Anti-flood tank design tried and tested

Upcoming tank at Botanic Gardens similar to smaller version near Siglap
Feng Zengkun Straits Times 26 Jul 12;

A NEW water detention tank to be built near the Botanic Gardens by 2015 to help prevent floods in the area is not the first in Singapore.

It is likely to be similar to a smaller version built in Opera Estate near Siglap in 2001 to reduce the risk of floods there, according to plans unveiled by national water agency PUB last week.

The tank was built under a school field and cost $31 million when it was completed in 2001. The new tank, which will be under a new carpark for coach buses at the Botanic Gardens, is expected to be 11/2 times larger.

PUB declined to say how much it will cost.

Independent engineers told The Straits Times that the process of building the underground tank, if done properly, will not affect the safety of the ground and buildings nearby.

The rainwater from the new tank could also be used to irrigate the greenery in the Botanic Gardens and nearby Dempsey area, they said.

The Gardens tank is expected to be 15m - or about four housing block storeys - deep, and have a 38,000 cubic metre capacity, about the volume of 15 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

It will hold rainwater temporarily during storms and pump the water back into the drainage system after the storm ends.

It is one of PUB's two new infrastructure projects to keep the Orchard Road and surrounding areas dry.

The other major project is a canal to be completed by 2017, which will divert rainwater from the over-stressed Stamford Canal to the Singapore River.

PUB will call for tenders for both projects by the year end.

Mr Kevin Kho, 51, an engineer with more than 20 years' experience, said the larger size of the new tank is not likely to make its construction more difficult.

He said that there are several tried and tested ways to make sure construction of the tank does not affect the surrounding area.

One is to pipe in a mix of cement and sand to harden the soil before excavating it. This prevents cave-ins of soil which may weaken the ground nearby.

Another method is to drill lines of deep holes 1m to 2m-wide and fill them with concrete. These are called caisson piles and are used to create walls which can be braced to prevent soil slips.

After the ground is excavated, a frame of pillars is used to hold up the new roof, said Mr Kho.

'This is very old technology used in basements and underground carparks throughout Singapore. It's nothing very risky,' he said.

A PUB spokesman said last week that contractors for the new detention tank will have to show that its roof can withstand the weight of the coach buses in the new carpark.

Since the Opera Estate underground detention tank was built, floods in the area have been reduced from four to six times a year to almost none.

The construction company which built the tank has since folded.

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Indonesia: Illegal Logging the Cause of Padang Flash Floods

Jakarta Globe 25 Jul 12;

Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar blamed illegal logging for Tuesday's widespread flooding that inundated five sub-districts of the West Sumatra capital.

Eight people remained missing on Wednesday as search and rescue crews converged on the flood-hit region. Heavy rains caused the Lubuk Linggau and Batang Kuranji rivers to overflow on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of families to flee their homes for safety.

Fauzi pointed to the large logs send downstream in the flood as evidence of the impact of illegal logging.

“The city administration has not issued any logging licenses for the protected forest around the city,” he said.

But more than 20 percent of the 12,000 hectares of protected forest within city limits have been felled by illegal loggers, Fauzi said.

The mayor asked local villagers to report instances of illegal logging to the police.

Batu Busuk village remained isolated by flood waters Wednesday morning after a bridge leading to the village collapsed in the floods.

Padang’s city administration have sent emergency aid to help villagers until the bridge is rebuilt.

Antara

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Protected tropical forests' biodiversity 'declining'

Mark Kinver BBC News 25 Jul 12;

Despite having protected status, the biodiversity in a large number of tropical forests is still continuing to decline, a study has suggested.

The authors said the findings should cause concern because the areas have been seen as a final refuge for a number of threatened species.

Habitat disruption, hunting and timber exploitation have been seen as signs of future decline, they added.

The findings have been published online by the science journal Nature.

"The rapid disruption of tropical forests probably imperils global biodiversity more than any other contemporary phenomenon," the international team of research wrote.

"Many protected areas in the tropics are themselves vulnerable to human encroachment and other environmental stresses."

Tropical forests are considered to be the biologically richest areas on the planet.

In order to assess the state of the world's protected areas, the team considered data from 60 areas, based on "262 detailed interviews, focusing on veteran field biologists and environmental scientists, who averaged more than two decades of experience".

