Sand dredging in Cambodia

Dredging up concern
David Boyle and Vong Sokheng Phnom Penh Post 23 Jun 11;

A sand dredging operation of “unprecedented scale” on the Tatai river, in Koh Kong province, had decimated fish stocks, ruined eco-tourism projects and released foul-smelling gases into the air since it began in May, business owners said yesterday.

Ruling party senator Ly Yong Phat’s company, LYP Group, had been granted sole rights to dredge sand in the area for export after applying for a licence late last year, Mao Hak, director of river works at the Ministry of Water Resources, said.

Janet Newman, owner of the Rainbow Lodge resort on the Tatai river, said yesterday the dredging operation had begun on May 17 and was destroying her business.

Four cranes were now pumping sand 15 metres from the resort, sometimes for 24 hours at a time, she said.

“I took some customers out on the water for a sunset the other day. It was like a city, it was like Kevin Costner’s Water World,” Newman said, adding that in one day she had seen a total of 21 ships and barges, seven cranes and a massive bucket conveyer belt in a one-kilometre stretch of river.

The dredging of “unprecedented scale” had also caused foul-smelling gases to rise, which she feared could have a devastating impact on the area’s rich mangrove ecosystems.

Thomas Stien, the owner of Neptune Bungalows, said yesterday he had not received a single guest since mid-April because of the dredging.

“All the way up from the Koh Kong river up to the Tatai river, there are maybe 150 boats,” he said, adding that one enormous vessel was about a kilometre long.

On June 6, 114 villagers from the Tatai area submitted a petition to provincial officials and relevant ministries complaining that dredging had almost wiped out river life, Tep Malar, head of the eco-tourism community based in Anlong Vak village, in Tatai Krom commune, said.

He added yesterday that members of his community were angry because the dredging had affected their businesses and their basic livelihood.

“We found that crab and fish catches were drastically declining as polluted water from the sand-dragging operation was close to our village,” he said.

“Both local and foreign tourists were scared of boats crashing while there were so many vessels to transport sand along the river.”

Officials said yesterday the government would monitor the site.

“Only LYP Group has been allowed to do sand dragging at Tatai for export,” Mao Hak said.

“The government’s sand management committee will monitor the company once or twice a year and if we find that the operation is not [implemented] in the proper technical way, we will ask the company to stop.”

It was unclear yesterday whether the licence violated an export ban placed on dredged sand by Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2009 “in order to protect the stability of the natural environments of rivers and marine areas”.

The premier said at the time a total ban on marine dredging would be enforced, except where sand gathered and replenished itself naturally or where build-up was obstructing waterways. Dredging to serve local sand demand would also be allowed.

Ly Yong Phat said yesterday LYP Group had been exporting sand to Singapore on and off for the past year, but had temporarily suspended its export operations because of lack of demand.

“Our main activity that we received the licence from the government for is to drain sand out of the river in order to avoid floods,” he said.

George Boden, a London-based campaigner for Global Witness, said yesterday it was obvious that the Cambodian government gave scant regard to environmental and social concerns when awarding dredging licences.

“Obviously, when there is no information about how and when these rights are given out and they are given out to senior CPP senators, there are quest-ions about how it is they came to own those rights and the process by which they got them,” Boden said.

“There are a number of important species in the area, and previously dredging has been taking place inside protected areas.”

Newman, however, said that the ministries of fisheries, tourism and water resources had shared her concerns.

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Malaysia nabs four thieves stealing mangrove in Pulau Kelang

Stuart Michael The Star 24 Jun 11;

FOUR thieves were caught in the act of transporting 500 mangrove logs estimated at RM5,000 from Pulau Kelang, off Port Klang, during a raid on Wednesday.

The culprits, who are foreigners, will be detained for a week. They were caught loading mangrove logs into a boat in Pulau Kelang.

Besides detaining the culprits, the Selangor Forestry Department also seized two boats.

State Forestry Department assistant director (operations and enforcement) Mohd Yussainy Md Yusop said the thieves were on the island for three days to cut the mangrove trees.

