Mexico, Germany urges action on climate change

Verena Schmitt-roschmann, Associated Press Yahoo News 2 May 10;

KOENIGSWINTER, Germany – With the fight against global warming in serious trouble, Germany and Mexico are calling on world leaders to get international negotiations back on track and reach concrete results by the end of the year.

"We need to show the world how serious the threat is," Mexican President Felipe Calderon said as he opened an international climate change conference in Germany on Sunday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also spoke at the opening of the conference co-hosted by both countries and aimed at laying the groundwork for the next U.N. conference on climate change, asked nations around the world for more ambition in their efforts to cut greenhouse gases.

While scientists believe global temperatures must not rise by more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial times, the world is now headed for a 3 to 4 degree increase, Merkel said.

"We have to realize that we have quite a long way to go to reach the 2-degree-goal," Merkel said. "Therefore we have to ascertain how we can reach our goals nonetheless."

Mexico will host the next U.N. conference on climate change in Cancun in December, the first such high-level summit after the troubled U.N. conference in Copenhagen five months ago.

Germany has long presented itself as a driving force in the international efforts to curb global warming and came up with the idea of a "mid-term" meeting.

Both countries invited ministers and representatives from around 45 countries for informal talks on the Petersberg up above Koenigswinter.

The three-day conference called the Petersberg Dialogue hopes to make some progress on details, but most of all build trust between poor and rich nations, Calderon said.

He said the conference could produce a "clear message, this will be the signal whether it will be possible to reach a uniform agreement."

Nations around the world agreed in 2007 to negotiate a new international treaty to fight global warming which scientists say has already started to cause some alarming changes such as droughts, flooding or heavier storms.

A treaty was originally hoped for in Copenhagen, but that meeting produced less than expected.

President Barack Obama and a few dozen other major players drafted the so-called Copenhagen Accord, which includes the 2-degree-goal and an immediate $30 billion three-year aid package for poorer nations.

However, the accord failed to gain full support at the summit, as some smaller countries felt left out in the process and were unhappy with the results of closed-door negotiations.

German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said the Petersberg meeting is designed to work intensely on some sticking points and to build trust among those who eventually have to work with each other on the U.N. level.

To have something to show for even while the negotiating is going on, nations should agree on concrete projects to curb greenhouse gas emissions or to adapt to climate change, he said.

Calderon and Merkel said one of the areas that could see some progress in Cancun was the fight against deforestation.

Mexico's president stressed that saving forests could help fight poverty at the same time as it would give residents an income.

Since Copenhagen, momentum in the drive to control global warming has slowed in some countries. The U.S. has not tackled its domestic energy bill; and Australia — one of the world's biggest per capita polluters — put off for as long as two years legislation setting up carbon trading.

Roettgen has said his country and others have not given up on striking a deal at the U.N. climate summit in Cancun Nov. 29-Dec. 10.

'Trust' lacking in stalled climate talks: Merkel, Calderon
Marlowe Hood Sun Yahoo News 2 May 10;

BONN (AFP) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel Sunday urged world environment ministers "to find a basis of trust" before the next UN meet in Cancun, recalling the near-collapse of the Copenhagen climate summit.

"One thing that did not work well in Copenhagen is that a small circle met and the regional groups felt left out of the debate," she said as delegates from some 45 countries convened to breathe life into stalled climate talks.

"A preparatory job before Cancun will be to find a basis of trust for all countries that will be present in Cancun so that no one feels left out," Merkel told the assembled ministers and negotiators.

Many of the 194 nations in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have not backed the Copenhagen Accord, complaining that it was hammered out at the last minute behind closed doors by a handful of powerful economies led by China and the United States.

The contested accord calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions enough to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), but does not share out responsibility for reaching that goal.

Merkel pointed out that voluntary pledges currently registered in the accord put Earth on track for a 3.5 C or even a 4.0 C jump by 2100, far above the widely held threshold for dangerous warming.

She also sought to allay fears that forums such as the so-called Petersberg Climate Dialogue -- unfolding over the next two days outside Bonn -- could clash with the UN talks.

"There is no alternative to the UN process ... In the end all of this has to go into one UN process," she said.

The two-and-a-half day meeting -- the highest-level climate gathering since the December fiasco -- was jointly launched by Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who will host the UN conference in Cancun starting in late November.

Calderon likewise emphasised the need for building trust, especially in the issue of finance for poor countries bracing for the ravages of global warming.

The Copenhagen Accord called for 30 billion dollars up to the end of 2012, to be scaled up to 100 billion dollars annually by 2020.

"This atmosphere of trust is something we really need to make use of for the 'fast track' financing," he told the ministers Sunday evening. "2010 is the year when we need to take action."

Just how hard that may be was laid bare in Bonn only weeks ago at the first meeting since Copenhagen of the 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 suspicion.

Also on Sunday, German environment Norbert Roettgen said the European Union should unilaterally raise its target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 20 to 30 percent by 2020.

"The EU has to push to 30 percent to create confidence -- it's one way to create credibility with the developed countries," said Switzerland's top climate negotiator, Jose Romero.

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

"The politics of getting a full-blown treaty are still very divided," said Alden Meyer, a climate policy analyst at the Washington-based Union for Concerned Scientists.

Industrialised countries bound by the Kyoto Protocol to slash their carbon pollution say emerging giants such as China and India must take on binding, if lesser, commitments too.

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.

But Calderon called on rapidly developing nations -- already among the world's top emitters of CO2 -- to play a bigger role.

"Until now we spoke about different responsibilities," he said, alluding to a cardinal principle underlying the climate Convention. "Now we have to see that it is really a joint responsibility."

