Key UN report ties climate change to extreme weather

Marlowe Hood AFP Yahoo News 2 Nov 11;

A new UN report concludes that man-made climate change has boosted the frequency or intensity of heat waves, wildfires, floods and cyclones and that such disasters are likely to multiply in the future.

The draft document, which has been three years in the making, says the severity of the impacts vary, with some regions more vulnerable than others.

Hundreds of scientists working under the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) will vet the phonebook-sized draft at a meeting in Kampala of the 194-nation body later this month.

"This is the largest effort that has ever been made to assess how extremes are changing," said Neville Nicholls, a professor at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and a coordinating lead author of one of the review's key chapters.

The report's authors stress that the level of "confidence" in the findings depends on the quantity and quality of data available.

But the overall picture that emerges is one of enhanced volatility and frequency of dangerous weather, leading in turn to a sharply increased risk for large swathes of humanity in coming decades.

AFP obtained a copy of the draft report's 20-page Summary for Policymakers, which is subject to revision by governments before release on November 18.

A series of natural catastrophes around the world has boosted the need to determine whether such events are freaks of the weather or part of a long-term shift in climate.

In 2010, record temperatures fuelled devastating forest fires across Siberia, while Pakistan and India reeled from unprecedented flooding.

This year, the United States has suffered a record number of billion-dollar disasters from flooding in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to Hurricane Irene to a drought in Texas.

China is reeling from lack of water too, even as central America and Thailand count their dead from recent flooding.

These events match predicted impacts of global warming, which has raised temperatures, increased the amount of water in the atmosphere and warmed ocean surface temperatures -- all drivers of extreme weather.

But teasing apart the role of natural fluctuations in the weather and rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has proven devilishly difficult.

The nine-chapter Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation, or SREX, pored over hundreds of recent scientific studies in search of patterns.

The new report's main conclusions about future trends include:

- It is "virtually certain" -- 99-100% sure -- that the frequency and magnitude of record-hot days will increase over the 21st century on a global scale.

- It is "very likely" (90-100% certainty) that the length, frequency and/or intensity of warm spells, including heat waves, will continue to increase over most land areas.

- Peak temperatures are "likely" (66-100% certainty) to increase -- compared to the late 20th century -- up to 3.0 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2050, and 5.0 C (9.0 F) by 2100.

- Heavy rain and snowfall is likely to increase, especially in the tropics and at high latitudes.

- At the same time, droughts will likely intensify in the Mediterranean region, central Europe, North America, northeastern Brazil and southern Africa.

- Rising and warming seas are also very likely to boost the destructive power of cyclones, while melting glaciers and permafrost, along with heavier precipitation, will trigger more landslides.

The Carnegie Institution's Chris Field, co-chair of the IPCC's Working Group 2, would not comment on the report's conclusions, but said they would help shape political choices.

"When the SREX is finalized and approved by the world's governments, it will provide a solid foundation for smart policies on managing risks from climate extremes and climate-related disasters," he said by email.

The IPCC's landmark Fourth Assessment in 2007 said global warming was "unequivocal" and that human activity was almost certainly largely to blame.

Future holds more extreme weather
Seth Borenstein AP Yahoo News 2 Nov 11;

WASHINGTON (AP) — For a world already weary of weather catastrophes, the latest warning from top climate scientists paints a grim future: More floods, more heat waves, more droughts and greater costs to deal with them.

A draft summary of an international scientific report obtained by The Associated Press says the extremes caused by global warming could eventually grow so severe that some locations become "increasingly marginal as places to live."

The report from the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change marks a change in climate science, from focusing on subtle shifts in average temperatures to concentrating on the harder-to-analyze freak events that grab headlines, hurt economies and kill people.

"The extremes are a really noticeable aspect of climate change," said Jerry Meehl, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "I think people realize that the extremes are where we are going to see a lot of the impacts of climate change."

The final version of the report from a panel of leading climate scientists will be issued in a few weeks, after a meeting in Uganda. The draft says there is at least a 2-in-3 probability that climate extremes have already worsened because of man-made greenhouse gases.

The most recent bizarre weather extreme, the pre-Halloween snowstorm that crippled parts of the Northeast last weekend, cannot be blamed on climate change and probably isn't the type of storm that will increase with global warming, according to four meteorologists and climate scientists.

Experts on extreme storms have focused more closely on the increasing number of super-heavy rainstorms, not snow, NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt said.

By the end of the century, the intense, single-day rainstorms that typically happen once every 20 years will probably happen about twice a decade, the report said.

The opposite type of disaster — a drought such as the stubbornly long dry spell gripping Texas and parts of the Southwest — could also happen more often as the world warms, said Schmidt and Meehl, who reviewed part of the climate panel report.

Studies have not yet specifically tied global warming to the continuing drought, but it is consistent with computer models that indicate current climate trends will worsen existing droughts, Meehl said. Scientifically connecting a weather disaster with global warming is a complicated and time-consuming task that can take more than a year and involve lots of computer calculations.

Researchers have also predicted more intense monsoons with climate change. Warmer air can hold more water and impart more energy to weather systems, changing the dynamics of storms and where and how they hit.

Thailand is now coping with massive flooding from monsoonal rains — an event that illustrates how climate is also connected with other manmade issues such as population growth, urban development and river management, Schmidt said.

In fact, the report says, "for some climate extremes in many regions, the main driver for future increases in losses will be socioeconomic" rather than a result of greenhouse gases.