“They then stored the mangrove logs by the edge of the bank on the island and waited for the boat — which could only be used during high tide — to load the mangrove logs.

The final destination was a few kilometres away where the lorries waited to cart them away to be sold,” he said.

He added that the week-long surveilance on the area by his men paid off as they were able to catch the culprits red-handed.

“The raid was conducted jointly with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM) and they are now working hand-in-hand to apprehend the culprits cutting and stealing mangrove logs in an island off Pulau Ketam.

“When The Star earlier highlighted on the illegal logging of mangrove trees in the island near Pulau Ketam, it stopped for four months. Mangrove logs bring in lucrative profits and the operators are now back in action,’’ said Yussainy.

The thieves will be charged under the National Forestry Act 1984 and if found guilty would be fined up to RM50,000 each and jailed not more than five years or both.

Yussainy also added that it was also timely as forestry enforcement directors in all the states attended a two-day course at the Royal Yacht Club in Port Klang and joined the raid to see how it was conducted.

“Selangor will be used as a benchmark by forestry departments in other states to check on the stealing of mangrove logs,’’ he said.

Pahang Forestry Department assistant director (enforcement) Razali Abdu Raman said the partnership between APMM and Selangor Forestry made it easy to nab the culprits.

The raid was well coordinated with the use of water and air surveillance.

“As for Pahang Forestry Department, we have 30 personnel and will hold joint operations to catch thieves stealing timber.

“There are illegal small timber operators who love to steal valuable trees mainly Chengal, Balau and Giam from the forest. We can work with the locals to catch the culprits,’’ he said.

Perak Forestry Department assistant director (enforcement) Osman Deris said the state had more than 9,000ha of forest that included mangrove swamps but only had 10 workers.

“We need the help from authorities like APMM to help us in curbing the stealing of our natural resources like mangrove. We have a budget of RM550,000 and we carry out air surveillance throughout the state twice a week,’’ he said.

The StarMetro exposed this issue in the report “Mangrove Crooks” on Aug 30 last year, showing the modus operandi of thieves stealing mangrove logs in Selangor and how they avoided being detected by the authorities.

Yussainy said since the news report, his department had stepped up measures to catch the thieves.

“Between July last year and Jan 15 this year, nine people have been prosecuted for smuggling, while the department had seized more than 200,000 logs.”

He added that when the department checked with the Indonesian authorities on mangrove logs, they claimed that there was a ban (still in force) of mangrove logs leaving their country.

He added that the Selangor Forestry Department had stopped the issuance of licences to allow the harvesting of mangroves in July last year.

“However, the illegal activities are still rampant and we urge other states to stop issuing permits for operators to chop down mangrove trees,” Yussainy said.

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World Heritage in danger: natural sites in Honduras and Sumatra added

IUCN 22 Jun 11;

The Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve in Honduras and the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra in Indonesia have been added to the List of World Heritage in Danger, following the advice of IUCN.

The Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve, the biggest protected area in Honduras, has been inscribed today on the Danger List at the request of the government of Honduras. Its largely intact forests, mangroves, coastal lagoons and savannahs have been put at risk due to lack of law enforcement. Illegal settlement by squatters, illegal commercial fishing, illegal logging, poaching and a proposed dam construction on the Patuca river, have all led IUCN to recommend the site to be added to the Danger List.

“We fully support Honduras’ positive move to request Rio Platano to be included in the List of World Heritage in Danger and signal the need for increased international support to protect the natural wealth of this site, where over 2,000 indigenous people continue their traditional way of living, directly dependant on natural resources,” says Mariam Kenza Ali, IUCN World Heritage Conservation Officer.

The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra in Indonesia has also been added to the Danger List. IUCN has consistently recommended the site to be included on the Danger list since 2004, the year of its inscription on the World Heritage List. Four UNESCO/IUCN monitoring missions in the last five years have led to the conclusion that the site needs an emergency restoration plan. Road construction and agricultural encroachment are among the major threats of this area.

