Giant whale sharks butchered for Asian fish fin market

Trevor Paddenburg in Hong Kong The Sunday Times Perth Now 5 Jun 10;

WHALE sharks - one of Western Australia's most iconic creatures - are being slaughtered and sold in a backstreet Hong Kong shark-fin market.

The fins of the gentle giants, the same species that delights snorkellers off Ningaloo Reef every autumn, are sold for just $300 each and used as window displays in shark-fin shops in Hong Kong's Sheung Wan market district.

The Sunday Times this week joined an investigation inside the Chinese territory to expose the trade in the world's biggest fish, which is in decline and listed as vulnerable to extinction by the World Conservation Union.

Hong Kong's Sharkfin and Marine Products Association secretary, Charlie Lim, interviewed briefly by The Sunday Times in Sheung Wan before this reporter was thrown out of his office, claimed no whale-shark fins were for sale, despite evidence on the streets.

And Mr Lim provocatively hit back at Australians who would like an international ban.

"Australia sent Aboriginal people's heads to museums," he said, and therefore the Chinese should be allowed to have whale-shark fins on display in shops.

Hunting the animals is legal in much of Asia, though the investigators will use the evidence from Hong Kong to pressure the Federal Government to lobby for an international ban on trade in whale-shark meat and fins.

WA whale-shark expert Brad Norman, who swam with the majestic creatures as part of his research less than 24 hours before flying into Hong Kong, led the investigation team and said he was "shocked" by the number of fins on display.

The founder of non-profit marine foundation Ecocean said his inquiries had also revealed that up to 1000 whale sharks were killed each year in China.

The revelations of whale-shark slaughter come ahead of World Ocean Day on Monday.

Perth-based UN endangered species officer Aleisha Caruso, who also joined the Hong Kong mission, said: "To think these gentle beings are mutilated and left in agony to drown in their own blood, just to end up in a window display in Hong Kong, tears out my heart."

On Hong Kong Island's Des Voeux Rd - known to locals as "dried seafood street" - Mr Norman and Ms Caruso found tens of thousands of dried shark fins, used in shark-fin soup and sold for up to $40 a bowl.

Dozens of giant whale-shark fins, some more than 1m and distinguishable by their telltale pattern of dots, were also mounted in windows or packaged for sale.

Mr Norman, who has studied Ningaloo's whale sharks for 16 years, said the fins were most likely harvested in waters off Taiwan, China, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. It was unlikely they were the same sharks that visit Ningaloo, he said.

The Sunday Times was ordered out of several stores after taking photos of the gruesome shark-fin haul, which the International Humane Society says is run by Chinese triad gangs.

"Ninety per cent of the countries whale sharks visit still permit the slaughter and efforts will continue to push for their protection," Mr Norman, a Murdoch University researcher, said. "I knew we had a problem on our hands, but not on such a shocking scale."

WWF-Hong Kong shark officer Silvy Pun said "tonnes and tonnes" of shark fin landed on the docks every month in Hong Kong - the world's shark-fin capital. It handled up to 80 per cent of the global trade.

Ms Caruso said destroying a whale shark for its fins was "senseless slaughter".

"Panic-stricken, helpless and terrified, they thrash around without fins until they become exhausted and die a slow and painful death," she said.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Government's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said the sale of whale-shark fins was not illegal and fin shops were doing nothing wrong.

"(A) considerable amount of whale-shark fins have been imported legally to Hong Kong and are available in the local market," the spokesman said.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

* Ecocean is the WA-based non-profit group dedicated to research, education and conservation of whale sharks. Support its Finish Finning campaign and donate at www.whaleshark.org.

* Swim with a whale shark at Ningaloo and consider adopting one at www.whaleshark.org/adoptashark.jsp.

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Freak weather to plague Jakarta until late June

The Jakarta Post 6 Jun 10;

Ready your parasol and poncho, because Jakarta has more rainy days ahead. The city’s meteorological agency expects the current wet weather will persist until late June as the city enters a transitional period between the wet and dry seasons.

An official from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said that the current cloudy weather would persist, with dense cloud coverage and monsoon downpours descending upon the city quickly and sporadically over the next couple of days.

