Australia PM urges help for 'unprecedented' floods

Amy Coopes Yahoo News 29 Dec 10;

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday warned "unprecedented" flooding would worsen after entire towns were cut off and soldiers airlifted hundreds of people from northeastern towns.

Drenching rains unleashed by a tropical cyclone have left vast tracts of the state of Queensland under water, with 1,000 evacuations and 38 regions declared natural disaster areas.

Gillard launched a public appeal for relief funds, pledging one million dollars (one million US) of government money to help those hit by the "particularly devastating" deluge.

"Some communities are seeing floodwaters higher than they've seen in decades, and for some communities floodwaters have never reached these levels before (in) the time that we have been recording floods," Gillard told reporters.

"For many communities we haven't even seen the peak of the floodwaters yet, that's a number of days away."

Hundreds fled their homes in the coastal city of Bundaberg, north of Brisbane, and in nearby Emerald, while the inundated town of Theodore was completely emptied by soldiers with Black Hawk helicopters.

The area resembled a vast inland sea, with crops and farmland worth billions of dollars drowned by the downpour, said local MP Vaughan Johnson.

"I flew over the area from Alpha to Barcaldine in a helicopter yesterday and I've never seen water laying in that country (area) like it is now -- never," Johnson told ABC radio.

"It's like a delta system draining, and you've got to see it to believe it."

Some people were left homeless after the surge and were camping in evacuation centres with little more than the clothes on their backs, while others took refuge in mining camps or with family and friends.

"We've got nowhere to go, we've got no family here," said Bundaberg man Daniel Bell, whose home was completely swamped. "You feel powerless. Absolutely powerless. All you can do is pray."

Floodwaters are expected to peak Friday at Emerald, with authorities warning the disaster will exceed major floods there in early 2008 that forced 2,700 evacuations and left a damage bill in excess of 50 million dollars.

Residents of the town of Rockhampton may be forcibly evacuated later this week as the flooding spreads and there is further rain, potentially closing the city's airport and all inbound roads and railways, said mayor Brad Carter.

Rockhampton's river is forecast to sit near flood levels for as long as 10 days, putting about 400 homes at risk.

The town of Dalby, to the southwest, may run out of drinking water within two days following damage to its water treatment plant, and local authorities are considering trucking in supplies.

Economists have estimated that the flooding could cost the economy as much as seven billion dollars in agricultural losses and delays to coal shipments.

Gillard, who is on a Christmas break, said she would tour affected areas in the coming days.

Australian Downpour Spreads South, Cuts Off Towns
PlanetArk 29 Dec 10;

Heavy rain across much of eastern Australia left towns cut off by floods on Monday as the storms spread southwards and threatened agriculture and mining, forecasters said.

The deluge over the Christmas weekend has gradually moved south from northeastern Queensland to hit agricultural areas of New South Wales, with further rainfall forecast for coming days.

Up to 250 mm of rain was recorded in the 24 hours to 6 p.m. EST Sunday in parts of Queensland, as the remains of a tropical cyclone that hit the coast on Saturday moved across inland areas, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said.

Sugar planters, wheat growers and coal miners in the affected states are among those likely to be hardest hit.

Several towns had been cut off in both states by rising floodwaters, while emergency services have evacuated families in the worst-hit areas. Gale warnings were issued for some coastal areas.

Flood warnings were in place on Monday for more than a dozen rivers in each state, while forecasters warned of the potential for flash flooding.

Much of the rain has fallen on key sugar growing areas of Queensland. Australia, a top sugar exporter along with Brazil and Thailand, this month slashed its current year sugar export forecast by 25 percent as flooding reduced sugar content of cane.

The crop damage over recent weeks has helped propel sugar prices to 30-year highs and forced the nation's biggest sugar exporter, Queensland Sugar Ltd (QSL), to buy more raw sugar from Brazil and Thailand to meet its export commitments following the wettest spring on record.

Industry body Canegrowers has said this year's crop had largely been harvested, so the rain would have less impact, but there were still concerns about sugar cane planted in the last six months and due for harvest around May.

The wheat harvest has also largely ground to a halt in affected areas.

Australia is also a leading coal exporter, much of it mined in the eastern states. Coal mines have been flooded and some producers have declared "force majeure" - indicating to their buyers that they may not be able to meet targets as originally agreed for reasons beyond their control.