“Including the exceptional Sumatran rainforests on the Danger list today signals a message of international concern to support this site,” says Peter Shadie, IUCN’s senior adviser on World Heritage. “The Committee has taken this important decision after several years of debate, and we now need to ensure that it leads to real action on the ground to tackle long standing threats.”

The Virgin Komi Forests, Russia’s first natural site added to the World Heritage List, was not added to the Danger List, despite IUCN’s recommendation. The approval of a gold mine inside the site and national level boundary changes, which led to the loss of legal protection for these areas, are both clear criteria for a site to be declared ‘in danger’, according to IUCN.

“World Heritage Sites have been recognised as no-go areas for mining, both by IUCN, UNESCO and business leaders,” says Tim Badman, Director of IUCN’s World Heritage Programme. “We consider inclusion on the Danger List was fully warranted, and we consider urgent remedial action is needed for the Virgin Komi Forests to resolve the critical threat to its Outstanding Universal Value.”

The Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, the world’s most renowned icon of the Inca civilization, was also not added to the Danger List, despite threats such as lack of adequate governance, future construction of a road, impacts of the growth of numbers of visitors and lack of preventive measures against natural disasters.

“This is a missed opportunity to send a message of international support for Machu Picchu,” says Badman. “We should remember that the Danger List is not a black mark for countries, but a way of drawing attention and providing support to the sites that need it the most.”

Australia's Ningaloo coast added to Unesco's World Heritage List
Reef complex and Kenya lake system make it on to list but two other sites added to heritage in danger
Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk 24 Jun 11;

The Ningaloo coast in Australia, a vast complex of reefs, caves, streams and shallow waters, and the Kenya lake system in the great rift valley in Africa, an area of outstanding beauty and home to 13 threatened bird species, are the latest sites to be added to the World Heritage List at the Unesco meeting this week in Paris.

The Ningaloo coast in Western Australia covers 708,350 hectares of coastal waters and land, including one of the longest near-shore reefs in the world, and is home to rare wildlife including whale sharks and sea turtles, already attracts more than 100,000 visitors a year.

The three shallow lakes in Kenya's Rift Valley form the most important site anywhere for lesser flamingo, as well as mammals including giraffe, black rhino, kudu, lion, cheetah and wild dogs.

More depressingly, the committee also added two sites to the Heritage in Danger list. Sumatra's tropical rainforest is now regarded as endangered by poaching, illegal logging, clearance for farming, and plans for more roads. The Rio Platano biosphere reserve, a rare remnant of tropical rainforest in central America, is also threatened by illegal logging and poaching, with the added complication that drug trafficking has made the area so dangerous its environment is almost impossible to police. Most of it is in Honduras, and the request to add it to the danger list came from the Honduran government, to highlight the problems it faces in protecting it.

In a rare piece of good news for endangered sites, India's protection for the Manas wildlife sanctuary in the foothills of the Himalayas, classified as under threat since 1992, is regarded as having improved enough for the site to go back onto the main world heritage list.

Natural wonders in Kenya, Australia and Japan declared World Heritage Sites
IUCN 25 Jun 11;

The Lakes System in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, the Ningaloo Coast in Australia and the Ogasawara Islands in Japan have been inscribed on the World Heritage List, following the recommendations of IUCN.

IUCN, the independent advisory body on nature to UNESCO, presented the findings of its comprehensive evaluations of the natural values of 13 nominated sites to the World Heritage Committee. With the new additions announced today at the meeting in Paris, the number of natural and mixed sites is now 210.

Recommended for inscription by IUCN for its outstanding beauty and biodiversity, the Kenya Lakes System consists of three lakes: Lake Elementaita, Lake Nakuru and Lake Bogoria, all of which lie in basins on the floor of the Great Rift Valley which transects Kenya North-South. The three lakes are an integral part of one the largest bird migratory routes in the world sustaining 75% of the global population of the lesser flamingo, supporting one of the major breeding colonies of the great white pelicans and providing a vital wintering ground for over 100 species of migratory birds.

“It is wonderful to see these spectacular lake sites in Kenya, and their rich bird life, achieving recognition as natural sites of the highest global importance,“ says Tim Badman, Director of IUCN’s World Heritage Programme. “We especially welcome this inscription as the first natural World Heritage Site listed in Africa since 2007.”

