Have a Crabby National Day!
from Celebrating Singapore's BioDiversity!
A commentary on Singapore's Natural Landscape
from Nature Spies
Armed and dangerless
from The annotated budak
A Mission on 6 Aug @ Lornie Trail
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature
Pasir Ris is still alive!
from wild shores of singapore
Straits Times Forum 12 Aug 11;
IN LAND-SCARCE Singapore, where economic development continues unabated, it is prudent to leave some historic land untouched for the sake of posterity.
Singapore's first public pool in Mount Emily was opened in 1931 and closed after 1982. This landmark area should be added to the present Mount Emily Park.
The Bidadari Cemetery is now defunct and Woodleigh MRT station occupies part of the former site. I do not know what has happened to the tombs of our early pioneers like R.A.J. Bidwell, the architect behind landmarks like the Raffles Hotel, and scholar and community leader Lim Boon Keng.
The Bukit Brown cemetery, which was opened in 1922, will soon be consigned to history books, with the land being used for housing needs. The Land Transport Authority plans to build the Bukit Brown MRT station near the cemetery. The tombs of early pioneers like Chew Boon Lay should be preserved to remind future generations of their invaluable contributions to our nation. A recent trek also revealed to me the rich flora and fauna at this old cemetery.
The KTM railway land has now reverted to Singapore. Other than those parts affected by road widening and housing development, this rich parcel of land should be preserved. The stretch from Yew Tee to Woodlands is a sanctuary for monitor lizards, snakes, tortoises and kingfishers. Any future development will sound the death knell for these species.
The manicured tracks of our park connectors do not seem to attract wildlife, which can flourish only in marshes and swampy areas. I still find mudskippers and horseshoe crabs at the beach near the Kranji Reservoir Park.
Our mangrove swamps should be preserved, otherwise future generations will see such rare creatures only in their textbooks.
Heng Cho Choon
Grace Chua Straits Times 12 Aug 11;
ALGAE can be a problem for waterways, feeding on excess nutrients and clogging water bodies with algal bloom.
But researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) believe they can harness that very growth to treat wastewater, and cut the energy used in treatment by as much as 80 per cent.
That is because wastewater treatment takes a lot of energy, most of it to bubble air through, or aerate, sludge ponds so bacteria can eat the waste.
Instead, associate professors Loh Kai Chee, 47, and Tong Yen Wah, 38, keep the bacteria, but replace the aeration process with algae which produce oxygen. In turn, the algae gobble up the carbon dioxide that the bacteria produce, as well as any waste products the latter do not eat.
Prof Loh and Prof Tong, of NUS' chemical and bioengineering department, started devising their system about two years ago.
They were inspired by a previous government grant call asking for research to improve the energy efficiency of wastewater treatment.
They did not get the grant, but kept plugging away at the system.
Now, they have got as far as a lab-bench experimental setup - a 250ml flask full of algae and an identical flask full of bacteria. The liquids in the twin flasks never mix, meeting only in a reactor where a membrane made of plastic fibres lets the necessary gases through.
So far, they have tested on a high-concentration sugar solution that mimics the concentration of wastewater, but have not yet tried it on real wastewater. That is one of the next steps, explained Prof Loh.
Another would be genetically engineering strains of algae that grow faster and thus consume more carbon dioxide, a project Prof Tong is working on.
After that, scaling up to a pilot or demonstration plant should be straightforward, as the membranes used are commercially available.
They reckon the process could even be a net producer of energy, if the algae are digested at the end of their life to harvest methane gas which is then burned to generate power.
Currently, the sludge left over from wastewater treatment can also be digested for such biogas, which can generate about half of the energy needed to run the treatment process. But Prof Loh and Prof Tong say their system is better because using algae saves energy on aeration.
Their idea did not come out of the blue. The NUS researchers worked with algae for four years, at first trying to get biofuel from it.