The panel was formed by the United Nations and World Meteorological Organization. In the past, it has discussed extreme events in snippets in its report. But this time, the scientists are putting them all together.

The report, which needs approval by diplomats at the mid-November meeting, tries to measure the confidence scientists have in their assessment of climate extremes both future and past.

Chris Field, one of the leaders of the climate change panel, said he and other authors declined to comment because the report is still subject to change.

The summary chapter did not detail which regions of the world might suffer extremes so severe as to leave them only marginally habitable.

The report does say scientists are "virtually certain" — 99 percent — that the world will have more extreme spells of heat and fewer of cold. Heat waves could peak as much as 5 degrees hotter by mid-century and even 9 degrees hotter by the end of the century.

From June to August this year in the United States, blistering heat set 2,703 daily high temperature records, compared with only 300 cold records during that period. That made it the hottest summer in the U.S. since the Dust Bowl of 1936, according to Weather Underground Meteorology Director Jeff Masters, who was not involved in the study.

And there's an 80 percent chance that the killer Russian heat wave of 2010 would not have happened without the added push of global warming, according to a study published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists expect future hurricanes and other tropical cyclones to have stronger winds, but they won't increase in number and may actually decrease.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel, who studies climate's effects on hurricanes, disagrees and believes more of these intense storms will occur.

And global warming isn't the sole villain in future climate disasters, the climate report says. An even bigger problem will be the number of people — especially the poor — who live in harm's way.

The 18-page summary report isn't completely grim. It says some "low-regrets measures" can help reduce disaster risks and costs, including better preparedness, sustainable land and water management, better public health monitoring and building improvements.

University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver, who was not among the authors, said the report was written to be "so bland" that it may not matter to world leaders.

But Masters said the basic findings seem to be proven true by actual events.

"In the U.S., this has been the weirdest weather year we've had for my 30 years, hands down."

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: http://www.ipcc.ch/

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on weather extremes: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/reports/billionz.html#narrative

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Global Blue Carbon Market Proposed by Five UN Agencies

Environment News Wire 1 Nov 11;

PARIS, France, November 1, 2011 (ENS) - A global blue carbon market that would create direct economic gain for those who protect ocean habitats is the main feature of a plan issued today by five United Nations agencies to improve the management of the world's ocean and coastal areas.

The "Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability" says that the agencies intend to work with existing international carbon markets to define and implement a blue carbon market for protecting marine and coastal carbon sinks.

Oceans act as sinks for the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, CO2. In fact, the oceans are the largest active carbon sink on Earth, absorbing 26 percent of all CO2 emissions.

One reason for the oceans' big share of carbon is its biological pump, which removes carbon dioxide from the ocean surface, changing it into living matter and distributing it to the deeper water layers.

Out of all the biological carbon captured in the world, 55 percent is taken up at sea by marine living organisms, and so is called blue carbon.

At least half of this is captured by the ocean's vegetated habitats - mangroves, salt marshes, seagrasses, and seaweed. These plants cover less than 0.5 percent of the seabed, but play an important role in regulating the climate and mitigating climate change.

The five UN agencies that authored the Blueprint - UNESCO, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the United Nations Development Programme, the International Maritime Organization, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization - warn that although the oceans account for 70 percent of the planet's surface, only one percent of that area is protected.

To develop and implement a global strategy on blue carbon, their Blueprint says standards must be agreed for blue carbon monitoring and certification. Targets must be set for habitat protection in the context of blue carbon.

In addition, economic valuation methodologies must be developed for blue forest ecosystem services.

The agencies say they will work to create global acceptance of ocean and coastal habitats as a new form of tradable carbon market with a "global blue carbon fund."

Within international climate change policy instruments, they intend to create mechanisms that will allow the future use of carbon credits for marine and coastal ecosystem carbon capture and storage.

The critical role of oceans and their ecosystems has been overlooked, the agencies say. They aim to ensure oceans and coastal ecosystems are not neglected at the upcoming Rio+20 conference scheduled for June 2012.

Their report emphasises that 60 percent of the world's major marine ecosystems have been degraded or are being used unsustainably, resulting in huge economic and social losses.

Mangrove forests have lost 30 to 50 percent of their original cover in the last 50 years while coral reefs have lost 20 percent, increasing the vulnerability of many highly populated coastal areas.

The ocean absorbs close to 26 percent of atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions. This is causing acidification of the oceans that is already threatening some varieties of plankton and poses a threat to the entire marine food chain and the human livelihoods that depend on the oceans and coastal waters.

"Some of these phenomena are not new but are aggravated by cumulative pressures such as climate change, intensified human activity and technological advances," the agencies said today.

"Ecosystems situated in the deep ocean, where biodiversity and habitats often have major value, but are generally not well understood, have virtually no protection at all."

The international community pledged to tackle these challenges at the United Nations summits in Rio in 1992 and Johannesburg (in 2002.

But the commitments made there remain ineffective and their objectives have not been met, the UN agencies acknowledge. Neither the pledge to restore fish stocks to sustainable levels by 2015, nor the promise to create networks of protected marine areas by 2012 have been met.

Few countries have adopted legislation to reduce land-based marine pollution,which has led to an increase in the number of dead ocean areas, the report finds. More than 400 marine areas have been listed as "biologically dead."

"The full implementation of many of these goals and targets will require further efforts by states, intergovernmental organizations and the international community," write the authors.

