Straits Times 30 Apr 10;

NOT everything is going swimmingly.

Aquaculture can lead to serious ecological damage if mismanaged, said Mr Howard Shaw, executive director of the Singapore Environment Council.

One of his main concerns: pollution from fish faecal matter, fish feed and chemical-laced water that seeps out from farms into surrounding waters.

Mr Shaw said this could lead to algae blooms that affect not just the livestock, but also other marine life. Fish farm pollution, he pointed out, could have been a contributing factor to the plankton bloom off Pasir Ris beach earlier this year, which wiped out more than 200,000 fish.

Apart from algae blooms, fish farming also means that fish are reared in close proximity to one another.

'They often scrape against one another, leading to infection and disease,' he said.

There are other concerns, said Ms Abigail Virjee, who manages conservation agency WWF Singapore's Sustainable Seafood Campaign.

Farmed fish, especially those that are exotic, could escape into the wild and upset the food chain by feeding on native species, competing with them for food and spreading disease.

'In addition, escaped species that are able to breed with the wild stock can lead to a dilution of the natural gene pool,' said Ms Virjee.

Acknowledging that these are real concerns, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) spokesman Goh Shih Yong said the situation was being closely monitored.

Farmed fish samples are sent to laboratories where they are monitored for pathogens, contaminants and residue to ensure the fish are safe for consumption, he said.

In addition, AVA regularly monitors the water in the local coastal fish-farming areas to ensure that it remains clean and suitable for aquaculture.

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49 Singapore energy-intensive firms join new programme to become energy-efficient

Mustafa Shafawi Channel NewsAsia 29 Apr 10;

SINGAPORE: 49 local companies could be one step closer to becoming energy-efficient.

A new voluntary programme has been launched to help them improve energy productivity.

It's called the Energy Efficiency National Partnership, and the public-private sector initiative aims to reduce wastage.

The founding partners stand to benefit from efficiency incentive schemes offered by the National Environment Agency (NEA).

Also new - a recognition scheme for companies that have achieved substantial savings through effective energy management practices.

The NEA says the partnership prepares them for the Energy Conservation Act, to be introduced in 2013.

- CNA/jy

49 firms here to go greener
Today Online 30 Apr 10;

SINGAPORE - Forty-nine companies took one step closer to becoming more energy efficient. They have agreed to participate as founding partners in a new voluntary programme to drive energy efficiency in Singapore. They include 3M Singapore, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer Asia Pacific and Shell Eastern Petroleum.

The Energy Efficiency National Partnership (EENP) seeks to help companies put in place energy productivity improvement projects at the organisational level.

EENP partners can look forward to preferential rates for EENP learning events and benefit from National Environment Agency (NEA) incentive schemes, such as the Grant for Energy Efficient Technologies.

They will be given opportunities to network and take part in benchmarking studies with peers, workshops and seminars.

Recognition will be given to companies that have implemented excellent energy management practices and achieved substantial savings as a result.

EENP partners will be expected to work towards the adoption of an Energy Management System. Each company will appoint an energy manager, establish objectives and targets, develop policies and implement projects to meet these targets.

NEA's chief executive officer Andrew Tan said he hoped the programme would inspire more firms to take the initiative to improve energy efficiency in their operations and, by doing so, reduce their costs and enhance their business competitiveness.

Meanwhile, a pioneer batch of 23 candidates received their certifications under the Singapore Certified Energy Managers programme yesterday.

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Singapore Police to strengthen coastal defence over next few years

Hoe Yeen Nie Channel NewsAsia 29 Apr 10;

SINGAPORE: Singapore police are strengthening their coastal defence system to deter sea-borne threats such as smugglers and illegal immigrants.

They are also looking at further ways to make better use of resources on the ground.

The waters off Lim Chu Kang, in the north of Singapore, are a hotspot for smugglers. Currently, water barriers and fences help to keep them out.

And over the next three years, better fences will be mounted, including one that prevents intruders from getting a grip.

Another method employs high-tech wizardry to do the job.

The fibre optic wire mesh may look flimsy, but it's precisely designed to prevent people from climbing or cutting through the wire. Once the wire is snapped, sensors will trigger an alarm back at command centre, and security cameras will immediately pinpoint the exact location of the intruder.

Down south, where sea traffic is high, special barges will be deployed to serve as command and surveillance posts.

These will be supported by faster and more agile patrol boats as well more fences along the coastline.