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Best of our wild blogs: 2 May 10

Stunning Cyrene at Sunrise
from wild shores of singapore

My first Hantu guided walk
from wonderful creation

May Day Palm Tree Inspection
from Life's Indulgences

Can all birds be tamed and will they stay tame?
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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'Skyrise greenery' reaching new heights in Singapore

Architects report growing demand for green spaces on rooftops and decks
Shuli Sudderuddin and Debby Kwong, Straits Times 2 May 10;

More building owners are going to great heights - such as the rooftop - to go green.

This trend has the official nod. The Government hopes to see some 50ha of such 'skyrise greenery' by 2030, architects say.

The concept refers to greenery integrated into building structures, like rooftops, walls and sky terraces. It can make a skyline striking when it adorns high-rise blocks.

While there are no figures on how much skyrise greenery there is now, architects say they are getting more requests for their designs to incorporate the concept.

A Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects spokesman said that, given the land scarcity and competition for space, 'the logical solution is to integrate greenery onto built structures, for instance, on roofs, skyrise decks and even building facades'.

There are even annual awards, jointly organised by the Singapore Institute of Architects and National Parks Board (NParks), to promote and recognise the greening of high-rise developments.

Known as the Skyrise Greenery Awards, this year's awards - the third edition - were open for submissions last month.

Said Mr Tai Lee Siang, a director at DP Architects: 'Skyrise greenery is a trend here due to the high density of our developments, where green spaces are desirable and it is insufficient to depend only on ground-level green space.'

Mr Vincent Koo, managing director of DCA Architects, which designed the greenery at One George Street office building, said it also uses skyrise greenery for its other projects like Reflections at Keppel Bay and Marina Bay Residences.

The 23-storey One George Street, in South Bridge Road, won a Skyrise Greenery Award in 2008.

Mr Ng Cheow Kheng, assistant director of Streetscape (Projects) for NParks, said even schools are introducing greenery in their buildings.

He said skyrise greenery can have benefits such as improving air quality by absorbing airborne particles, reducing energy cooling costs and increasing property values.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and NParks have a series of incentives to promote skyrise greenery.

The URA's Lush (Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises) programme encourages developers of high-rise buildings to incorporate greenery from the ground level upwards.

NParks' Green Roof Incentive Scheme encourages owners of existing buildings to green their rooftops.

Malls, too, are heeding the call.

DLQ Design director Lena Quek said DLQ was commissioned to design two sky gardens, with trees and water plants, for the Orchard Central mall. Its design won the first prize in the Skyrise Greenery Awards last year.

VivoCity won an award for its rooftop garden designed by DP Architects in 2008.

DP Architects' senior associate, Mr Paul Appasamy, said many condominium projects being built and launched have sky terraces, as do office buildings in the heart of the Central Business District, such as NTUC Tower in Collyer Quay.

Even Sri Geylang Serai, a public housing development, now has a landscaped deck area on the roof of its multistorey carpark.

Said a Singapore Institute of Architects spokesman: 'People will want to live or work amid well-designed and well-implemented skyrise greenery, therefore it does enhance the value of the property.'

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New Malaysian think-tank to study low carbon development

On the carbon footprint trail
New Straits Times 1 May 10;

THE Centre for Environment, Technology and Development, Malaysia (Cetdem) will study low carbon development once it establishes a think tank by the end of the year.

"Many people are talking about low carbon development so we want to see how we can do this in Malaysia," says Cetdem chairman Gurmit Singh. He revealed this at a press conference to announce the initiatives the organisation is taking after 25 years of existence.

For the next 25 years, Cetdem will be looking at, among others, expanding the scope of its work by setting up a think tank -- which will function as a section within the organisation -- that will examine sustainable development issues.

"Currently there is no think tank dedicated to environmental issues," says Gurmit, adding that it will work on long-term programmes on sustainable solutions, especially through the marriage of sustainable development and green technology.

The closest equivalent, he adds, is the Institute for Environment and Development (or its Malay acronym, Lestari), under Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, which does research and capacity building in sustainable development.

This is why Cetdem feels there is a need for an independent think tank in Malaysia and is looking at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research as a possible model.

The organisation is now trying to raise the RM1 million needed to set up and run the think tank for the first four years.

Only then would it start identifying the core researchers to manage the think tank and possible collaborators to work with.

"It will study issues related to energy and environment, especially low carbon economy and development," says Gurmit.

Countries around the world are seeking to become low carbon economies -- which have minimal output of greenhouse gas, specifically carbon dioxide -- to try and mitigate global warming.

Cetdem was founded in 1985 as an independent, non-profit, training, research, consultancy, referral and development organisation.

In its existence, it has sought to demonstrate sustainable solutions on environmental issues in the Malaysian context. It has worked at the community, public and professional levels in energy efficiency, sustainable farming and sustainable transportation.

Aside from the establishment of the think tank and sustaining its current work on energy, climate change and organic farming, Cetdem will be deepening its work on transportation issues; venturing into addressing water issues and developing innovative ideas on the use of green and sustainable technology beyond the National Green Technology Policy.

Under its sustainable farming programme, Cetdem had operated the first organic farm from 1986 to 1996, contributed to the development of Malaysian Organic Farming standard and certification scheme, organised exhibitions, short courses, farm visits and projects such as the Community Initiative on Household Waste Composting in Petaling Jaya as well as run the Organic Farming Community Centre.

Hari Organik, an event Cetdem has been organising every three to four months since last year, has been gaining popularity since its inception.

"I noticed more Malay families had turned up for the latest one recently," says Organic Farming Project coordinator Tan Siew Luang, adding that it is an encouraging sign that more are becoming aware of the benefits of organic food and healthy living.

In a Learning Curve article titled The Organic Crowd (Oct 11, 2009), it was noted that the majority of the visitors to Hari Organik were ethnically Chinese.

Cetdem executive director Anthony Tan had attributed this occurrence to the media that had promoted the event (primarily a Chinese language radio station) and the venue itself (Section 19 -- where the event is held -- together with its neighbours SS2 and Sections 14 and 17 are mostly populated by Chinese).

