You can't separate climate from economy

Grace Chua Straits Times 5 Sep 10;

This summer's fires in Russia and floods in China and Pakistan fit right into patterns of climate change predicted by scientists' reports for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007.

While scientists may shy away from linking these natural disasters directly to climate change, what is absolutely certain is that heatwaves and high water hurt developing countries and poor people more as they are less able to pay to protect themselves.

For instance, Pakistan's flood-plains and dry riverbeds were occupied by poor squatters, who were the first to be swept away by the raging torrents.

Poorer quarters in developed countries are also the worst hit when disaster strikes, such as when heatwaves hit Tokyo or American cities. The urban poor in Phoenix, Arizona, for instance, tend to live in more built-up areas which trap heat, while the rich live in cooler areas with more greenery.

The disasters are sparking a shift in the perception of climate change.

Instead of seeing climate change as a purely environmental issue, governments and international organisations are increasingly viewing it as an environmental and development issue.

At a talk here recently, Boston University public policy professor Adil Najam explained why development versus environment is a false dichotomy.

Climate issues, Professor Najam said, are often viewed as natural phenomena one cannot do anything about, 'whereas economic growth is something you can' act on.

In fact, the two are really inextricable, contends Prof Najam, who was born in Pakistan and is an expert on South Asian development and politics. Growth that destroys the environment and changes the climate is unsustainable, he said.

But given that fast and unsustainable growth now could make countries more liable to pay for climate change adaptation later, does it make sense to develop in an unsustainable way?

'No country ever says, 'We're going to choose between children's health and economic growth',' Prof Najam said. 'It's not a choice.'

Countries like China and India are beginning to recognise this and responding.

For instance, China's four trillion yuan (S$795 billion) stimulus package in 2008 funded railroads, power grids, ecological restoration and other projects, and has been lauded for its 'greenness'.

In February this year, Chinese President Hu Jintao, addressing a Communist Party meeting, said: 'We must make tackling climate change an important strategy for our socio-economic development.'

Mr Wilfred Walsh, managing director of carbon trading and advisory firm Biosphere Capital, pointed out that sustainable energy is actually cheaper than fossil fuels - over the right time scale and when the damage caused by fossil fuel pollution is factored in.

'The developing world might as well develop itself using appropriate, sustainable energy technologies,' he said, rather than face problems when the time comes to switch from established coal, oil and gas infrastructure.

But even when policymakers understand the issues involved, Prof Najam said, the short-term pressures they face to win elections and stay in power work on a different time scale from climate change, which works over decades.

However, some nations are realising that environmental issues have political mileage - sometimes for the whole nation.

Last year, for example, the Maldives made headlines by staging a Cabinet meeting underwater to underscore the urgency of climate change for small island states.

Indeed, said policy coordinator Sandeep Rai of the World Wide Fund for Nature's Global Climate Initiative, climate change for these states is a direct threat to their very survival.

With climate change presenting a tremendous threat to developing countries, these nations are taking a leadership role and offering the greatest opportunities to turn it around.

A WWF Global Climate Initiative report last year examined new renewable energy legislation by China, India, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa. And the International Energy Agency this year reckoned that over the next four decades, the developing world will need US$27 trillion (S$36.4 trillion) worth of clean-technology investments.

Energy use does not always have to increase in proportion to a country's economic growth, Prof Najam pointed out.

'The decoupling on economic growth and energy consumption is already happening, mostly through efficiency. Part of the technological race today is over who will be able to decouple the two the most, because in the decoupling are not only energy savings but also cost savings.'

Countries like Singapore, he added, have a 'great opportunity' to lead in such decoupling, both through increased energy efficiency and through adopting and developing efficient technologies.

The United Nations' climate talks in Mexico in November will probably not amount to much in terms of binding international agreements, Prof Najam believes.

But having successful climate negotiations will matter less and less because of the size of developing-country populations - China and India alone house two billion of the world's 6.9 billion people - and because governments and businesses will go ahead with green development on their own.

'On numbers alone, if the world is going to be saved, China and India are going to save it,' he said.

Others like Biosphere Capital's Mr Walsh are less bullish.

'We don't know yet if this will happen,' he said. 'Right now what is most obvious is a glaring lack of international leadership on climate change mitigation.'

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Indonesian Vice President: geothermal energy prioritized in Java

Antara 3 Sep 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The use of geothermal energy in the second stage 10,000 MW project will be prioritized in Java Island, Vice President Boediono said.

"I wish that the 10,000 MW project stopped using coal, especially in Java island," he said in Jakarta, Friday.

Speaking to the media after breaking the fast at his official residence, Boediono said coal in Java island will be replaced by gas or geothermal energy.

"Places other than Java may continue using coal, but it is also still being considered and planned," he said.

Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Economy Hatta Rajasa said the second-stage 10,000 MW project will be based on geothermal energy.

Along with the Vice President and the relevant ministers, Hatta will formulate and seek a solution to problems facing electricity.

"If a regulation is necessary, we will make it, and if a law is needed, we will discuss it with the House of Representatives," he said.

Indonesia`s geothermal potential was said to be the biggest in the world, reaching 28,112 megawatts (MW).

Of these figures, the biggest geothermal reserve is 14,707 MW, with a power capacity of 14,405 MW. But only four percent, or 1,189 MW in 265 locations is utilized by Indonesia for four percent of electric energy, or 1,189 MW, whereas actually the utilization of fiver percent of this energy or 9,500 MW by 2025 had already been proclaimed.

Besides touching on the 10,000 MW program, the Vice President also mentioned several things the government is doing like anticipating the fluctuation of crude oil prices, poverty eradication, and bureaucratic reforms.

"On this occasion, I wish to say that actually we have done many things and many other things need to be done," he said.