DSP Patricia Lui, head of ops and security, Police Coast Guard, says: "In the southern waters, we have large and small boats, and it's very easy for the small boats to hide in between some of these larger vessels. Therefore we must improve our surveillance capabilities and our detection capabilities in that environment."

Police are also testing new fingerprinting technology that could help them determine, for the first time, the gender and race of a suspect.

They will also be able to find out if the suspect had handled substances like explosives or drugs.

This is all done through biochemical analysis, which costs about S$1 million.

The special nano powder used will also capture prints with about 30 per cent more detail than the type currently used. Police say this reduces the likelihood that fingerprints will be smudged. Even if they are, the chemical composition of the prints can be analysed for bio-markers that could narrow down the range of possible suspects.

At the seminar, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng also spoke of the need to review police deployment on the ground.

Mr Wong said: "I've also directed the police to undertake a detailed study of the neighbourhood police centre and the neighbourhood police post system to take into account changes in population demographics and the operational needs of the specific communities.

"We must be prepared to re-configure the NPC and the NPP systems so as to better meet the growing and changing demand for police services."

He also spoke of the need to continue with community engagement to keep crime down, and cited as an example recent efforts against loanshark harassment in housing estates.

- CNA/jy

Better fences to be built to deter smugglers
Hoe Yeen Nie, Today Online 30 Apr 10;

SINGAPORE - Singapore police are strengthening their coastal defence system to deter sea-borne threats such as smugglers and illegal immigrants. They are also looking at how to make better use of resources on the ground, with a review of the neighbourhood police centre (NPC) and the neighbourhood police post (NPP) system.

The waters off Lim Chu Kang are a hotspot for smugglers and currently, water barriers and fences help keep them out.

Over the next three years, better fences will be mounted. One method involves a fibre optic wire mesh designed to prevent people from climbing or cutting through the wire.

Once the wire is snapped, sensors will trigger an alarm back at command centre, and security cameras will pinpoint the intruder's location.

In the south of the island, where sea traffic is high, special barges will be deployed to serve as command and surveillance posts, supported by faster and more agile patrol boats.

Police are also testing new fingerprinting technology that could help them determine -for the first time - the gender and race of a suspect. They will also be able to find out if the suspect had handled substances like explosives or drugs.

Speaking at the police workplan seminar, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng spoke of the need to review and reconfigure, if necessary, police deployment on the ground.

The police will undertake a detailed study of the NPP and NPC system "to take into account changes in population demographics and the operational needs of the specific communities", said Mr Wong.

Coastal security to be tightened
Multilayered defence in southern waters to be fully operational by 2013
Mavis Toh Straits Times 30 Apr 10;

BEEFING up coastal security will be a priority for the Police Coast Guard (PCG) over the next three years under its masterplan to deter threats at Singapore's maritime borders and anchorages.

For a start, the PCG will implement two new command and control centres, both out at sea on barges, to allow for closer surveillance of passing vessels.

Its current fleet of patrol boats will also be fitted with more powerful engines.

More officers will be added to PCG's elite force, and they will be given better boats to deal with smugglers and illegal immigrants.

This multilayered defence system will be put in place in Singapore's southern waters and be fully operational by 2013.

The PCG Developmental Masterplan was unveiled at the annual Police Workplan Seminar yesterday.

'To effectively deal with Singapore's increasingly complex maritime operational environment, PCG is constantly reviewing and enhancing its operational capabilities to deal with seaborne threats,' said a police spokesman.

Besides measures to enhance the coastline, a nano fingerprint powder technology system, which has been on trial since last October, was also showcased at the seminar. The new technology is able to detect residues such as explosives and drugs, and even tell a person's age, gender and ethnicity from his fingerprints.

In his keynote address at the seminar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng said Singapore needs to remain alert to terrorism threats and even peaceful protesters, to avoid getting into situations like in Russia and Bangkok.

He noted that Singapore's crime rate last year fell to its second lowest in the last 20 years and that Singapore was ranked third out of 133 economies for reliability of police services in a global competitiveness report for 2009-2010.

In the coming year, the police will need to play a key role in managing security at mega international events such as the Youth Olympic Games and the Formula One Grand Prix, he said.

The opening of the integrated resorts will bring potential criminal activities. Said Mr Wong: 'There were some concerns that the casinos could be natural targets and places of opportunity for criminal activity. These are valid and real concerns.'

To better meet the growing and changing demands for police services, Mr Wong has directed the force to do a detailed study of the current Neighbourhood Police Centre and Neighbourhood Police Post systems.

But he also urged the public to play their part in keeping Singapore safe.