(Editing by Nick Macfie)

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Best of our wild blogs: 29 Dec 10

Mystery Animals Solved!
from Psychedelic Nature

The Huntsman Spider's Babies
from Macro Photography in Singapore

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Resorts World Sentosa told to review dolphins by man who sold them the dolphins

From dolphin 'Darth Vader' to activist
Benson Ang The New Paper Asia One 26 Dec 10;

JUST two years ago, Mr Chris Porter, 40, considered the world's biggest dolphin broker, was reported to have sold 25 dolphins to Singapore's Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

But the man who was once referred to as the "Darth Vader of dolphins" is now an animal activist.

After two of the dolphins he sold to RWS in 2008 died recently, Mr Porter has called for RWS to review its motivation for using these animals as a tourist draw.

His main beef: RWS is using the animals primarily to make money while telling the public that its aim is to educate the public on marine conservation.

Mr Porter wants RWS to be upfront with its intentions.

He told The New Paper in an e-mail: "I would like to see more information on the amount of direct conservation work RWS plans to do and the amount of direct impact its display will have."

By impact, he meant "not only for the economical benefit of Singaporeans, but also for the social benefit to wild dolphins".

Mr Porter was responding to The New Paper's queries after two bottlenose dolphins that RWS had planned to display in its upcoming Marine Life Park (MLP) died in October.

An RWS spokesman confirmed this and said that both dolphins were female.

One was under seven years old and the other was under 10 years old.

Both dolphins died from an acute bacterial infection that arose from contact with contaminated soil and surface waters, the spokesman added.

The two dolphins have been with RWS since January this year.

Because of the deaths, local animal group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) has called for RWS to reconsider its decision to include dolphins in its park.

Mr Louis Ng, Acres' executive director, told TNP that he was "disappointed" that RWS would continue with its plan.

"What can RWS really teach its visitors about dolphin protection?

"Would it not be an irony and contradiction for RWS to ask its visitors to protect dolphins when it obtained 25 individual dolphins from the wild and two have now passed away?" Mr Ng said.

"RWS must rethink its decision urgently. If Mr Chris Porter, a dolphin trader, can have a change of heart, then surely RWS can as well."

RWS currently has five dolphins in a holding area in Langkawi. Another 18 are being trained at Ocean Adventure Park in the Philippines, according to a report in Today newspaper.

These dolphins were caught from the wild in the Solomon Islands, near Papua New Guinea, by the Solomon Islands Marine Mammal Education Center and Exporters, which was owned by Mr Porter, the Solomon Star news website reported.

Mr Porter, who has been dealing in marine life for 21 years, felt that caring for animals in the industry has generally been buried under the red tape of companiesand organisations.

Referring to both dolphin catchers and protesters, he saidhe felt that both sides tend to bemore preoccupied with their own concerns and "the animals themselves are secondary".

Animal ambassadors

"These (animals) are ambassadors of their wild species for human benefit through education and display and profit.

"They should be treated as importantly as all ambassadors around the world."

Responding to Mr Porter's comments, an RWS spokesman told TNP via e-mail: "The MLP has consistently pledged its commitment to develop a facility that will set the standard in Asia for animal care, learning and education."

He explained that the MLP began conservation efforts even before it opened by launching the Marine Life Fund, worth S$3.2 million, in May 2008 to help marine life-related research, education and conservation projects.

The spokesman said: "RWS has also undertaken coral conservation and today remains one of the few destination resorts in the world that does not serve sharks' fin soup in its restaurants."

On the death of its two dolphins, RWS said it did not announce the news immediately as it was awaiting conclusive pathology results.

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ExxonMobil refinery fire: SCDF withdraws charges

Leong Wee Keat Channel NewsAsia 28 Dec 10;

SCDF alleged previously that the oil giant had failed to let firemen put out a fire at one of its refineries.

SCDF did not elaborate on its latest decision during a brief court hearing on Tuesday.

When queried later by Channel NewsAsia, an SCDF spokesman said: "The management of ExxonMobil has appealed and also taken prompt corrective actions...in view of this, SCDF decided to issue a stern warning in lieu of proceeding with charges against the company."

The fire in question at the Pioneer Road refinery occurred on January 6, and SCDF officers were also not allowed in some two hours later to investigate and determine its cause.