But he added that in several programs progress had been rather slow, or results are expected in the long run.(*)

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China halts loans to firms that break environment rules

Yahoo News 4 Sep 10;

SHANGHAI (AFP) – China has ordered banks to stop new lending to companies that pollute excessively or consume too much energy, as part of a drive to make its economy more energy efficient, state media said Saturday.

Shao Fujun, director of the People's Bank of China's credit department, said the central bank had established a database to help banks review companies' environmental records, the Shanghai Securities News reported.

More than 30,000 pieces of information regarding companies' environmental violations are in the database, the report said.

Beijing has pledged to slash China's energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent between 2006 and 2010, as the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter seeks to reduce pollution and clean up its environment.

Last month the central government ordered 2,087 firms producing steel, coal, cement, aluminium, glass and other materials to close old and obsolete plants by the end of September -- or risk having bank loans frozen and power cut off.

Authorities in the eastern province of Anhui reportedly already cut off electricity to more than 500 factories for a month in mid-August after they failed to meet emission reduction targets.

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Bangladesh dams to reclaim 600 square kms of land

(AFP) Google News 5 Sep 10

DHAKA — Bangladesh plans to build a series of dams to reclaim 600 square kilometres (230 square miles) of land from the sea over the next five years, officials said Sunday.

The government has approved the ambitious project under which dams would be built in the Meghna estuary to connect islands and help deposit hundreds of millions of tonnes of sediment, project chief Hafizur Rahman said.

"The project would cost only 1.20 billion taka (18 million dollars). The dams will expedite sedimentations and manage the tidal system. They won't allow loss of any sediments to the sea," he told AFP.

"The whole process will reclaim at least 600 square kilometres of new land from the sea in just five years."

The mighty Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers join in Bangladesh before flowing into the Bay of the Bengal.

Studies have found that the two rivers carry more than one billion tonnes of sediment a year.

Rahman said the dams would be designed so that small islands would become linked with the mainland as shallow areas in the estuary fill up with sediment.

A study by the Dutch-funded Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) has found that the damming process would not affect other parts of the coastline or aggravate erosion of the country's largest island, Bhola.

"We have done some water models of the project and found some 600 square kilometres of new land could be reclaimed without any side-effects," IWM principal researcher Jahirul Haq Khan told AFP.

The study has been verified by Dutch experts, he added.

Bangladesh reclaimed 1,000 square kilometres of new land in the Meghna estuary by building two dams in 1957 and 1964. Despite the success, the reclamation process was halted due to lack of donor financing.

The impoverished country has been one of the worse victims of climate change, with the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicting that 17 percent of its land would go under a rising sea by 2050.

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Best of our wild blogs: 4 Sep 10

How's Singapore doing in efforts to conserve our biodiversity?
from Celebrating Singapore's BioDiversity!

Stork-billed Kingfisher fishing
from Bird Ecology Study Group

PRP! Closer to home (relative to SBWR)
from The Borg's Hideout

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Singapore in final stages of developing world's first City Biodiversity Index

Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid Channel NewsAsia 3 Sep 10;

SINGAPORE : Singapore is in the final stages of developing the world's first City Biodiversity Index.

The self assessment tool aims to assist cities in benchmarking their biodiversity conservation efforts.

Stakeholders are hopeful that the index will be adopted internationally when it is discussed at the Convention on Biological Diversity's 10th Conference of Parties meeting in Nagoya, Japan next month.

Planting trees and building park connectors are some examples how a city like Singapore conserves its biodiversity.

Three hundred experts from Singapore and abroad, who are attending the Hitachi Eco Conference, are looking at ways on how to push the conservation message.

For land-scarce Singapore, it can be a tricky issue.

Singapore National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said: "While Singapore is blessed with a rich natural heritage, we face the dilemma in maintaining a careful balance between biodiversity conservation and other competing needs to meet our needs, social and recreational objectives.

"With a limited space of 710 square kilometres, we need to pay particular attention to land use planning to make sure that every piece of land is well -used.

So the proposed City Biodiversity Index aims to be a comprehensive measuring tool.

More than 30 cities like London and Paris have completed or are in various stages of test bedding the index that has over 20 assessment indicators.

But just how did Singapore fare?

Dr Leong Chee Chiew, deputy CEO, N Parks and Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, said: "I would say that we are okay. I think as Singapore goes, we know that there are certain areas that we are strong in, and areas that we need to improve in.

"Each of us can do our part to reduce the fragmentation, increase the natural linkages between habitats and eco-systems, so that the conservation strategy of Singapore will not be confined to nature reserves."

The index has since been fine-tuned to make it more applicable to cities with different characteristics.

Dr Leong said: "It gives a lot of scope for cities to pick up on areas on what they can improve on, and that gives us hope that it will be adopted. We hope that with the adoption in October, we can move to the next phase of training and working with the Convention to help cities use it."

If adopted, cities are likely to be assessed every three or four years. - CNA/ms

Singapore's okay but we can do better: NParks
Saifulbahri Ismail Today Online 4 Sep 10;

SINGAPORE - While Singapore has been able to maintain a healthy biodiversity, it can improve the natural links between habitats and eco-systems.

The room for improvement was highlighted by a self-assessment tool which Singapore has completed and can be used by cities to benchmark their biodiversity conservation efforts.

More than 30 cities, including Montreal, Nagoya, Brussels and Singapore have completed or are test-bedding the City Biodiversity Index, which was mooted by Singapore in May 2008.

How did Singapore do?

Dr Lawrence Leong, deputy chief executive officer of the National Parks Board (NParks), said: "I would say that we are ... okay. I think as far as Singapore goes, we know there are certain areas that we are strong in, we know there are areas that we will need to improve in."

NParks said the index has been fine-tuned to give cities the scope to pick areas they are comfortable with improving on.