The Ningaloo Reef on the north-western coast of Australia is home to the largest fish in the world, the Whale Shark, as well as to more than 500 species of tropical fish and 220 species of coral. The rich marine life includes soft and hard corals, manta rays, sea snakes, whales, turtles, dungeons and sharks. Australia is the country with the largest number of natural World Heritage Sites in the world.

“The Ningaloo Coast is a unique place with outstanding natural beauty and biological diversity, which plays an important role in the protection of marine species,” says Tim Badman. “The Coast tells an extraordinary story of biological isolation, climate change, the movement of continents and environmental conservation.”

Located in the western Pacific Ocean roughly 1,000 km south of the main Japanese Archipelago, the Ogasawara Islands are an outstanding example of ongoing evolutionary and biological processes in oceanic island ecosystems. The newly inscribed site includes more than 30 islands and marine areas, clustered within three island groups and is home to over 140 endemic plants and animals.

“The remoteness of the Ogasawara Islands has allowed animals and plants to evolve practically undisturbed, making it a living evolutionary laboratory,” says Peter Shadie, Deputy Head of IUCN’s Delegation. “The Ogasawara Islands tell a unique story of how life on earth has and continues to evolve with new species being regularly discovered.”

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British lawmakers back ban on wild animals in circuses

Yahoo News 23 Jun 11;

LONDON (AFP) – British lawmakers agreed Thursday to ban the use of wild animals in circuses, in a non-binding decision that will nevertheless embarrass ministers who insist there are legal obstacles to such a move.

Members of parliament (MPs) agreed without a vote to back a motion directing the government to introduce "regulation banning the use of all wild animals in circuses from July 2012".

In 2009, there were about 39 wild animals being used in circuses in Britain, including elephants, tigers, lions, camels, zebras and crocodiles, although there are no longer any elephants kept, according to government figures.

Agriculture Minister Jim Paice said the government has proposed a tough licensing scheme for circuses using wild animals to ensure they are well cared for, but said it had concerns about possible legal challenges to a full ban.

"The government is determined to stamp out cruelty and bad welfare for animals in circuses," he said during a heated debate in the House of Commons.

The motion calling for a ban was proposed by Mark Pritchard, an MP from Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative party.

He said Cameron's office had warned him to withdraw the motion or face the premier's displeasure, but he refused, having campaigned for many years against a practice he says is cruel and is opposed by the majority of voters.

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Laos defies neighbors on dam project: environmentalists

Reuters 23 Jun 11;

(Reuters) - Laos is forging ahead with construction of a controversial $3.5 billion hydropower dam in breach of an agreement to suspend the project pending approval by ministers of neighboring countries, an environmental group said on Thursday.

The Lao government has already given Thai developer Ch Karnchang the go-ahead to resume work on the Xayaburi Dam, informing the company that the Mekong River Commission's (MRC) decision-making process was complete, according to International Rivers, an environmental and human rights group.

"The government of Laos has committed an egregious breach of trust and has joined the ranks of rogue nations," Ame Trandem, a campaigner with International Rivers, said in a statement, citing leaked correspondence.

With its big ambitions to export hydropower, impoverished Laos is dubbed the "battery of Southeast Asia," but experts warn that the Xayaburi project -- one of 11 new dams planned by Laos -- could cause untold environmental damage and spark a food security crisis downstream in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Mekong basin countries are bound by treaty to hold inter-governmental consultations before building dams.

After months of pressure from environmentalists and neighboring countries, Laos agreed on April 19 to defer the project until a meeting of ministers of the four countries involved, slated for the end of the year.

However, International Rivers distributed a leaked letter to the media on Thursday, dated June 8 and sent by Laos' energy ministry to the Xayaburi Power Company, stating the consultation process was complete.

Shares in Ch Karnchang Pcl, which has a 57 percent stake in the Xayaburi Dam, had jumped 4 percent on Monday after state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, which has a 12.5 percent stake in the dam, said Laos might not delay construction of the project.

