Vietnam's rice bowl threatened by rising seas

Climate change is turning rivers of Mekong Delta salty, spelling disaster for millions of poor farmers
Kit Gillet guardian.co.uk 21 Aug 11;

Sitting amid buckets of rice in the market, Nguyen Thi Lim Lien issues a warning she desperately hopes the world will hear: climate change is turning the rivers of the Mekong Delta salty.

"The government tells us that there are three grams of salt per litre of fresh water in the rivers now," she says. "Gradually more and more people are affected. Those nearest the sea are the most affected now, but soon the whole province will be hit."

The vast, humid expanse of the delta is home to more than 17 million people, who have relied for generations on its thousands of river arteries. But rising sea water caused by global warming is now increasing the salt content of the river water and threatening the livelihoods of millions of poor farmers and fishermen.

Vietnam is listed by the World Bank among the countries most threatened by rising waters brought about by higher global temperatures, with only the Bahamas more vulnerable to a one-metre rise in sea levels. Such a rise could leave a third of the Mekong Delta underwater and lead to mass internal migration and devastation in a region that produces nearly half of Vietnam's rice.

"If there was a one-metre rise, we estimate 40% of the delta will be submerged," says Tran Thuc, director general of the Vietnam Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment. "There is also the threat of cyclones and storms linked to climate change. The people in this area are not prepared for any of this."

Already affected by regular flooding, those who live in the low-lying delta are focusing on the rising salt content of water in land that has for thousands of years been used for rice paddies, coconut groves and other crops which locals rely on for their livelihood.

According to the Ben Tre department of agriculture and rural development, salt water at four parts per thousand has, as of April, reached as far as 35 miles inland, causing significant damage to crops and livestock, with rice production particularly affected.

"Salination will become higher and higher and the salt season will last longer and be worse," predicts Thuc.

The city of Ben Tre, one of the gateways to the Mekong, is inland, on one of the many tributaries of the Mekong river where the waters are still only partially affected by the increased salination. But further downriver, the effects are more pronounced.

"I have to travel five hours upstream by boat to fetch water for drinking, washing and cooking," says Vo Thi Than, 60, who cannot afford the prices charged by those who travel down the river selling fresh water from upstream.

Than lives beside a dock and runs a little restaurant on the small delta island of Cu Lao Oc, home to approximately 6,000 farmers and coconut growers.

"A long time ago, there was no salty season at all. Now, five months a year the water is salty," she says.

"We grow oranges, mandarins, lemons and coconuts, but these trees cannot survive if it is salt water only. During salty seasons, the trees bear less fruit and smaller fruits, and if there was only the salt season, nothing would grow."

Government officials and international observers are predicting significant lifestyle changes for the delta's population, which will be forced to adapt to survive.

Dao Xuan Lai, head of sustainable development at the United Nations Development Programme in Vietnam, said: "Rising sea waters will cause inundations to the Mekong and will require drastic changes in lifestyles for the people. They will be forced to switch crops and innovate. People close to river banks and river mouths have already had to find different ways to make a living in fresh water."

In the area around the town of Ba Tri, near one mouth of the delta, the salination of the water has reached a point where many locals have been forced to abandon centuries of rice cultivation and risk their livelihoods on other ventures, mostly farming shrimp, which thrives in saltier water. Pham Van Bo is still able to plant rice on half his land thanks to an embankment built by the government four years ago, but he is risking his family's savings on the new venture.

"We had to sell our fishing boat to pay to dig the cultivation pool and also had to pay someone to teach me how to do it. It was expensive, and I had to get the shrimp food and medicine on credit," he said. "It takes about four months from when they are small to selling them. It should be more profitable than rice planting, but I am worried since this is our first try."

Bo needs only to walk two hundred metres along the riverbank to see a cautionary tale. Nguyen Van Lung and her family started raising shrimp six years ago, but now all but one of their pools are empty.

"Last October, the sea washed out all of our shrimp, we lost them all," she said. "We saw the water rising up and getting closer and closer, but we couldn't do anything about it. This season, we have been forced to just dump the shrimp in and let them grow with no fans, medicine or special food."

The family received a loan from the local government to survive, but it takes a lot of money to farm shrimp, on which they now rely almost exclusively for their livelihood.

Olivia Dun is a PhD student at the University of Sydney's Mekong Resource Centre. She is studying environmental changes, flooding, saline intrusion and migration in the Mekong Delta. "Some households have benefited from the switch to shrimp and have been able to raise their level of income," she said. "Other households have continuously struggled to raise shrimp, which are sensitive to the conditions in their pond environment and easily susceptible to disease. These households face mounting debt, and of these households, some choose to migrate elsewhere temporarily in search of an income."

Tough decisions like this are going to become more common for Mekong residents in the years ahead as the environment changes around them.

"Even if we stop all emissions worldwide now, the water will still rise 20 to 30 centimetres in the next few decades," said the UN's Lai.