“This year’s dry season will be wetter than the previous year’s. We are experiencing a kind of climatic anomaly,” said Erwin Makmur, head of the agency’s climate early warning department.

The weather anomaly, he added, had pushed back the dry season from April or May to July or August, adding that the dry season would reach its peak in September.

He said the anomaly was being caused by warmer than normal sea surface temperatures in the Java sea caused by warm currents from eastern Indonesia.

The warmer water is causing more water to evaporate and then condense into clouds, he added.

“Indonesia’s high humidity levels, coupled with the sun’s strong heat are increasing the amount of water vapor in the air that leads to downpours,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Jakarta’s weather is affected by water temperatures in Jakarta Bay to the north. Thirteen rivers run through the city, including the Ciliwung, Pesanggrahan and Sunter rivers, which can cause severe flooding during times of heavy rain.

By Friday noon, heavy rain had caused severe inundation in some parts of the city, causing massive traffic jams that halted thousands of cars attempting to leave the city on Friday night.

On Saturday, some parts of the Pondok Ranji turnpike in Bintaro, West Jakarta, were inundated in 150 centimeters of water.

As a result, traffic from Bumi Serpong Damai in southern Jakarta was diverted by police to the Jakarta-Merak toll-road causing heavy traffic. Hundreds of motorists bound for Jakarta parked their cars near two train stations in Serpong and boarded economy-class trains to Jakarta.

Surti Woro, a resident of Semarang, told the Post she had spent three hours on a shuttle bus from Bumi Serpong Damai to Senen train station to catch a 7:00 p.m. train to Semarang on Saturday.

Friday’s traffic snarls were repeats of road chaos last month, when heavy downpours caused severe traffic on the city’s main thoroughfares as flooded streets brought cars to a stand still and motorcyclists took shelter under bridges, blocking traffic. Lack of green spaces and a insufficient sewerage have been blamed for such severe inundations.

Heavy rain usually follows hot mornings or afternoons, Erwin said, adding that morning temperatures were higher than normal due to environmental changes.

“The city has less open and green areas, which have been replaced by glass and steel structures that reflect sunlight. The number of vehicles on the roads and buildings that emit hot air from their air-conditioners also contribute to the rising temperature,” he said.

The anomaly is not due to global climate change, but climatic variations, he added. (gzl)

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Factbox: Significant oil spills across the globe

Reuters 5 Jun 10;

LONDON (Reuters) - The BP Gulf of Mexico spill ranks as the worst in U.S. history.

As much as 19,000 barrels of oil (800,000 gallons or 3 million liters) a day has been flowing into the Gulf off the coast of Louisiana since the April 20 explosion, which sank the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig and killed 11 crewmen.

But by a measure of absolute volume, Deepwater Horizon is not yet the world's largest spill.

The spill stands out for its proximity to U.S. shores and the publicity it has generated by comparison with other large, ongoing leaks in more remote parts of the world.

"This spill is in my view a game changer," said Lisa Speer, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's international oceans programme in New York.

Estimates by a team of U.S. government and independent experts last week based on three separate methodologies and raw BP data showed that between 500,000 and 800,000 barrels had already leaked into the Gulf of Mexico.

That compares with up 3.5 million barrels spilled in 1979 by the Pemex-operated Ixtoc offshore well over nine months.

"It compares to the Ixtoc. We're not there yet, but we could ultimately be looking at a spill that equates to or exceeds the Ixtoc," Speer said.

BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward caused fury in the U.S. press when he suggested the Deepwater Horizon spill was relatively small.

The following is a selection of some of the most significant oil spills, including marine leaks, pipeline leaks and oil dumping, in terms of severity and size across the globe.

Information has been compiled from Reuters and industry data bases and, where possible, figures have been converted into barrels per day from tonnes, gallons or cubic meters.

MARINE TANKER SPILLS

1979 - The Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain, two fully loaded oil tankers, collided 10 miles off the coast of Tobago in a tropical rainstorm, spilling more than 2,142,000 barrels of oil into the Caribbean.

1991 - The oil tanker ABT Summer exploded about 900 miles off the coast of Angola, spilling its entire cargo of 1,905,800 barrels at sea.