Dr Leong said this might include having more park connectors and adding greenery to Singapore's streets and skyline.

In fact, the "green cover" here has jumped from 36 per cent in 1986 to almost half the Republic's land area today.

Dr Leong was speaking on the sidelines of the Hitachi Eco-Conference on Friday.

The index was developed in partnership with the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

It will be tabled for adoption at a meeting in Nagoya, Japan, next month.

Dr Leong is hopeful that it will be adopted. He said: "There is potential for the index ... The response from cities so far being willing to test-bed it and to adopt it as a measure in their various programmes gives us a lot of encouragement."

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who opened the eco-conference, said the focus and challenge of promoting biodiversity now is in the cities.

He said companies could incorporate biodiversity conservation as part of their corporate social responsibility mandate and forge partnerships with relevant government agencies to promote the cause. Saifulbahri Ismail

Join forces to protect biodiversity
Esther Teo Straits Times 3 Sep 10;

THE public and private sectors must join forces to tackle the ongoing loss of biodiversity, a conference heard on Friday.

Rapid urbanisation has made the problem more urgent, said Hitachi group chief environmental strategy officer Takashi Hatchoji.

Countries face the perennial policy dilemma of pursuing economic growth while ensuring environmental sustainability, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who was guest of honour at the Hitachi Eco Conference.

He said companies could incorporate biodiversity conservation as part of their corporate social responsibility mandate and forge partnerships with relevant government agencies to promote the cause.

Mr Hatchoji said the conference would allow participants to exchange information and discuss pragmatic, effective solutions. 'With rapid growth in Asia, biodiversity conservation and urban development are key issues we have to face... Public and private partnerships play an active role in achieving a responsible balance with the environment,' he added.

Singapore is leading the way on the international front by partnering the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to develop an index that can track biodiversity in cities, Mr Mah said.

This index will serve as a self-assessment tool for cities to benchmark and evaluate their biodiversity conservation efforts. It might be adopted at the Convention on Biological Diversity 10th Conference of Parties in Japan next month.

National Parks Board deputy chief executive officer Dr Lawrence Leong said the index - with its 23 different indicators - will give cities the scope to pick areas they are comfortable with improving on. For Singapore, this might include having more park connectors and adding greenery to both the streetscape and skyline, he added.

In fact, the 'green cover' here has jumped from just 36 per cent in 1986 to almost half the Republic's land area today.

The conference, held at Capella Singapore, was attended by about 300 people including government officials, non-governmental organisations and business leaders.

SPEECH BY MR MAH BOW TAN, MINISTER FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT HITACHI ECO CONFERENCE 2010 ON 3 SEPTEMBER 2010 AT 9.30AM, CAPELLA SINGAPORE, SENTOSA
MND website 3 Sep 10;

Mr Takashi Hatchoji
Executive Vice President and Executive Officer, Hitachi Group Chief Environmental Strategy Officer, Hitachi, Ltd.

Mr Yasunori Taga
Chief Executive and Chief Innovation Officer for Asia, Hitachi, Ltd.

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen,

1 The theme for today’s conference, “Conserving Biodiversity through Efforts by Public and Private Partnerships” is both apt and timely. This year, the global community is celebrating the United Nations’ International Year of Biodiversity. According to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (or CBD), the world has failed to meet the target set in 2002 to significantly reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. The CBD report calls for urgent and effective actions by both the public and private sectors to address the continued loss in biodiversity.

2 Biodiversity contributes to our fundamental well-being. The wide variety of plants, animals and organisms help to create ecosystems which can boost our capacity to manage the potential impact of global warming. But countries around the globe face the perennial policy dilemma of pursuing economic growth and ensuring environmental sustainability. Singapore is no exception.

3 I commend Hitachi for organising this conference which provides a useful platform to discuss the issue of biodiversity loss and what more we can do about biodiversity conservation. It is important for the three ‘Ps’ – the public, private and people sectors, to understand the value of biodiversity and the need for its conservation.

Singapore’s Efforts in Conserving Biodiversity
4 Let me share with you Singapore’s experience in conserving our biodiversity. Despite being a highly urbanised and densely populated country, we are in fact quite well endowed in biodiversity. At last count, we have over 2,000 species of native plants, more than 370 species of birds, 280 species of butterflies and 98 species of reptiles. Our waters harbour about 250 species of hard corals, which is one third of the global total, and this, despite us being one of the busiest ports in the world. We have 12 of the 23 seagrass species found in the Indo-Pacific region in our waters.

5 While Singapore is blessed with a rich natural heritage, we have to maintain a careful balance between biodiversity conservation and other competing needs to meet our economic, social and recreational objectives. With a limited land space of 710 square kilometres, we need to pay particular attention to land use planning to ensure that every piece of land is used efficiently. As a result, we are able to dedicate a significant 10% of our land to parks and nature conservation. In addition to parkland and nature reserves, we have invested heavily in streetscape greenery and park connectors. This has allowed us to achieve an overall green cover which has grown from just 36% in 1986 to almost 50% of our total land area today.

6 With this pervasive matrix of tropical greenery in place, we are working towards creating a truly unique urban ecosystem where biodiversity can thrive within our environment.

7 We also see the importance of raising public awareness on biodiversity conservation. As part of Singapore’s celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity, the National Parks Board (NParks) organised the BiodiverCity Photo Competition in May this year, attracting over 2,000 entries from students and members of public. NParks also rallied 91 schools in Singapore to participate in the global Green Wave campaign to celebrate the United Nations’ International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May this year.

8 On the international front, Singapore has partnered the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Partnership on Cities and Biodiversity to develop a Cities Biodiversity Index. This index serves as a self-assessment tool for cities to benchmark and evaluate their biodiversity conservation efforts. After pilot testing by several cities around the world, we will discuss the adoption of this Index at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 10th Conference of Parties meeting in Nagoya, Japan next month.