Activities in this area will continue under the Organic Farming Community Centre in Section 19, which acts as a model for keeping an organic farm in an urban environment.

Cetdem also intends to conduct a baseline study of all the state capitals' public transport ridership, mobilise an awareness campaign to motivate people to use better public transport and lobby the new Land Public Transport Commission to improve the quality of public transportation.

After three years, it aims to assess the impact of these measures.

"We've heard that public transport ridership in Malaysia is only 17 per cent, while some claim it's 30 per cent.

"But we don't know where these figures come from," says Gurmit.

Cetdem will also be tackling the National Green Technology Policy, which Gurmit says does not really examine the role or the promotion of clean technologies, or pollution prevention technologies, and to look at cradle to cradle technologies -- where products can be used and later disassembled to be reused in other ways.

The organisation also wants to tackle unresolved water issues, such as whether Malaysians are optimally utilising their water resources for end use in various areas and if the current method of repairing water pipes is the most efficient.

Whatever it undertakes, Cetdem strives to put into practice sustainable solutions that can be duplicated.

"The biggest drawback with many activities in Malaysia is that there is there is a lot of awareness building but no follow-up and no practical solutions that people can adopt," says Tan, adding this is where Cetdem is different.

And that is one of the strengths that Cetdem will use in its growth in coming years.

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Increased Enforcement is Cheapest Way To Save Southeast Asia´s Coral Reefs From Blast Fishing

World Sentinel 1 May 10;

Washington D.C. -- A new study analyzing the destruction of Southeast Asia´s coral reefs by blast fishing finds that an ounce of prevention is indeed better than a pound of cure. The authors of the study in the journal Conservation Letters find that using marine patrols and enforcement to prevent blast fishing can be 70 times more cost-effective than rebuilding those reefs after the damage is done.

Blast fishing, an illegal practice in which home-made bombs are detonated into schools of fish for easy collection, leaves large areas of broken coral rubble that are unlikely to recover naturally.

The result is severe impacts on biodiversity and habitat for other fish because it kills both target and non-target fish and shatters coral skeletons. It also often injures and maims those doing the fishing when the home-made bombs malfunction. Blast fishing has been practiced in Southeast Asia since World War II despite regulations in most countries prohibiting it.

In recent years many have tried to rebuild damaged reefs with artificial "reef balls," concrete structures, coral transplantation and electric fields, the authors write. But the long-term effectiveness of these rebuilding efforts is unproven and they are not as effective as protecting centuries-old undamaged reefs from damage in the first place. In terms of cost, the authors found that prevention is anywhere from 5-70 times more cost-effective than rehabilitation using locally quarried rocks as a base for regrowing corals, depending on the calculations used.

"There are few if any methods of coral reef rehabilitation that are economically feasible at large scale or for developing nations." said Helen Fox, World Wildlife Fund Marine Conservation Scientist and the corresponding author of the study. "The million dollar question is whether to invest limited conservation funds in prevention of damage or repair of damage to coral reefs and it appears that prevention through increased enforcement is the answer in this case."

Coral reefs are among the most diverse and most threatened ecosystems on the planet – 19 percent of the world´s reefs are non-functional and in Southeast Asia 40 percent are non-functional. Most marine protected areas are underfunded and marine patrols often have few boats and thousands of square miles of ocean to protect from illegal activities such as blast fishing.

This is one of the first studies to quantifiably examine the cost-effectiveness of various management options for coral reefs. The findings could significantly affect policies not only on coral reef protection but also on the protection of other habitats.

The study was authored by experts from World Wildlife Fund, the University of Maryland, Purdue University, The Nature Conservancy and People and Nature Consulting International. It can be read in full here.

The study site was Indonesia´s Komodo National Park, which is in a region known as The Coral Triangle. This vast area of the Indo-Pacific region harbors 75 percent of all known coral species, more than half of the world´s reefs, 40 percent of the world's coral reef fish species, and six of the world´s seven species of marine turtle.

Komodo itself has over 200 species of reef- building corals but they are under threat. Half of Komodo´s 4200 acres of coral reefs had been damaged by blast fishing by the mid-1990s. Since enforcement efforts began in 1996 with the help of The Nature Conservancy blast fishing has decreased by 80 percent to 100 percent. Locals and dive operators report blast fishers to police, and "floating ranger stations" are supported by speedboats to pursue blast fishers.

TNC also began rehabilitation of damaged reefs using locally quarried rocks as a base for regrowing corals in large rubble fields. The efforts were mostly successful, resulting in the growth of both hard and soft corals in the rehabilitation areas.

The costs for both enforcement and rehabilitation were then analyzed: to patrol the Park adequately for seven years would cost $1,122,953 while the cost to install rock piles in all the damaged coral reef habitat of Komodo National Park would be $40,800,000, or about $10,000 per acre. Despite this price tag, this method is among the cheapest; others have costs that range from $32,000 per acre to $247 million per acre.

"Our study clearly shows that in this case for coral reefs, spending the money upfront on enforcement is far cheaper and in the long run, is better for the long-term health of reefs and the species that rely on them, including humans," Fox said. "In addition, research on how to increase management effectiveness and compliance with regulations could yield high dividends."

The authors recommend that along with increased enforcement, conservationists and park staff should promote community education and alternative livelihoods to blast fishing, such as seaweed farming and sustainable fishing.

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Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe

The world may be on the brink of biological disaster after news that a third of US bee colonies did not survive the winter
Alison Benjamin, The Guardian 2 May 10

Disturbing evidence that honeybees are in terminal decline has emerged from the United States where, for the fourth year in a row, more than a third of colonies have failed to survive the winter.

The decline of the country's estimated 2.4 million beehives began in 2006, when a phenomenon dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD) led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies. Since then more than three million colonies in the US and billions of honeybees worldwide have died and scientists are no nearer to knowing what is causing the catastrophic fall in numbers.