They claim the present situation is the result of insufficient political will and resources, inadequate institutional capacities, insufficient scientific data and market imbalances.

"Greening the Blue Economy will be science and technology driven," they conclude. "But success will depend on sound policy processes and effective institutional arrangements and will therefore require commitment and funding from the international community as well as nations and industry."

Ten proposals to safeguard the ocean
UN Agencies call on States and the international community for renewed commitment
FAO 1 Nov 11;

1 November 2011 Paris - UN agencies are launching today a plan to improve the management of oceans and coastal areas. The Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability sounds the alarm about the health of the oceans, and explains how they influence our everyday life by regulating the climate, providing highly-nutritious food and by sustaining livelihoods and economies. It recalls that although the ocean accounts for 70 per cent of the surface of our planet, only one per cent of it is protected.

Presented at UNESCO Headquarters during the 36th session of the General Conference, the Blueprint was prepared for consideration by the UN conference on sustainable development (Rio+20, June 2012).

It proposes a series of concrete measures to:

Create a global blue carbon market as a means of creating direct economic gain through habitat protection

Fill governance gaps in the high seas, by reinforcing the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,

Support the development of green economies in small island developing states

Promote research on ocean acidification- how to adapt to it and mitigate it.

Increase institutional capacity for scientific monitoring of oceans and coastal areas

Reform and reinforce regional ocean management organisations

Promote responsible fisheries and aquaculture in a green economy

Strengthen legal frameworks to address aquatic invasive species

"Green" the nutrient economy (fertilizers for example)

Enhance coordination, coherence and effectiveness of the UN system on ocean issues


The Blueprint was prepared by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

It emphasises that 60 per cent of the world's major marine ecosystems have been degraded or are being used unsustainably, resulting in huge economic and social losses. Mangrove forests have lost 30 to 50 per cent of their original cover while coral reefs have lost 20 per cent, increasing the vulnerability of many highly populated coastal areas. The ocean absorbs close to 26 per cent of atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions which is provoking acidification that is already threatening some varieties of plankton and poses a threat to the entire marine food chain and dependant socio-economic activities.

Some of these phenomena are not new but are aggravated by cumulative pressures such as climate change, intensified human activity and technological advances. Furthermore, ecosystems situated in the deep ocean, where biodiversity and habitats often have major value, but are generally not well understood, have virtually no protection at all.

The international community pledged to tackle these challenges at the Summits of Rio (1992) and Johannesburg (2002). However the commitments made remain largely ineffectual and their objectives have not been met. Such has been the case for the pledge to restore fish stocks to sustainable levels by 2015, and the promise to create networks of protected marine areas by 2012. Few countries have adopted legislation to reduce land-based marine pollution, leading to an increase in the number of dead ocean areas. More than 400 marine areas have been listed as "biologically dead" to date.

"The full implementation of many of these goals and targets will require further efforts by States, intergovernmental organizations and the international community," state the authors of the report. They claim the present situation is the result of insufficient political will and resources, inadequate institutional capacities, insufficient scientific data and market imbalances.

"Greening the Blue Economy will be science and technology driven," they conclude. "But success will depend on sound policy processes and effective institutional arrangements and will therefore require commitment and funding from the international community as well as nations and industry".

The Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability http://www.unesco.org/new/en/rio20

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Australia: Queensland's seagrass beds under threat into 2012

Tony Bartlett ninemsn 1 Nov 11;

The seagrass beds which sustain Queensland's turtles and dugongs could remain under threat into next year, a forum on the Gold Coast has heard.

With turtle strandings along the Queensland coast nearly double last year's figure, specialists from around Australia gathered at Sea World on Tuesday to discuss the impact of January's floods and cyclones on turtles and dugongs.

A protected species expert at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Mark Read, said the rich underwater pastures which the turtles need to survive will remain under threat for some time.

"At this stage weather forecasters are predicting a moderate La Nina event this season which will produce milder weather patterns than last year's events," Dr Read said.

"Despite this we are still anticipating the species' main food source, seagrass meadows, will be adversely affected by these weather patterns, so it is important we minimise all other impacts.

"These include coastal development, habitat degradation, boat strikes, marine debris, sedimentation and pollution, oil spills and other threats to water quality."

Dr Read said an extra 60 people had been trained in how to perform necropsy examinations on stranded animals so vital information can be collated about their cause of death.

Sea World's director of marine sciences, Trevor Long, said because turtles have such a slow metabolism there wasn't an immediate impact after January's extreme weather.

"What happens is a crash over many months, and that's what we're into right at the moment," Mr Long said.

Mr Long said he'd like to see the creation of a rehabilitation centre in Queensland because there's no facility at the moment capable of dealing with the strandings.

"Rehabilitation centres are not difficult to manage or establish, and that's something I'd like to see come out of today's forum," he said.

Queensland Environment Minister Vicky Darling said so far this year there had been more than 1200 turtle strandings.

"Townsville, Gladstone and Moreton Bay have all had over 200 each, which isn't unexpected but is almost double last year's numbers," Ms Darling said.

"The message to people on our waterways is to slow down a little bit and look out below."

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India: Orissa bans fishing near sea turtle nesting sites

The Times of India 1 Nov 11;

BHUBANESWAR: Orissa on Tuesday imposed a seven-month ban on fishing within 20 km of the coastline in three districts to protect endangered turtles who have started congregating in the sea for mating, an official said.