Private Sector Involvement
9 Biodiversity conservation cannot be undertaken by the Government alone. We need the continuous support of corporations and the general public. Corporations can incorporate biodiversity conservation as part of their corporate social responsibility mandate. They can also forge partnerships with relevant government agencies to promote this cause. For example, NParks works with many corporations whose staff volunteer their time to participate in educational projects in our parks and nature reserves. Corporations have also donated generously to NParks’ Garden City Fund to provide resources to complement the Government’s efforts to ensure the health of Singapore’s biodiversity.

10 I am heartened that Hitachi Singapore has taken the step to commit itself to an Environmental Vision 2025, where the company aims to conserve the environment and realise a sustainable society through prevention of global warming, conservation of resources and preservation of ecosystems. I hope that Hitachi’s example will encourage more companies to come forward and play their part in sustaining our living Planet.

Conclusion
11 To conclude, with the sharing of knowledge and expertise by distinguished biodiversity and environment experts such as Professor Leo Tan and Dr Thomas Lovejoy, I am confident that today’s conference can help to increase awareness on the importance of biodiversity conservation, and the roles we each can play to contribute to this global effort.

12 I wish you a fruitful conference ahead. Thank you.

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Sharing the Singapore model with the world

Venice Biennale exhibit showcases Republic's ability to perfect social, economic, environmental balance
Paul Gilfeather Today Online 4 Sep 10;

While Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was paying tribute to architects Khoo Peng Beng and his wife Belinda Huang during his National Day Rally speech last Sunday, the couple were more than 11,000 km away in Venice selling Singapore as the greatest compact city on the planet.

I travelled to Venice, one of the world's most beautiful cities, with the couple who, along with National University of Singapore professors Eric L'Heureux and Florian Schaetz, are responsible for the Singapore pavilion at the annual Biennale International Architecture Exhibition.

The husband-and-wife team are behind one of the most innovative public housing blocks on the planet, The Pinnacle@Duxton, which houses a phenomenal 7,000 people on an area of land the size of two football pitches.

And since the theme of the Singapore pavilion is "superdensity" - or how you house 5 million people on a land area of only 710 km sq - their appointment has proved a masterstroke.

The four curators are using their exhibit in Venice to make the point that if you used the Singapore model of compact living 1,000 times over, you could in theory house the world's entire 5-billion-strong population.

If you do the sums, you'll find that the concept does, in theory, actually work.

The pavilion, "1000 Singapores - A Model of the Compact City", is captivating, thought-provoking and was born out of four months of brain-storming sessions.

It is designed to show the rest of the world that sprawling urbanism is not the only answer and as land becomes more and more sacred, high-quality, sustainable living can be achieved using a different model.

Peng Beng and Belinda used their experience in designing The Pinnacle to demonstrate how high-density doesn't have to mean low-quality.

The exhibit, using graphs, charts, photographs and a scale model of Singapore, explains that if the world's population was housed on an equivalent land mass using the Republic's model, just 0.5 per cent of the Earth would be required.

Peng Beng told me: "That would mean 99.5 per cent of the world would be natural landscape - a portion would remain for farming and natural resources surely but the rest of the area would remain significantly natural.

"1000 Singapores as a proposition is dense, efficient and green. Visions of sustainability seem even more plausible in such a vision."

And he's right. With rapid urbanisation taking place all over the world, cities face the common challenge of accommodating extraordinary growth in a sustainable manner.

To do this, cities need to work out strategies and measures to balance social, economic and environmental priorities.

And it's because Singapore copes so well with these challenges that it's uniquely placed to teach the rest of the world how to adapt to these changes.

The Republic's unique set of circumstances means that it has always had to adopt land conservation as a core policy objective. Singapore has been at this for almost 50 years. Now the rest of the world is catching up.

But that's where the Singapore pavilion comes in. These events, primarily for the architecture and urban planning communities, are designed to give other cities a leg-up in the areas where they are found wanting.

So, in terms of achieving this goal, Singapore does it brilliantly by demonstrating the success of its compact new towns and affordable, high-rise public housing.

The fact that 80 per cent of Singaporeans live in public housing, with 95 per cent of them owning their flats, is an accolade in itself.

"1000 Singapores" throws up many other interesting scenarios.

If the entire world population could live on just 0.5 per cent of the planet's land, can you imagine what it would mean for energy consumption?

And travel? The furthest journey would be minimised to a 45-minute flight.

Around 900km would be the maximum distance end to end - around the size of Texas.

Footprints of all kinds - carbon, pollution and emissions - would be compacted in relation to current urban models.

Wi-Fi and high-speed mobile and data communications would be available everywhere with just a few transmission towers. And housing would be dense, diverse, walkable and full of the amenities that the world's population aspires to. Utopia?

A MODEL FOR OTHERS

It will never happen, of course, But there are many, many lessons to be learned from the Singapore exhibit. And although it receives no special mention from the Biennale judges, you get the feeling that the concept has caused something of a sensation.

To be honest, it was a pleasure to be in the company of such bright talents as Peng Beng, Belinda, Eric and Florian, and I enjoyed every minute of my time with them.

Even though I've only lived and worked in Singapore for the past 18 months, I feel proud that the city I have chosen as my home produces and attracts such incredible thinkers.

While Peng Beng and Belinda are at the forefront of the design and planning revolution taking place here, Eric - a native New Yorker - and Florian - a native German - are responsible for producing Singapore's next generation of architects by teaching classes at NUS.

Talking to me inside the pavilion, housed in a side-street building where Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi produced his greatest works, Eric said: "Instead of looking to Singapore hoping to find dirt, poverty and struggle as indicative of a 'real' urbanism, or the Orientalism imagined by the West, Singapore now represents the model that other cities the world over look to for strategic inspiration.