'Four million vigilant Singapore residents will be a priceless and strong deterrent force against criminals and terrorists on the ground,' he said.

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Foreigners find Singapore vibrant

Straits Times 30 Apr 10;

MOST foreigners are happy staying in Singapore and find the city state vibrant and exciting, and are attracted here by the clean and safe environment.

They even like the hot and humid climate in tropical Singapore, which they feel has its own distinctive character, with the greenery contributing strongly to its identity.

A lifestyle survey carried out by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and released on Friday, showed that most foreigners are generally satisfied with the top five facilities they mostly use - supermarket, shopping centres and shopping malls, financial services (banks and STM), coffeeshops, hawker centres and food courts, and restaurants and cafes.

Nearly 93 per cent of the respondents said they are satisfied or very satisfied with the living environment in Singapore, in terms of essential facilities such as health-care and transport, variety of housing types and design of residential environment.

Most of them prefer to live in the fringe of the city centre or in the city centre, with 93.2 per cent of them renting their homes and 6.8 per cent owning them.

The survey showed that 55.4 per cent of the foreign respondents prefer living in public to private housing, with three-room Housing Board flats and private condominiums being the most preferred housing types.

Most of the foreigners who placed their children in nurseries or childcare centres are satisfied with these facilities. For those with children above seven years, most of them send them to international schools.

Eight in 10 of them take some form of public transport to work .

They are also satisfied with the leisure environment in Singapore, in terms of the range of facilities and activities available.

The full report of the surveys is available on the URA website at at http://spring.ura.gov.sg/conceptplan2011.

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Should Southeast Asia think nuclear?

Even as governments want to move ahead, many questions remain to be answered
Simon Tay, Today Online 30 Apr 10;

Following the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave assurances that even as the Republic moves towards nuclear energy, its feasibility will first be studied.

It is not only Singapore that is thinking about nuclear energy in South-east Asia. Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia are looking at nuclear energy and indeed the first three are further ahead on the path.

Indonesia has cleared most legal and administrative hurdles and has been identifying sites for their first plant, despite considerable controversy and protests by local communities.

Why are Singapore and others in South-east Asia now looking at nuclear energy? What are the constraints and concerns? How should a decision be reached in the country, and across the region?

The motives for looking at nuclear energy are apparent. As a compact, industrialised and densely populated city state, Singapore needs energy and energy sources that are readily available, reliable and reasonably priced. Other countries are also keen, despite the fact that some like Indonesia and Vietnam have more options in conventional energy resources and renewables, and could take the lead in new technologies like geo-thermal energy.

Yet, even as governments want to move ahead, many questions remain to be answered. This is especially as South-east Asians are new to the nuclear energy industry - unlike their cousins in North-east Asia.

Singapore's leadership has promised to look at the technical, economic and safety aspects of nuclear energy.

The issues are manifold, complex and open to debate. Security measures to prevent weaponisation and a "dirty" bomb were the focus of the recent US-led summit and bear consideration in Asia. Safety in design, construction and operation are also real concerns, especially if the site is exposed to earthquakes, as in Indonesia.

The industry is quick to say that a nuclear energy plant is safe and that new designs mean a Chernobyl-type blowout will not happen. But different problems can develop, especially where there is no culture of safety in handling everyday operations and maintaining the plant over the long haul.

Even the economics of the decision is also more complex than proponents would have us believe. The common claim is that the energy is cheaper than conventional fossil fuels and, even more, renewable energy. But the typical nuclear energy plant has such a massive upfront cost and long construction period that only states with deep pockets to offer cheap capital and subsidies can proceed.

Construction cost overruns are also typical. The Olkiluoto plant being built in Finland has already seen costs balloon by more than 50 per cent, adding billions to the original estimate. Frequently, the cost estimates also fail to take into account the cost and time for decommissioning the plants at the end of their life. This process could take around 50 to 80 years , and costs anywhere from US$300 million ($403 million) to more than US$1 billion.

Another major concern is the environment. This was not specifically mentioned in PM Lee's description of the feasibility study that Singapore will undertake and needs to be explicitly integrated into the frame for decision making.

With climate change concerns, proponents tout nuclear energy proponents to be a "green" alternative, saying no carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted. But when we look at the full life-cycle of nuclear energy including mining, construction and transport, there is a CO2 footprint, which may not necessarily be lighter than fossil fuels.

The larger environmental issues about nuclear energy relate to waste, for which remains hazardous for thousands of years, without a real solution. Storage facilities are controversial and illegal dumping, inside or outside the country, will always be a danger.