The number of managed honeybee colonies in the US fell by 33.8% last winter, according to the annual survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the US government's Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

The collapse in the global honeybee population is a major threat to crops. It is estimated that a third of everything we eat depends upon honeybee pollination, which means that bees contribute some £26bn to the global economy.

Potential causes range from parasites, such as the bloodsucking varroa mite, to viral and bacterial infections, pesticides and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods. The disappearance of so many colonies has also been dubbed "Mary Celeste syndrome" due to the absence of dead bees in many of the empty hives.

US scientists have found 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax and pollen, lending credence to the notion that pesticides are a key problem. "We believe that some subtle interactions between nutrition, pesticide exposure and other stressors are converging to kill colonies," said Jeffery Pettis, of the ARS's bee research laboratory.

A global review of honeybee deaths by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) reported last week that there was no one single cause, but pointed the finger at the "irresponsible use" of pesticides that may damage bee health and make them more susceptible to diseases. Bernard Vallat, the OIE's director-general, warned: "Bees contribute to global food security, and their extinction would represent a terrible biological disaster."

Dave Hackenberg of Hackenberg Apiaries, the Pennsylvania-based commercial beekeeper who first raised the alarm about CCD, said that last year had been the worst yet for bee losses, with 62% of his 2,600 hives dying between May 2009 and April 2010. "It's getting worse," he said. "The AIA survey doesn't give you the full picture because it is only measuring losses through the winter. In the summer the bees are exposed to lots of pesticides. Farmers mix them together and no one has any idea what the effects might be."

Pettis agreed that losses in some commercial operations are running at 50% or greater. "Continued losses of this magnitude are not economically sustainable for commercial beekeepers," he said, adding that a solution may be years away. "Look at Aids, they have billions in research dollars and a causative agent and still no cure. Research takes time and beehives are complex organisms."

In the UK it is still too early to judge how Britain's estimated 250,000 honeybee colonies have fared during the long winter. Tim Lovett, president of the British Beekeepers' Association, said: "Anecdotally, it is hugely variable. There are reports of some beekeepers losing almost a third of their hives and others losing none." Results from a survey of the association's 15,000 members are expected this month.

John Chapple, chairman of the London Beekeepers' Association, put losses among his 150 members at between a fifth and a quarter. Eight of his 36 hives across the capital did not survive. "There are still a lot of mysterious disappearances," he said. "We are no nearer to knowing what is causing them."

Bee farmers in Scotland have reported losses on the American scale for the past three years. Andrew Scarlett, a Perthshire-based bee farmer and honey packer, lost 80% of his 1,200 hives this winter. But he attributed the massive decline to a virulent bacterial infection that quickly spread because of a lack of bee inspectors, coupled with sustained poor weather that prevented honeybees from building up sufficient pollen and nectar stores.

The government's National Bee Unit has always denied the existence of CCD in Britain, despite honeybee losses of 20% during the winter of 2008-09 and close to a third the previous year. It attributes the demise to the varroa mite – which is found in almost every UK hive – and rainy summers that stop bees foraging for food.

In a hard-hitting report last year, the National Audit Office suggested that amateur beekeepers who failed to spot diseases in bees were a threat to honeybees' survival and called for the National Bee Unit to carry out more inspections and train more beekeepers. Last summer MPs on the influential cross-party public accounts committee called on the government to fund more research into what it called the "alarming" decline of honeybees.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has contributed £2.5m towards a £10m fund for research on pollinators. The public accounts committee has called for a significant proportion of this funding to be "ring-fenced" for honeybees. Decisions on which research projects to back are expected this month.
WHY BEES MATTER

Flowering plants require insects for pollination. The most effective is the honeybee, which pollinates 90 commercial crops worldwide. As well as most fruits and vegetables – including apples, oranges, strawberries, onions and carrots – they pollinate nuts, sunflowers and oil-seed rape. Coffee, soya beans, clovers – like alfafa, which is used for cattle feed – and even cotton are all dependent on honeybee pollination to increase yields.

In the UK alone, honeybee pollination is valued at £200m. Mankind has been managing and transporting bees for centuries to pollinate food and produce honey, nature's natural sweetener and antiseptic. Their extinction would mean not only a colourless, meatless diet of cereals and rice, and cottonless clothes, but a landscape without orchards, allotments and meadows of wildflowers – and the collapse of the food chain that sustains wild birds and animals.

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Best of our wild blogs: 1 May 10

Observation Notes on the Behaviour of Two Genera of Butterflies from Butterflies of Singapore

Bunnies Everywhere @ Changi Shore
from colourful clouds and wild shores of singapore

Saddening sight.... at Changi
from Psychedelic Nature

Our first fundraiser!
from Cicada Tree Eco-Place

Nesting of the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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More say Singapore a great place to live

Survey shows rise in satisfaction, sense of belonging
Joyce Teo, Straits Times 1 May 10;

READ blogs and other media and you can get the impression that we are always whining about our lot. Yet, a new survey shows just the opposite - that Singapore is a much-loved home to its people and foreigners with a growing sense of belonging.

In fact the levels of satisfaction are growing, indicating that efforts to remake the place into a more vibrant city are having real effects at ground level.

The latest lifestyle survey by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), out yesterday, asked 4,000 people - mostly Singaporeans but also foreigners and permanent residents - about this place they call home.

It was carried out from August last year to March this year.

More than 80per cent of Singaporeans and permanent residents agreed that this is a great place in which to live, work and play.

This is 10per cent up on satisfaction levels in a 2006 survey - a smaller-scale public perception survey, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.

Foreigners are even keener, with more than 85per cent raising their glasses to Singapore.

Mr Mah told the URA Corporate Plan Seminar yesterday that close to 90per cent of respondents said Singapore was their home and where they belonged, up 20 percentage points from the 2006 survey.

'The survey results are showing a positive trend - that Singaporeans love their city more,' said Mr Mah.