"At the moment the prediction is a rise of 75 centimetres by 2050. People in this region are still very poor and will need help from the international community to survive this."

Mekong's rice production at risk
UPI 23 Aug 11;

HANOI, Vietnam, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Vietnam's Mekong Delta is at risk from rising sea levels due to climate change, experts warn.

Known as the Rice Bowl of Vietnam, the 15,000-square-mile region produces half the country's rice output of 49 million tons a year, with 80 percent of its population engaged in rice cultivation.

"Rising sea waters will cause inundations to the Mekong and will require drastic changes in lifestyles," said Dao Xuan Lai, head of sustainable development at the U.N. Development Program in Vietnam, The Guardian newspaper reports.

People will be forced to switch crops and innovate, he said. Those close to river banks and river mouths have already had to find different ways to make a living in fresh water.

Even if all emissions worldwide were stopped now, the water would still rise about 8-12 inches in the next few decades, Lai said.

"People in this region are still very poor and will need help from the international community to survive this," he said.

The World Bank considers Vietnam among the countries most threatened by rising waters brought about by higher global temperatures.

Basing its research on warnings from international organizations that sea levels will increase by 11.8 inches in 2050 and 3.28 feet by 2100, a study by the Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment says that with a 3.28-foot rise, up to one-third of the Mekong Delta and a quarter of Ho Chi Minh City would be permanently submerged.

Rising seawater is also turning the rivers of the Delta salty, with saltwater at four parts per thousand already reaching 35 miles inland, causing significant damage to crops and livestock, particularly affecting rice production.

Rice cannot be grown in saline conditions. Other typically strong crops, including oranges, lemons and coconuts, cannot be grown in higher concentrations of salt.

"I have to travel five hours upstream by boat to fetch water for drinking, washing and cooking," Vo Thi Than, a 60-year-old woman who lives beside a dock and operates a small restaurant on the small delta island of Cu Lao Oc, told The Guardian.

"A long time ago, there was no salty season at all. Now, five months a year the water is salty," she says.

To address the problem, Vietnam's Southern Irrigation Planning Institute has devised a six-point irrigation plan that includes upgrading of canal networks that lead water from rivers to cultivation areas in the delta but work isn't expected to be completed until at least 2030.

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Climate change will hit genetic diversity

Probable loss of 'cryptic' variation a challenge for conservationists.
Nature 21 Aug 11;

Climate change represents a threat not only to the existence of individual species, but also to the genetic diversity hidden within them, researchers say. The finding promises to complicate assessments of how climate change will affect biodiversity, as well as conservationists' task in preserving it.

DNA studies have revealed that traditional species, as defined by taxonomists, contain a vast amount of 'cryptic' diversity — such as different lineages, or even species within species. Carsten Nowak, a conservation biologist at the Senckenberg Research Institutes and Natural History Museum in Gelnhausen, Germany, and his colleagues have made a first attempt to understand how global warming might affect this form of diversity. Their findings are published in Nature Climate Change1.

The team looked at aquatic insects living in the mountain streams of central Europe — seven species of caddisfly, a mayfly and a stonefly. The insects were chosen because they are likely to be especially vulnerable to rising temperatures — they need cold water, and have limited ability to travel large distances.

To measure genetic diversity, Nowak's team sequenced genes in the animals' mitochondria — energy-generating cellular organelles that have their own small genome. This allowed the authors to divide each species into a number of evolutionary significant units (ESUs) — the technical term for a population within a species that is genetically distinct from the rest of its kind.

On the basis of where in Europe each ESU is found, the researchers then analysed whether the associated insect would be able to tolerate higher temperatures or move to somewhere cooler, using two models developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Lost potential

Under the IPCC's business-as-usual climate scenario, 79% of ESUs included in the study are projected to become extinct by 2080; for a reduced-emissions scenario this fell to 59%. ESUs suffered a much greater rate of extinctions than species.

This lost evolutionary potential could hinder species' ability to adapt to change. "This genetic diversity is the most fundamental form of biodiversity — essentially, it's the substrate for evolution," says Nowak.

The study "shows how global climate change may lead to the loss of significant amounts of hidden diversity, even if some of the traditionally defined species will persist," says Michael Balke, an entomologist at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Munich, Germany.

What is not clear is how to extend this approach to other species with different powers of migration or dispersal. "If researchers can figure out how to factor in dispersal capacity — an attribute often not well-defined for individual species — the potential impact on genetic diversity becomes a lot more applicable," says Jim Provan, a molecular geneticist at Queen's University in Belfast, UK.

Study co-author Steffen Pauls of the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre in Frankfurt, Germany, agrees that such factors are also important. "We hope that this approach will be developed further to incorporate different migratory abilities, types of dispersal and thermal adaptability," he says.
Diversity danger zone

"For Europe, it turns out that the most genetically diverse regions are also the most endangered," says Nowak. The study predicts that loss of genetic diversity in the study insects will be greatest in the Mediterranean region, where all but two populations are projected to become extinct. This is also the region with the greatest genetic diversity.