"In our exhibit, we have tried to show how Singapore is built for success."

He highlighted the recent Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize as evidence, adding: "Here in Singapore, awarding Spain's Bilbao as an innovator, the tables are finally turned and East judges West."

As is usual when world planners look to Singapore, it is the city's HDB scheme which continues to inspire.

And it is only right that Peng Beng and Belinda's Pinnacle HDB project is featured in the exhibition.

In many ways, it is the very epitome of the superdensity living the pavilion invites the world to consider.

The project became operational in December last year and rises 50 storeys on the edge of the Central Business District. The building itself has sky bridges, of which you can pay $5 to access and take in views of Singapore. It also has a public park on the ground level and almost a hectare of sky gardens woven through its seven blocks on the 26th and 50th storeys.

In fact, the 26th storey houses an 800-metre running track.

I congratulated the couple for beating off 200 other firms to win the contract and as we studied images of the building on the walls of the pavilion, you could not help but look forward to what this incredible team might produce next.

Peng Beng said that the Pinnacle will give the Biennale an opportunity to watch the superdense model at close quarters.

He added: "The Pinnacle is a model of superdensity and warrants deeper observation over a longer period. How compact can our urban habitation become and consequently how tight and efficient the network?

"Interestingly, an Internet community has formed among the residents to discuss issues and observations.

"But the Pinnacle does require that we imagine new architectural spaces and programmes that are attractive alternatives to the spaciousness and the individuality of sprawling urbanism."

So, I'll say it again. Well done to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and the DesignSingapore Council for choosing such a talented and progressive curatorial team.

They took this project by the scruff of the neck and produced something truly wonderful and thought-provoking.

They took a slice of superdense Singapore and displayed it among the beautiful canals and cathedrals of ancient Venice. And that was something truly worth seeing.

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Away from classroom - for Active Learning

Jennani Durai Straits Times 4 Sep 10;

DURING school hours yesterday, a Primary 2 class from MacPherson Primary School spent an hour making toys for the parrots in Jurong BirdPark.

A month ago, the pupils pitched tents and groomed ponies at the Singapore Zoo.

These were not co-curricular activities or even class excursions. They were carried out during curriculum time under the new Programme for Active Learning (PAL), which is aimed at giving Primary 1 and 2 pupils a less academic, more holistic education.

The programme, now being tried out in a dozen primary schools, will be introduced to another 24 schools next year, said the Ministry of Education.

The idea for the programme was among a slew of recommendations by the Primary Education Review and Implementation (Peri) committee last year. This panel also mooted scrapping examinations for Primary 1 and 2 pupils.

PAL offers more than 54 modules, from which schools pick any six for their pupils. Ranging from puppetry and singing to gymnastics and outdoor skills, the modules fall under broad themes - sports, outdoor education, visual arts and the performing arts.

At least two hours a week are devoted to PAL activities, which are carried out on top of the schools' regular physical education, music and art lessons.

Each module, conducted by a third-party vendor, lasts seven to 10 weeks. By the end of Primary 2, pupils should have completed six modules.

Senior Minister of State for Education and National Development Grace Fu said feedback from children who have undergone PAL has been unanimously positive.

She said: 'It's apparent they are enjoying themselves, and that this is providing opportunities for them to explore things and have a richer education.

'It can also help them discover what they like, and what they are good at.'

She said the programme will eventually be in place at all primary schools.

Meanwhile, the pupils of MacPherson Primary are revelling in the outdoor exploration module run by Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), which is among the 33 vendors for PAL activities.

During the eight-week module, pupils spend six weeks learning about the outdoors, and two weeks applying their knowledge outside the classroom, said Ms Rekha Nair, assistant curator of WRS' education department.

The lessons cover outdoor preparedness, first aid, pet responsibility and simple navigation, among other things.

Live animals such as snakes, scorpions and hedgehogs are brought into the classroom, with the module climaxing in visits to the BirdPark and the zoo.

Primary 2 pupil Aiden Visser, eight, said his favourite part of the programme was the visit to the zoo.

'I liked grooming the ponies and feeding the goats. I love animals and I've never had a chance to do something like that before,' he said.

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Food: Everyone has the right to choose

Straits Times 4 Sep 10;

I refer to the article, Between Ethics And Etiquette (LifeStyle, Aug 29). I think the environmentalists are passionate but self-centred. They make it seem that only they are in the right and everyone else is in the wrong.

I respect their decision to eat what they choose to. However, they have no right to impose their beliefs on others. I eat only fish, vegetables and fruit but I attend lunches and dinners where meat is served. I just do not eat the meat dishes. I do not demand that my friends and relatives eat only fish and vegetables. They have the right to eat what they want, just as I have the right to eat what I want.

He XiuYun

My wife and I have never touched or consumed meat. Our eating habits do sometimes cause us inconvenience especially when we travel overseas. However, we do our best not to inconvenience others and complain as little as possible when we do not get what we desire. We also keep our opinions to ourselves. We are okay with dining in the company of non-vegetarians.

Shashi Lal Kashyap

Telling people what they should eat happens only in countries which have lots of food choices. Try asking a man who is dying of hunger whether he is a vegan, �a vegetarian or a meat-eater, and he would probably eat your tongue.

All foods have their own special nutrients that are important to the body. We should be thankful there is a wide variety in Singapore.

Eric Chia

Vegetarians and vegans are peace-loving people who respect all living things. Declining a wedding invitation where shark's fin is served or serving a vegetarian wedding dinner is not imposing one's belief on others. If meat-eaters accept the truth that they do have 'blood on their hands' and if vegetarians and vegans accept that the meat-eaters are happy with 'blood on their hands', we can all eat together in peace.