"Our study was motivated by three broad issues: whether tropical reserves will function as 'arks' for biodiversity and natural ecosystem processes," the team wrote.

They added: "Whether observed changes are mainly concordant or idiosyncratic among different protect areas; and what are the principal predictors of reserve success or failure."

The study covered 36 nations across the tropics in Africa, Asia and South America.

The findings suggested that "protecting biodiversity involved more than jut safeguarding the reserves themselves".

"In many cases, the landscapes and habitats surrounding the reserves are under imminent threat," they observed.

"For example, 85% of [the observed] reserves suffered declines in surrounding forest cover in the [past] 20 to 30 years, whereas only 2% gained surrounding forest."

The team reported that the data showed that forest disruption, over-exploitation of wildlife and forest resources had the greatest "direct negative impact".

They also observed that "air and water pollution, increase in human population densities and climatic change" had a weaker or more indirect impact.

The team - headed by Prof William Laurance from James Cook University, Australia - concluded that the activities outside the protected areas had an impact on the resilience of the biodiversity within the protected areas.

"It is not enough to [protect] interiors while ignoring surrounding landscapes, which are being rapidly deforested, degraded and over-hunted," they observed.

"A failure to limit inter-related internal and external threats could predispose reserves to ecological decay, including taxonomically and functionally array in species communities and an erosion of fundamental ecosystem processes."

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Thai villagers to fight Lao Mekong dam in court

Thin Lei Win AlertNet 25 Jul 12;

CHIANG RAI, Thailand (AlertNet) - The inhabitants of Ban Pak Ing Tai, a leafy village in Thailand’s far north nestled between the mighty Mekong River and one of its tributaries, know only too well what dams can do.

This used to be a fishing village but nowadays local men are more likely to be found toiling away in corn fields or working as labourers than out on their boats.

They say vital sources of their food, water and livelihoods - from fish and riverweeds to seasonal wetlands for agriculture - are fast disappearing due to Chinese dams on the Mekong, which flows through six countries.

As a result, they vehemently oppose plans for big hydropower projects that would involve building dams on the Mekong in Laos, largely aimed at selling electricity to Thailand.

Village headman Phoomi Boonthom, 54, only fishes in his spare time now. Despite more than four decades of experience, he catches less than a kilo of fish after two sessions on the river on a hot June afternoon in peak season.

“This year’s been the worst in terms of catch. In the past, I used to get 10 kilos per round,” he told AlertNet, displaying a small box with some ice and fish.

The water level is too low and fluctuates too sharply for the fish to migrate, he said, putting the blame firmly on China.

“They built dams and blocked the water,” he said. “I also saw news on TV that if (Laos) finishes the Xayaburi and Pak Beng dams, there will be lots of problems, from here all the way down to Vietnam.”

The Mekong, flowing from the Tibetan plateau to the South China Sea through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, is the world’s 12th largest river.

The Mekong River Commission says its fisheries have an estimated value of $5.6 to $9.4 billion a year, and provide food and livelihoods for some 60 million people living along its banks.

Experts say fish and other aquatic animals provide 40 to 80 percent of animal protein in local diets. And more than 80 percent of the populations of Cambodia and Laos, as well as communities in large areas of Thailand and Vietnam, meet their water needs from the Mekong basin’s rivers.

FIRST LAWSUIT OF ITS KIND

Much is at stake – and that is why, in an unprecedented action, Thai villagers from eight Mekong provinces are planning to take the government to court over the controversial $3.5 billion, 1,260-megawatt Xayaburi hydropower project in neighbouring Laos, which plans to export 95 percent of the power it produces to Thailand.

The dam is to be part-financed by Thai banks and its main developer is Thailand's second-biggest construction firm, Ch Karnchang Pcl.

The plaintiffs accuse the state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) of agreeing to purchase energy generated by the Lao scheme without an adequate assessment or public consultation, as required by Thai law.

“This is the only way we can fight (these powerful interests),” said Niwat Roikeaw, director of the Chiang Khong Conservation Group in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province, upstream of the planned dam. “We used reason and tried to present everything that could happen (because of the dam) but they didn’t listen.”