This combination of genetic diversity and vulnerability has been found for other Mediterranean species, such as the seaweed, Chondrus crispus, which has already shifted northward during the past 40 years2. Many European species retreated to the Mediterranean during past ice ages, meaning that their southerly populations are especially ancient and diverse. The loss of these populations might compromise species' ability to adapt to future warming.

Combining genetics and ecology should aid conservation efforts. "This study highlights the huge potential of DNA-sequencing initiatives to reveal high levels of cryptic diversity, of utmost importance to informed conservation decision making," says Balke.

Genetic diversity is gaining increased attention in conservation circles. "Through our work to determine climate-adaptation strategies, we realize that genetics is one way to get an overall better view of how species are affected by climate change," says Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations treaty that commits signatories to develop national strategies to sustainably use and conserve biodiversity.

Last year's adoption of a treaty to manage and share the economic benefits of the world's genetic resources with developing nations, the Nagoya Protocol, has also boosted interest in cataloging genetic diversity. "Countries are starting to invest more to document genetic aspects of species in their national jurisdictions, to better understand how to get reimbursed for their use," says Djoghlaf.

References
Bálint, M. et al. Nature Clim. Change http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1191 (2011).
Provan, J. & Maggs, C. A. Proc R. Soc. B http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.0536 (2011).

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Best of our wild blogs: 21 Aug 11

Butterfly of the Month - August 2011
from Butterflies of Singapore

110820 Semakau forest
from Singapore Nature

'White patch' in Semakau mangroves: a closer look
from wild shores of singapore

the-plastic-not-so-fantastic @ Tanah Merah 07Aug2011
from sgbeachbum

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Sand for sale; environment ravaged

Denis D. Gray Associated Press Forbes 20 Aug 11;

KOH KONG, Cambodia -- Round a bend in Cambodia's Tatai River and the virtual silence of a tropical idyll turns suddenly into an industrial nightmare.

Lush jungle hills give way to a flotilla of dredgers operating 24 hours a day, scooping up sand and piling it onto ocean-bound barges. The churned-up waters and fuel discharges, villagers say, have decimated the fish so vital to their livelihoods. Riverbanks are beginning to collapse, and the din and pollution are killing a promising ecotourism industry.

What is bad news for the poor, remote Tatai community is great tidings for Singapore, the wealthy city-state that is expanding its territory by reclaiming land from the sea. Sand from nearby countries is the prime landfill and also essential building material for Singapore's spectacular skyline.

As more countries ban its export to curb environmental damage - entire Indonesian islands have been all but wiped off the map - suppliers to Singapore scour the region for what still can be obtained, legally or not. Cambodia, a poor country where corruption is rife and laws are often flouted, is now the No. 1 source.

Singapore is by no means the only nation taking part in what is a global harvest of sand from beaches, rivers and seabeds. Officials and environmentalists from China to Morocco have voiced concern and urged curbs. As construction booms in emerging economies and more sources dry up, however, exploitation of the remaining ones is likely to intensify.

Sand mining began anew in May on southwestern Tatai River, which empties into the ocean almost directly north of Singapore, across 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) of open water.

Despite denials by the main owner of sand mining rights in Koh Kong province, two Cambodian officials told The Associated Press that the sand is destined for the island nation.

Singapore will not say where its sand comes from; the Construction and Building Authority said it is not public information. The National Development Ministry said the state's infrastructure development company buys it from "a diverse range of approved sources."

The mining visible on the Tatai River clearly violates some of Cambodia's own legal restrictions, not to mention a recent government order to suspend it temporarily.

Vessels of a Vietnamese company were tracked by boat from about 10 kilometers (6 miles) upriver to the Gulf of Thailand, where nearly a dozen seagoing barges, tugs hovering around them, took on the sand.

The AZ Kunming Singapore, a 5,793-ton (5,255-metric ton) barge pulled by the AZ Orchid, was seen arriving empty from the open ocean, its tug flying a Singaporean flag. Both are registered with the Singapore government, which would not comment on the barge's cargo or destination.

Ships from several countries, including China, were spotted in sand-mining operations in Koh Kong province, where residents joked about going to Singapore and planting a Cambodian flag there.

The vessels included one from Winton Enterprises, a Hong Kong-registered group that was subcontracted to export sand to Singapore, according to Global Witness, a London-based environmental group that published a detailed account of the trade last year.

The report said that miners had penetrated protected mangrove, estuary and sea grass areas, breeding grounds for marine life along a coastline and hinterland harboring some of the country's last wilderness areas.

Cambodia's cabinet spokesman, Siphan Phay, who was investigating the issue in Koh Kong, appeared angry that the temporary halt order was being ignored. He described the activity as illegal mining destined for Singapore, a surprising statement given that government ministers awarded the concession.