These are but some examples of the issues at hand. They cannot be answered categorically, simply or immediately. Those concerned for the environment and safety should not respond with an ideological "No" to nuclear power. But neither can the debate be reduced to dollars and kilowatts for the short term.

There is no technological silver bullet. This is something that nuclear experts should recognise even as they promote the safety and viability of so-called new generation reactors, or talk up "small" reactors, as Michael Richardson of the Institute of South-east Asian Studies did in a Straits Times article on Monday.

It is important, therefore, to look at the decision-making process itself. Often times, Singapore prides itself on decisiveness and speed, relying on technology and experts to deliver the answers. But in this case, such qualities may not be assets.

Frameworks for feasibility have to be broadened. The public must be consulted and participate in the decision-making. Yes, there are difficult technical and technological issues at play that are difficult to grasp. But experts in this field should not believe they have all the answers and accuse the public of failing to understand.

Every effort must be made to broaden understanding and participation as this is an issue of basic safety that will affect very many people. The perspective of sustainable development and environmental protection should also be brought into play.

With the idea of sustainability and of future generations, the question of the nuclear waste must be considered even before we begin, as such waste materials have a half life measured in thousands of years.

Moreover, there is also a responsibility for transboundary pollution and all countries in the region should consult with each other to reassure their neighbours that their plans meet the highest standards of safety in design, construction and operation.

A rational and transparent process for decision-making is needed both at the national and regional levels. This should not be a rushed decision, shrouded in secrecy or dressed up in technical jargon, or shielded by excuses of sovereignty or national security.

The writer is chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, which has held or participated in panels and workshops on this issue in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

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World leaders have failed to stem biodiversity loss: study

Yahoo News 29 Apr 10;

WASHINGTON (AFP) – World leaders have fallen short on a pledge to stem biodiversity loss and have instead allowed alarming declines in species populations, habitat conditions and other indicators, a study showed Thursday.

Researchers looked at 31 indicators with global data covering the period 1970 to 2005, to gauge progress on achieving a goal set by world leaders in 2002 to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss.

The goal was set in 2002 under the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD), and the target year for achieving those significant reductions was this year.

But the study published in the journal Science found no indication that the rate of biodiversity loss has been slowing over the decades.

"There have been declines in... population trends of vertebrates and habitat specialist birds; shorebird populations worldwide; extent of forest; mangroves; seagrass beds; and the condition of coral reefs," said the study led by Stuart Butchart, a researcher with the UN Environment Program and with the group BirdLife International.

The risk of a species going extinct has accelerated, and pressures on biodiversity have increased over recent decades, the researchers found.

Those pressures include human consumption of the planet's ecological assets; and increase in the number of alien species in Europe; over-harvesting of more and more fish stocks, and impacts from climate change, which has affected bird populations, the study says.

In 2002, when they set their goal of stemming biodiversity loss, world leaders recognized that losing plant and animal life and systems on earth has a negative impact on human well-being.

For that reason, their target of stopping the rot by 2010 goal was incorporated into the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

The researchers urged world governments to show they are serious about preserving Earth's species by reversing detrimental policies, integrating biodiversity into land-use decisions, and boosting funding for policies that tackle biodiversity loss head-on.

World's 2010 nature target 'will not be met'
Richard Black, BBC News 29 Apr 10;

The world's governments will not meet their internationally-agreed target of curbing the loss of species and nature by 2010, a major study has confirmed.

Virtually all species and ecosystems show continued decline, while pressures on nature are increasing, it concludes.

Published in the journal Science, the study confirms what conservationists have known for several years.

The 2010 target was adopted in 2002, but the scientists behind this study say implementation has been "woeful".

"Our analysis shows that governments have failed to deliver on the commitments they made in 2002," said research leader Stuart Butchart, from the UN Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre (Unep-WCMC) and BirdLife International.

"Biodiversity is still being lost as fast as ever, and we have made little headway in reducing the pressures on species, habitats and ecosystems."

Unep chief scientist Joseph Alcamo added: "Since 1970, we have reduced animal populations by 30%, the area of mangroves and seagrasses by 20% and the coverage of living corals by 40%.

"These losses are clearly unsustainable."

Growing gap

The study combined more than 30 indicators of how species and ecosystems are changing.

These encompass plants and animals from land and sea.

Very few of the indicators gave any hint that biodiversity loss was decreasing at all.

Meanwhile, measures of threat - such as loss of habitat, climate change and colonisation by harmful non-native species - were virtually all increasing.