MARINE PLATFORM-OFFSHORE LEAKS/BLOWOUTS

1979 - The Pemex-operated Ixtoc I offshore well in Mexico's Campeche Bay blew out, spewing up to 3,500,000 barrels of crude oil over nine months in the worst offshore spill in North American history.

1969 - The Union Oil Platform A offshore well near Santa Barbara, California blew out, spilling up to 100,000 barrels of crude oil over 11 days and fouling the coastline, leading to broad opposition to offshore drilling and spurring the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

1977 - The Phillips Petroleum Ekofisk Bravo platform blew out for 8 days, releasing 202,381 barrels in the North Sea's biggest oil spill.

1983 - In the gulf off Iran a tanker struck a drilling platform, releasing some 1,904,000 barrels into the sea.

1988 - In the world's worst offshore accident for human casualties, the Piper Alpha oil platform exploded in the British sector of the North Sea, killing 167 people.

2001 - The Petrobras-operated P-36 offshore production facility exploded and collapsed into the sea off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, spilling some of the 10,000 barrels of fuel and crude it was storing.

2005 - A fire destroyed the ONGC-owned Mumbai High North processing platform off India's west coast, affecting 123,000 bpd of crude production, or 15 percent of the country's domestic output.

DELIBERATE DUMPING

1991 - During the Gulf War, Iraqi forces opened valves and destroyed oil facilities in Kuwait, releasing about 12,376,000 barrels in the biggest oil spill in history.

MAJOR OIL COMPANY LEAKS

* Shell spilled around 110,000 barrels of oil around the world in 2009, with the lion's share coming from sabotage at their Odidi field in Nigeria and bomb explosions on the Trans Excravos pipeline and discharge, the company said on its website.

* Chevron spilled around 9,300 barrels of oil on land and water in 2009, according to data available on its website.

* ExxonMobil spilled around 18,000 barrels of hydrocarbons on land and water in 2009, according to date in its 2009 Corporate Citizenship Report.

* Total said in its Environment and Society Report 2009 that it spilled 2,409 cubic meters of oil -- around 15,000 barrels -- last year.

* In May this year ExxonMobil declared force majeure on its Qua Iboe crude oil shipments at its Nigerian unit, affecting as much as 150,000 bpd after a leak was discovered on a key pipeline.

* In April this year a Chevron-operated pipeline leaked around 500 barrels of oil into the Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana.

* In January this year Royal Dutch Shell said it had shut three pumping stations after a key crude oil pipeline in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria was sabotaged, saying some oil had spilled into local creeks.

* In January this year Enbridge Energy Partners LP shut down one leg of the main pipeline delivering Canadian crude to the United States after spilling around 3,000 barrels in North Dakota.

* In December last year, BP Plc said ice cracks caused a November leak in one if its Alaskan pipelines, spilling more than 1,000 barrels in the North Slope.

(Compiled by Chris Baldwin, edited by Jane Baird)

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Global halt to oil drilling in eco areas urged

Yahoo News 4 Jun 10;

GENEVA (AFP) – A leading international environmental alliance on Friday called for a global suspension to oil and gas extraction in ecologically sensitive areas, following the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said the moratorium should include deepwater ocean sites the industry is increasingly exploring to cope with growing energy demand, despite higher financial and environmental risks.

"The technology to minimise the risks and impacts of catastrophes such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is obviously lacking at present," said IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefevre.

"Because our understanding of the impacts of this catastrophe is inadequate we must stop oil and gas exploitation -- not just in deepwater ocean sites but all ecologically sensitive areas, including polar areas," she added.

In a statement, the IUCN called "for a global moratorium on oil and gas exploitation in ecologically sensitive areas."

It argued that more difficult environments were being exploited, increasing the risk of costly accidents "with a price that is too high both for human livelihoods and the natural systems which support them."

The IUCN believes the impact of the oil spill currently swathing the southern US coast is more severe than the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska and would spread to Caribbean states, like Mexico, Cuba and the Bahamas, over the coming months.

The union groups some 1,000 government and non-governmental nature protection agencies or campaign groups in about 160 countries. It specialises in bringing them together with the United Nations and the corporate sector to develop conservation policy and best practices.

The IUCN called on the energy industry to support tightened government regulations and join a search for new economic models and viable technology in the sector.