The ban has been imposed near the beaches of Gahirmatha, Rushikulya and Devi in the districts of Kendrapada, Ganjam and Puri where the turtles are expected to come for their annual nesting in December.

"Boats and trawlers will not be allowed to carry out any fishing activities in the sea near the nesting sites," Divisional forest officer Manoj Mohapatra told IANS, adding the ban will remain in force till May 31.

Mohapatra said two-three dead turtles had washed ashore recently at Gahirmatha and Devi river mouth and this indicated that the turtles have started congregating in the sea.

He said patrolling has been intensified along the coast to strictly enforce the ban.

Over half a million Olive Ridley turtles arrive and congregate in the shallow coastal waters of the state in October-November for mating and nest between December and March. Most hatchlings emerge by May.

Most of the turtles nest every year at Gahirmatha located in the Bhitarkanika National Park. It is also known as one of the world's largest turtle nesting sites.

Last year, the nesting commenced twice and a record 7.20 lakh turtles had nested at the beaches of the state.

Like tigers and elephants, Olive Ridley turtles are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Trapping, killing or selling of the species could result in a maximum of seven years' imprisonment.

Despite several conservation measures, thousands of turtles get killed every year mainly after being hit by boats and trawlers that operate illegally.

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Most Non-Chinese Rare Earth Projects Doomed: Consultant

Alessandra Prentice PlanetArk 2 Nov 11;

The vast majority of non-Chinese rare earth metal (REM) ventures will fail due to a lack of expertise and high ore processing costs, says Jack Lifton, founder of the industry consultancy Technology Metals Research.

Firms were quick to launch new mines and restart mothballed operations as soon as China, which controls about 95 percent of the REM market, started slashing its export quota in 2009.

Of the 244 companies hoping to produce the rare earth metals essential to a wide range of high-tech industries, less than 4 percent will prove profitable, the strategic metals consultant told Reuters in an interview on Friday.

"The choke point for all the companies is the question of what they can do with the concentrated REM ore once it's above ground. You can extract the rare earths together, but then you have to separate them...the world's REM separation capacity is 99 percent Chinese and they have unused capacity," Lifton said.

"The Chinese overwhelmingly control this and that is the key to the rare earth industry. Without separation capacity, all you have is a loss-making ore concentrate company."

Prized for their magnetism, luminescence and strength, rare earths are used by manufacturers of everything from smartphones to hybrid cars and wind turbines, but the elements occur together in the earth in different proportions and the separation process is complex and expensive.

"That's why you don't want the biggest deposits, you don't want to have to process hundreds of tonnes at horrendous cost. You're looking for the highest grade heavy rare earths and the least cost to recover them. It's a question of economics," Lifton said.

Heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium, crucial for the high-power magnets needed by the auto, defense and clean energy industries, are scarcer than cerium and other light rare earths, making them much more valuable.

China currently controls 100 percent of the market for three heavy REM: dysprosium, terbium and yttrium.

"I'm worried about dysprosium supply...A while ago we predicted that dysprosium would be $2000 a kilo by 2020, it's now selling for over $2000 a kilo within China. All bets are off," Lifton said.

HARD TO GET

Named after the ancient Greek word for 'hard to get', dysprosium will be in deficit until 2017, the longest of all REM, according to a report on critical REM published by Technology Metals Research in August 2011.

U.S. firm Molycorp, the world's largest REM producer outside of China, is slated to start initial production in early 2012, but its deposits are skewed toward light rare earths.

Prices of light REM in particular have fallen almost 30 percent since reaching record highs earlier this year after China repeatedly slashed export quotas, cutting shipments abroad to 30,184 tonnes in 2011 from about 60,000 tonnes in 2007.

The rare earth market is in a correction cycle after China's export cuts, mining reforms and stockpiling pushed prices of most REM to an unsustainably high level, Lifton said, adding prices at this lower level would make it even harder for non-Chinese ventures to make a profit.

Cerium, a light REM used primarily in glass polishing, surged from about $4 a kilogram in 2009 to about $157 in July 2011. The price has since fallen to around $55/kg.

"In terms of investment, the best bet are the companies that will be producing the heavy rare earths that will be in deficit in the future. As it shakes out, there are around 250 companies, only 25 of them have a chance and less than 10 will survive," Lifton added.

According to Technology Metals Research, the non-Chinese mines with the highest deposits of the heavy rare earths, which they consider critical in terms of future shortage, including dysprosium, belong to Lynas Corp, Great Western Minerals Group, Quest Rare Minerals,Ucore and Tasman metals.

(Editing by James Jukwey)

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Best of our wild blogs: 1 Nov 11

Looking Like a Tree Stump.... Spider
from Macro Photography in Singapore

Squit
from The annotated budak

Slugs galore at Pulau Sekudu
from wonderful creation

flourescing white spiral fan worm @ sekudu - Oct2011
from sgbeachbum

Gardening for birds: 5. Shrubs
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Halloween Crabs!
from Mangrove Action Squad

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Singapore says major floods unlikely, taking precautions

AFP AsiaOne 1 Oct 11;

SINGAPORE – Major floods such as those affecting Thailand are unlikely to occur in Singapore, but the city-state is taking additional precautions because of the dangers posed by climate change, Singapore’s top environment official said.

The island nation of 5.1 million people, the Asian base for many banks and multinational firms, is vulnerable to rising sea levels and a further increase in the intensity of tropical downpours.

“There are still people who do not believe in climate change. But I think the increasing weight of evidence suggests that something is going on and the only rational thing is to review all assumptions and norms,” Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told Reuters in an interview.