A third summons was for allegedly failing to notify SCDF immediately about the fire.

ExxonMobil apologised on Monday for the company's "part in the circumstances leading to the charges". "We've since reviewed our internal processes to ensure that such an incident won't occur again," its spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia. "We're also working with SCDF to ensure a closer alignment in our operational processes with all the ground personnel."

ExxonMobil gave assurances about the safety of its workers and the community.

"The Singapore refinery, as with other ExxonMobil sites, has an emergency response plan, and the employees prepare themselves through regular training and drills," said its spokesperson.

She said the company was equipped with a range of fire fighting equipment, which are subject to SCDF audits, and response teams were staffed with personnel trained at the SCDF Academy.

Under the Fire Safety Act, authorised personnel have the right to enter any premises to check for fire hazards and to determine the causes of a fire, among other duties.

Breaching the law carries a maximum fine of S$10,000, up to six months in jail, or both.

-CNA/ac

SCDF drops charges against ExxonMobil
Straits Times 28 Dec 10;

OIL giant ExxonMobil was cleared of three charges of refusing to allow firefighters into its premises to put out a fire earlier this year.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) withdrew the charges against the company during a night court session.

Its assistant director of corporate communications, Major Leslie Williams, said: 'The management of ExxonMobil has appealed and also taken prompt corrective actions... The SCDF decided to issue a stern warning in lieu of proceeding with charges.'

The company was acquitted of refusing to allow SCDF personnel into its Jurong Refinery in Pioneer Road and Shipyard Road on Jan 6 to extinguish a fire, determine the cause, and ensure that the fire safety manager notified the Commissioner of SCDF immediately of the incident.

An ExxonMobil spokesman expressed gratitude to the SCDF for acceding to its representations and withdrawing the charges.

'We regret and are sorry for our part in the circumstances leading to the charges.

'We have since reviewed our internal processes to ensure that such an incident will not occur again, and we continue to work with the SCDF to ensure a closer alignment in our operational process with all their ground personnel.'

She assured the public that the Singapore refinery, like all other ExxonMobil sites, has an emergency response plan and employees prepare themselves through regular training and drills.

ELENA CHONG

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Poaching Decimates Fish Stocks in Tambelans: Scientists

Ismira Lutfia Jakarta Globe 28 Dec 10;

Fish stocks in the Natuna Sea between Kalimantan and the Malay Peninsula have declined sharply in the past 30 years because of poaching, Indonesian scientists said on Monday.

Fahmi, a member of a scientific expedition that recently returned from the area, said the population density of demersal, or bottom-feeding fish, around the Tambelan Islands was 0.27 tons per square kilometer.

“This is a sharp decline from the last figure we had in 1974, which showed the fish population density there was 1.8 to 2.3 tons per square kilometer,” he said.

He added scientists had carried out the research around 12 of the 76 islands that make up the Tambelan archipelago.

Suharsono, director of the Oceanography Research Center at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), blamed the decline on poaching by foreign fishing vessels in the largely unpatrolled waters.

He also said local fishermen may have inadvertently helped these foreign fishing fleets without knowing they were operating illegally.

He said this called for the government to raise awareness of the issue among local fishing communities on all of the country’s outlying islands.

“We can help fish stocks recover quickly if we can control human activities in those areas,” Suharsono said.

Earlier this month Agence France-Presse reported that foreign fishing boats sometimes flew Indonesian flags in order to fish illegally in the Natuna Sea.

  Endang Sukara, LIPI’s deputy head of biosciences, said last month that up to 100 million tons of fish were illegally poached from Indonesian waters each year, threatening the country’s lucrative fish stocks.

The Natuna expedition also assessed the feasibility of turning the Tambelan Islands into a marine sanctuary, an idea proposed by the Bintan Island administration in Riau Islands province, which has jurisdiction over the Tambelan archipelago.

The Bintan administration cited the islands’ importance as a dugong habitat and nesting place for sea turtles as a reason for turning it into a sanctuary.

However, the scientists concluded that not all of the islands there were suitable for a marine sanctuary.

“There are only four islands that we have recommended as suitable for this purpose,” said Dirhamsyah, the research coordinator for the expedition.

Fahmi said the scientists would compile their findings to serve as a reference for the Bintan administration on the feasibility of turning the Tambelan Islands into a sanctuary.