"All energy solutions, even fully renewable energy sources, have environmental consequences, so comprehensive energy strategies need to be urgently developed that take full account of biodiversity and livelihood impacts," said IUCN president Ashok Khosla.

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Indonesian Ministry Launches Environmental Campaign For Youths

Antara 5 Jun 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta officially launched a national environment conservation campaign for youths dubbed "Action Movement for the Environment" or "GAUL".

The event at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan here Saturday, was part of an Indonesian Environment Week 2010, and coincided with World Environment Day observed every June 5.

"As stated by the Vice President (Boediono) at the opening of the Indonesian Environment Week 2010, it is now time for action, and no longer just talk. So, do whatever you can," Hatta said.

GAUL is targeting young people aged between 15 and 35 years old who number about 85 million in Indonesia, according to Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) data.

The campaign encourages young people to apply the "3R" (recycle, reuse, and reduce) formula in managing waste, to plant trees, check their vehicles` gas emissions, and use bicycles whenever possible.

Singer Charlie of the ST12 band who was named a GAUL envoy lustered up the event with a number of songs.

Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta went to the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) from his official residence at Widya Candra Kuningan by riding a bicycle, accompanied among others by South Jakarta Mayor Syahrul Effendi, Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni, and members as well as chairman of the "Bike To Work` Community Toto Sugito.

World Environment Day (WED) is a day dedicated to the environment and meant to promore awareness of the environment, greater political attention and public action for conservation of the environment.

June 5 is also the day the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment opened in 19725-16 June 1972. It was formalized by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972.

The first World Environment Day was observed in 1973. World Environment Day is hosted every year by a different city with a different theme and is commemorated with an international exposition opening on June 5.

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Blast fishing threatens Bangka Belitung`s coral reefs

Antara 5 Jun 10;

Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung (ANTARA News) - A senator has called on fishermen in Bangka Belitung Province to stop the practice of blast fishing so as to protect human life and marine resources.

"I deplore the fact that certain fishermen still practice blast fishing because it can endanger themselves and other people," Regional Representatives Council (DPD) member Noerhadi Astuti said.

Besides harming human life, using explosives to catch fish could also threaten coral reefs, he said.

On Friday, a home-made bomb that was to be used for poaching exploded inadvertently injuring two people at Kurau village, Bangka Tengah district.

Due to the harmful consequences of the fishing method, Astuti urged local fishermen to stop blast fishing for their own sake and preservation of marine resources.

The province`s coral reefs were currently in danger as a result of blast fishing and floating tin mining activities, he said.

Instead of using home-made bombs, the fishermen were advised to use fishing nets , he said.

Blast fishing activity in the waters of Bangka Belitung Province was believed to be just like the tip of an iceberg.

The same method was also, among others, used by fishermen in West Tapalang village, Central Sulawesi.

As a result, lots of traditional fishermen in the province could no longer get fish easily.
Rusdi, a local fisherman, recently said blast fishing operations in Central Sulawesi waters might have destroyed coral reefs that affected the fish population in the area.

Blast fishing activity in various parts of Indonesia, including Central Sulawesi Province, have attracted world attention.

Endowed by nature with more than 50,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, Indonesia has been listed by the United Nations as a nation with the largest coral reef resources in the world, along with Australia and the Philippines.

According to the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC)`s World Atlas of Coral Reefs (2001), Indonesia had 51,020 square kilometers of coral reefs or 17.95 percent of the world`s coral reefs.

This archipelagic nation topped the list , followed by Australia with 48,460 square kilometers, the Philippines (25,060), France (14,280), Papua New Guinea (13,840), Fiji (10,020), Maldives (8,920), Saudi Arabia (6,660), Marshall Islands (6,110) and India (5,790).

The benefits that Indonesia can get from its coral reefs are obvious because coral reefs are evidently the sources of food and income for a lot of people from fisheries and tourism and also sources of raw materials for medicines.

But the UNEC-WCMC has warned that activities, such as fishing using explosives, are seriously degrading coral reefs in various parts of the world, including in Indonesia.