The survey data will be used for the ongoing Concept Plan 2011 review, which maps out Singapore's long-term land use strategies and directions.

'With our new hardware in place, we need to look beyond the physical, to search for the 'soul' of our city, and work towards enhancing it,' added Mr Mah.

Soul is not easy to find, however, as DP Architects director Tai Lee Siang told The Straits Times.

'It requires both the hardware and software working in unison - not one after another. While the skyline and architectural environment (here) are becoming exciting, I can't say that there are many spaces that Singaporeans can occupy and call their own.'

As a start, the Government will put more effort into 'making places', or place management, so that key areas of the city can be activated, Mr Mah said.

This is already happening at Marina Bay and will occur at the Singapore River, Orchard Road, the Bras Basah and Bugis precinct, and historic districts.

The URA will soon call a tender for a consultancy to formulate a five-year plan to work with stakeholders to develop the Singapore River precinct.

Mr Mah identified three key ingredients - the three 'Ps' - that are needed to make a place vibrant and distinctive.

The first is planning for land use, a major concern of Singapore residents, as the URA survey revealed.

They fear the physical landscape changes too fast and that Singapore does not keep enough familiar buildings and places.

The URA has increased the number of conserved buildings and structures from 3,000 or so to about 7,000 over the past two decades but conservation is challenging in a land-scarce nation, said Mr Mah.

'For each potential conservation site, there is a tension between the redevelopment and conservation; it's always a very tough call...'

URA chairman Alan Chan said yesterday: 'In our planning function, we ensure that Singapore's physical development is able to support our population and economic growth in a sustainable manner.'

Mr Mah said the URA will start work in Waterloo Street and Queen Street later this year to make it more pedestrian-friendly and install infrastructure to facilitate street events. About $10million will be spent, with the project finished by early 2012.

Singapore will continue to beef up its hardware but shift focus to the softer aspects of its quality of life, said Mr Mah. This is the second 'P' - programmes.

'What breathes life into a place are the programmes that will in turn, bring in the people,' he said.

'But ultimately, what gives a place its soul is the last 'P', which is people.'

Places only truly come alive when the community uses the spaces to interact and bond, said Mr Mah.

Mr Tai added:'The key to creating a soul is ownership. Singaporeans must feel that they can 'own' the urban spaces in Singapore.'

A Great place to live, work and play
Straits Times 1 May 10;

That's the conclusion of the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) latest lifestyle survey that covered 4,000 respondents, including 398 permanent residents and 395 foreigners. They were interviewed from August last year to March this year. Here are some of the findings

Housing

MOST Singapore residents - 72 per cent - prefer to live in public housing, according to the second URA lifestyle survey.

This is in contrast to the first survey done in 2002-2004 when nearly half said they wanted to own private housing.

HDB four-room flats are the best loved housing type, with nearly 28 per cent of respondents opting for it, followed by five-room flats. Three-room flats, private condos and HDB executive flats are also popular.

Housing cost was the most important consideration in terms of the respondents' choice of location, followed by proximity to public transport and neighbourhood facilities.

Said 38-year-old Nathaniel Koh: 'I aspire to own a piece of private property. But given what I can afford, I would buy a three-room flat if I remain single or a resale four-room flat if I get married.'

The Elderly

THEIR TOP 5 WANTS

# Elderly friendly facilities and amenities within walking distance of home.

# Elderly friendly features at home.

# Affordable housing.

# Adequate subsidies.

# Retirement villages with facilities.

ALMOST 80 per cent of older respondents prefer to stay in regular housing rather than retirement villages or flats for the elderly.

They cited cost as the biggest factor influencing their housing choice, followed by access to public transport and proximity to neighbourhood amenities like wet markets and clinics.

'Not only will the rent for private retirement villages be expensive, when you pass away, you won't have a house to leave for your children,' said Madam Chong, 66, on why she preferred living at home. She did not want to give her full name.

Other factors holding the elderly back from moving into retirement villages are the desire to retain a sense of independence, to age in a familiar environment and to encourage inter-generation interaction.

Respondents also wanted elderly friendly facilities to be provided within walking distance from home.

'I want to stay where I am now,' said Mr Tan Chin Huat, 79.

Conservation

WHILE Singapore is seen as an endearing home, about 73 per cent of respondents feel its physical landscape changes too quickly.

They believe that familiar places contribute strongly to their sense of belonging and should be kept at all costs.

Even more striking, 96.6 per cent of respondents feel that hawker centres should be maintained as a key amenity in our housing estates.

These centres as well as local shops are seen as being important to a neighbourhood's identity.
'The hawker centre represents the easy mixing of all races and it gives us character,' said Mr See Chan Teck, 76.

The poll also found that housing estates have left people with the fondest memories, followed by national icons - Sentosa, Changi Airport, the Esplanade and conservation areas. Conservation areas included Chinatown and Boat Quay.

More than 90 per cent of them feel that greenery contributes strongly to the nation's identity, citing East Coast Park, Botanic Gardens and Bishan Park as places that make Singapore special.

Leisure

THE variety and vibrancy of nightlife is leaving 57 per cent of residents less than satisfied. But 51 per cent, mostly the elderly and parents with young children, were neutral on the issue.

To encourage later nights out, those polled cited extending the hours of public transport and entertainment places as the most important factors.

Singapore's leisure environment scored well with 84 per cent saying they were satisfied, while 92 per cent felt Singapore offered activities they like.

The rest cited mostly outdoor activities, such as skiing, hiking, sky diving and bungee jumping, as activities that were lacking.

Business development officer Jacob Lim, 26, said Singapore lacked the buzz of many other world-class cities like Hong Kong and London.

'It's pretty much the same scene over and over again here. There are only that many places, and even Clarke Quay is getting too crowded,' he said.

'Everything seems planned from the top down - even where the nightlife should be - but you can't plan fun in such a manufactured way.'