Another finding made by the team was of the strong sea current around the islands, consistently registering at more than one meter per second. They suggested this could potentially be harnessed to generate electricity.

“Some of these islands would also be suitable for development as ecotourism areas,” Fahmi said.

The expedition involved marine biologists, oceanographers and social scientists from LIPI and 19 universities across the country, who sailed on board the Baruna Jaya VIII research vessel, operated by LIPI.

The scientists departed on their two-leg expedition last month from the Muara Baru fishing port in North Jakarta.

The first leg of the trip was to the Natuna Sea from Nov. 4 to 16, while the second leg of the trip was to the waters off South Kalimantan from Nov. 19 to Dec. 1.

The scientists now expect to publish 25 research papers on their findings in scientific journals in the country, Dirhamsyah said. “We’re looking to have some of them published in international journals, but that might take some time since the peer-review process takes at least one or two years,” he said.

The Rp 5 billion ($560,000) tab for the entire expedition was picked up by the government through the National Education Ministry’s Directorate General of Higher Education.

Overfishing depleting Tambelan Islands maritime resources
The Jakarta Post 5 Jan 11;

Scientists are warning that the ecosystem of the Tambelan Islands, located at the southern part of the Natuna Islands in Riau, has been severely degraded by overfishing, threatening several endangered species including sea turtles.

Erlinda Yurisanthae, a marine scientist from Tanjungpura University in West Kalimantan, said that the use of illegal fishing methods, such huge trawling nets, explosives and poisons such as potassium cyanide, were endangering Tambelan’s biodiversity, including its coral reefs and sea turtles.

“Economic activity has had a significant affect on Tambelan’s coastal areas,” she told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a two-day workshop titled “The Natuna Sea and South Kalimantan Waters Expedition”.

Erlinda was part of the expedition, which was comprised of 36 scientists from the Oceanographic Research Center at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and 22 lecturers from several local universities.

The expedition visited Natuna from Nov. 4 to 16 and South Kalimantan from Nov. 19 to Dec. 1.

Erlinda said illegal fishing had been carried out primarily by fishermen from outside of the Tambelan Islands, although some local fishermen were allegedly paid to direct outsiders to good fishing locations.

The Tambelan Islands cover 356,905 hectares of Bintan Regency, the administrative center of Bintan Island in Riau Islands Province.

Tambelan, which has a northern border on the South China Sea, can only be reached by sea from Bintan Regency.

The sea turtle is one of the most endangered animals in the world, according to the list of the most protected animals, which prohibits international trade in protected species.

Fahmi, a LIPI marine scientist, said the expedition also discovered that the population of the sea turtles was declining, despite a huge initial turtle population, especially on Uwi Island and Pejantan Island.

Aside from overfishing, an ongoing local tradition of eating turtle eggs might also have contributed to bringing the sea turtles to the brink of extinction, Fahmi said.

“They won’t stop consuming turtle eggs, so to the population decreases,” he told the Post.

Fahmi said local residents claimed that they were preserving the turtle population by protecting turtle nesting places along the beaches and prohibiting the slaughter of turtles.

In fact, they were making it easier to harvest turtle eggs, which were sold for at very low prices ranging from Rp 600 (7 US cents) to Rp 1,200, depending on their size, he said.

Over the last several years, the Riau administration has advocated the development of a national park for Tambelan Islands. By establishing a national park, exploitation of biodiversity would be effectively illegal.

“The local government has suggested that a marine national park be established over an area of 15 million hectares, mostly located in the Tambelan Islands,” said Husni Azkab, a LIPI scientist.

A proposed regional law on the Tambelan National Park should have been deliberated this year, but was delayed due to several obstacles, including a lack of scientific data.

The local residents of Tambelan depend on the sea and its marine resources for their livelihoods, but resources were continuously depleted by overfishing, he said.

According to LIPI’s Oceanographic Research Center, the coral reef ecosystem of the Tambelan Islands has been continuously degrading since the 1990s.

According to the Natuna Expedition, only 6.41 percent of Indonesia’s coral reefs, including those in Tambelan, were in very good condition, while 24.3 percent were in good condition, 29.22 percent were in moderate condition and 40.14 percent had been damaged.

Apart from establishing a marine conservation park in Tambelan, Erlinda said the local government should designate fishing areas for local fishermen so they would not lose their livelihoods. Alternative economic activities should also be provided for local people during the transition period.