The UN body`s warning is based on factual information collected over the years. Blast fishing itself has been practiced in Indonesia since World War II.(*)

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Ecological disasters threaten West Sumatra

Antara 6 Jun 10;

Padang, W Sumatra (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said 19 districts in West Sumatra were vulnerable to ecological disasters due to ongoing environmental degradation.

"The potency of ecological disasters remains high in West Sumatra Province as a result of ongoing environmental damages," Executive Director of Walhi-West Sumatran office, Khalid Syaifulla, said.

Speaking to newsmen here Saturday in response to the 2010 World Environment Day, he said the provincial and district governments had yet to take serious measures to rescue the environment.

Due to its geographical typology, West Sumatra was vulnerable to such natural disasters as floods, landslides, and droughts.

Over the past five years, the West Sumatrans could be seen having undergone fatal flooding and landslides, he said.

In the first five months of 2010 alone, 21 floods and 12 landslides hit such cities and districts as Padang, Sawahlunto, Bukittinggi, Padang Panjang, Limapuluhkota,
Sijunjung, Agam, Padang Pariaman, Pesisir Selatan, Solok, and Pasaman Barat.

These ecological disasters killed nine people and destroyed 600 hectares of farming and tens of houses, he said.

Khalid Syaifulla said West Sumatra was also located in the ring of fire belts in which the province had three volcanic mountains, namely Mt Tandikek, Mt Merapi, and Mt Talang.

Despite these latent threats, the local governments were not yet aware of the importance of having comprehensive policies to respond these challenges, he said.
Instead of making pro-people and sustainable development-oriented policies, local and central governments still facilitated those over-exploiting natural resources in West Sumatra, he said.

This year, the Mentawai Isles district government, for instance, had welcomed the opening of 79,000 hectares of palm plantation.

The West Sumatra provincial government had also proposed the change of protected land`s status into other functional status to smooth mining activities within 173,287 hectares of land, he said.

"In the future, West Sumatra will likely harvest various ecological disasters as a result of worsening environment and neglecting people`s safety," he said. (*)

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Indonesian National Biodiversity Report Falls Short in Making Conclusions

Fidelis E Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 4 Jun 10;

Indonesia’s submission to the United Nations of its biodiversity assessment fails to underline the threats facing the country’s rich variety of plant and animal life, an Environment Ministry official said on Friday.

The Fourth National Report on the Convention on Biological Diversity, submitted to the Convention on Biological Diversity, is a report on the implementation of the CBD’s articles and programs at the national level.

The report, drawn up using guidelines provided by the CBD secretariat, consists of a review of status, trends and major threats to biodiversity.

“However, we haven’t managed to conclude what the trend in Indonesia is, because the data were scattered and not thorough enough,” said Utami Handayani, assistant deputy for biodiversity conservation at the State Ministry for the Environment.

According to the report, Indonesia ranks in the top five nations worldwide in terms of the diversity of its plant life. An estimated 55 percent of plant species found in Indonesia are native to the archipelago.

The report also shows Indonesia is home to 515 mammal species — 12 percent of the world’s known mammal species.

At the ecosystem level, conservation is carried out through the establishment of conservation areas that serve as places for the protection and preservation of biodiversity, such as biosphere reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, ecotourism parks, forest parks and hunting parks.

Coverage of these areas has increased to 279,680 square kilometers in 2007, from 76,280 square kilometers in 1981.

There was also a reported increase in the number of plant and animal species being bred in captivity, up to 416 species in 2008 from 171 species in 2006.

Of those breeding activities in 2008, 383 were for protected plant and animal species.

The report also managed to identify some of the threats to biodiversity in the country, including the high population growth rate, deforestation, wildfires, habitat degradation and fragmentation, overexploitation, pollution and climate change.

The data used in compiling the report was gathered between 2003 and 2008, and the report’s authors noted it needed to be extrapolated to the present, or else the results of the study would not accurately reflect the progress of the 2010 biodiversity targets.

“The data was gathered within those years but was compiled in 2009,” Utami said. “However, we then realized these data were still incomplete, so we didn’t make any conclusions on the trends.”

She added that parties to the CBD must finalize all assessment reports before October, when a meeting will be held in Japan of convention signatories to discuss access and benefit-sharing issues.