Transport

THE allure of the city centre as a work place has faded with more people wanting their offices to be closer to home.

The poll found that 66 per cent of respondents wanted to work in their immediate neighbourhood.

Toiling in the city centre came in a distant second at 13 per cent.

The ease of access to work and its proximity to public transport and home were cited as the top three factors influencing choice of employment location.

With 63 per cent of those polled taking public transport to work, respondents also picked cheaper fares and increased frequency of services as ways to encourage a greater use of buses and trains.

Sales coordinator Tay Mei Fong, 47, said she takes about an hour to get to her work place in Havelock Road from Simei, using the train and public bus.

Her views are similar to the 40 per cent of respondents who take more than 30 minutes to get to their place of employment.

It is no surprise that 69 per cent wanted travel times of under 30 minutes.

'I would definitely prefer working close to home as it would reduce my transport costs, allow me to avoid congestion on the road and also allow me to be able to rush home if there are any emergencies,' Madam Tay said.

Foreigners

FOREIGNERS and Singaporeans said watching TV and movies at home is their top leisure activity.

But while going to a pub or club was the second favourite activity for foreigners, it did not make the top five for Singaporeans.

The survey found that 87.3 per cent of foreigners surveyed agreed that Singapore is a great place to live, work and play in.

Eighty-one per cent also agreed that Singapore is a vibrant and exciting city with its own distinctive character.

What they like most about Singapore are its clean and safe environment and the climate. Nearly nine out of 10 respondents said that greenery contributed to Singapore's identity.

Only about 54 per cent of the foreigners said they were satisfied with the night-life offerings, with a significant proportion neutral on this.

Foreigners showed a strong preference for living in the fringe areas or in the city centre, unlike Singaporeans, who showed no strong preference for any particular region.

About 93 per cent of all foreigners rent their homes.

JOYCE TEO, ESTHER TEO & MARISSA LEE

More satisfied with life in Singapore, next step is to build endearing home
Claire Huang Channel NewsAsia 30 Apr 10;

SINGAPORE: National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan has said the key to creating an endearing home is to develop the city's soul, now that the key infrastructure is in place. He said this on the back of the latest survey findings that more Singaporeans are satisfied with their living, working and leisure environment.

Data collected from the Lifestyle Survey 2009 as well as the Concept Plan 2011 online survey found that the number of people who think Singapore is a great place to live, work and play has gone up by about 10 per cent to 84 per cent, compared with a Public Perception Survey conducted in 2006.

Downtown districts like Bras Basah and Waterloo Street will get special attention from the government. The aim is to make them more vibrant.

Speaking at the URA Corporate Plan Seminar on Friday, Mr Mah said: "Government agencies will put more effort in 'making places', or place management....(What this means is that) you get the stakeholders in the place to also manage the place, to be involved in it so that key areas in the city can be activated.

"We've done so for Marina Bay, we are going to apply place management to Singapore River, to the Orchard Road area, Bras Basah, Bugis and the historic districts."

Place management is part of the plan to develop Singapore's distinctive character to create a more endearing home.

Mr Mah said: "The character of a city, what makes it stand out among many new cities, goes beyond new buildings or iconic structures. Take Times Square, New York and West End, London for example. Their claim to fame is not based on the latest or best infrastructure, but they are distinctive in character and have established a personality of their own in peoples' minds."

Place management appears to be working, going by the findings of the Lifestyle Survey 2009 by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Nine out of every 10 respondents in the survey said that Singapore is their home. That's 20 per cent more than the previous survey.

Meanwhile, seven in 10 wanted to retire here. Similarly, over 70 per cent of them hoped that their future generations will be based in Singapore. The majority would rather live in 4-room HDB flats. Older folks preferred regular housing over HDB studio apartments and retirement villages.

Respondents also said they were willing to pay more for a place that incorporates green technologies.

Respondents added there are areas for improvement, especially in the working environment. More than half (66%) would like to work near their homes.

Many also indicated that they would like to take a shorter time to get to work via public transport. In addition, it was felt that Singapore could do with a more vibrant nightlife.

As for foreigners, more than 80 per cent said Singapore is a vibrant city.

The survey also noted that more than 70 per cent of the respondents thought that Singapore's landscape is changing too quickly. They felt that the government has to keep enough familiar buildings and places at all costs so as to strengthen peoples' sense of belonging.

The URA has more than doubled the number of conserved buildings from 3,000 to 7,000 over the last two decades.

But Mr Mah said conservation is particularly challenging in a land-scarce nation.

"For each potential conservation site, there is a tension between the redevelopment and conservation and we have to weigh the trade-offs. There will be cases where conservation will mean excessive costs to society in terms of financial loss to property owners or serious loss of redevelopment potential," he said.

The Lifestyle Survey 2009 was done over a seven-month period from August 2009 to March 2010 while the Concept Plan 2011 online survey was conducted in January and February this year. The findings will be used to map the long-term directions for Singapore's land use.

- CNA/ir

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ASEAN ministers warn that haze could return in July

Low Mei Mei Channel NewsAsia 30 Apr 10;

SINGAPORE: The haze could return in July if no concrete action is taken to fight the forest fires in Indonesia.

ASEAN environment ministers issued the warning at a meeting on transboundary haze in East Kalimantan, Indonesia on Friday.

The ministers noted that during the current Inter-Monsoon season from May to June, brief dry spells can be expected. This could lead to occasional surges of hotspot activities in the region.

Increased hotspot activities can be expected in the fire-prone areas in the region during the traditional dry season from June to September. This may lead to transboundary smoke haze pollution from July.

Despite the weakening of the El Nino phenomenon, the region experienced an increase in hotspots from March to April, compared with the same period last year.

The ministers agreed to step up vigilance and work harder to prevent and fight land and forest fires.

They also pledged to reduce the number of hotspots by 20 per cent every year.