“I don’t see any rejection of these ideas from the local people because they understand that the Tambelan ecosystem has been severely degraded by illegal fishing and the use of prohibited fishing methods,” she said.

“They have seen the decrease in fish catches from year to year. They want to end this difficult situation.”

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry recorded that the volume of commercial marine species in Natuna waters was 0.27 tons per square meter in 2010, down from between 1.8 to 2.3 tons per square meter in 1974, due to overfishing. (ebf)

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Manatees paddle to warm water to escape Florida chill

Associated Press Google News 29 Dec 10;

APOLLO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — People aren't the only ones in Florida who don't like cold weather.

Manatees — those giant aquatic mammals with the flat, paddle-shaped tails — are swimming out of the chilly Gulf of Mexico waters and into warmer springs and power plant discharge canals. On Tuesday, more than 300 manatees floated in the outflow of Tampa Electric's Big Bend Power Station.

"It's like a warm bathtub for them," said Wendy Anastasiou, an environmental specialist at the power station's manatee viewing center. "They come in here and hang out and loll around."

Cold weather can weaken manatees' immune systems and eventually kill them. State officials said 2010 has been a deadly year for the beloved animals: between Jan. 1 and Dec. 17, 246 manatees died from so-called "cold stress." During the same time period in 2009, only 55 manatees died from the cold. In 2008, only 22 manatees succumbed to chilly temperatures.

Manatee deaths documented from Jan. 1 through Dec. 5 are nearly double the five-year average for that time period, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission statistics.

"Obviously we're very concerned as an agency about the unusually high number of manatee deaths this year," said Wendy Quigley, a spokeswoman with the state-run Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg.

A total of 699 manatees were found dead between Jan. 1 and Dec. 5; state officials say it's likely the cold temperatures also contributed to many of the 203 deaths in the "undetermined" category and the 68 deaths of manatees whose bodies could not be recovered.

Quigley noted that the statistics don't even include this week's cold snap, which sent temperatures plummeting into the 30s in parts of South Florida overnight and into the teens in the central part of the state.

Tampa Bay and Gulf water temperatures are hovering around 50 degrees, said Anastasiou. When the water dips below 68, manatees seek warmer waters — usually springs or the power plant discharge canals. The water temperature in the power plant's Big Bend canal ranges from about 65-75 degrees, Anastasiou said. Even though they're huge animals, manatees are very cold sensitive.

"They're not blubbery mammals. They're very lean mammals," Anastasiou said. "They need the warmth. They need a warm place to go."

The herbivores will brave the cold temperatures to forage for sea grass but will sometimes stay in the warm canal without eating for days.

Adult manatees can weigh up to 1,200 pounds and grow to be 10 feet long. During the warmer months, manatees leave Florida and can be found as far west as Texas and as far north as Massachusetts — although sightings along the Gulf Coast and near the Carolinas are also common.

During last year's cold snap, some 329 manatees congregated at the Tampa Electric power station. In Broward County on Tuesday, some 50 manatees gathered in the outfall of a Florida Power and Light plant.

State officials are also warning boaters to slow down and be on the lookout for manatees in the warmer, shallow water, where the mammals can fall victim to boat propellers. Hundreds have been spotted in local waters, state wildlife officials said.

Officials say most of the manatees were in the warmer waters near Florida Power and Light's power plants. However, some small groups were spotted in the Intracoastal Waterway.

Meanwhile Tuesday in coastal Mobile, Ala., a 700-pound manatee died during a rescue attempt.

Ruth Carmichael, head of the manatee program at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, said she and a team from the Mobile Manatees Sighting Network wrapped the animal in warm towels when they were called Saturday to a Mobile Bay beach.

Carmichael said rescuers used a stretcher made of car towing straps to move the manatee onto a trailer, and had hoped to haul the animal to the Institute of Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Miss.

The young male was supposed to have migrated to Florida waters about two months ago, though it was unclear if the animal died because of chilly conditions, Carmichael said.

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New species abound in Peru, but so do threats

Roberto Cortijo Yahoo News 27 Dec 10;

LIMA (AFP) – Each year, a new bird is found and every four years a new mammal discovered in the Peruvian Amazon, a haven for biodiversity where conservation and danger often go hand in hand.