She also said that collecting data on the country’s biodiversity was a complex undertaking, given the challenging terrain and the bureaucratic muddle of farming out different tasks to different institutions. 

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Concession holders threat to Mamuju district's forests: official

Antara 6 Jun 10;

Mamuju, W Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Companies holding concession rights to exploit forests are the enemy of protected forests in West Sulawesi`s Mamuju district, a local government official said.

Mamuju District Chief Suhardi Duka said here Saturday he was "traumatized" by the destructive acts of those companies against protected forests in the region.

"The 300,000 hectares of protected forests that Mamuju district still has must be preserved. Don`t destroy these forests," he said.

A number of companies holding concession rights had destroyed protected forests in Mamuju district. As a result, people often suffered by flooding, he said.

"Their destructive acts have caused the frequent flooding. We are all traumatized," he said.

To preserve the district`s protected forests, Duka said he would firmly reject any company`s request for a license to operate in the forestry field in the region,

"If the companies want to benefit, they can do so by managing limited production forest areas, not protected forest areas," he said.

In Mamuju district, the companies holding concession rights were PT Rante Mario, PT Inhutani, PT Hayam Wuruk, PT Malakawa, PT Palapi Timber, PT Sampaga Utama Sakti, PT Maskumbangan, and PT Intan Pertama, he said.

Meanwhile, in commemorating World Environment Day on Saturday, tens of university students in Tembilahan, Indragiri Hilir district, Riau Province, gave tree seedlings to local people.

The activists of Indragiri Islamic State University`s Nature Loving Student Brigade also staged a theatrical performance and raised a banner reminding the people of the need to preserve nature.

The students asked the government to take care of people living near forests by improving their welfare for the sake of forest preservation. (*)

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Indonesian Logging Firms Accused of Intimidating Journalists

Fidelis E Satriastanti& Ismira Lutfia Jakarta Globe 4 Jun 10;

Ineffective law enforcement and heavy-handed tactics by logging companies are the main causes of the intimidation suffered by journalists when reporting on logging in remote areas, press activists said on Friday.

Margiyono, advocacy coordinator for the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), told the Jakarta Globe that journalists reporting on environmental damage within logging concessions were often bullied by the companies’ security teams, who held sway over the scant police presence in such areas.

“The police have virtually no authority there,” which leaves the logging companies in effective control of security, he said.

Hendrayana, chairman of the Jakarta-based Legal Aid Foundation for the Press (LBH Pers), told the Globe his group had received seven reports so far this year of intimidation of journalists reporting on deforestation, mostly in Sumatra.

In a statement released on Thursday to mark World Environment Day, Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said: “Attacks on journalists and bloggers who try to cover any kind of environmental damage are growing steadily all over the world, but those who investigate industrial pollution or the destruction of forests are particularly exposed.”

It released an investigative report on such incidents in Indonesia, Argentina, El Salvador, Gabon, India, Azerbaijan, China and Morocco.

In the latest incident in Indonesia, Ahmadi, a reporter for the Harian Aceh newspaper, was allegedly assaulted on May 21 by an intelligence officer from the Simeuleu District Military Command. Ahmadi had previously reported on allegations that military personnel were complicit in illegal logging in the area.

Mukhtaruddin Yakub, chairman of AJI Banda Aceh, told the Globe that Ahmadi had been scheduled to testify before the Military Police on Friday but was “traumatized about having to seeing the soldiers” and had requested a postponement of the hearing. He said Ahmadi would undergo counseling before testifying.

Hendrayana said local police were unresponsive to journalists’ complaints about such treatment, and only investigated if there was pressure from the public or advocates. “It’s not just a case of one journalist; it’s about ensuring journalists’ safety in doing their work,” he said.

Reporters Without Borders said: “Behind each of these threats and attacks there were big corporations, criminal gangs or government officials who had been corrupted by money from mining or logging.”

The group’s report cited journalists in Sumatra, Jambi and Riau who said that “leading companies managed to suppress most critical articles by applying pressure or paying local journalists ‘subsidies.’ ”

Rudi Kurniawansyah, a contributor to the national Media Indonesia newspaper, backed the claim that firms continually attempted to bribe reporters for favorable coverage. “Whenever there’s a raid on illegal logging, the police try to cozy up to the reporters,” he said.