Policies to restrict the threats to biodiversity are simply not up to the job, the authors argue.

"Although nations have put in place some significant policies to slow biodiversity declines, these have been woefully inadequate, and the gap between the pressures on biodiversity and the responses is getting ever wider," said Dr Butchart.

While about 12% of land is now under some kind of protection, not all of it is effectively managed.

And less than 1% of the world's oceans is protected.

'No excuse'

Conservationists hope that laying the sheer scale of the issue before governments will induce them to take tougher steps in the near future.

"We can no longer use the excuse that we don't know enough about the loss of diversity of life on our planet," said Jean-Christophe Vie, deputy head of the Species Programme at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

"The role of governments is paramount; but the magnitude and rate of loss of biodiversity means that everyone, from individuals to businesses, must act now to save all life on Earth before we reach breaking point."

Governments will review their failure to meet the 2010 target, and probably set new ones, at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) summit in Nagoya, Japan, in October.

New targets are likely to be directed at stemming the threats to biodiversity, such as unsustainable agriculture, pollution and the growing scale of cities and transport networks.

"World leaders faced the economic crisis head on," noted Simon Stuart, head of IUCN's Species Survival Commission.

"We need that same level of investment and commitment for the environment."

World governments fail to deliver on 2010 biodiversity target
UNEP 29 Apr 10;

Cambridge (United Kingdom), 29 April 2010- World leaders have failed to deliver commitments made in 2002 to reduce the global rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, and have instead overseen alarming biodiversity declines. These findings are the result of a new paper published in the leading journal Science and represent the first assessment of how the targets made through the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have not been met.

Compiling over 30 indicators – measures of different aspects of biodiversity, including changes in species' populations and risk of extinction, habitat extent and community composition – the study found no evidence for a significant reduction in the rate of decline of biodiversity, and that the pressures facing biodiversity continue to increase. The synthesis provides overwhelming evidence that the 2010 target has not been achieved.

"Our analysis shows that governments have failed to deliver on the commitments they made in 2002: biodiversity is still being lost as fast as ever, and we have made little headway in reducing the pressures on species, habitats and ecosystems", said Dr Stuart Butchart, of the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre and BirdLife International, and the paper's lead author.

"Our data show that 2010 will not be the year that biodiversity loss was halted, but it needs to be the year in which we start taking the issue seriously and substantially increase our efforts to take care of what is left of our planet."

The indicators included in the study were developed and synthesised through the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership – a collaboration of over 40 international organisations and agencies developing global biodiversity indicators and the leading source of information on trends in global biodiversity.

"Since 1970, we have reduced animal populations by 30%, the area of mangroves and sea grasses by 20% and the coverage of living corals by 40%", said the United Nations Environment Programme's Chief Scientist Prof Joseph Alcamo. "These losses are clearly unsustainable, since biodiversity makes a key contribution to human well-being and sustainable development, as recognised by the UN Millennium Development Goals."

The results from this study feed into Global Biodiversity Outlook 3, the flagship publication of the CBD, to be released in Nairobi on May 10th, when government representatives from around the world will meet to discuss the 2010 target and how to address the biodiversity crisis.

"Although nations have put in place some significant policies to slow biodiversity declines, these have been woefully inadequate, and the gap between the pressures on biodiversity and the responses is getting ever wider", said Dr Butchart.

The study recognised that there have been some important local or national successes in tackling biodiversity loss, including the designation of many protected areas (e.g. the 20,000 km2 Juruena National Park in Brazil), the recovery of particular species (e.g. European Bison) and the prevention of some extinctions (e.g. Black Stilt of New Zealand).

But despite these encouraging achievements, efforts to address the loss of biodiversity need to be substantially strengthened, and sustained investment in coherent global biodiversity monitoring and indicators is essential to track and improve the effectiveness of these responses.

"While many responses have been in the right direction, the relevant policies have been inadequately targeted, implemented and funded. Above all, biodiversity concerns must be integrated across all parts of government and business, and the economic value of biodiversity needs to be accounted for adequately in decision making. Only then will we be able to address the problem", said Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Notes to Editors:

Journal article: Butchart S et al (2010) "Global Biodiversity: Indicators of Recent Declines" Science Vol XXX Pages XXX.