Ch Karnchang declined to comment on Thursday while authorities in Laos were not immediately available for comment.

Ecologists and river experts have criticized an environmental impact assessment conducted last year by the Lao government and warn that the livelihoods of 60 million people in the lower Mekong region are at risk if the dam goes ahead without proper risk assessment.

Scores of fish species face extinction, fish stocks will dwindle as migratory routes get blocked and swathes of rice-rich land could be deprived of fertile silt carried downstream by Southeast Asia's longest waterway, experts say.

Laos is committed to supplying 7,000 MW of power to Thailand, 5,000 MW to Vietnam and 1,500 MW to Cambodia by 2015. Its energy ministry says it has the potential to generate 28,000 MW from the Mekong.

Watt Botkosal, deputy secretary general of Cambodia's National Mekong Committee, reacted with dismay and said Laos had promised to conduct a cross-border study during a regional meeting in Jakarta last month.

"The impact study is incomplete, so why has this decision been made?" Watt Botkosal told Reuters. "We have not even received any such study."

According to the leaked letter, Laos said a one-month study had been conducted by an international consultancy group. No details were provided.

(Reporting by Martin Petty; Additional reporting by Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh; Editing by Alan Raybould)

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Oslo backs Jakarta's forest plan, despite hurdles

Alister Doyle Reuters 23 Jun 11;

(Reuters) - Norway backed Indonesia's drive to slow deforestation on Thursday under a $1 billion deal with Oslo even though Jakarta said it faced a "maze" of reforms and lacks maps to pin down exact conservation areas.

"Any nation can do more. But they (Indonesia) are doing a lot," Environment Minister Erik Solheim told Reuters during a conference in Oslo on ways to protect carbon-rich rainforests.

Indonesia agreed a two-year moratorium on clearing rainforests last month, five months later than agreed under a 2010 deal with Norway that foresees $1 billion in aid to protect forests as part of a long-term fight against climate change.

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, the head of the Indonesian task force on protecting forests, said the moratorium was the strictest possible, after taking account of rival interests such as from palm oil producers, loggers or miners.

"While the challenges tower ahead of us, I ask you...to bear with me as we travel through the maze to create long-lasting reform to reduce emissions," he said in a speech.

Some environmentalists say Indonesia's moratorium, with a long list of exemptions, is too weak.

Among problems faced by Indonesia include a lack of maps with a big enough scale to outline the boundaries of areas covered by the moratorium, Mangkusubroto said.

MAPS

"Now we will have one map. Before we had 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 maps. Now we are going to put it on the website so it is accessible to everybody," he told Reuters.

Worldwide, deforestation accounts for perhaps a sixth of all greenhouse gas emissions by human activities, blamed for heating the planet and bringing more droughts, heatwaves, mudslides and rising sea levels. Trees soak up carbon dioxide as they grow and release it when they rot or are burned to clear land.

Solheim declined to comment on a report by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency that Malaysian Palm oil firm Kuala Lumpur Kepong -- in which Norway's $558 billion sovereign wealth fund has a stake -- had violated the forest clearing ban on the first day last month.

KLK has called the report "preposterous.

Solheim said donors had to take risks in aid projects to slow deforestation, saying the alternative of allowing the destruction of forests was far worse.

But he also said in a speech that there had to be results. "No developed nation will provide money if it believes it will end up in corruption, mismanagement and no results," he said.

Other experts said that disputes over land ownership, from the Amazon to the Congo basin, were among barriers to a U.N.-backed project known as REDD, or Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation.

"Unclear tenure is a problem everywhere," said Frances Seymour, head of the Center for International Forestry Research. In many poor countries, the government, indigenous peoples and settlers often have competing claims.

"Unless we address the issue of ownership...it becomes a free for all," said Yemi Katerere, head of the U.N. REDD Secretariat in Geneva.