Although Peru is known for its Andes mountain range, the Amazon actually covers 60 percent of the country's territory. It is a hotbed of bio-activity and is home to 25,000 species of plants -- 10 percent of the world's stock.

Thanks to the Amazon, Peru has the world's second-largest bird population (1,800 species) and is among the top five countries for mammals (515 species) and reptiles (418 species).

This year alone, scientists stumbled upon a previously unknown leech and a new type of mosquito.

The animal population has grown in recent years, namely adding a mini poison dart frog with a fire-red head and blue legs (Ranitomeya amazonica), a purple-throated Sunangel hummingbird (Heliangelus viola) and a "tyrannosaurus leech" with eight teeth (Tyrannobdella reina).

More than 1,200 new species of plants or animals have been discovered in 10 years in the Amazon, according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature. But paradoxically, the novel species are often discovered during the very activities that threaten the Amazon the most.

"Most of these discoveries don't happen during scientific expeditions, which are often costly. They most often come when workers are digging exploration sites for oil, mining or lumber companies," said WWF Peru's Amazon program director Michael Valqui.

"This type of discovery is also simultaneously endangering the species that is being discovered in its one and only habitat."

Peru, home to one of the biggest forest lands -- 700,000 square kilometers (270,270 square miles) -- is also a magnet for resource extraction.

The number of concessions granted has doubled since 2006 to cover 16 percent of the territory, according to the Observatory of Mining Conflicts in Latin America.

At the same time, Peru boasts of being on the cutting edge of conservation, with 15 percent of its territory under protected status.

"And we're aiming for 30 percent," said Environment Minister Antonio Brack.

Environmentalists, though, worry about the future of biodiversity and the species living outside these protected zones.

"There are no clear signals as to what the country intends to do to protect biodiversity," said Ivan Lanegra, representative of the influential government-funded Peruvian ombudsman office.

Gerard Herail of France's IRD research and development institute in Lima noted that "a mining or hydrocarbons firm is not innately destructive. The key is whether or not it is 'clean'," or uses cleaner methods and technologies.

More species are disappearing than are being discovered around the world, noted Ernesto Raez, who heads the Sustainable Development Center at Cayetano Heredia University in Lima.

"In other words, species are disappearing before we discover them," he added.

But the IRD says the very context of their disappearance allows the group to "develop biodiversity conservation strategies," such as those deployed successfully for the huge arapaima or paiche fish (Arapaima gigas), one of the largest freshwater fish in the world.

Twenty-one species remain in "critical danger" of extinction in Peru, according to 2004 numbers, including the short-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla brevicaudata) and the sharp-eared bat (Tompoeas ravus). The leaf-eared mouse (phyllotis andinum) is believed to have already disappeared.

The Lima gecko (Phyllodactylus sentosus), a minuscule nocturnal lizard also in critical danger, illustrates the sometimes complex relationship between threat and conservation.

The gecko finds its habitat in the darkest corners of the huacas, pre-Hispanic burial grounds or ritual sites that dot Lima and the coast.

"But archeologists' maintenance work, crucial for conservation, is exactly what's destroying the gecko's habitat" and triggering its downfall, said Valqui.

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Sand from Bangladesh may boost Maldives

UPI 28 Dec 10;

DHAKA, Bangladesh, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Sand from Bangladesh may help to keep the Maldives above water under a proposed agreement between the two countries, an official said.

"We have received a proposal from the Maldives government regarding this. They want to import soil from our country in defense against rising sea levels," said Bangladesh Commerce Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan, the Business Standard newspaper of India reports.

The two countries are investigating the possibility and may sign an agreement within three or four months, Khan said.

Dredging Bangladesh's rivers has become necessary because of huge amounts of sediment -- totaling around 264 billion gallons -- that is naturally deposited from the Himalayas. As a result, the country's rivers are becoming increasingly difficult for vessels to navigate, Khan said.

Dredging would start with Mongla Port on the Posur River and isn't likely to have an impact on Bangladesh's environment, Khan said.

"We are more than happy if the deal works out because it will be beneficial for a brotherly nation," Khan said.

The Maldives' 1,200 low-lying islands and coral atolls, about 500 miles from the tip of India, are in danger of disappearing if the current pace of global climate change continues. In 2007, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that rising sea levels of up to nearly 2 feet would swamp many of the country's islands, which average 4.9 feet above sea level.