The ministers noted the progress in the collaboration between Indonesia and Singapore for the Muaro Jambi Regency.

Seven action programmes have been successfully completed under the Jambi Master Plan.

An additional project on Freshwater Aquaculture Training has also been completed while the Jambi Peatland Management Project is ongoing.

Senior officials will meet again in July in Sarawak, Malaysia to review the fire and haze situation, as well as ongoing activities and appropriate action.

- CNA/ir

Fears over haze as hot spots increase
More forest fires in region last month despite wetter weather
Amresh Gunasingham, Straits Times 1 May 10;

FOREST fires increased in the region last month, prompting fears of worsening haze in the months ahead.

Asean environment ministers meeting to discuss the perennial issue yesterday in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, warned that with drier weather looming, action would have to be stepped up against illegal loggers setting fire to the forest.

It came even as Indonesia announced a new haze action plan in which it formally pledged, for the first time, to cut its hot spots by 20 per cent a year over the next decade.

The world's third largest emitter of heat-trapping greenhouse gases sees the curbing of deforestation activities as a key component of its previously announced commitment to cut carbon emissions by 26 per cent by 2020.

But the number of hot spots in the region has increased despite wetter weather in the last few weeks and a predicted weakening of the El Nino weather pattern bringing hotter and drier weather.

Satellite pictures detected 3,166 hot spots in the region over last month, which is higher than the 2,427 detected for the same period last year. Earlier last month, Indonesian weather officials warned periods of severe drought since the start of the year could last till June in parts of East Java, raising the risk of fires.

A spokesman for the National Environment Agency said the dry season here would likely begin next month.

The increased hot spot activity has stoked fears of the haze returning during the traditional burning season between July and September, when farmers and logging companies in Sumatra and Kalimantan take to razing the land.

During the United Nations-led climate talks in Copenhagen last year, Jakarta came under fire from local environmental activists for not doing enough to protect the country's forests. It has also yet to ratify a 2002 Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

Ms Liana Bratasida, Assistant Minister at Indonesia's Ministry of Environment, told The Straits Times late last year that her country's parliamentarians were stalling because of a perceived lack of action by Singapore and Malaysia against illegal logging companies who fuel a demand for timber in both countries.

There have been plenty of rainy days of late, unlike in February, with above average rain in many parts of the island.

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Indonesian Dumai coastal erosion reaches ‘alarming pace’ due to damaged mangroves

Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post 30 Apr 10;

The coast of Dumai in Riau province is facing further coastal erosion due to damage to mangrove swamps, resulting in tides from the Malacca Strait slam against the shore, eroding up to 7 meters of coastline annually.

One of the worst-affected locations is Puak Beach in Teluk Makmur subdistrict in Medang Kampai.

Local community leader M. Nasir Efendi said the land between the coast the main road in the village had receded by more than 250 meters.

“When it was built in 1956, the distance between the road and the coast was around 300 meters, but now, during high tides, seawater reaches some sections of the 5-kilometer road,” Nasir told The Jakarta Post.

He added that residents had repeatedly requested government action to reclaim the coastline to save the village from high tides, but that the local administration had only built a wave barrier.

“What else can we do? The cost of coastal reclamation is too high, but residents still hope a dam will be built along the whole coast,” he said, adding that currently, only on a small stretch of the coast had a dam.

Nasir estimates that Teluk Makmur subdistrict would be washed away in the next 15 years without immediate action.

“If the rate of abrasion is on average 5 meters annually, the sea would reach the village in the next 10 years,” he said.

Dumai Environmental Agency head Zulfa Indra said the pace of coastal erosion in Dumai had reached an alarming level.

Apart from eroding land, he added that the waves could also extend the cliffs along the coast up to two meters inland.

Coastal erosion is not limited to Teluk Makmur subdistrict, he said. The coast along Pelintung Industrial Zone is also undergoing rapid erosion. “A large part of the mangrove swamps that previously served as a coastal barrier have vanished,” he said.

“Changes in land use have caused widespread mangrove forest destruction.

“Mangrove swamps still remain in a number of locations, but they are still young and require special care and supervision,” he added.

Zulfa said his agency faced difficulties curbing the pace of coastal erosion due to limited funds.

Last year, he said, the Dumai city budget allocated only Rp 3 billion (US$330,000) to maintain coastal areas, forcing the agency to postpone coastal barrier projects in a number of locations.

“The available funds won’t cover the length of coast that need to be protected from the waves,” Zulfa said.

He expressed hope that the Dumai municipality would approve the Rp 5 billion budget proposed by his agency for coastal maintenance this year, adding that the funds would be used to continue delayed projects and mangrove reforestation carried out over the past year.

“The budget approval very much determines the pace of mitigation efforts of coastal erosion that has threatened the lives of local people,” he said.

Zulfa said his agency had replanted 10,000 mangrove seedlings in a number of areas prone to coastal erosion, of which only 60 percent would survive, while the rest are expected to die or be swept away by waves.

“Only mature plants can survive the pace of erosion, that’s why we still need maintenance funds for the next several years to ensure the young plants continue to thrive.

“Young mangrove trees cannot mature naturally in current conditions as they could be swept away by waves.

“These young trees are also prone to forest clearing, so they must be tended to and supervised,” he said.

Nasir estimates that Teluk Makmur subdistrict would be washed away in the next 15 years without immediate action.

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Trillions in Forestry Losses Due to Corruption: ICW

Jakarta Globe 30 Apr 10;

Trillions of rupiah has been lost from state coffers as a direct result of corruption and mismanagement in the forestry sector, a leading graft watchdog has said.

“We estimated the shortfall to forestry revenue in Riau province alone from 2002 to 2006 was Rp 1.855 trillion [$205.9 million],” Anggita Tampubolon, a researcher at Indonesia Corruption Watch, said on Friday.

This translates to average annual losses in Riau of Rp 371 billion over the period.