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Best of our wild blogs: 23 Jun 11

Nature Society (Singapore) Code of Ethics for photographers
from wild shores of singapore

Behaviour and life history of giant clams
from Psychedelic Nature

Singapore Tarantula... why do they have such a bad reputation?
from Macro Photography in Singapore

Nictitating membrane and very soft calls of White-Throated Kingfisher from Bird Ecology Study Group

The Sea Anemone Lecture
from Compressed air junkie

Man puts birdcage 'trap' in tree with mango as bait -- why is he catching birds? from Lazy Lizard's Tales

The Last Stand for Sumatran Rhinos
from the EDGE blog

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Anemone haven in waters off Singapore

Island hosts over 50 species of the marine critter, including some possibly new to science
Grace Chua Straits Times 23 Jun 11;

SINGAPORE is hardly ever mentioned in the same breath as marine wonderlands such as the Great Barrier Reef or those in the seas off the Philippines.

But the waters off this island play host to more species of anemones than the entire west coast of North America.

Of the 1,000-odd known species of these flower-like predatory marine animals, more than 50 are found in Singapore - even in mangrove swamps, previously thought to be inhospitable habitats.

The world's smallest anemone, at a mere 1mm across, is found on seagrass here, as is the world's largest, at more than 1m in height and diameter.

These critters, which have stinging cells on their tentacles to paralyse prey for food, have been the subject of Dr Daphne Fautin's fascination.

Since 2007, the American taxonomist from the University of Kansas has helped researchers here find, classify and describe a dozen species of sea anemones that have never been seen here before, including a couple that could be new to science.

This week, she was here again to train participants in a comprehensive survey of marine biodiversity here. On Tuesday evening, she gave a public lecture on anemones to about 300 people at the National University of Singapore.

Asked why Singapore has so many anemone species, she said she believes it could be that this island sits on a sort of biological crossroads: Currents carry anemone larvae here from both eastern and western waters.

Last weekend, she and 20 or so researchers and volunteers were at the mangrove mudflats at the end of Lim Chu Kang Road. The area, along with Sungei Buloh and other sites, is being studied in an ongoing, three-year biodiversity survey of marine habitats here. And it has turned out that anemones are thriving in the knee-deep mud there, as there is plenty of food to go around.

Dr Fautin said: 'Perhaps it's not that they prefer this habitat, but that nothing else can thrive here, so that's why they thrive.'

Last Saturday, a type of anemone with bumps along its column-like body excited the researchers, who said it could be new to science, or at least a new sighting here. Dr Fautin said it has not been identified, and she will study it further.

Already, research into the compounds of sea anemone venom has uncovered their ability to fight rheumatoid arthritis. But here and elsewhere, sea anemones are being threatened by development.

The marine environment in Marina East, for example, has been lost to land reclamation and undersea dredging carried out to build the Marina Coastal Expressway.

Ocean warming and acidification, both effects of climate change, could also harm the ecology of sea anemone habitats, Dr Fautin said.

More about Dr Daphne Fauntin's work in Singapore on the wild shores of singapore blog

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PUB's flood control projects in full swing

Wide-ranging efforts include covering drains and raising roads
Straits Times 23 Jun 11;

AS PART of its flood protection measures, the PUB covered the open section of a drain along Grange Road on Monday.

Water from the drain had surged into Tanglin Mall on June 5, flooding the mall's supermarket and carparks. Covering the drain will prevent water from overflowing, a PUB spokesman said.

Other measures taken by PUB include:
*Raising a depressed portion of Tomlinson Road;
*Installing about 2.4km of safety railings in 24 areas, including Commonwealth Lane, Hillview Avenue, Marymount Lane and Marsiling Drive;
*Widening and deepening Bukit Timah Canal, to be completed by December 2012;
*Constructing an outlet drain near Lorong Bakar Batu, scheduled for completion in September.

In August, the PUB will widen and deepen the drain at Mandalay Road into which a 15-year-old Indonesian boy fell and drowned earlier this month. It will also raise the road to improve drainage.

PUB also awarded a $2.5 million contract to infrastructure and civil engineering firm OKP Holdings yesterday to improve roadside drains in several residential estates. The firm had secured a $3.4 million contract last month to improve drains in other areas.

Some Orchard malls have also instituted flood protection measures. Tanglin Mall centre director Jenny Ng said floodgates will be installed at the mall's entrances.