Niwat, representing Chiang Rai – and villagers like Phoomi – is part of the Thai’s People Network of Eight Mekong Provinces which is threatening to file a lawsuit on August 7 unless the agreement to purchase power from Xayaburi is cancelled.

“This is the first regional legal case on a transboundary project involving overseas investment,” said Pianporn Deetes, campaign director for environmental group International Rivers in Thailand.

“We hope it will set a new ‘standard’ for overseas investment from Thailand and the Mekong hydropower… for social and environmental responsibility,” she added.

The EGAT declined to comment on the lawsuit, and Ch Karnchang - which has a 57 percent share in the Xayaburi project - did not respond when contacted by AlertNet.

POLITICAL RISKS

Xayaburi is the first of a dozen dams planned by landlocked, impoverished Laos, which has ambitions to become the “battery of Southeast Asia” by exporting most of the power generated by its hydro projects.

But critics say Xayaburi’s Thai developer has not properly assessed the dam’s social and environmental impacts, which could include damage to fish migration routes, farm land, food security and local livelihoods.

A report by the U.S.-based Stimson Center, Mekong Turning Point, said the company’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) identified the area for study as extending only 10 km downstream, when the impacts would clearly reach much further.

“(Xayaburi) is not only about water flows and destroying migratory fish population, but also upstream dams holding nutrient-rich silt that (Vietnam’s) Mekong delta needs,” said the report’s author Richard Cronin, a senior associate with the Stimson Center.

“Cambodia is worried about the Tonle Sap Lake and millions of Cambodians who depend on the fisheries for food and livelihood. You’re talking about people already living on $1 or $2 a day losing everything,” he added.

Cronin said such cross-border consequences mean the debate over Xayaburi and other Mekong dams goes far beyond basic trade-offs involving water and food.

“Laos has the sovereign right to go ahead, but it’s a question of what’s the cost going to be, particularly in terms of relations with your neighbours and regional stability?” he said.

Xayaburi has already angered Cambodia's government and upset Laos's biggest ally, Vietnam, over its possible downstream effects.

In December, under pressure from neighbouring countries, Laos agreed to put the project on hold, pending further studies led by Japan.

Nonetheless, International Rivers said in June it had witnessed Ch Karnchang resettling villagers, building a large retaining wall, and undertaking dredging to deepen and widen the riverbed – a claim denied by official media in Laos.

In mid-July, Laos declared publicly for the first time that work on the dam had been halted.

The Mekong River Commission has recommended a 10-year moratorium, but it is unclear how long Laos is prepared to wait.

“WATER GRABBING”

For the communities who rely on the Mekong’s water, ecosystems and biodiversity for survival, preserving those natural assets is paramount.

But for investors and energy-hungry governments, the electricity that could be produced by harnessing the river’s waters in hydro schemes is an opportunity to generate profits and economic growth.

Nathanial Matthews, a researcher with London’s King’s College, said hydropower development in the Mekong region amounts to “water grabbing”, which he defines as “when powerful actors take control of water resources for their own benefit”.

The benefits are rarely shared with local people, he told AlertNet. They tend to be ethnic minorities and vulnerable people relying on the river’s resources who are more likely to experience any negative effects.

China, for example, has been accused of changing the Mekong’s natural hydrology and causing the devastating 2008 floods in northern Thailand by releasing water from upstream dams and destroying rapids to facilitate dam construction and boost trade.

Some activists and academics also say Thailand’s electriticy authority is overestimating future demand and emphasising the need for new capacity rather than efficiency gains.

The 12 dams planned for Laos would meet only around 6 percent of Thailand’s total energy demand by 2020 – an amount the southeast Asian nation could save through reasonable energy efficiency measures, according to the Stimson Center’s Cronin.

"If dams are going to be built, which I think is inevitable to an extent, we need to make sure the costs don't outweigh the benefits," Matthews said. “It's not about being anti-dams. It’s about better dams.”

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Maps spark concern over corporate water grab

Astrid Zweynert PlanetArk 25 Jul 12;

As competition for clean water grows, some of the world's biggest companies have joined forces to create unprecedented maps of the precious resource that flows beneath our feet.

The Aqueduct Alliance, which allows users to create maps by combining hydrological data with geographically specific details, gives companies and investors unprecedented detail of water availability in some of the world's largest river basins.