In fact, researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York are growing algae in wastewater, both helping to clean the wastewater and harvest the algae for biofuel.
But other research groups trying to use algae for water treatment mixed the algae and wastewater, said Prof Loh.
For that, the strains of algae and treatment bacteria had to be carefully picked so they would not compete with or kill each other.
So the realisation that algae and bacteria could exchange gases and nutrients through a membrane was a 'eureka moment' of sorts, Prof Loh explained.
He said: 'Maybe people were too wedded to the idea that we need the two micro-organisms to be in the same broth, and we need to select them to live with each other.'
LiveScience.com Yahoo News 13 Aug 11;
To see the world's most thriving undersea wildlife park, head to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja peninsula.
Cabo Pulmo National Park (CPNP) is the world's most robust marine reserve in the world, according to a new study led by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego.
Results of their 10-year analysis of Cabo Pulmo revealed that the total amount of fish in the reserve ecosystem — the biomass — boomed by more than 460 percent from 1999 to 2009. Citizens living around Cabo Pulmo, which was previously depleted by fishing, established the park in 1995 and have strictly enforced its "no take" restrictions.
"We could have never dreamt of such an extraordinary recovery of marine life at Cabo Pulmo," said Enric Sala, the National Geographic explorer-in-residence who started the study in 1999. "In 1999, there were only medium-sized fishes, but 10 years later it's full of large parrotfish, groupers, snappers and even sharks."
Striking results
The most striking result of the study, the authors say, is that sea creatures at a depleted site can recover up to a level comparable to remote, pristine sites that have never been fished by humans.
"The study's results are surprising in several ways," said Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, a Scripps postdoctoral researcher and lead author of the study. "A biomass increase of 463 percent in a reserve as large as Cabo Pulmo (71 square kilometers) represents tons of new fish produced every year. No other marine reserve in the world has shown such a fish recovery."
The paper notes that factors such as the protection of spawning areas for large predators have been key to the reserve's robustness. Most importantly, local enforcement, led by the determined action of a few families, has been a major factor in the park's success. Boat captains, dive masters and other locals work to enforce the park's regulations and share surveillance, fauna protection and ocean cleanliness efforts.
"We believe that the success of CPNP is greatly due to local leadership, effective self-enforcement by local stakeholders, and the general support of the broader community," the authors wrote in their report.
Local impacts
Strictly enforced marine reserves have been proven to help reduce local poverty and increase economic benefits, the researchers say. The national park's marine life recovery has spawned eco-tourism businesses, including coral reef diving and kayaking, making it a model for areas depleted by fishing in the Gulf of California and elsewhere.
"The reefs are full of hard corals and sea fans, creating an amazing habitat for lobsters, octopuses, rays and small fish," said Brad Erisman, a Scripps postdoctoral researcher and co-author of the article. "During some seasons, thousands of mobula rays congregate inside the park and swim above the reef in a magnificent way."
The scientists have been combining efforts to monitor the Gulf of California's rocky reefs every year for more than a decade, sampling more than 30 islands and peninsula locations along Baja California, stretching from Puerto Refugio on the northern tip of Angel de la Guarda to Cabo San Lucas and Cabo Pulmo south of the Bahia de La Paz.
During the 10 years of study, the researchers found that Cabo Pulmo's fish species richness blossomed into a biodiversity "hot spot." Animals such as tiger sharks, bull sharks and black tip reef sharks increased significantly. Scientists continue to find evidence that such top predators keep coral reefs healthy. Other large fish at Cabo Pulmo include gulf groupers, dog snappers and leopard groupers.
The study was published in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE.
Hidden Baja Undersea Park Is the World's Most Robust Marine Reserve
ScienceDaily 12 Aug 11;
A thriving undersea wildlife park tucked away near the southern tip of Mexico's Baja peninsula has proven to be the world's most robust marine reserve in the world, according to a new study led by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
Results of a 10-year analysis of Cabo Pulmo National Park (CPNP), published in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE journal, revealed that the total amount of fish in the reserve ecosystem (the "biomass") boomed more than 460 percent from 1999 to 2009. Citizens living around Cabo Pulmo, previously depleted by fishing, established the park in 1995 and have strictly enforced its "no take" restrictions.