Singapore, he said, has embarked on several initiatives to better protect itself against floods, including raising the height of reclaimed land by an additional 1 metre above sea level, widening and deepening drains and canals and getting building owners to improve their flood defences.

“It will be more expensive, more upfront cost, but you are buying insurance for the future,” he said.

Singapore is among a number of cities that face a high risk from rising sea levels, risk analysis firm Maplecroft said in a report last week.

While Singapore last experienced flooding that required authorities to evacuate people from their homes back in the 1970s, the city-state has become prone to flash floods that have damaged basement shops and carparks over the past two years.

On the morning of his interview with Reuters, roads in parts of the city-state’s financial district were partially submerged and people had to walk in ankle-deep water for a period of 10-15 minutes because the drains could not cope with the heavy downpour.

Balakrishnan said Singapore had embarked on large projects in the past 20 years to divert water from low-lying areas to reduce the risk of a major flood.

For example, the new Marina Barrage at the mouth of the Singapore River allows authorities to control water levels at Marina Bay, which is surrounded by offices, hotels and a multi-billion-dollar casino-resort.

FLASH FLOODS

“You are not going to get areas, like in Thailand, that are seriously inundated for weeks or months. That is extremely unlikely in Singapore,” he said.

He conceded, however, that authorities needed to improve the city-state’s defences against flash floods and said technological advances in wireless communications and the use of sensors would help shorten response time.

Looking ahead, Balakrishnan said the next round of climate talks in Durban, South Africa, starting later this month would not yield a broader, legally binding climate pact because of deep differences between rich and poor nations on how to share the burden of cuts in greenhouse gas pollution.

But he said it was essential the existing U.N. pact, the Kyoto Protocol, be extended into a second period. Failure to do so risked catastrophic collapse of the marathon talks aimed at ramping up efforts to fight climate change.

He expected the talks in Durban to yield agreement on boosting transparency of individual country pledges to curb emissions that scientists say are heating up the planet.

More broadly, he said incremental progress could be made so long as there is continued improvement in the global ambition to reduce emissions, that there is a proper system to audit those pledges and if rich nations continued to share cash and clean-energy technology with poorer states.

“One difference between the world in 1992 and the world of today is that young people all over the world are far more environmentally conscious,” he said, referring to the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, where nations adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol is part of the convention.

“I am actually hopeful that added pressure at the people sector level ... will give the final impetus to the political negotiations and end up hopefully in an agreement but this is not going to happen in December,” he said.

Massive floods unlikely here, says minister
Straits Times 2 Nov 11;

MASSIVE floods of the kind hitting Thailand are unlikely to happen here, Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has said.

In an interview with wire agency Reuters, published yesterday, he said Singapore has made moves, such as raising the height of reclaimed land by a metre above sea level and deepening drains and canals, to protect itself against floods likely caused by worsening climate change.

It has also encouraged building owners to improve their flood defences.

'It'll be more expensive, (and involve) more upfront cost, but you are buying insurance for the future,' he said.

He added: 'You're not going to get areas, like in Thailand, that are seriously inundated for weeks or months. That is extremely unlikely in Singapore.'

Singapore has been experiencing heavy rain recently, with flash floods occurring in various parts of the island, sometimes causing damage running into millions of dollars.

Among the steps taken by the Government is the setting up of a panel of local and international experts to look into the issue.

Dr Balakrishnan acknowledged that the Government needed to improve the city state's defences against flash floods, and added that technological advances in wireless communications and the use of sensors would shorten response time when these occur.

He noted that Singapore has developed large projects in the last two decades to divert water from low-lying areas to reduce the risk of a major flood.

One is the Marina Barrage at the mouth of the Singapore River, which enables the water level in Marina Bay to be controlled.

He told Reuters: 'There are still people who do not believe in climate change. But I think the increasing weight of evidence suggests that something is going on and the only rational thing is to review all assumptions and norms.'

Vivian sees no deal at climate talks
He cites lack of political will, financial resources
Business Times 2 Nov 11;

THE United Nations climate talks in Durban, South Africa at the end of November will not result in a global, legally binding agreement, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan.

'There isn't the political will and there isn't the financial resources to make such a deal stay,' he said at the ongoing Clean Energy Expo Asia yesterday.

The world's biggest economies and greenhouse-gas emitters are 'too busy with their own problems . . . to arrive at a collective position and make common sacrifices in order for us to act properly.'

In the absence of a global pact, progress on tackling climate change measures has occurred at the state-level, particularly in Asia.

Dr Balakrishnan revealed that half of 194 gigawatts of new electric capacity in Asia added in 2010 was renewable energy.

He stressed that the technology a country chooses to generate energy today will affect sustainable development, carbon emissions, and fossil fuel use for the next 30-50 years.

What would also matter in the long-run are government policies. Governments must be mindful that subsidies given to foster more clean energy development do not create 'perverse outcomes'.

'The issue of pricing (the fuel) must also take into account externalities,' he said.

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Flash floods in north, central Singapore

Straits Times 1 Nov 11;

FLASH floods hit central and northern parts of Singapore yesterday afternoon, bringing traffic to a standstill in some areas. The water was knee-high along Woodlands Road, near the junction with Mandai Road, from about 3.15pm.

The area is near the coast, and water agency PUB said a combination of 'intense rainfall, high tide and debris brought on by the storm' caused the flood.