Priscilla Chng

If you do not want to eat shark's fin, you can tell the waiter you are skipping it. This way, you can stand up for your beliefs and demonstrate your tolerance at the same time.

Couples who throw vegetarian wedding dinners should tell their guests in advance. It is just courteous to do so.

Ringo Tan

Someone once told me that in sharing the gospel of the Christian faith, one should 'use words only when necessary'. Forcing a religion on a non-believer would only repel him from wanting to find out more. In the same way, wouldn't bringing up the brutal slaughtering of endangered animals during a meal only cause others to recoil?

Vegans should let the benefits of their healthy eating habits (they look healthier, for example) speak for themselves.

Speaking up against eating endangered animals is acceptable at the dinner table so long as you are mindful of other diners' reactions. You should take the hint if they try to change the subject.

I refrain from eating shark's fin. I have also watched documentaries which expose the unethical means employed by fast-food chains used to obtain meat for their patties. Despite that, I would still like to eat a cheeseburger occasionally without someone sitting across the dinner table trying to make me feel guilty.

Kerri Pang

The article undermines the environment movement and attempts to portray those who support enlightened eating as rude and socially inept.

The media has vilified environmentalism and made it out to be some form of deviant cult.

I am a vegetarian and I have never avoided a wedding dinner or handed out packets telling people to boycott certain dishes.

In fact, my experience has been that vegetarians tend to be 'attacked' by everyone else at the dining table, for simply passing on the shark's fin.

Would you say that people who sell and eat shark's fin are militantly trying to obliterate one of the sea's greatest creatures? And should people who eat foie gras be labelled as individuals who hate geese and want them to suffer a painful death?

In today's world, where the environment is being degraded and humans are directly affected, shouldn't people change their eating habits a little to respect the environment?

Bee Li

EDITORIAL: No shark's fin, no meat
Straits Times 5 Sep 10;

There is a small but growing group of Singaporeans, many among them young, who will not eat shark's fin, bluefin tuna, foie gras and meat and dairy products. Shark's fin and bluefin tuna, because sharks and the tuna are endangered species, and it is seen as a cruel act when fishermen saw off the fins of sharks while they are still alive. And foie gras because it comes from farm ducks that have been force-fed to grow big unnaturally so they will have bigger livers, or so this group contends.

Those who abstain from meat and dairy products call themselves vegans. They see the slaughter of animals as cruel. These 'ethical eaters' are not alone. They are part of a worldwide movement whose coordinating body is Peta, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Society thrives on diversity. It should respect the stand taken by this group. They believe in their cause and act on it, even if a little too zealously, in their lives. They do not do it for profit or any other material gains. But a problem arises when such folks try to impose their values on others who do not subscribe to their cause.

An ethical eater who refuses to attend a friend's wedding dinner because shark's fin soup is on the menu cannot be applauded for his righteousness, because he is putting his cause above friendship. He can go to the dinner and sit out the shark's fin soup course - quietly. To protest while the dish is being served would also not be the right thing to do. Nor would lecturing others around the table as to why they should boycott what they consider a delicacy.

The Sunday Times Lifestyle section last week featured a vegetarian couple who are tying the knot next year. They are planning an all-vegetarian wedding buffet dinner for about 180 guests. The groom said, if a bit theatrically: 'It's our wedding. We don't want blood on our hands.'

But would that be an imposition on their guests? Some will think so and not share in the joyous occasion. Pity.

Stop, not just discourage, cruelty to animals
Straits Times 12 Sep 10;

I refer to last Sunday's editorial, 'No shark's fin, no meat'.

Changing mindsets takes affirmative action.

The editorial states, without agreeing, that the harvesting of shark's fins and foie gras are deemed cruel to the animals.

This fact has been published in mainstream media for many years. Yet many people continue to eat such food in the full knowledge of the suffering of the animals harvested to produce them.

Cruelty to animals by human beings should be stopped, rather than simply discouraged.

I have lived here for 12 years. Engaging Singaporeans in a debate regarding shark's fins at dinner tables generally elicits agreement that, indeed, the practice of consuming such food should be discouraged - next time, perhaps. But next time does not ever seem to arrive, as this scenario is perpetuated.

My suggestion is we start acting more maturely about this issue. After all, positively changing people's attitudes to animal cruelty should be regarded as a sign of maturity.

Darren Blakeley

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Singapore Recycling Week to focus on e-waste disposal

Grace Chua Straits Times 4 Sep 10;

WHEN minimum energy-efficiency standards for fridges and air-conditioners kick in next year, energy-guzzling models will be taken off the market.

Manufacturers will have unsold items on their hands; and retailers and home owners will have to think about dumping old items, getting them recycled or refurbishing and selling them.

Unwanted appliances, known as e-waste, contain valuable metals and plastics that could be recycled. But left unrecovered, they could release toxic chemicals when incinerated or dumped into landfills. And bulky items like fridges and washing machines take up precious landfill space.

About 200,000 washing machines and 250,000 fridges are sold here each year and the numbers are set to grow.

Mr Alfred Pheh, marketing department manager of Toshiba's consumer electronics division, said this is because young couples moving into their own flats instead of living with their parents are buying appliances.

To curb the waste and mount a dry run for its own push into recycling, Toshiba has taken a booth opposite Lot 1 Shoppers' Mall today, the first day of this year's Recycling Week.

People can sign up there to get their old Toshiba fridges sent for recycling. There will also be booths accepting recyclable appliances of other brands.

Recycling Week, an annual effort by the National Environment Agency (NEA), is focusing on electronics and electrical appliances this year.

Toshiba expects to get 40 to 60 fridges during the event. If the response is good, it may make fridge recycling a fixture and expand the programme to include washing machines.

LG Electronics has been offering customers a recycling service for four years, said its corporate marketing manager Wayne Tang.