"We could have never dreamt of such an extraordinary recovery of marine life at Cabo Pulmo," said National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala, who started the study in 1999. "In 1999 there were only medium-sized fishes, but ten years later it's full of large parrotfish, groupers, snappers and even sharks."
The most striking result of the paper, the authors say, is that fish communities at a depleted site can recover up to a level comparable to remote, pristine sites that have never been fished by humans.
"The study's results are surprising in several ways," said Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, a Scripps postdoctoral researcher, World Wildlife Fund Kathryn Fuller fellow and lead author of the study. "A biomass increase of 463 percent in a reserve as large as Cabo Pulmo (71 square kilometers) represents tons of new fish produced every year. No other marine reserve in the world has shown such a fish recovery."
The paper notes that factors such as the protection of spawning areas for large predators have been key to the reserve's robustness. Most importantly, local enforcement, led by the determined action of a few families, has been a major factor in the park's success. Boat captains, dive masters and other locals work to enforce the park's regulations and share surveillance, fauna protection and ocean cleanliness efforts.
"We believe that the success of CPNP is greatly due to local leadership, effective self-enforcement by local stakeholders, and the general support of the broader community," the authors note in their report.
Strictly enforced marine reserves have been proven to help reduce local poverty and increase economic benefits, the researchers say. Cabo Pulmo's marine life recovery has spawned eco-tourism businesses, including coral reef diving and kayaking, making it a model for areas depleted by fishing in the Gulf of California and elsewhere.
"The reefs are full of hard corals and sea fans, creating an amazing habitat for lobsters, octopuses, rays and small fish," said Brad Erisman, a Scripps postdoctoral researcher and co-author of the article. "During some seasons thousands of mobula rays congregate inside the park and swim above the reef in a magnificent way."
The scientists have been combining efforts to monitor the Gulf of California's rocky reefs every year for more than a decade, sampling more than 30 islands and peninsula locations along Baja California, stretching from Puerto Refugio on the northern tip of Angel de la Guarda to Cabo San Lucas and Cabo Pulmo south of the Bahia de La Paz.
In the ten years studied, the researchers found that Cabo Pulmo's fish species richness blossomed into a biodiversity "hot spot." Animals such as tiger sharks, bull sharks and black tip reef sharks increased significantly. Scientists continue to find evidence that such top predators keep coral reefs healthy. Other large fish at Cabo Pulmo include gulf groupers, dog snappers and leopard groupers.
"I participated, back in the 1990s, in the studies for the declaration of the marine park. Frankly, we decided to go ahead because the community was so determined but the place at that time was not in good environmental health," said Exequiel Ezcurra, Director of the University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC MEXUS) and co-author of the article. "If you visit the place now, you cannot believe the change that has taken place. And all of it has occurred thanks to the determination of a community of coastal villagers that decided to take care of their place and to be at the helm of their own destiny."
"Few policymakers around the world are aware that fish size and abundance can increase inside marine reserves to extraordinary levels within a decade after protection is established; fewer still know that these increases often translate into economic benefits for coastal communities" said Aburto-Oropeza. "Therefore, showing what's happened in Cabo Pulmo will contribute to ongoing conservation efforts in the marine environment and recovery of local coastal economies."
In addition to Aburto-Oropeza, co-authors include Brad Erisman and Grantly Galland of Scripps Oceanography; Ismael Mascareñas-Osorio of Centro para la Biodiversidad Marina y la Conservación in La Paz, Mexico; Enric Sala of the National Geographic Society and Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes in Spain; and Exequiel Ezcurra of UC-MEXUS at UC Riverside.