At Liat Towers, pipes have been upgraded to improve water flow to the canal, said Mr Lam Chik Hai, a supervisor at Liat Towers Building Management.

The building's management is still evaluating whether to install a second set of flood barriers in front of the ground floor shops such as Massimo Dutti, he said.

ROYSTON SIM

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Students to get their feet wet learning at PUB's river classroom

Ong Dai Lin Today Online 23 Jun 11;

SINGAPORE - Students in Clementi will have a river classroom near their schools for outdoor learning, while residents in Rochor will have a green community area in a few years under the national water agency PUB's Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC Waters) programme.

PUB told MediaCorp that Sungei Pandan and Sungei Ulu Pandan have been chosen as one of its ABC Waters projects and are conceptualised as a river classroom to allow for experiential learning by students due to the vast presence of schools in the area.

Gathering decks will be built to serve as outdoor classroom spaces for students to learn more about the ABC Waters design features of the projects. These include a sedimentation pond, eco-pond and marshland through which rainwater run-off from the main drains leading to the two rivers will flow and be treated before it is discharged into the rivers.

PUB said it conducted a workshop for some schools in the vicinity in November last year to brief them on the project. More details on school involvement will be firmed up when the project is nearing completion in the first quarter of 2013.

The Rochor Canal is the other coming project under the ABC Waters programme. It will feature a Gateway Plaza, where people can gather for community events, and a promenade along the canal that will be seamlessly integrated with the surrounding developments.

Lookout decks will be built at selected spots for people to take in views of the river.

PUB will also place specially selected plants along the river to filter and cleanse rainwater run-off from the promenade so that cleaner water flows into the river.

Work will be carried out on the whole stretch of the Rochor Canal between Jalan Besar and Crawford Street and it is expected to be completed by January 2014.

But because of the canal's close proximity to existing developments such as buildings, bridges and MRT tunnels, the challenge is to take extra care to prevent damage to these structures, said PUB.

One resident, who wanted to be known as Mdm Lim, welcomes the project. She said: "It could provide relaxation from city living as residents can walk and jog there in the evening after work."

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Singapore, a regional natural gas hub?

Lynda Hong Ee Lyn Today Online 22 Jun 11;

SINGAPORE - Abundant enough to sustain world production for over 250 years and available all over the world, natural gas produces one of the lowest levels of carbon emissions when burnt for electricity production.

And Singapore is well-positioned to be a regional natural gas hub, said Dr Birol Fatih, chief economist of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Natural gas was one of the main topics touched on by Dr Birol, who spoke at the Energy Market Authority's (EMA) Distinguished Speaker Programme, which was attended by nearly 300 industry players in the energy sector.

Sharing key findings from IEA's special report, "Are We Entering a Golden Age of Gas?" Dr Birol said that the building of an LNG terminal in Jurong Island was "very timely".

"It's definitely going to put Singapore in a very good position in the region to be a regional hub. This will definitely put Singapore in a very advantageous position in the region," said Dr Birol, who was named by Forbes Magazine as the world's fourth most powerful and influential person in the global energy scene,

EMA CEO Chee Hong Tat said the LNG terminal is on track to complete by the second quarter of 2013.

When in operation, Singapore's LNG terminal will be Asia's first open-access, multi-user LNG terminal, allowing different companies to process LNG by processing and storing up to six million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) in its three tanks.

Mr Chee also said LNG has seen a strong uptake by Singapore companies, having sold about 2.3 Mtpa of LNG to mostly power generation companies as of end-May this year. There is also interest from industrial companies outside the power generation sector to purchase LNG to fuel their new businesses and project expansions, added Mr Chee.

Compared to other fossil fuels, natural gas is considered by industry players and academics to be the "cleanest", producing less carbon than other hydrocarbon fossil fuels, thereby reducing carbon emissions.

Energy production and sources have been responsible for producing two-thirds of the world's carbon emissions, noted Dr Birol.

However, natural gas alone cannot help mitigate carbon emissions from climate change. Renewable energy sources have to be part of the balance, and so far, all countries with a strong renewable energy programmes are backed their governments, he said.