An NEA spokesman, explaining the focus on electronic and electrical equipment, said the average lifespan of these items is shrinking. New models are being launched frequently and the range of items is expanding, he said.

Recycling firms say e-waste volume has grown over the years.

Mr Joseph Tan of Recycling Point Dot Com said he processes 200 tonnes of e-waste a month, up from five to 10 tonnes a month 15 years ago.

Introtech, another recycling middleman, ships serviceable machines to other countries in Asia, while Mr Tom Ong, who runs a collection service, refurbishes them for sale here.

Sustainability expert Kua Harn Wei of the National University of Singapore's Department of Building called for business models to be developed to deal with such 'sporadic waste'.

For example, small firms could form networks, each taking a different aspect of recycling, from waste collection to transportation and processing, he said.

Where to recyclewhat

THE National Environment Agency's Recycling Week activities aim to collect 7,000kg of recyclables, including e-waste comprising unwanted electronics and electrical appliances.

These collection centres will accept electronics and household appliances such as computers, computer peripherals, cellphones and accessories, microwave ovens, television sets, hi-fis, kettles and small fridges.

The collection points will be at the following community venues on the stated dates:

Today, 9am to 5pm: Opposite Lot One Shoppers' Mall

Sept 10, 11am to 7pm at:

# West Mall

# Level 1, Northpoint Shopping Centre

# Level 3, Junction 8 Shopping Centre

# Changi Simei Community Club

Sept 11, 9am to 5pm at:

# The open field beside Eastpoint Mall

# Block 502, Jurong West Avenue1

# In front of Toa Payoh Public Library

# Hougang Central Hub, next to Hougang MRT station


Food-for-recycled items swop goes down a treat
Straits Times 5 Sep 10;

Every week, residents in the Changi-Simei constituency can exchange their recyclable items for food items like rice, noodles and canned food at one of its four residents' committee centres.

The initiative has been a hit with the residents, with the constituency collecting more than 200 tonnes of recyclables from July last year to June this year. It collected about 68 tonnes between July 2008 and June last year, and about 25 tonnes the year before that.

This is just one of the 102 outreach activities planned by the constituency over the past three years to promote recycling. For that, it was one of five constituencies that won the inaugural 3Rs Achiever Awards, given out yesterday at the launch of Recycling Week.

The award is given to constituencies with the highest number of 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) programmes and events per district.

The other four winners are Punggol South, Woodlands, Thomson and Choa Chu Kang.

Mr Andrew Tan, chief executive of the National Environment Agency (NEA), said the constituencies helped push the household participation rate for the National Recycling Programme from 15 per cent in 2001 to 63 per cent last year.

One focus of this year's Recycling Week will be electronics and electrical appliances. Collection points have been set up in the heartland and shopping malls for the public to drop off their old computers, TV sets and fridges.

The NEA is also working with more companies to cut packaging waste. To date, 121 firms have signed the Singapore Packaging Agreement, up from 32 in 2007. The agreement commits companies to reduce the weight, size and thickness of packaging materials.

Jamie Ee Wen Wei

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Giving old batteries a new lease of life

Local firm's charger can boost conservation and recycling, and benefit electric vehicle industry
Lester Kok Straits Times 4 Sep 10;

RECHARGING batteries too often can cause them to die after a while.

But a new charger invented by a local start-up can extend batteries' shelf life by juicing them up differently from other chargers.

The product, on sale for $85 at Bliss Computer Trading in Sim Lim Square, can also charge normal alkaline and dry-cell batteries fully in an hour.

This is unlike other chargers on the market which require special rechargeable batteries and take up to four hours for a full charge.

Battizer, which started in March, used the same technology to develop a quick charger for electric vehicles (EVs).

It then took its vehicle charger to FTD Technology, the local distributor of India-made Ampere electric scooters.

In the test, the scooters' batteries were charged fully in just one hour, a fraction of the normal four to eight hours taken with the normal charger.

Mr Johnny Lai, sales manager of FTD Technology, said it was amazed by the results, as initially it was 'sceptical about the technology'.

'However, after repeated testing, we were convinced. The charging time is shortened, the battery remains cool while charging and the e-scooter's performance is much better than before,' he said.

Mr Lai said this quick-charging innovation is critical for EVs, especially in countries like India and Indonesia, where electrical supply can be disrupted at any time. He added that as EVs require more energy, the capacity of batteries will need to increase, which would then lengthen the charging time - so Battizer's innovation could be a solution.

Professor Lu Li, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore, said the quick-charge duration will be a boon to the electric vehicle industry.

'If the batteries for EVs can be charged as fast as pumping petrol, EVs can be used without hesitation.'

The two founders of Battizer, Mr Jeremy Yap and Mr Alvin Tan, started out in the battery industry in 2005, when they were contacted by the United States company Battery Doctors and asked to operate battery servicing in Asia.

Mr Tan, who is in charge of marketing, said they have sold more than 8,500 charging sets since the launch at the end of April.

Local aviation engineer Ong Sze Tiong had bought a set out of curiosity after reading about them in The Straits Times.

'I have to admit that after using the charger, I have no complaints about it. It is fantastic and unbelievable,' he said.

Sales are coming in steadily for the chargers, especially from developing countries like Thailand and the Philippines.

Mr Tan said this was because shop owners in the Philippines had purchased multiple chargers, so they can recharge used batteries and resell them at low prices.

'The people (there) cannot afford the charger but they are willing to buy recharged alkaline batteries because they are cheaper than new ones,' Mr Tan added.

He also said that more public awareness and education about recharging used batteries is needed in Singapore, to promote the habit of recycling and help conserve the environment.

In 2008, while running their first company, Battery Doctors Asia, Mr Yap and Mr Tan toured local schools, conducting recycling programmes to collect used batteries, then recharging them and giving them to charities.