The research was funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, International Community Foundation, Moore Family Foundation, Pew Fellowship Program on Marine Conservation, Robins Family Foundation, The Tinker Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.
Journal Reference:
Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, Brad Erisman, Grantly R. Galland, Ismael Mascareñas-Osorio, Enric Sala, Exequiel Ezcurra. Large Recovery of Fish Biomass in a No-Take Marine Reserve. PLoS ONE, 2011; 6 (8): e23601 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023601
Olivia Rondonuwu Reuters 12 Aug 11;
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Aug 12 (Reuters Life!) - Construction cranes on beaches, damaged coral, and floating trash in the turquoise waters off Bali are an unfortunate sign of just how successful the Indonesian resort island has been in attracting tourists.
Foreign visitors have been drawn to the unique Hindu culture, art and volcanic landscapes of Bali since the 19th century, but in recent years growing wealth in Asia has spurred new hordes of tourists from around the region.
The island has also used its charm to become a top venue for international conferences and events involving thousands more people, many of which take place in the Nusa Dua resort complex, south of the airport, where international hotel chains such as Westin and Marriott have taken root.
The flood of cash from these conferences, during which room prices surge due to tight demand, is prompting the bulldozing of hills for more resorts in an island that some people already think is far too crowded, with little or no thought given to the limits of the environment.
"What is happening in Bali now is over-exploitation of the tourism industry. A policy of selling it cheap, and exploiting it to the last bit," said Wayan Suardana, the head of local green group Walhi in Bali.
Suardana said old resorts should be renovated and that attention needs to be paid to a host of problems born from the surging success that include a scarcity of electricity and clean water, mounting trash, and traffic jams.
But instead, the local government has given the go-ahead to build a 200-hectare resort to host the 2013 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Jimbaran, a hilly area overlooking a beautiful bay, threatening farmers' livelihood, Suardana said.
In the Nusa Dua area, the small, winding road is misted by dust from construction on developments in at least three adjacent areas and streams of trucks carrying rocks and cement.
Wayan Solo, the administrative head of Benoa -- where Nusa Dua is located -- said two resorts and a villa complex are being built just south of Nusa Dua, with completion set for next year.
TOURISM'S MIDAS TOUCH
Mass-market tourism, which arrived in Bali several decades ago, proved invaluable for the tiny, densely populated island, half the size of Jamaica but with a population of 3.5 million.
With not enough fertile land to go around, tourism provided jobs in hotels, services, manufacturing of things such as souvenirs and furniture, and construction.
Despite some downturns during the political turmoil of the late 1990s and after incidents such as 9/11 attacks in the United States, the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, and the 2008 financial crisis, tourism is rebounding more strongly than ever.
Some 2.4 million people flew in to Bali in 2009, nearly double the 2005 figure. According to government statistics, the number of arrivals at Bali's airport for the first half of this year is up 10 percent compared to the same period last year.
With its magnificent aquamarine water, white sand beaches, majestic cliffs, and numerous hotels, arid southern Bali has been Indonesia's main tourist magnet for decades.
But the hundreds of hotels have absorbed water in the small island of 3.5 million residents, said Suardana, leaving farmers in the northern part of Bali, which has working plantations of crops such as rice and coffee, chronically short of water.
Still more land is taken out of agricultural commission all the time. Bali's Environmental Agency said 700 hectares of land is converted yearly for hotels, roads and housing, some of it villas for foreigners and wealthy Indonesians.
In addition, the hotels produce growing mountains of trash. Some 13,000 cubic metres of trash arriving at processing plants across Bali per day, but only half is being processed, said Alit Sastrawan, head of the agency.
Lack of monitoring has also meant that trash from big hotels may be dumped on just any available empty land, said Made Suarnata, the head of the Wisnu Foundation, which campaigns for community-based waste recycling.
Perhaps even more serious is damage to one of the island's biggest draws, its pristine waters.