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Goodie, NDP fun packs go green

Reuse, recycle, reflect - the mantra for item designers and those attending parade alike
Royston Sim Straits Times 23 Jun 11;

SOME items in this year's National Day Parade (NDP) takeaway goodie bagare intended to have a life beyond the parade festivities.

For example, the maracas found in each of these 'fun packs', as the bags have come to be called, turn from percussion instruments into containers.

The mini Singapore flag comes with a stand, so it can serve as a decorative item and namecard holder; the NDP light stick comes with a customised base, which transforms it into a table lamp.

Eco-friendliness is a theme in the fun pack, which was designed with the concepts of 'reuse', 'recycle' and 'reflect' in mind, said Major Chan Ming Hoe, who chairs the NDP logistics and finance committee.

He told reporters at a briefing yesterday: 'The committee felt that these items should be reused, instead of chucked to one side in the storeroom and left to go to waste.'

Other items in the fun pack sound the same eco-friendly note: The sun visor and hand fan are made from recycled materials, and the tote bag is biodegradable.

Major Chan said the parade organisers wanted to play their part in being environmentally friendly, given the scarce resources in Singapore.

The fun pack also contains a collectible NDP 2011 pin, a collection of short stories titled Stories Of The Singapore Spirit, and a card for parade- goers to pen their thoughts on the Singapore Spirit. These items are aimed at encouraging the audience to reflect on this year's NDP theme: Majulah! The Singapore Spirit.

As with previous years, the fun pack will also contain snacks, drinks and items such as a souvenir magazine and a discount-coupon booklet.

The tote bag itself, with its compartments for laptops and cellphones, invites reuse after the parade.

Parade-goers will each take home one of four designs created by designer Jesline Teo, a 21-year-old graduate of Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Design. Each version portrays iconic Singaporean images, such as the Merlion and Changi Airport, rendered like a watercolour painting and in pastel-coloured lines.

She said: 'I chose those icons that were very identifiable... that I felt people could connect and relate to. I wanted to portray how beautiful Singapore is.'

The back of each bag features a design by Rebekah Lee, 16, who won the NDP 2011 T-shirt design competition with her design of Singapore island made up of various words.

This year's bag tag was designed by manager Mas Shafreen, 39, who put an image of the Marina Bay skyline on the tag.

Noting that this would be the first NDP held against a skyline complete with the ArtScience Museum, he said: 'The fireworks are always set against the cityscape. What's fantastic is that year on year, the cityscape changes. I did my design in one uninterrupted line to represent the unceasing efforts of all Singaporeans to get Singapore to where it is.'

Major Chan said: 'We hope this fun pack will be well liked by people of all ages, and will be useful.'

NDP fun packs go green this year
Sara Grosse Today Online 23 Jun 11;

SINGAPORE - Save the light sticks from the National Day Parade (NDP) fun pack and reuse them as table lamps, with this year's packs and their contents have been designed to be kinder to the environment.

The tote bag itself is biodegradable, and created with more compartments for items like laptops, books and mobile devices, to encourage spectators to reuse them after the parade, and key items inside will be made to be reusable.

"For example the maracas can be converted to a container. The LED light sticks can be used as a table lamp. The mini Singapore flag can be used as a name card holder," said chairman of the NDP logistics and finance committee, Major Chan Ming Hoe.

Other items such as the sun-visor and the hand-fan were made from recycled materials.

The front of the fun packs will come in four designs depicting various Singapore icons, like the Merlion, Changi Airport and Housing and Development Board flats.

They are the creations of 21-year old Jesline Teo, a Nanyang Polytechnic graduate, who used water-colour effects and pastel lines to get the desired effect. "These designs portray some feelings I have for Singapore. Like how we are a colourful city," she said.

The back of the fun pack is designed by 16-year old Rebekah Lee, a student from St Margaret's Secondary School. It is an image of the island, composed of words that name various landmarks and colloquialisms unique to Singapore.

In addition to food items, the fun pack also has a collection of short stories and an NDP 2011 pin.

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