They will be restarting the recycling project again later this year.

Despite the benefits of the new charger, not everyone welcomes it.

After a demonstration of their battery charger prototype to a major battery manufacturer in Indonesia, both Mr Yap and Mr Tan were told to leave, as their charger might cause many factory workers to lose their jobs.

Associate Professor Choo Fook Hoong, from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, said the battery industry will be affected, with lower sales in the short term since normal batteries can now be used many times before disposal.

However, he added: 'In the long term, more products will be designed to exploit the convenience and lower costs of batteries in the long run. Consumers would probably utilise their gadgets and equipment more often.'

Prof Choo also said that recharging used batteries is a form of recycling, which is needed for 'sustainability, because demand for batteries will rise again to a new steady-state'.

Prof Lu, on the other hand, thinks that the battery industry will not be affected much as the take-up rate of the charger depends on its price and the battery usage of the consumers.

'Let's take the remote control, for example. Normally, you change the batteries once a year or even two years, which would cost one or two dollars. How many people think it is worth paying much more for a charger?' he said.

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Vulture numbers take flight in Cambodia: group

Yahoo News 3 Sep 10;

PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Cambodia's critically endangered vulture population has become the only one in Asia on the rise this year, helped by nest protection and a chain of "restaurants", a wildlife group said Friday.

The country's three species of vulture -- white-rumped, red-headed, and slender billed -- now number 296 birds, from 260 in 2009 and just 166 in 2004, a census by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) found.

WCS said vulture numbers have been dwindling throughout Asia for years, driven in part by deaths caused when the birds eat cattle carcasses laced with an anti-inflammatory drug -- dicloflenac -- which is fatal to them.

The group said Cambodia is the only Asian nation where the drug is rarely used, while the Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project, a partnership led by WCS, has introduced a number of innovations to help the birds avoid threats.

Communities have been paid to protect nests, while diclofenac-free food has been supplied at seven "vulture restaurants" -- feeding stations across eastern and northern Cambodia that also allow tourists to see the huge birds up close.

"By protecting nests and supplementing food supplies, we are saving some of the world?s largest and most charismatic birds," Dr Hugo Rainey, WCS technical adviser to the project said in a statement on the group's website.

"Nowhere else in Asia do vultures have such a promising future."

WCS said its census indicated that numbers of white-rumped vultures are increasing, while populations of red-headed and slender billed vultures are stable, though all three are still officially listed as critically endangered.

The group said 36 vulture chicks hatched from colonies across the north and east of the country, almost twice the number in the previous season.

But WCS warned rising pesticide use in agriculture posed a new threat to the vultures, causing more than 20 deaths since 2008.

Increase in Cambodia's vultures gives hope to imperiled scavengers
Wildlife Conservation Society EurekAlert 3 Sep 10;

While vultures across Asia teeter on the brink of extinction, the vultures of Cambodia are increasing in number, providing a beacon of hope for these threatened scavengers, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other members of the Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project.

Researchers report that record numbers of vultures have been counted in Cambodia's annual vulture census, with 296 birds of three species found at multiple sites across the Northern and Eastern Plains of Cambodia by the Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project, a partnership of conservationists led by the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The record count means that Cambodia is home to the only increasing population of vultures in Asia. Specifically, the census indicates that the country's population of white-rumped vultures is increasing; populations of red-headed and slender billed vultures were found to be stable. All three of Cambodia's vulture species are listed as "Critically Endangered" by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

Vulture populations in Southeast Asia are primarily threatened by the declining number of large herbivores in the region, but have been largely unaffected by a far greater threat to Asia's vultures: the veterinary drug diclofenac. Widely used as an anti-inflammatory drug for cattle in South Asia, diclofenac is toxic to vultures, causing death through renal failure and visceral gout to birds that feed on the cattle carcasses and has led to global population declines higher than 99 percent in some vulture species.

The census success follows a record breeding season for vultures in Cambodia. This year, a total of 36 vulture chicks fledged from colonies across the north and east of the country, an increase from last year's total of 19 chicks.

Vulture conservation efforts in Cambodia are the result of a number of activities promoted by the Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project. For instance, vulture nests are protected by local community members who are paid a small fee for their support. This ensures that vulture nesting success is greatly improved and also benefits local community members who often have few other sources of income during the dry season, which coincides with the vulture breeding season. Vulture food sources are supplemented by 'vulture restaurants,' feeding stations that also give visitors the opportunity to see these huge birds up close.

"By protecting nests and supplementing food supplies, we are saving some of the world's largest and most charismatic birds," stated Dr. Hugo Rainey, WCS technical advisor to the Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project. "Nowhere else in Asia do vultures have such a promising future."

While conservationists can point to recent successes in the conservation of Cambodia's vultures, they also warn of the rising threat of agricultural pesticides to the birds. Since December 2008, more than 20 vultures are known to have died from consuming domestic animals that had been poisoned accidentally by the inappropriate use of pesticides. This practice may also present a risk to human health.

Song Chansocheat, Ministry of Environment and WCS Vulture Project Manager, commented that "Cambodia is the only Asian country where diclofenac is rarely used and vulture populations are managed. We have been monitoring vultures since 2004 and there have been increasing numbers of poisoned birds recently. Educating people about the risk to wildlife and people from incorrect use of poisons is important."

"Cambodia has become a critical source site for vultures, one that we need to protect as a means of saving these ecologically valuable birds," said Joe Walston, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Asia Program.

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The Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project is a partnership of different government agencies and conservation organizations led by WCS and also includes the Forestry Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the General Department of Administration for Nature Conservation and Protection of the Ministry of Environment, BirdLife International in Indochina, Worldwide Fund for Nature, Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) and Conservation International. Support for these efforts is provided by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF)/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ACCB, WWF US and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF). The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund is a joint initiative of l'Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. A fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation.

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