The promoters say the data should help companies use water more responsibly while helping them to manage their exposure to risk.

But critics fear the data could be used to cash in on an increasingly scarce natural resource - two thirds of people are expected to face water shortages by 2025.

The maps, which are powered by previously proprietary Coca-Cola data collected over years of research in locations wherever the world's biggest soft drinks firm had manufacturing sites, are now publicly available for free on the Internet (here).

They allow users to create detailed high-resolution maps by aggregating and weighing indicators that drive water risk, much of it physical data but also local regulatory structures and media coverage of the issue.

Promoters and experts say communities will also be able to exploit the maps and contribute data and local knowledge so that practical solutions can be devised about how to use water sustainably at a local level.

"This goes beyond just looking at how much water is being used to produce something," said Betsy Otto, director of the alliance, launched last year by U.S.-based think-tank the World Resources Institute (WRI) in cooperation with GE, Goldman Sachs, Dow, Bloomberg and Talisman Energy.

"Our tool allows a look at the local context, to see how scarce water is in the region, what is the quality, how much competition there is for water resources," she told AlertNet.

ZOOMING IN ON RIVER BASINS

From just one map at the start, the alliance has ambitious plans to map more than 20 river basins that provide water for irrigation and industry use as well as food production.

So far it has created detailed maps of China's Yellow River and the Orange-Senqu basin, which runs through Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.

By the end of this year it aims to have added the Colorado River in the United States, which has suffered years of drought, and the Yangtze River in China, where at least 1.3 million people were displaced by the Three Gorges dam.

Maps will also go live by year-end of the Mekong River basin in southeast Asia, which is threatened by ambitious dam-building projects, and the Murray Darling, a river at the centre of Australia's controversial water rights purchasing market.

The risk of water shortages can be projected as far ahead as 2095 by measuring 14 indicators grouped into physical, quality and regulatory/reputational categories.

Working with a Taiwan-based computer screen manufacturer, for example, Otto said Aqueduct was able to predict water scarcity by 2025 in some of the key locations used by the firm.

SUSTAINABILITY KEY

For millions of people water scarcity can have a devastating impact on livelihoods, which is why sustainable water use has become an important driver of development policy.

Some are concerned that tools such as Aqueduct's maps will simply enable companies and investors to make more money without taking local people's needs into account.

"The risk is that the concerns of local people are left behind in the rush to secure access to water and reduce risk for companies," said Lori Pottinger, Africa campaigner at International Rivers, an organization that works to protect rivers.

But experts say with more input from local communities, the risk atlas could contribute to sustainability by giving companies a different perspective on how their water use affects people living in a river basin.

A small community could use the tool to include data based on its own knowledge of local water challenges, an approach aid agencies and governments have used in participatory mapping projects with local people in many developing countries.

"This is a tool that needs to develop into something more in tune with the reality of local communities," said Vibhu Nayar, founder of the Centre of Excellence for Change in Chennai, India, which works on mitigating climate change-related water and food crises.

"If you give communities tools to draw their own maps, you will get more realistic results," said Nayar, a senior civil servant who has worked on collaborative water management with local people in Tamil Nadu in southern India.

Local community mapping projects have sprung up all over the world. Techniques range from simple hand-drawn maps to using global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS) and other digital technologies.

Residents of Kibera, a slum in Kenya's capital Nairobi, for example, are using GPS and open-source mapping tools to map water access points and toilets, combining valuable and unique local knowledge with technology.

Coca-Cola learned the hard way the importance of engaging with local communities.

The company had to close its plant in the Indian state of Kerala after a drought sparked criticism that it was sucking the water table dry. Coke denied the allegation but its image was still hurt.

Greg Koch, managing director of Coca-Cola's Global Water Stewardship, said it was in the company's business interest to share its water data.

In fact, one of the reasons why the Aqueduct Alliance developed the risk atlas was to help companies become more aware of the environment they operate in rather than just focusing on how they can save water, Otto said.

"We have a very robust water risk management and mapping program but when the Aqueduct Alliance came around...we realized our efforts are never going to be enough...and that you need all users in a watershed, all stakeholders, to understand the issues and then work together to try and mitigate those risks and those stresses," Koch told AlertNet.