A police officer in the economic crime division, who demanded anonymity given the issue's sensitivity, also said the sand is going to Singapore.

Ly Yong Phat, who holds the major concession in Koh Kong, has at times openly acknowledged the Singapore connection. But in a recent AP interview, amid tightening restrictions and mounting criticism, he said his company had not shipped sand to Singapore for more than a year because "our sand did not meet their standards."

The dredging, he added, was for local sale and to deepen river channels.

However, a Malaysian company, Benalec Holdings, said it was ready to tap up to 530,000 tons for a reclamation project in Singapore from several sources in Cambodia, including Ly Yong Phat's LYP Group.

Known as the "King of Koh Kong," Ly Yong Phat is one of Cambodia's biggest tycoons and a senator with close ties to Prime Minister Hun Sen. His holdings include hotels, a casino and agricultural plantations.

Land reclamation has enlarged Singapore by more than a fifth, and up to 100 square kilometers (nearly 40 square miles) more are slated for reclamation by 2030. What was once seabed is now Changi, among the world's finest airports, and more recently the Marina Bay complex, which includes a 2,560-room hotel and casino developed by Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Mountains of sand are needed for such fills. U.N. statistics show Singapore imported 14.6 million tons last year, ranking it among the world's top customers. Global Witness estimated that nearly 800,000 tons a year, worth some $248 million, were streaming to Singapore from Koh Kong alone.

The U.N. figures show that Cambodia supplied 25 percent of Singapore's imports in 2010, followed by Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines. With its secrecy and lax enforcement of environmental regulations, Myanmar could emerge as a major supplier.

The damage caused by sand extraction has spurred clampdowns on exports.

Malaysia imposed a ban in 1997, though the media there frequently report on massive smuggling into neighboring Singapore. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad complains that sand pirates are "digging Malaysia and giving her to other people."

An Indonesian ban came in 2007, following years of strained relations with Singapore over the sand on islands lying between the two countries. When miners finished with Nipah Island, reportedly all that was left was three or four palm trees protruding above the waterline. Environmental groups say smuggling is believed to be continuing.

Vietnam banned exports late last year.

Cambodia outlawed the export of sand from rivers in 2009 but allows it from some seabeds. Recently, some government officials said that rivers where seawater flowed into fresh water, replenishing sand naturally, were exempt.

Global Witness spokesman Oliver Courtney said the trade in Cambodia revealed a "mismatch between Singapore's reliance on questionably sourced sand and its position as a leader for sustainable development." The city-state prides itself on environmentally sound urban planning.

The dredging of the Tatai River began on May 17 "with a fury," creating a veritable traffic jam on the water, said Janet Newman, owner of the riverside Rainbow Lodge.

"Before you could see crab pots bobbing in the river everywhere and fishermen going out. Now there is nothing and nobody," the British woman said.

Chea Manith of the Nature Tourism Community of Tatai said 270 families along the river have seen an estimated 85 percent drop in catch of fish, crab and lobsters and were being forced to eke out a living from small garden plots. Tourists have all but vanished.

Armed with a petition, village leaders, tourism operators and a wildlife group met with Ly Yong Phat in early July. He appeared sympathetic, Newman said. He substantially reduced the dredging and has promised to stop altogether in October.

A subsequent letter from the Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology ordered the LYP group to halt operations temporarily on the Tatai, citing a breach of regulations. The letter was obtained by Cambodia's Phnom Penh Post newspaper, which made it available to the AP.

Hun Sen himself expressed concern over the mining in the river.

"We hoped that the prime minister's recent promise to review the impacts of the sand trade would lead to proper regulation of dredging operations," said Courtney of Global Witness. "Unfortunately, the pledge does not appear to have been followed up with meaningful action."

The mining has continued on the Tatai, and violations, such as dredging closer than 150 meters (165 yards) from riverbanks, were clearly evident.

The Post also obtained a Ministry of Industry, Mining and Energy letter extending LYP Group's concession in Koh Kong until Sept. 2012.

"We are just little people. We cannot do anything," Chea Manith said.

Newman sounded a more optimistic note. "It's my hope that the LYP Group will become sympathetic through this experience of having seen the reaction from people passionate about protecting their environment," she said. "It would be sad if they just went somewhere else to dump the same on others."

Associated Press writers Sean Yoong in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Alex Kennedy in Singapore; Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines; Aye Aye Win in Yangon, Myanmar; and Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, contributed to this report.

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New study on impact of rubbish on mangroves

Joanna Seow Straits Times 20 Aug 11;

A new study of the effects of washed-up rubbish on the mangroves at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve was launched on Saturday by the National Parks Board (NParks) and Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

The year-long monitoring programme will look at the effects of flotsam on coastal mangrove regeneration and ecology, and the results will help NParks manage the reserve better. It is the first time NParks is conducting such a study.

NParks' director of conservation Wong Tuan Wah said: 'The Sungei Buloh coastline is often littered by refuse brought in by the tides.