To keep back the ocean, the Maldives has had to build sea walls and residents of 16 islands need to be relocated to bigger islands. Those larger islands, in turn, are in the process of being reclaimed and recreated, Maldives' President Mohamed Nasheed recently told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Last October, Nasheed had the world's first underwater Cabinet meeting to call attention to climate change and has pledged that his country would go carbon neutral by 2020 by switching to 100 percent renewable energy.

In November, the Maldives was the first country to release a carbon audit, which calculated future emissions trajectories and included recommendations to reduce greenhouse gases and oil dependency.

Nasheed was ranked 39th in Foreign Policy magazine's listing of the most influential 100 people globally in 2010, referring to him as "the world's most environmentally outspoken president."

"He has made his tiny country -- a string of atolls in the Indian Ocean … a poster child for the need to stop global warming," the magazine said of Nasheed.

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Best of our wild blogs: 28 Dec 10

What's new at TeamSeagrass? Plenty!
from teamseagrass

Hermits and robbers
from The annotated budak

No Ghosts. Just Dragons.
from Pulau Hantu

101227 Odontomantis. Partial life history.
from Singapore Nature

Sundial snail wins!
from wild shores of singapore

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Exotic stingray pets in Singapore

Swimming into their hearts ...
Lynda Hong Ee Lyn Today Online 28 Dec 10;

SINGAPORE - It may be the Year of the Rabbit soon but it is another creature that is getting lots of attention.

The exotic stingray is swimming its way into the hearts of pet owners.

Those in the pet business say the economic recovery has boosted sales of pet stingrays by as much as 10 per cent compared to one to two years ago.

Enthusiasts are willing to shell out anywhere between $50 and $5,000 for these freshwater beauties.

Exotic stingray breeder Dennis Phua said enthusiasts get to know of these fishes through friends, fish shops and the Internet. "They are very rare, these stingrays. They are pretty exotic, not everybody is able to get his hands on this exotic fish and this heightens interest," he said. Many of the exotic rays come from Brazil and they cost more than those bred on farms in Singapore.

A 20-gallon glass-walled fish tank, with aeration, would keep a couple of stingrays quite happy. Rays tend to burrow into sandy bottom tanks and only show up during feeding time. So most enthusiasts opt for a plain glass-bottomed tank. Evelyn Lam and Lynda Hong

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Subterranean warehouse in Singapore

South-east Asia's first underground rock cavern for oil storage expects strong industry demand, reports UMA SHANKARI
Business Times 28 Dec 10;

JTC's ground-breaking Jurong Rock Cavern (JRC) project, which has been in the making for close to a decade, is finally taking shape.

Construction of the $950 million first phase of the mega-project is now about one year along and some of the development's caverns, tunnels and associated facilities are in the process of being built.

JTC also said that interest from industry players - especially manufacturers on Jurong Island - is strong.

JRC, which will be South-east Asia's first underground rock cavern for oil storage, will offer some 1.47 million cubic metres of oil storage space for the storage of liquid hydrocarbons such as crude oil, naphtha, condensates and gas oil once it is completed in 2014.

The project is the result of JTC's bid to unlock the potential of subterranean depths beneath the sea in its efforts to create more industrial space in land-scarce Singapore.

JTC started feasibility studies and site investigation works, and started first conceptualising the JRC development plan from 2001 to 2005.

The detailed design of JRC was ready in mid-2008, after several years of work. The result: a gigantic rock cavern, located some 132 metres below ground level underneath Banyan Basin on Jurong Island.

JTC aims to provide infrastructural support to manufacturers on Jurong Island with its innovative JRC and provide greater synergy to these companies. The project is also seen as a strategic investment that will reinforce Singapore's position as a leading petroleum and chemicals hub.

JRC's first phase reached a milestone with the completion of two access shafts and start-up tunnels in 2009.

When the first two caverns are completed in 2013, they will yield a capacity of 0.48 million cubic metres. And by the time the entire phase one of the facility is completed in 2014, 1.47 million cubic metres of oil storage space will be available to the industry.

The entire phase one will involve eight kilometres of tunnels, with five caverns made up of two storage galleries, with each gallery being 340 metres long, 20 metres wide and 27 metres high. Each gallery, about nine-storeys high, is large enough to contain water from 64 Olympic-size pools.