Decades of development in southern Bali have contributed to coral bleaching and beach erosion, adding to damage from an El Nino weather pattern in the late 1990s.
"What used to be a huge reef in Sanur, the natural barrier of Bali, was covered by sedimentation, the result of massive development and reclamation in southern Bali, bleaching and eventually killing the coral," said Ketut Sarjana Putra, a scientist at Bali-based Conservation International Indonesia.
While Sanur's reef is beyond hope, coral is recovering in northwestern Pemuteran and the neighbouring island of Nusa Penida. But something has still been lost, with long-term divers saying fish numbers are sharply lower.
Thinking of the environmental degradation, Suarnata recalled an old Balinese saying, "Merta matemahang Wishya" -- "a blessing that is not managed well can turn to danger."
He added: "The tourism industry has given us good benefits, but if we aren't serious about managing it, with trash piling up across the island and inviting disease, who would want to come?" (Editing by Elaine Lies)
Expressions of a Javan Myna
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Singapore Biodiversity Encyclopedia on Bestsellers list
from Raffles Museum News
Leaping Dolphins!
from Natura Gig
The glass is half-full: conservation has made a difference
from Mongabay.com news
Sonia Kolensnikov-Jessop New York Times 28 Jul 11;
SINGAPORE — The math is impressive. In the last 25 years, the population of Singapore has nearly doubled, to more than five million. Over the same period, its green cover — planted areas that appear green on satellite photos, from parks to rooftops — has increased from a little more than a third of the city-state’s area to nearly half.
But it is not enough. In Singapore’s next “green road map,” its 10-year development plan, the country aims to go from being “a garden city” to “a city in a garden.” “The difference might sound very small,” says Poon Hong Yuen, the chief executive of the country’s National Parks Board, “but it’s a bit like saying my house has a garden and my house is in the middle of a garden. What it means is having pervasive greenery, as well as biodiversity, including wildlife, all around you.”
More and more cities are waking up to the need to be more than sweatshops on a citywide scale. Singapore rose to international prominence by constructing a country that was orderly and efficient. But being globally competitive today is about more than productivity. It is about sustainability, too.
In order to attract so-called knowledge workers, in industries like computing, biotechnology and other forms of new technology, a city has to be an appealing place to work, play, live, and raise a family.
“As we’ve moved into the more knowledge-based industries, they bring along talent who like to live in a great city,” said Mr. Poon. “It’s no longer about being well tended, but also about the liveability, the excitement of living in a great city — and biodiversity is part of it.”
According to the United Nations, more than half of the world’s population lived in cities in 2008 and that percentage is set to rise to 70 percent by 2050.
Singapore ranked 28th in the Mercer 2010 Quality of Living survey of the world’s most liveable cities, and in 22nd place as an Eco-City. It tied with San Francisco in 51st position in The Economist’s index of the World’s Most Liveable Cities, making it the fourth-best city to live in Asia after Osaka, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Singapore aggressively pursued its reputation as a green city as early as the 1960s and 1970s, when the newly independent country was in the rush of rapid economic development and urbanization. While the authorities built thousands of public housing blocks, they also planted trees and shrubs along the main highway bringing visitors from the airport to the city center. At the time, the government was attempting to attract a certain type of foreign investment, particularly manufacturing, and the key justification for having well-tended trees and parks was an economic one: to underscore to investors that the country was well run, well tended, and stable.
With economic policies focusing in recent years on developing creative industries and the service sector, Singapore is facing new pressures to attract talent. And with many companies in Asia, in particular, reporting a dearth of high-skilled talent, offering international companies and their employees a greener working environment becomes a big selling point.
“To be frank, we did not have a very conscious idea to conserve biodiversity right from the beginning. That was not the blueprint,” Mr. Poon said. “For a very long time, we focused only on plants and it has worked very well for us, but now we feel that to engage people and get them excited, especially the young, we need to include a wildlife component and moving forward we want to do more.”