This monitoring project goes beyond our regular coastal clean-ups and will document the impact of rubbish on our mangroves.'

Staff researchers from both organisations will monitor the growth of saplings, with the assistance of volunteers from Wildlife Reserves Singapore, Anderson Junior College, and the Institute of Technical Education.

The volunteers will also help to clean the study site twice a month. Every quarter, a tree census will be conducted by the researchers to study the species that grow in the reserve.

Mr Biswajit Guha, general manager of Singapore Zoo - which comes under Wildlife Reserves Singapore - said that mangroves are important habitats for unique species and are ecologically important to nutrient cycling and coastal protection.

'Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is the only gazetted mangrove wetlands in Singapore and we should try our best to conserve it,' he added.

Study launched on impact of rubbish on Sungei Buloh mangroves
Today Online 21 Aug 11;

The National Parks Board (NParks) and Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) have embarked on a study to document the impact of rubbish on mangrove ecology in the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. The year-long project, the first of its kind for NParks, will help the board better manage Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

Researchers from NParks and WRS, with the aid of volunteers, will monitor the growth of saplings and their survival rate in relation to the effects of rubbish. The volunteers from Anderson Junior College, Institute of Technical Education and WRS will also be involved in clean-ups of the study site twice a month.

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Why Acres is against Resorts World Sentosa's dolphin plan

Sunday Times 21 Aug 11;

I refer to the editorial last Sunday ('Activists going too far?').

It is true that the various Sea Worlds in the United States feature dolphins. But in the late 1980s, facilities in the US implemented a voluntary moratorium on the collection of bottlenose dolphins from the wild, and this remains in place.

Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) has gone against this progressive movement and bought dolphins captured from the wild in the Solomon Islands.

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) launched its campaign following almost five years of closed-door discussions with RWS, which has failed to live up to its promises.

Despite stating that 'its dolphin enclosure will 'far exceed' internationally recognised minimum space requirements for the animals', RWS housed the wild-caught dolphins in small, rusty enclosures in Langkawi for almost a year and two dolphins died there.

Acres and the over 670,000 people who have joined us in this campaign are not calling for the closure of the Marine Life Park. We are simply calling for RWS to focus on housing species which can cope with captivity, to focus on ethical animal acquisitions and run an attraction that can play a proper role in education and conservation.

Louis Ng
Executive Director
Animal Concerns Research
and Education Society

Activists going too far?
Sunday Times 14 Aug 11;

Three months ago, local animal protection group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) launched a protest campaign against Resort World Sentosa's (RWS) plan to exhibit wild-caught dolphins in its Marine Life Park. It has since attracted 13,800 supporters to its cause.

Now, also joining cause with Acres, two American online activist groups, Avaaz and Change.org, have collected a total of nearly 800,000 signatures from members around the world, including Singaporeans. They want RWS to free the 25 dolphins which were caught off the Solomon Islands, near Papua New Guinea.

A key player in the protests is 'born again' dolphin rescuer Ric O'Barry, who in the 1960s trained the five dolphins which collectively played Flipper in the hit TV series which helped create a fascination among viewers worldwide with the marine mammal. The 72-year-old has offered his help to RWS to rehabilitate the dolphins and release them to the wild.

Last Wednesday, a spokesman for RWS said the 25 dolphins kept meanwhile in the Philippines are thriving. She contended that 'despite contrary claims, the track record for marine mammal releases is patchy at best'.

Both Mr O'Barry and the New York-based Avaaz warned RWS that it should not underestimate 'people power' in the thwarting of its plan. But why haven't the activists push their cause against Sea World, the American chain of oceanariums and water parks, the impartial observer may ask. The various Sea Worlds in the United States and the one on the Gold Coast in Australia all feature dolphins. It isn't clear to us why RWS has been singled out for attention when there are so many other similar attractions elsewhere operating for so long.

On its part, it would help RWS' cause if it made sure that it abides by - and even exceeds - the international norms set for oceanariums. In doing so, it will eventually win the goodwill of the public, if not the animal activists.

RWS responds to dolphin claims
Sunday Times 28 Aug 11;

I refer to last Sunday's letter 'Why Acres is against RWS' dolphin plan' by Mr Louis Ng of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres).

Given the inaccuracies in Mr Ng's letter, allow me to set the record straight. At the time we announced our plans for the Marine Life Park, we initiated a face-to-face dialogue with Acres. Clearly, both parties met on common ground in that we put the welfare of the animals above all else.

Till today, we remain open to collaboration with Acres on education with regard to marine animals, including that of the dolphins in our care. We are puzzled by Mr Ng's allegation of our failure 'to live up to (our) promises', as these meetings had ended somewhat inconclusively, with our agreement to disagree.

In recent weeks, Acres has gone on various public platforms with further inaccurate statements pertaining to our dolphins, despite our numerous clarifications and presentation of facts.