Rudi said this differed starkly from their manhandling of foreign journalists covering a Greenpeace sit-in of a logging site in the Kampar Peninsula in Riau.

In that incident last November, Raimondo Bultrini, an Italian reporter for La Repubblica newspaper, and a journalist identified as Kumkum from India’s Hindustan Times were taken in for questioning by local police who alleged they did not have proper documents. They were released the same day.

Forest Network Rescue Riau (Jikalahari) activist Susanto Kurniawan said the intimidation was often as blatant as theft.

“After I reported to the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK] about possible graft at 14 companies implicated in illegal logging back in 2007, I lost my suitcase,” he said. “It was filled with original documents [supporting my case], and I haven’t recovered it since.”

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Solar panels could be a threat to aquatic insects, new research shows

Scientists urge caution after finding that insects fall into 'ecological trap' by mistaking panels for pools of water
David Adam The Observer 6 Jun 10;

Solar panels could wipe out fragile populations of insects, according to a new study that raises fresh doubts about the ecological impact of some forms of renewable energy.

Scientists have discovered that aquatic insects such as the mayfly can mistake shiny photovoltaic panels for pools of water, which they rely on to reproduce. They urge caution on the increasing use of panels until experts work out how they could affect insects and other creatures that feed on them.

"The effect of solar panels on populations of aquatic insects has not yet been researched," said Bruce Robertson, a scientist at the US Department of Energy's Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Centre in Michigan. "It is clear that the worst place to put a solar installation would be in proximity to natural lakes and rivers, where aquatic insects could easily become attracted to them."

The insects mistake the panels for water because both reflect horizontally polarised light – an optical trick in which light waves vibrate in the same direction. Many insects have evolved to detect such polarised light as a sure way to find water, particularly in arid environments.

The insects mate above the panels, which makes them vulnerable to predators, and lay their eggs on their surface, where they perish. Scientists call such natural siren songs "ecological traps". Robertson said: "There is no more severe way to degrade an organism's habitat than by creating an ecological trap. We predict traps should cause rapid population declines where solar panels are common, but it will depend on the extent of solar panels in an area and how many insects are attracted to them. It appears that, once attracted, most die trying to reproduce."

To investigate the scale of the effect, Robertson and colleagues in Hungary set up different designs of solar panels next to a creek in the Hungarian Duna-Ipoly National Park at Domorkapu. They watched insects such as mayflies and stoneflies form swarms to reproduce in the early summer evening.

Reporting their results in the journal Conservation Biology, the scientists say that several species of insect were drawn to the panels and laid more eggs on their surface than on water. They add: "We urge caution in the placement of solar arrays and selection of panel design, particularly where rare or endangered species may be directly or indirectly affected." Solar farms, with large areas of such panels, are rapidly spreading across Europe, Africa and the US, they say.

The scientists found that solar panels which had their shiny surface broken up with white borders or grid designs proved much less attractive to the insects. "They still polarise light, but produce it in smaller patches which is unappealing to aquatic insects that may prefer larger patches of water in which to breed," Robertson said.

"Citizens concerned about the effect of their own solar panels or collectors can use white tape to create a grid on their panels."

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A very English ark: New homes for wildlife

In the UK's biggest exodus of creatures, thousands are being relocated from the Thames estuary to make room for a container port.

Sarah Morrison The Independent 6 Jun 10;

In what is described by many as the largest wildlife relocation programme in the world, tens of thousands of animals are being removed from a major development in the Thames estuary to new homes in nature reserves throughout the UK.

Tomorrow, 100 water voles will be driven in ventilated lorries to the River Colne in Essex, where they will be joined over the next month by at least 200 more of the endangered species from the Thames site.

About 50,000 animals have already been captured from the 1,500-acre site, 25 miles east of central London on the north bank of the Thames. There are at least 100,000 more animals left to move before the site's owners, DP World, can construct London Gateway – the UK's first 21st-century deep-sea container port.