Biodiversity will play an important role in the 1 billion Singaporean dollar, or $829 million, Gardens by the Bay project. The first phase of the 101-hectare, or 250-acre, green site the Bay South Garden, is set to open next June. While there are no plans to artificially introduce wildlife into the gardens, the National Parks Board hopes that newly resurgent species, including hornbills, kingfishers and dragonflies, will find a haven there.
Lim Eng Hwee, the deputy chief executive for planning at the Urban Redevelopment Authority, who is in charge of allocating land usage in Singapore, believes that the Gardens by the Bay project will not only enhance the quality of the urban environment, but will also enhance the aesthetic and economic value of the surrounding developments, “similar to Central Park in New York and Hyde Park in London.”
“From a monetary point of view, there is a very strong argument, supported by various researchers, about the increase in the value of the adjacent site you get from having a significant, well-designed green space: a 15 to 20 percent uplift in prices,” agrees Andrew Grant of Grant Associates, the British landscape architecture firm that designed the Bay South Garden.
The Bay South Garden includes two giant conservatories that are set to become new architectural landmarks for Singapore. The 1.2-hectare Flower Dome conservatory will replicate the climate of the Mediterranean and include a semiarid subtropical environment, while the 0.8 hectare Cloud Forest conservatory replicates the cool-moist climate found in tropical mountain regions 1,000 meters to 3,500 meters, or half a mile to two miles, above sea level.
Close to 10 percent of the total land area in Singapore is set aside for parks and nature reserves, and the government has plans to add more park space over the next 10 years to 15 years, “from about 3,300 hectares today to 4,200 hectares,” Mr. Lim said.
This is all part of a global effort to reconnect cities to nature. Last October, an assembly of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity held in Nagoya, Japan, approved a strategic plan for conserving the planet’s biodiversity over the next 10 years. It has 20 ambitious targets, including halving and where feasible bringing close to zero the rate of loss of natural habitats, including forests; restoring at least 15 percent of degraded areas; and extending protected terrestrial areas from 13 percent of land at present to 17 percent, and protected marine areas from 1 percent to 10 percent.
“The new strategic plan has been guided by the wake-up call contained in the report on the status of biodiversity in the world released by the secretariat in May 2010,” Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity, wrote in an e-mail.
The report warned that the present rate of loss of biodiversity may be up to 1,000 times higher than the natural rate of extinction.
The Nagoya assembly also endorsed a new tool to help cities evaluate their biodiversity conservation efforts, the City Biodiversity index. “It is the first time that a partnership between local authorities and policy makers has been established,” said Dr. Djoghlaf, explaining that the plan of action was meant to implement the strategic goals, known as Aichi targets, at the municipal level.
“The engagement of the local authorities is essential for the success of the new 2020 targets,” Dr. Djoghlaf said.
Singaporean officials at the United Nations proposed and helped develop the index and so far about 28 cities around the world have started using it. They include Nagoya, London, Montreal, Brussels and Curitiba, Brazil. Dr. Djoghlaf said that a global report on the status of biodiversity in cities is now being prepared and will be submitted to a city summit meeting to be held in Singapore in June 2012.
Singapore’s own biodiversity efforts over the past 10 years have started to have some positive benefits. About 500 new species of flora and fauna, like the green tree snail and the long-legged fly, have been spotted again or have been seen for the first time, including 100 species new to science, data from the National Parks Board show.
One of the recent success stories has been the reintroduction of the Oriental pied hornbill — the bird’s population has increased from just a pair 16 years ago to about 160 today. The National Parks Board is hoping to launch other wildlife projects, introducing or increasing populations of a variety of species like the Colugo, a flying lemur, and the banded leaf monkey, which is native to Singapore.
In this regard, however, Singapore’s legendary orderliness is not all that useful. “We’ve found that our current roadside trees, with mono-species all at the same height, looks great, but is not that great for birds to hop around; they don’t like that,” Mr. Poon noted.