These allegations range from the inaccurate - that we are planning to keep our animals at our 'spa' - to the sensational - such as our animals dying in an 'ordeal'. We have posted our replies to these charges on our blog:

http://www.rwsentosablog.com/

Over the last three years, Resorts World Sentosa has taken an active role in promoting sustainable sharks-finning, saved corals, funded anti-poaching patrolling in the Galapagos Islands, and established the Marine Life Fund for marine conservation projects.

We recently announced a tie-up with the Sea Research Foundation to bring the world-renowned Jason Project and its educational programmes to Singapore.

Members of our Marine Life Park team are devoting their lives and career to learning about and caring for their charges and are no different from many animal lovers.

Krist Boo (Ms)
Senior vice-president, Communications
Resorts World Sentosa

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Save children from nature deficit disorder

Kids' access to nature has diminished with urbanisation and they have retreated indoors
Nur Dianah Suhaimi Sunday Times 21 Aug 11;

As a kampung child in the 1960s, my mother spent much of her time climbing trees in the neighbour's compound to pluck forbidden fruits and playing hide and seek with other children amid lalang (tall grass). When it rained, she rushed outdoors to slide down muddy slopes.

It was a childhood spent outdoors because, as she said, 'only the weird kids stayed indoors'.

Thirty years later, but only a kilometre away from my mother's old kampung in Sembawang, I spent my childhood in a vastly different manner.

I spent most of my days indoors, reading story books. I didn't climb any trees despite living in a semi-detached home with a huge mango tree in the garden. But I did play outside occasionally - to ride on my bicycle or to play a few rounds of badminton with my cousins.

Sometimes, when it was cool just after the rain, I would sneak off with a friend to take a walk in the little forest near my home where trees and bushes grew wild and uninterrupted for several kilometres.

Twenty years since then, I now have a daughter of my own and it scares me to think how, like most children of her generation, her exposure to nature will be extremely minimal, if at all.

Singapore is developing so fast that there is barely an empty plot of land that has not been sacrificed to build a new condominium or a new cluster of Housing Board flats.

Much of the ground has been cemented over as more roads and pavements are built. Even playgrounds have lost the traditional natural elements such as sandpits to make way for synthetic rubber flooring.

Like other children, my daughter, Nuha, will most likely spend most of her time indoors, in front of the television or a computer. Time spent outside the home will be confined mostly to the air-conditioned comfort of shopping malls.

These children may not know the pleasure of feeling sand underneath their bare feet, and the joy of rolling around in the dirt. They may not know the difference between a mango and the poisonous pong pong fruit.

These are the same children who, while at the beach, prefer to huddle in the stroller with the iPhone instead of playing in the sand.

Their idea of fun is playing computer games for hours and their idea of exercise is playing tennis on Nintendo Wii.

Some experts believe this severe lack of exposure and connection to nature is an illness, and have coined a term for it - nature deficit disorder.

They argue that for thousands of years, human beings have lived in intimate contact with nature. During that time, children played freely in the forests and fields.

However, with increasing urbanisation, children's access to nature began diminishing and it wasn't long before they all but retreated indoors.

The obvious results: a steep rise in obesity and depression levels as well as a decline in creativity and cognitive maturity.

The medication for this disorder sounds simple and straightforward: huge doses of exposure and connection to the great big outdoors.

Unfortunately, not only have children's playing environments shrunk considerably in the last few decades, but also the time that they have to play has greatly decreased.

In this paper-chase society, children spend so much of their time slogging through piles of homework and attending 'enrichment' classes that they barely have time to do much else.

Parents are also reluctant to allow their children to play outside the home, for fear of danger from strangers.

This is especially so in Singapore, where children are stuck in pigeonhole apartments with barely any space to run about. It is no wonder that they turn to the television and computer for recreation.

However, by keeping kids indoors, we may be harming their health. Evidence suggests that children need nature for their emotional and physical development, just as they need food and water.

The lack of exposure to nature has been frighteningly linked to diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, hyperactivity and depression. Being sedentary also puts our young ones at risk of childhood obesity.

On the contrary, unstructured and imaginative play in the outdoors has been proven to develop problem-solving skills, concentration and self-discipline in children.

For example, climbing a tree might sound like a primitive, ape-like activity, but the child will learn to exercise judgment and self-restraint by choosing which route to take and how high to go.

Indeed, exposure to nature has, of late, been tried as a remedy for various maladies in children, such as stress, antisocial behaviour and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Physical and mental illnesses form just the tip of the iceberg of the dangers of nature disconnect. There are deeper repercussions.

In 2005, author Richard Louv wrote a best-selling book titled Last Child In The Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder.

In it, he argues that children have become so disconnected from the real world that they will be ill-prepared decades down the road when it is their turn to be future stewards of the planet.

They will feel nothing but apathy towards environmental concerns because, to them, nature is just something lurking in the background - a tree which sheds too many leaves or pesky bugs that should be rid of.