To date, more than 350 endangered great crested newts and approximately 30,000 smooth newts have been moved from the site and placed in 23 newt ponds about 500 yards from the Gateway site. Four species of reptile, including thousands of grass snakes, adders, slow worms and lizards, have also been removed to locations spanning from Wiltshire to West Mersea, Essex. Fifty-two species of birds are on the site and 7,000 of them will have to be provided with new habitats by DP World. Those involved in the scheme hope the wildlife will relocate naturally, but this remains to be seen.

It took almost eight months and more than 500 traps to capture the hundreds of water voles on the DP Gateway site. They were caught as they stepped into the tunnelled boxes looking for food and bedding. They were then held in the traps until released by an ecologist on the site.

In partnership with the Essex Wildlife Trust and two contracted ecology consultants, DP World will start the water vole relocation project tomorrow, when it places 100 of them in soft pens along a four-mile stretch of the River Colne. According to water vole ecologist Rebecca Northey, who is working on the project, the animals will be placed in release pens and fed for five days, after which they are free to burrow out into the surrounding water. Twenty voles will receive "radio collars" so that ecologists can track their movements for the first three months. DP World has received a licence from Natural England, the Government's adviser on the natural environment, which allows relocation to take place.

According to Darren Tansley, the Water for Wildlife officer for Essex Wildlife Trust which is helping to co-ordinate the release, more than 90 per cent of all water voles in the UK have been lost in the past 30 years – a big problem considering they provide food for a number of animals higher up the food chain. He blames the North American mink for their near-extinction, claiming they can wipe out whole populations of water voles after a year of being present along rivers.

After admitting that he would have preferred a "natural recolonisation" process to have taken place instead of a human-led relocation, Mr Tansley stressed that DP World had agreed to fund the continued removal of mink in Essex for the next five years. "There is always some risk in any movement of animals between habitats, but I am hoping that they will adapt well to their new environment, breed and recolonise the whole river," he told The Independent on Sunday.

DP World's animal relocation project comes under its £50m environmental programme, which is looked after by 17 different consultants. Marcus Pearson, the environmental manager for the £1.5bn London Gateway project, said he thought that DP World's "relocation project was one of the biggest in Europe, or indeed, the world".

DP is not yet able to say when the deep shipping channel would be open. The Independent on Sunday has also not seen a detailed list of the animals so far relocated, despite several requests, receiving only an estimated breakdown by Mr Pearson.

While DP World is bound by law to create alternative habitats for the wildlife that it removes from the London Gateway site, it is not required to do the same for marine life. Mr Pearson said there are more than 80 species of fish in the Thames estuary, including the juvenile Dover sole, which is found here in higher concentrations than anywhere else in the North Sea.

Mr Pearson said: "Europe's most expensive marine monitoring programme ever" is being undertaken to keep a constant track of the levels of contaminants in the sediment that is dredged up during the port's construction. He said that if it ever rises above suggested levels, it can be automatically modified, adding that the fish should naturally leave the area during this process, returning three or four years later once it is complete.

However, local fisherman Paul Gilson from Leigh-on Sea said that this was known in the industry as the "Disney effect" and thought highly improbable by those in the industry. He said: "Fish just don't have this ability to understand when they are in danger, and if their environment changes, we don't know if they will come back."

The chairman of Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries Committee, John Lamb, said he had concerns about the information that was being received. "Their scientists say the nursery beds will re-establish themselves after the main dredge, but we need to make sure this does happen," he said. "I think that DP World should try to re-establish habitats for the marine species as they have with the water voles and birds. There are concerns that they could be affected for many years."

185 Water Voles are being released into the River Colne this week. By July 300 will have been relocated

350 Great Crested Newts (Endangered) have been removed so far into 23 ponds north of the site, along with 30,000 smooth newts

2,000 Grass Snakes and Adders have been relocated to sites in Wiltshire and West Mersea

52 Species of Birds about 7,000 birds in total on the site are not being artificially captured but will have to relocate. These include the cettis warbler, reed bunting, corn bunting and skylarks

80 species of Fish will also be affected, as the estuary provides important nursery and feeding grounds formany, including herring, whiting, plaice, sprat, Atlantic cod, and sand eels

6,000 Lizards have been relocated to sites in Wilshire and West Mersea will also be affected, as the estuary provides important nursery and feeding grounds formany, including herring, whiting, plaice, sprat, Atlantic cod, and sand eels

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