When The Straits Times visited the area, PUB staff and contractors were clearing the drains of leaves and twigs.

The flood waters took 45 minutes to subside, causing a major traffic jam.

Businessman Thomas Tan, 46, was driving along this stretch when the water flooded the engine of his truck. He said it will cost more than $500 to repair the engine.

Mr Tan said he was caught in a flood in the same area last week: 'There are a lot of leaves and rubbish clogging the drains here.'

There were two bursts of intense rainfall over the Mandai area yesterday afternoon, coinciding with a high tide of 3.3m.At the Kranji Expressway slip road towards Woodlands Road, the water took an hour to clear. In other flood-hit areas - including some sections of Dunearn Road, Bukit Timah Road and Stevens Close - it took 10 to 20 minutes to subside.

The National Environment Agency issued a heavy rain warning yesterday, and a spokesman said that for the next three days, moderate to heavy showers with thunder can be expected in the afternoon.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic students walk through flash flood
Straits Times 1 Nov 11;

Flash floods were reported in the northern and western regions of Singapore following heavy rains on Monday afternoon.

A contributor named Ilovemaggie on citizen journalism website Stomp reported that students at Ngee Ann Polytechnic took off their shoes and rolled up their pants to walk through ankle-high waters.

Flash floods were also reported in Senja Way and the area near Marsiling MRT station.

Flash flood due to rain
Today Online 1 Nov 11;

SINGAPORE - A Kranji Expressway slip road towards Woodlands Road has been affected by flash floods today afternoon.

National water agency PUB had began posting updates to water levels in the many canals and waterways around Singapore from 1.07pm on its official twitter feed, with warnings on flood risks.

Flash floods also affected two other areas but the water has since subsided,reported PUB via its twitter feed.

Underground pathways were not spared the deluge of rain, as twitter users posted that the underpass linking the Orchard MRT to Tangs was "flooded".

"Underpass below tangs is flooded! They had to put metal slabs on the floor fr ppl to walk! (sic)," said twitter user @facesbysarah.

A Tangs Plaza spokesperson said there was a 'little water, about 1-2cm deep' caused by the rain, and that Tangs was not affected. WITH REPORTS FROM CHANNEL NEWSASIA

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Malaysian government prepares for huge floods

Farrah Naz Karim, Sean Augustin, Adib Povera and Nadia Badarudin New Straits Times 31 Oct 11;

SEPANG: Several agencies will meet to finalise logistics and contingency plans in the event of huge floods, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said this was necessary even though the country had placed measures to deal with any eventuality.

The National Security Council would meet the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and other parties soon to finalise the issues, he said.

"We are monitoring the situation closely. We have taken note of the feedback from the Meteorological Department, which said the rain the country would face would be different from usual.

"We are ready to take drastic measures and we are making early preparations for the possibility of huge floods."

He said this after a gathering here to send off Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor to perform the haj.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia, which had sent US$1 million (RM3.1 million) in aid to Thailand, which is facing its worst floods in two decades, would extend aid to other neighbouring countries hit by severe floods.

On Sunday, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Southeast Asia Disaster Research Institute director Ibrahim Komoo said the monsoon season would bring about 40 per cent more rain (880mm) than last year.

He said Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, Kedah, eastern Sarawak and Sabah would be worst hit, especially during the transitional period of the northeastern monsoon this month.

The Meteorological Department had reported that heavy rain would hit eastern Kelantan and Terengganu this month, followed by Pahang and Johor from January.

In Kedah, the 100-odd residents of Kampung Titi Gajah in Anak Bukit, near Alor Star, are praying hard that the floods won't strike again.

It was a year ago today that the villagers were forced to abandon their homes and seek shelter on higher grounds for almost a week after their village was submerged by floodwaters of up to 3m.

Village elder Abdul Razak Osman, 85, said: "Besides the regular cleaning by the local authorities, we are also conducting frequent checks on drains and canals.

"We don't want to go through what we did last year when our village and a few others nearby were struck by the floods, the first in our lives."

More than 30,000 people in many parts of Kedah had to evacuate their homes at the peak of the floods last year.

Kedah National Security Council secretary Abu Bakar Sudin said it had identified about 450 flood relief centres, which could hold about 80,000 people, in flood-prone areas in Pendang, Kubang Pasu and Kota Setar districts.

He said the council would deploy about 70 boats, 60 lorries and 80 four-wheel-drive vehicles to help flood victims.

The council identified thousands of volunteers from the Malaysian Red Crescent Society, Civil Defence Corps and non-governmental organisations to help flood evacuees, distribute food and provide medical aid.

Kedah Drainage and Irrigation Department director Ab Qahar Osman said the state was caught off-guard last year by the heavy rain in southern Thailand, which spilled over into the state and caused major floods.

"We may see the same pattern this year."

Preparations underway to face bad floods: DPM
Zuhrin Azam Ahmad The Star 31 Oct 11;

SEPANG: Extensive preparations are underway to face floods that are expected to be the worst in decades, said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the Government was not taking any chance as weather reports indicated that the impending floods could be devastating.

“There could be a more stronger winds, more rains and stronger currents than before.

“With all these reports, the preparations must also be more than the usual,” he said Monday at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport's Bunga Raya Complex here.

Muhyiddin was speaking to newsmen after seeing off Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor who left for Saudi Arabia to perform the haj.

Muhyiddin said the National Security Council would be holding a meeting soon with departments and agencies involve in floods evacuation operation.