Yale University professor Stephen Kellert said it best when he described society today as being 'so estranged from its natural origins, it has failed to recognise our species' basic dependence on nature as a condition of growth and development'.

Paradoxically, children are increasingly forming a 'connection' with nature through watching television programmes such as those on National Geographic and Animal Planet.

But some experts argued that this phenomenon may not be entirely positive because when children's experience with nature is limited to the virtual world, they may be conditioned to think that nature is exotic and exists only in faraway places that do not concern them.

They will have no idea that nature exists everywhere, including in their own neighbourhood and backyard.

Research findings have also shown that young children who grow up with little or no regular contact with the natural world will eventually come to see themselves as separate and not a part of the natural world. This sense of disconnect is likely to last a lifetime.

By virtue of the fact that she was born into a tech-driven society, my now nine-month-old daughter automatically becomes a likely candidate for nature deficit disorder.

Worried for her well-being, I take her outside as much as possible, even if it is to just sit on the grass in the garden and feel between her fingers the leaves from the plants.

Sometimes, I run some dirt through her tiny hands. At other times, we look out for birds that perch in our compound.

I realise that there is a noticeable change in her mood whenever we're out in nature. She's happier and not as restless as when we are indoors. She is in her element.

Apart from braving the humidity of the local weather, it actually does not take much effort to get children to 'return' to nature.

It does not have to be part of a special government programme or a school-initiated project. Neither does it have to be intensive immersions in the wild. The simple acts of checking out some angsana pods on the ground and lying down on the grass can be instantly beneficial.

The connection they will feel to the world around them can never be simulated, not even by the best computer game.

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Time for new strategy to save mammals, say biologists

AFP The Independent 21 Aug 11;

Time is running out to craft a plan to save Earth's rich diversity of mammals, a quarter of whose species could be wiped out, biologists warned on Tuesday.

"A global mammal strategy is urgent," they said in a journal published by the Royal Society, Britain's academy of sciences.

Millions of people have rallied to the cause of large iconic mammals such as the tiger, the polar bear and the giant panda, they noted.

But the news for less visible species is grim, especially those with a commercial value for poachers or whose habitat is at risk from farming, development or impending climate change.

Of the 5,339 documented species of mammals that are alive today, a quarter are threatened with extinction in the wild, according to their estimates, appearing in the journal Philosophical Transactions.

"As of today, there is not yet a comprehensive, widely agreed, global conservation strategy to tackle the mammal decline," said Carlo Rondinini and Luigi Boitani of the Global Mammal Assessment Programme at Rome's Sapienza University, and Ana Rodrigues of the Centre of Evolutive and Functional Ecology in Montpellier, France.

They suggested the UN's Biodiversity Convention weave a single vision, identifying which areas and species are at risk and how resources can be mustered to save them.

This work should then be coordinated by an authoritative institution with global reach, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Accompanying papers in the journal predicted that the biggest losses of mammal habitat will be in Africa and the Americas, while many species will be lost on the Mediterranean rim if predictions of climate change prove correct.

Quantifying such perils is hard, given that many mammals are elusive species and may live in fragmented, out-of-the-way habitats, the experts admitted.

Indeed, Australian investigators reported last September that of 187 mammals that have been "missing" since 1500, 67 species have subsequently been found again.

In one of the new papers, scientists reported on the world's biggest "camera trap" survey, aimed at getting an accurate idea of mammal populations, the size of animals and availability of food.

Creatures snapped automatically as they passed by a hidden lens ranged from a tiny mouse to the African elephant, gorillas, cougars and giant anteaters, as well as occasional poachers and tourists, according to the team from the US organisation Conservation International.

The probe set up 420 cameras at protected sites in Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Laos, Suriname, Tanzania and Uganda in a project that ran from 2008-2010 and yielded 52,000 images.

"We take away two key findings," said Jorge Ahumada of the NGO's Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network.

"First, protected areas matter: the bigger the forest they live in, the higher the number and diversity of species, body sizes and diet types.

"Second, some mammals seem more vulnerable to habitat loss than others: insect-eating mammals - like anteaters, armadillos and some primates - are the first to disappear, while other groups, like herbivores, seem to be less sensitive."

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Best of our wild blogs: 20 Aug 11

Fun with biodiversity during army
from Urban Forest

Chek Jawa August Walk with the Naked Hermit Crabs
from wonderful creation

Muddy Changi
from Psychedelic Nature and Tanah Merah a little oily lah

Phase IV – Execute! The 4th ICCS Otters meeting this Sat
from News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore

This mess, not by monkeys
from Otterman speaks

More Dinosaur Bones Arrive!
from Raffles Museum News

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Malaysia: American bullfrog may wipe out local species, says MNS

Josephine Jalleh The Star 20 Aug 11;

GEORGE TOWN: The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) is worried that the American bullfrog, which has been released into the Penang Botanic Gardens, may decimate local frog species.