JRC's first confirmed customer is the Jurong Aromatics Corporation (JAC) consortium, which is set to start building a US$2.4 billion petrochemicals complex on Jurong Island next year. The JAC facility is slated to come onstream in 2014, soon after JRC's completion.

JTC is also now exploring phase two of JRC, which can potentially add another 1.32 million cubic metres of storage space.

Underground caverns were first pioneered about 40-50 years ago. According to JTC, there are currently more than 200 rock caverns around the world, used for storing materials such as crude oil, petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

One of the key benefits of such storage space is that they allow better utilisation of large tracts of land on the surface for higher value-added activities. JTC said that the 1.47 million cubic metres of oil storage space that JRC would offer translates to surface-land savings of about 60 hectares.

Going underground enhances safety. For one thing, physical security is improved as liquid hydrocarbons are stored at subterranean depths. The strategic storage also offers better fuel security.

In addition, storage underground is also more environmentally friendly, JTC said.

Pushing industrial boundaries

The agency is currently conducting on-going studies on underground oil storage as construction on JRC continues. It recently called a tender for a study on interaction between water seepage and oil.

The investigation will cover normal groundwater seepage - which is salty in nature - from the rock walls into the caverns and will study the effects of seepage water on the crude oil and oil products that will be stored at JRC from mid-2013.

JTC had conducted environmental impact studies as far back as 2006, after it found JRC to be economically and technically viable.

With the progress of the JRC, underground space is now seen as a viable option for certain industrial activities, said JTC chief executive Manohar Khiatani in the agency's latest annual report.

An underground warehousing and logistics facility at Tanjong Kling and Jurong Hill is currently being explored, Mr Khiatani said.

In fact, the JRC project has already yielded another similar cutting-edge space usage solution - an underground science city.

Feasibility studies for the underground science city will be carried out and this will set the stage for the marketing of subterranean developments to other emerging economies, JTC hopes.

This series is brought by JTC

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HK duck's epic Arctic trip sheds light on migration

Yahoo News 27 Dec 10;

HONG KONG (AFP) – A wild duck has returned to Hong Kong after an epic 12,000-kilometre (7,500-mile) round-trip to the Arctic which conservation experts say has provided new information about bird migration.

Environmental group WWF said the female northern pintail duck, which was fitted with a transmitter in December last year, returned to Hong Kong's Mai Po Nature Reserve at Christmas.

The bird was the only one of 23 from Hong Kong tagged with a miniature solar-powered transmitter to have returned to the Chinese territory, the group said in a press release.

The tracker shows the bird left Hong Kong on February 25 and reached the Arctic Circle in mid-June.

It stopped in east and northeast China and the Yellow Sea off South Korea before reaching Siberia, where it stayed for three months presumably for breeding before heading south in late September.

Flying at an average speed of 50 kilometres (31 miles) an hour, the duck travelled 1,700 kilometres (1,060 miles) in three days, stopping in Russia and Japan before reaching the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on December 18.

It eventually returned to the Hong Kong wetland nature reserve around Christmas after a round-trip totalling about 12,000 kilometres.

The BBC said WWF used Google Earth to locate the duck's feeding areas and route back to Hong Kong.

Katherine Leung, an expert with WWF Hong Kong, told the South China Morning Post the tagging project provided important information on bird migration.

"During migration, ducks face many threats, like natural predators, hunters and diseases.

"Another worrying trend is development projects, including (land) reclamation, which results possibly in habitat loss for them and other waterbirds," she said.

"Their migration route will help us protect them better in the future."

Only two other transmitters of the 23 fitted to the ducks are still working. Others likely fell off, were not transmitting or the ducks had been hunted.

The BBC said on its website one of the birds was shot dead over Russia and its transmitter was tracked to what was believed to be the hunter's home.

Another duck, a Eurasian wigeon, appeared to be staying in North Korea having spent more than a month there, the WWF said.

The project was carried out by WWF Hong Kong in partnership with the University of Hong Kong's microbiology department, Asia Ecological Consultants and the US Geological Survey to study wild duck migration and the role of migratory birds in avian influenza.

Hong Kong was the site of the world's first major outbreak of bird flu among humans in 1997, when six people died of a mutation of the virus, which is normally confined to poultry.

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