Copies of the Science paper may be received from the AAAS Office of Public Programs. Tel.: +1-202-326-6440; E-mail: scipak@aaas.org

The coauthors represent the following institutions: United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, BirdLife International, Institute of Zoology (Zoological Society of London), Statistics Netherlands,, The University of North Carolina, IUCN, Conservation International, United Nations Environment Programme Global Environment Monitoring System, IUCN Species Survival Commission, IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Global Footprint Network, University of Virginia, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research Environment – ISPRA, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, European Bird Census Council, University of Queensland, University of Cambridge, National Center for Atmospheric Research, WWF International, Centre for Invasion Biology and Cape Research Centre (South African National Parks), UNESCO, TRAFFIC International, University of British Columbia, National Centre for Biological Sciences (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research), The Nature Conservancy, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, American Bird Conservancy, Stellenbosch University, University of Bath, and the Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort.

The 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (www.twentyten.net) is a global initiative to track progress towards achieving the "2010 biodiversity target" to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. It is co-ordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), based in Cambridge, UK, with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The 2010 BIP is a collaboration of over 40 international organisations and agencies developing global biodiversity indicators and is the leading source of information on trends in global biodiversity. The three main objectives of the 2010 BIP are: to generate information on biodiversity trends that is useful to decision makers; to ensure improved global biodiversity indicators are implemented and available; and to establish links between biodiversity initiatives at the regional and national levels to enable capacity building and improve the delivery of the biodiversity indicators. 2010 BIP Partners are Biodiversity International, BirdLife International, CITES Secretariat, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, Global Footprint Network, Global Invasive Species Programme, International Nitrogen Initiative, International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), The Nature Conservancy, TRAFFIC International, United Nations Global Environment Monitoring System Water Programme (UNEP GEMS/Water), United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), University of Queensland, Wetlands International, World Health Organization, WWF, Zoological Society of London. Associate Indicator Partners: Alliance for Zero Extinction, Conservation International, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), NatureServe, Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, Sapienze Universita di Roma, Terralingua. Affiliates: ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Programme (CBMP), Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Countdown 2010, ECORA, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Land Degradation in Drylands (LADA), Nordic Biodiversity Indicators 2010 (NordBio 2010), Streamlining European 2010 Biodiversity Indicators (SEBI2010), Tebtebba Foundation, The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Tour du Valat, United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment & Health (UNU-INWEH), Water Footprint Network.

UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre is the biodiversity assessment and biodiversity policy support arm of the United Nations Environment Programme, the world's foremost intergovernmental environmental organisation. The Centre has been in operation for over 25 years, providing objective, scientifically rigorous products and services to help decision makers recognise the value of biodiversity and apply this knowledge to all that they do. The Centre's core business is locating data about biodiversity and its conservation, interpreting and analysing that data to provide assessments and policy analysis, and making the results available to both national and international decision makers and businesses.

BirdLife International is a global alliance of conservation organisations working in more than 100 countries and territories that, together, are the leading authority on the status of birds, their habitats and the issues and problems affecting them.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) , established in 1972, is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system. UNEP acts as a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote the wise use and sustainable development of the global environment. To accomplish this, UNEP works with a wide range of partners, including United Nations entities, international organisations, national governments non-governmental organisations, the private sector and civil society.

Global Environment Facility (GEF) , established in 1991, unites 178 countries in partnership with international institutions, non-government organisations and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. Today the GEF is the largest funding organisation of projects to improve the global environment. An independent financial organisation, the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants. Since 1991, GEF has achieved a strong track record with developing countries and countries with economies in transition, providing US$8.3 billion in grants and leveraging US$33.7 billion in co-financing for over than 2,200 projects in more than 165 countries.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and entering into force in December 1993, the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits from utilization of genetic resources. With 193 Parties, the Convention has near universal participation among countries committed to preserving life on Earth. The Convention seeks to address all threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services, including threats from climate change, through scientific assessments, the development of tools, incentives and processes, the transfer of technologies and good practices and the full and active involvement of relevant stakeholders including indigenous and local communities, youth, NGOs, women and the business community.

2010 International Year of Biodiversity The United Nations declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) to raise awareness about the crucial importance of biodiversity, to communicate the human costs of biodiversity loss, and to engage people, particularly youth, throughout the world in the fight to protect all life on Earth. Initiatives will be organized throughout the year to disseminate information, promote the protection of biodiversity and encourage countries, organizations, and individuals to take direct action to reduce biodiversity loss. The focal point for the year is the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. www.cbd.int/2010/welcome/

For more information please contact:

For interview requests contact Martin Fowlie at BirdLife International in Cambridge, UK: tel. +44 (0)1223 279813 martin.fowlie@birdlife.org

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