MNS member Mohd Abdul Muin Md Akil said most scientists had claimed that the bullfrog was the main carrier of the deadly disease chytrid fungus.

“Our local frog species are more prone to be infected by the disease. Infected frogs will have discoloured and excessive shedding of skin, and they will eventually die,” he said during an interview in Universiti Sains Malaysia here yesterday.

Mohd Abdul Muin, a science officer at the university's Centre for Drug Research, said a post-doctorate student had recently spotted a bullfrog measuring some 15cm at the garden.

He said these bullfrogs were found in Malaysia in farms where they were reared for commercial purposes as well as in pet shops.

“People will buy young bullfrogs to keep as pets because they are cute when they are small. But when its bigger, the owner may not want to keep it and will release it into the wild.

“The bullfrog will also eat smaller frogs. It can even eat up its own kind,” he said.

Mohd Abdul Muin also said a reptile, known as the Indo-Chinese water dragon, which is a type of lizard, had also been spotted in Sungai Rusa and Titi Kerawang in Balik Pulau.

“It will compete with local reptiles for food and habitat. With its bigger size, it will start to eliminate local species.

“Once established in the wild, our own species may be extinct in five or 10 years,” he warned.

Mohd Abdul Muin said he believed that a turtle species, the red-eared slider, could also be the culprit behind the eating of water lilies in the garden.

“Pet owners could have released the turtles into the garden's ponds. We need to have them removed,” he said.

The garden's chief controller Datuk Tengku Idaura Tengku Ibrahim appealed to the public not to release any exotic animal within its premise.

State Wildlife and National Parks director Jamalun Nasir Ibrahim said those who did not want to keep their pets anymore should hand the animals over.

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Indonesian Haze Spreads as Forest Fires Continue to Burn

Nurfika Osman Jakarta Globe 20 Aug 11;

Thick haze from forest fires has blanketed much of Kalimantan for the past week, affecting major cities like Palangkaraya, the capital of Central Kalimantan, and threatening flights in the area.

Kalimantan is known for its rain forests and wildlife, as well as an annual haze from fires set to clear land for planting.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said on Friday that a total of 26 hot spots, or areas in satellite imaging indicating high temperatures and the likelihood of fire, were found across the region.

According to the BMKG, eight hot spots were found near Palangkaraya on Friday, down from 40 on Tuesday.

It said the number of hot spots found each day changed because of factors like temperature, precipitation, humidity and wind speed and direction.

On Wednesday, there were no hot spots detected near Palangkaraya after rain had fallen on the city overnight.

Erni, an official at the city’s Tjilik Riwut Airport, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday that the haze had not had a significant impact on operations at the airport.

“The haze has been thick through to today, especially in the afternoon,” she said. “But so far the airport has been able to operate normally.”

Erni said the haze was particularly bad on Tuesday, when several flights were delayed by up to two hours. “But conditions got better on Wednesday when we experienced some rain,” she said.

The BMKG had previously warned that as the peak of the dry season approached in July and August, when high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds are common, choking haze from forest fires could pose a major health problem for people across the region.

The Environment Ministry said it was training local governments and community members to respond to the fires. If the fires were to get out of control, however, it said it would cooperate with the Forestry Ministry and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to manage the problem.

Experts have said that the annual haze from fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra is an ongoing issue because forests continue to be burned as a cheap method of clearing land.

The practice is illegal but enforcement has been poor, in part because of the lack of law enforcement in remote regions and the vast areas of land involved.

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Indonesian Ministry allocates Rp164 billion for forest fire handling

Antara 19 Aug 11;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Forestry Ministry has allocated funds amounting to Rp164 billion to tackle forest and plantation fires, the ministry`s spokesman said.

Of the total funds, Rp9 billion has been allocated as a deconcentration funds in 33 provincial forestry offices to increase the regional forest fire fighting capability, Masyhud, the Forestry Ministry`s public relations head said in a press statement here on Friday.

During January-July 2011, the number of hotspots in Indonesia 8,082, much lower than 24,767 hotspots in Myanmar, 12,577 hotspots in Cambodia, 11,076 hotspots in Laos, 10,031 hotspots in Thailand, 7,037 hotspots in Vietnam, and 1,102 hotspots in Malaysia during the same period, he said.

The data on the hotspots in ASEAN member countries was obtained from the monitoring by a satellite of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), he said.

In Indonesia, hotspots were detected in six provinces which are prone to forest fires - Riau with 2,159 hotspots, West Kalimantan ( 809 hotspots), North Sumatera (600), Central Kalimantan (543), Jambi (455), South Kalimantan (259 hotspots).

Most of the hotspots or 77 percent occurred in agricultural and plantation areas, and 23 percent in forest area mainly ignited by illegal loggers.

In general the fires are man-made. Fire is usually seen as a cheap, easy and rapid way to clear land for agriculture and plantation activities, but it is uncontrolable. Forest and plantation fires occur every year in dry season.(*)

Editor: Heru

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