ICW based its calculation on comparisons between official deforestation estimates and production estimates.

Firdaus Ilyas, budget analysis monitoring coordinator for ICW, said the potential losses across the nation were far greater.

“This data comes from just one province,” he said, “and could be duplicated across the country.”

ICW’s finding eclipses recent research by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) said losses from Riau’s forestry sector between 2008 and 2009 amounted to Rp 491 million.

The audit factored in illegal mining in forests, unauthorized issuance of concessions, zoning violations, underreporting of forestry earnings, failure to collect on those earnings and embezzlement.

To combat graft, ICW recommended an overhaul of policy to grant concessions, greater transparency in forestry earnings, improved revenue collection and more stringent law enforcement.

“The government needs to seriously follow up on reports like the BPK’s or from local communities,” Firdaus said.

Meanwhile, Wirendro Sumargo, executive director of Forest Watch Indonesia, said ICW’s report did not take into account the vast losses on top of the shortfall to state coffers.

“The ecological cost itself is much higher than that — about Rp 2 trillion,” he said. “You need to take into account the environmental services or biodiversity lost as well.”

Wirendro said combating corruption in the sector would not be easy. “It won’t be apparent on the perpetrators’ bank accounts because of the nature of how they work,” he said. “Most perpetrators just get an administrative slap on the wrist and never face corruption charges.”

ICW’s Anggita acknowledged the difficulty, but said the BPK’s audit opened the way for strong action to be taken. “The audit revealed losses to the state, and under the corruption law that’s grounds for prosecution,” she said. 

Antara, JG

Old Logging Cases to Get New Look
Jakarta Globe 30 Apr 10;

The Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force is likely to probe several illegal logging cases halted by police or prosecutors, including the controversial acquittal of businessman Adelin Lis, an official said on Friday.

“Many cases will now likely be re-examined for the possibility that they were not properly handled,” task force secretary Denny Indrayana said after meeting North Sumatra Police Chief Insp. Gen. Oegroseno and provincial chief prosecutor Sutiono Usman Aji.

Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharuddin Djafar told the Jakarta Globe that among the many illegal logging cases discussed at the meeting was that of Adelin.

The businessman was acquitted of illegal logging charges last year by the Medan District Court and fled the country before prosecutors could lodge an appeal, despite him being under a travel ban.

“The task force is looking into why Adelin was acquitted,” Baharuddin said. “Police found a lot of incriminating evidence in his case, but some of it was never presented by the prosecutors in the trial.”

Officials from the North Sumatra prosecutor’s office could not be reached for comment.

The focus on illegal logging comes after a coalition of nongovernmental organizations last week reported 12 public officials to the task force for halting investigations into 13 pulp-and-paper companies accused of illegal logging in Riau, also on Sumatra Island.

During a meeting with the task force on Wednesday, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said illegal logging and farming were responsible for the clearing of about two million hectares of forest nationwide annually. He also told the task force his ministry was “probing a big case in Padang Lawas, North Sumatra,” but declined to elaborate.

Indonesia Corruption Watch researcher Anggita Tampubolon said the so-called forestry mafia had cost the state trillions of rupiah through illegal logging.

“Legitimate companies often purchase timber from illegal loggers,” she told the Globe. “Law enforcers often only net the small logging companies, while the major ones go untouched.

“The bribery comes in when the companies try to whitewash the illegally logged timber by getting local government officials to issue traceability certificates.”

Anggita added that although police could charge the legitimate companies with possession of illegally obtained goods, such instances were rare. “Instead, the big companies profit every time police confiscate logs from smaller companies because [they can buy them when] they’re auctioned off at way below market price,” she said.

Usman Hamid, chairman of the human rights group Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said logging and oil palm companies were also responsible for driving many villagers off their land.

“The task force should also question local government officials who unilaterally issue concessions to these companies,” he told the Globe.

Usman cited the 2004 eviction of 839 families from Central Tapanuli district. In that case, the government had granted the villagers cultivation rights to the area in 1983, but later revoked it and instead signed over the land to an oil palm company.

“These villagers became victims of intimidation and physical abuse by rogue public officials,” Usman said.

“Cases like this abound in North Sumatra. There are thousands of families there who have been ordered to vacate their homes without any compensation.”

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Indonesia's nuclear power project`s timeframe pushed back to 2018-2020

Antara 1 May 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia is now definitively planning to have a nuclear power plant some time between 2018 and 2020, instead of in 2016 as previously scheduled, National Nuclear Power Agency (Batan) chief Hadi Hastowo said.

"It has been postponed to 2018-2020 because it is not possible to build it in 2016," Hadi said at a discussion themed "Remembering the Chernobyl Disaster 24 Years Ago" here Friday.

He said the Indonesian public should know that the country's need for electricity is to soar drastically in the future and that building a nuclear power plant must be included in the national energy development plan if future electricity shortages would be prevented.

"A nuclear power plant will not negate other alternative energy sources because it will only be a supplement to ensure the constant availability of electricity. All the other alternative energy sources such as geothermal, hydro, wind, solar and biomass will remain in the national development plan," he said.

The available reserves of the alternative energy sources, however, would not be enough to meet future needs for electricity.

For instance, Indonesia's geothermal reserves totaled 28 GW which was not enough. Hydro-power reserves were continuously diminishing, wind power could not be relied on because winds in the country were generally not strong enough, solar power required the use of solar cells which were very expensive, he said.

According to Hadi, nuclear power technology today was much more advanced than one or two decades ago and very concerned about safety. Fourth generation nuclear power plants today were also
more economical and producing minimum amounts of waste.

Also, he said, since Chernobyl, the world has seen the adoption of various conventions that were providing administrative guarantees for the safety of nuclear power plants such as the Nuclear Safety Convention, the Convention on Early Warning Notification on Nuclear Accidents and the Third Party Liability Convention.

"Indonesia has ratified all the international conventions needed to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants," he said.(*)

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