A version of this article appeared in print on July 29, 2011, in The International Herald Tribune with the headline: An Urban Jungle for the 21st Century.
Straits Times Forum 12 Aug 11;
IN THE near future, Singapore will have a new natural history museum. However, I am saddened to learn that the new museum will be named Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum instead of retaining its current name - Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, or simply Raffles Museum.
Is the change of name because of the generous donation of $25 million by the Lee Foundation? Apart from monetary contributions, other factors like the origin and history of the museum should be taken into consideration before embarking on a name change. Otherwise, we would be losing that connection to the history and origins of the museum?
Raffles Museum, founded in 1849, was brought about by Sir Stamford Raffles' interest in natural history. An eminent naturalist, Raffles was not only the founder of Singapore but also the visionary behind Raffles Museum. Thus, the name Raffles Museum not only pays tribute to the man who contributed significantly to the natural history of Singapore, but also reminds future generations about the museum's heritage. We should not forget our past as we move forward.
Over the years, Raffles Museum has established its role in research, teaching and training in both the regional and international context. The name Raffles Museum can be likened to a brand. Isn't branding just as important? It could prove useful in making an impression and promoting future exhibitions.
To simply change the name because of the need to acknowledge the biggest donor is not justifiable.
The recognition of a significant contribution could come in the form of a dedication of a gallery to the donor instead of a complete name change.
I hope the relevant parties will consider retaining the museum's original name. In recognition of the Lee Foundation's substantial donation, a wing of the museum could be named after Dr Lee.
Ong Sheue Ling (Ms)
The Star 11 Aug 11;
KOTA KINABALU: A shockingly large catch of sharks are being sold at the fish market here, raising concerns among conservationists who have been campaigning against this practise.
This prompted JCI Tanjung Aru chairman Aderick Chong to say: “There are just more sharks in the market than in the waters.”
He said a month-long survey at the market conducted jointly by JCI and marine science discovery centre Green Connection showed the seriousness of the situation, adding that sharks could be driven to extinction.
Chong, who met Kota Kinabalu City Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir over the matter yesterday, said the full details of the survey would be released later this month.
He said many visitors travelled to Sabah to enjoy its marine biodiversity but could disappointed to find nothing while diving.
Chong said the Mayor was informed of the importance of shark conservation as they played an important role in keeping the ocean clean.
He said the JCI members also mooted the idea of making KK city a “shark friendly city,” he said, adding that the mayor also signed his support for the campaign.
Chong said the group also asked if they could be provided billboard space and banners to display messages at strategic locations in the city.
Ruben Sario The Star 12 Aug 11;
KOTA KINABALU: Constant patrols along Sabah's northern coastline have thwarted cross-border mangrove thefts.
Sabah Forestry Department director Datuk Sam Mannan said the combined enforcement by the department's forest rangers, the police and officers from the Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) had made it difficult for those involved in the illegal harvesting of mangrove trees.
“There has been a slight decline of such incidents this year but we have to keep up these patrols,” he said.
Mannan said some 100 Filipino nationals had been arrested over the past few years for the illegal harvesting of mangroves.
“The harsh fact we are facing is that for every thief we arrest, another 10 are waiting to come in,” he said.
The suspected mangrove thieves are based in the southern Philippines island of Cagayan, which is just a 30 minute boat ride from Sabah's northeast coastal line.
Mannan said the mangroves around Pulau Banggi as well as the Pitas and Beluran districts were most susceptible to thieves.
Initially, they were stripping the barks of tangar, a species of mangrove plants, and these were used in the manufacture of alcoholic drinks in the Philippines.
But recently, the thieves were carting off entire tree trunks, measuring about one metre in diameter, to be used as construction material, Mannan said.
S.S. Yoga The Star 11 Aug 11;
KUALA LUMPUR: All premises housing wildlife, including pet shops, will now have to apply for permits to continue operating under the new Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.
Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) director-general Datuk Abd Rasid Samsudin said even individuals keeping wildlife would be required to apply for permits.
“Pet shops have to do so. Currently, all they need is a licence from the local council,” he told The Star.
He said this was one way of monitoring premises such as zoos and pet shops to ensure that they did not deal in illegal trade of wildlife as many, especially shops, had previously been found to sell illegally-obtained wild animals.
The ruling also covers common household pets which are on the endangered species list, including animals such as the star and radiated tortoises and other exotic pets such as imported snakes and reptiles.
Abdul Rasid said the regulations for keeping animals in such premises were expected to be ready by the end of next month.
It was up to the minister to decide how much time should be given for zoos and other establishments to comply with the new regulations, he added.
“We have informed all of them about the new conditions. So far, we have audited 17 zoos and establishments and some have failed to meet the requirements.
“We have advised them of the changes they need to make to comply,” said Abdul Rasid who declined to reveal which zoos and establishments had failed the first audit.
He added that Perhilitan had proposed for a bond to be imposed for the issuance of permits for animals individually and if these were later seized, the bond money would go towards their upkeep.
Abdul Rasid said the department always welcomed help from the public and non-government organisations in monitoring the situati- on.
“To help with this effort, once each premises gets its licence, we will post details of each animal and the permit issued on our website to make it easier for them to be monitored and no question of impropriety may arise,” said Abdul Rasid.
He added that a zoo committee, comprising officials from the ministry and other stakeholders like NGOs, would be formed once the regulations were in place.
However, Sahabat Alam Malaysia president S.M. Mohd Idris said the new ruling would have little effect on smuggling of wildlife in the country.
“There is no assurance that Perhilitan will be able to curb animal smuggling even after imposing the Act.
“It is impossible for them to keep track on all individual owners or premises,” he said.
Fidelis E. Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 11 Aug 11;
Indonesia’s disaster management agency wants to induce rain to douse haze-causing fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra, but is facing natural, budgetary and equipment constraints, an official said on Thursday.
“As the command-holding agency, we’ve coordinated with other sectors and they have suggested producing human-induced rain [clud seeding] for forest fires in Riau, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan and West Kalimantan,” said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
“However, we have not been able to do it immediately because of certain requirements that have to be met,” he said.
His comments came following Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta’s statement on Wednesday that BNPB would cloud seed within five days.
Sutopo explained that human-induced rain is conducted by injecting clouds with salt, prompting them to absorb more water and consequently produce rain. Heavy rain, Sutopo said, was the only way to extinguish the fires, because the larger parts were on peatlands, where fire could burn for a long time, especially in underground peat seams.
But he added that one requirement for inducing rain was the presence of cumulus clouds, which carry plenty of water and have the appropriate atmospheric dynamics.
“In the dry season, like we are in now, these kinds of clouds are quite rare, especially in those four provinces,” Sutopo said. “We also need to assess the atmosphere conditions, not only locally, but also on a regional scale.
“The other concern is availability of airplanes,” he added. “We have five Casa aircraft, but they can not handle all those areas. So we need to prioritize which areas should go first.”
The government’s Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) would take these concerns into consideration, he said, before proposing a budget for BNPB to implement the program.
“So, we still have to wait for BPPT’s assessment for further actions and budgets,” he said.
Sutopo said the dry season was expected to last until October, and that the humidity required for cumulus clouds would only come between then and January.
He added that in the mean time, forest fires were being handled by firefighters from the Forestry Ministry and local governments.
“In disaster management protocols, it is the local governments’ responsibility to deal with the fires because they own the areas,” he said.
“They need to keep informing the local people and companies to stop burning peatlands and forests.”
This burning season, as of Aug. 7, Riau recorded 2,611 hotspots; West Kalimantan recorded 1,433; South Sumatra recorded 1,035; and Central Kalimantan recorded 950, according to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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