He said the meeting among others would be to update the agencies and departments on the situation and preparations particularly on logistic matters.

“Early preparations are already in place but we are not taking any chance and would like to see where we can further improve the preparations.

“While we have always prepared ourselves for floods, this time the situation may be unexpected,” he said.

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Jakarta to build another dam to address flood problem

Antara 31 Oct 11;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo has said the capital city will build another dam to overcome a chronic flood problem in the Pondok Labu area and its surroundings.

"We have prepared everything. In the long term, we will construct a dam there. Pondok Labu will definitely no longer suffer flooding when the dam is completed," Fauzi Bowo said at Halim Perdana Kusuma Air Force base here on Monday where he was among a number of government officials seeing off President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his entourage on their departure to France.

The process to acquire land for the planned dam would begin next year, according to the governor.

Before flying to France, President Yudhoyono asked Vice President Boediono and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo to address the flood problem in the capital city and to prevent the floods from spreading to wider areas like what were happening in Thailand and Myanmar.

On Sunday evening (Oct 31), Pondok Labu in south Jakarta was flooded up to a height of two meters, forcing residents to flee to higher ground.

The Indonesian Red Cross helped the local residents in the evacuation process and set up emergency tents to accommodate the flood victims consisting of at least 239 families.

Most parts of Indonesia are currently entering the rainy season.

(F001)

Editor: Ella Syafputri

Fauzi Vows to Build New Dam After S. Jakarta Floods
Jakarta Globe 31 Oct 11;

Following major flooding in South Jakarta’s Pondok Labu neighborhood on Sunday, Governor Fauzi Bowo has announced plans to build a new dam in the area to prevent further disasters.

“In the long run, we’re going to build dam there,” Fauzi said at the Halim Perdanakusuma airport on Monday. “After the dam is finished, there will be no floods in Pondok Bambu.”

Heavy flooding hit Pondok Labu and several other parts of the city after heavy rains on Sunday. The floodwaters in Pondok Labu reached a peak of two meters, inundating many homes and forcing 239 families to flee for higher ground and seek shelter in emergency tents overnight.

Prior to leaving for France for a G20 meeting, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono requested that Vice President Boediono and Fauzi look into heavy flooding.

Fauzi said on Monday that the land appropriation process for the new dam would start next year.

Antara

Indonesian government urged to mitigate impacts of Jakarta floods
Antara 31 Oct 11;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Public policy observer Andrinov Chaniago has urged the government to mitigate the impacts of big floods which usually occur every five years in Jakarta.

"Natural disasters cannot be avoided, but the impacts should be anticipated by the government," Adrinov said here on Monday.

The anticipatory steps could include reconstruction of damaged culverts in the capital city, he said.

"Jakarta`s drainage quality and capacity is not good enough," he said.

Serious floods could paralyze daily activities of Jakarta`s citizens, including in the business and education sectors, he said.

In normal conditions, it would take three days to go back to normal after flooding, but in Jakarta it could take more than three days, which indicated that there was something wrong with the drainage system, he added.

Andrinov said that until now the government`s anticipatory steps against big floods that usually come back every five years, were still not known.

Before flying to France, President Yudhoyono asked Vice President Boediono and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo to address the flood problem in the capital city and to prevent the floods from spreading to wider areas like what were happening in Thailand and Myanmar.

On Sunday evening (Oct 31), Pondok Labu in south Jakarta was flooded up to a height of two meters, forcing residents to flee to higher ground.

The Indonesian Red Cross helped the local residents in the evacuation process and set up emergency tents to accommodate the flood victims consisting of at least 239 families.

Most parts of Indonesia are currently entering the rainy season.
(Uu.F001/HAJM)

Editor: Priyambodo RH

Flooding in South Jakarta Likely to Reoccur: BNPB
Jakarta Globe 1 Nov 11;

The spokesman of the National Mitigation Agency, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said flooding in the Pondok Labu area is likely to reoccur because the width of the Krukut River has decreased due to the growing number of people living on the river banks.

Homes in the area were submerged in waters up to 1.5 meters high on Sunday due to heavy rains in the upstream areas of the Krukut River.

“The housing areas growing rapidly along the river banks have depleted the size of the river,” Sutopo told the Jakarta Globe, adding that the river’s width had decreased from 16 meters to two meters.

“It means it can only contain 30 percent of the rainfall, thus the flooding,” he said. “It is important that the river be returned to its original width to improve its capacity.”

Pondok Labu has always been prone to flooding and flood waters caused hundreds of families to flee the area on Sunday night. This was capital’s first major incident since the start of this year’s rainy season.

On Tuesday morning, the Jayakarta Regional Military Command Maj. Gen. Waris visited flood victims in the evacuation shelter.

Waris’ visit coincided with accusations from evacuees that one of the causes of the flood was the construction of a shooting range for the marines.

“Our friends in the marines are taking the necessary steps such as dredging the river so the floods will stop completely,” Waris said as quoted by news portal Okezone.com.

The marines also donated food for the evacuees and volunteered at the emergency kitchen.

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Peak Tides Test Thai Capital's Flood Defenses

Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat and Robert Birsel PlanetArk 31 Oct 11

Peak tides tested Bangkok's flood defenses on Sunday as hope rose that the center of the Thai capital might escape the worst floods in decades, but that was little comfort for swamped suburbs and provinces where worry about disease is growing.

The floods have killed at least 381 people since July and affected more than 2 million. Authorities have cut growth forecasts for Southeast Asia's second biggest economy. Disruptions to auto and computer-part producers have been felt worldwide.

Water flowing down the central Chao Phraya river basin from the north is meeting peak tides surging in the Gulf of Thailand, 20 km (12 miles) south of Bangkok, leading to fears the city's makeshift defenses would be swamped.

The tides have pushed water in the river, which snakes its way through the city past gilded temples and wooden shanties, about 2.5 meters (8 feet) above sea level but dikes and sandbag walls have largely held.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a political novice who took over this year after an election that many Thais hoped would heal chronic political divisions, said the city's fate rested with its network of defenses.

"It depends on the level of the sea and sometimes it's about the stability of the way we put the sandbags," Yingluck told reporters. "Hopefully, the sandbags are quite strong enough. So if the sandbags don't fall over, it should be OK."

The high tides are due to last until Monday. Sunday's tide was not quite as high as Saturday's, Yingluck said, adding that people should not lose confidence: "We will recover soon."

But the danger is far from over.

Authorities trying to divert water around the city and out to sea said a "great volume" was flowing from the north into a canal in western Taling Chan district and people were being advised to leave.

Most people living in Thonburi, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya, have been struggling in waist-deep water for several days to save possessions.

People in Thonburi's Bang Phlad neighborhood battled in vain to shore up a crumbling sandbag wall and women screamed as water from the swollen river surged into a commercial street.

Several parts of north Bangkok are also swamped while provinces just north, such as Pathun Thani and Ayutthaya, have been largely inundated for weeks. Fears about water-borne diseases and malaria are growing.

Matthew Cochrane of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the situation was critical. Many people were living in floodwater without access to food and water.

"There are more than 2 million people who have been affected over the past few months. Many of them are still affected," Cochrane told Reuters.

As well as the growing risk of diarrhea and mosquito-borne diseases, skin infections were a major problem, he said.

In some areas, crocodiles have escaped from flooded farms and snakes searching for dry land have slithered into homes.

RICE, COMPUTERS AND CARS

The floods have submerged 4 million acres (1.6 million hectares), or roughly the size of Kuwait, and follow unusually heavy monsoon rain.

But there have been accusations that authorities delayed releasing water from dams. By the time they had to release it or risk dams bursting, rain was heavy and rivers full.

The weather has been mostly clear for the last few days.

The worst floods in half a century have also wiped out a quarter of the main rice crop in the world's biggest exporter.

The waters also inundated seven industrial estates that have sprung up over the last 20 years on what used to be the central plan's rice-growing lands.

Thailand is the second-largest exporter of computer hard drives and global prices are rising because of a flood-related shortage of major components used in personal computers.

The president of South Korea's Samsung Electronics said he expected Thailand's floods to hit the computer memory chip market further by hurting PC production until the first quarter of next year.

"There is too much uncertainty in the market," Jun Dong-soo, president of Samsung's memory business, said in comments released on Sunday. Samsung is the world's top maker of dynamic random access memory, which is used widely in PCs.

Japan's Honda Motor Co may keep its Thai factory shut for about six months which would affect 3 percent of its annual global car output, the Nikkei business daily reported.

The high tides have flooded parts of Bangkok's normally bustling Chinatown and some streets around the glittering Grand Palace which a few tourists were still visiting.

Numerous buildings have been sandbagged or walled off. Many people left their cars on elevated roads, although most of the inner city is dry.

Many residents have taken advantage of a special five-day holiday to Monday to flee the city. Those left behind have stocked up and supplies of staples in many shops have run out.

Some governments have warned citizens against non-essential travel to the city of 12 million and some flights have been canceled, although the main airport has not been flooded.

(Editing by Ron Popeski)

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Malaysia: Conservation boost for pygmy elephants in Sabah

The Star 31 Oct 11;

KOTA KINABALU: Efforts to establish forest corridors along the lower Kinabatangan region – where isolated groups of wildlife are under threat – have received a boost with the recent collaring of five Borneo pygmy elephants.

Wildlife researchers said the four female and one male pachyderm would provide researchers with crucial information on the available elephant habitat in the region.

Dr Benoit Goosens of the wildlife research unit, Danau Girang Field Centre, said: “Extensive agriculture through oil palm plantations has considerably reduced the habitat of elephants in Kinabatangan, increasing human-elephant conflict.

“The herd there, estimated at about 200 to 250, is having difficulty moving between flooded lands, swamps, fenced plantations, villages and nature lodges,” he said yesterday.

To complicate matters, Dr Goosens said uncontrolled tourism with up to 20 boats along riverbanks increased the pressure on the elephants when they drink from the river.

“It is time we act to re-establish quality habitat and provide space for the elephants in the Kinabatangan region,” he added.

Three Bornean elephants were fitted with a satellite collar last week in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary as part of a collaborative project between the Sabah Wildlife Department, the non-governmental organisation HUTAN and the centre.

The project was financed by the Asian Elephant Conservation Fund from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Elephant Family, Houston Zoo and Columbus Zoo.

Last week, members of the centre and the department’s Wildlife Rescue Unit re-collared one bull named Gading (it was first collared in July 2008) and two females.

“We followed another bull for almost two hours when Gading showed up. He was our primary target and it took us another two hours to dart and collar him,” said Jibius Dausip from the unit who led the collaring team.

Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu said the launching of the Sabah Elephant Action Plan in January would pave the way for the government to properly manage the elephant population in the state.

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