(This story is part of a special multimedia report on water produced by AlertNet, a global humanitarian news service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation. Visit water.trust.org)

(Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

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Loss of Arctic sea ice '70% man-made'

Study finds only 30% of radical loss of summer sea ice is due to natural variability in Atlantic – and it will probably get worse
Alok Jha The Guardian 26 Jul 12;

The radical decline in sea ice around the Arctic is at least 70% due to human-induced climate change, according to a new study, and may even be up to 95% down to humans – rather higher than scientists had previously thought.

The loss of ice around the Arctic has adverse effects on wildlife and also opens up new northern sea routes and opportunities to drill for oil and gas under the newly accessible sea bed.

The reduction has been accelerating since the 1990s and many scientists believe the Arctic may become ice-free in the summers later this century, possibly as early as the late 2020s.

"Since the 1970s, there's been a 40% decrease in the summer sea ice extent," said Jonny Day, a climate scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading, who led the latest study.

"We were trying to determine how much of this was due to natural variability and therefore imply what aspect is due to man-made climate change as well."

To test the ideas, Day carried out several computer-based simulations of how the climate around the Arctic might have fluctuated since 1979 without the input of greenhouse gases from human activity.

He found that a climate system called the Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation (AMO) was a dominant source of variability in ice extent. The AMO is a cycle of warming and cooling in the North Atlantic that repeats every 65 to 80 years – it has been in a warming phase since the mid-1970s.

Comparing the models with actual observations, Day was able to work out what contribution the natural systems had made to what researchers have observed from satellite data.

"We could only attribute as much as 30% [of the Arctic ice loss] to the AMO," he said. "Which implies that the rest is due to something else, and this is most likely going to be man-made global change."

Previous studies had indicated that around half of the loss was due to man-made climate change and that the other half was due to natural variability.

Looking across all his simulations, Day found that the 30% figure was an upper limit – the AMO could have contributed as little as 5% to the overall loss of Arctic ice in recent decades.

The research is published online in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

Day said that there are a number of feedback effects that could see the Arctic ice loss continue in the coming years, as the Earth warms up.

"[There is] something called the ice-albedo feedback, which means that when you have less ice, it means there's more open water and therefore the ocean absorbs more radiation and will continue to warm," he said.

"It's unclear what will happen – it definitely seems like it's going in that direction."

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Best of our wild blogs: 25 Jul 12

Join the guided Otter Cycling Trail @ Changi this Sat 28 Jul 2012: 8.00am – 1.00pm! from Toddycats!

Random Gallery - Narrow Spark
from Butterflies of Singapore

Bivalves Revealed: Bivalve Workshop Day 2
from wild shores of singapore

Sharing Cyrene with MPA
from wild shores of singapore

White-crested Laughingthrush foraging in rubbish bin
from Bird Ecology Study Group

New Publication: Calappa karenae, a new species of box crab from Guam (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Calappidae) from Raffles Museum News

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Why meat of culled wild boars cannot be sold to hawkers: AVA

Straits Times Forum 25 Jul 12;

I THANK Mr Thomas Lee ('Sell culled boars to hawkers'; July 17) and Mr Raymund Koh ('No to selling wild boar meat to hawkers'; last Friday) for their suggestions and feedback.

Only imported wild boar meat from accredited sources approved by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is allowed for sale in Singapore.

Our accreditation process for all imported meat includes evaluating the countries' veterinary infrastructure, animal health status as well as legislation for control of animal diseases and food safety.

We also assess the establishments to ensure that production facilities and practices meet AVA's food safety standards.

Local food processing establishments must be licensed by AVA before they are permitted to carry out any slaughtering, food processing or storage activities for wholesale distribution.

There are no appropriate facilities in Singapore to ensure safe and hygienic processing of wild boar meat.

Without proper processing, wild boar meat may not be safe for consumption, as wild boars may carry zoonotic parasites and diseases.

As such, meat from wild boars which are caught here cannot be sold.

Seah Huay Leng (Ms)
Director, Food Establishment Regulation Department for Chief Executive Officer
Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority

No to selling wild boar meat to hawkers
Straits Times Forum 20 Jul 12;

I DISAGREE with Mr Thomas Lee's suggestion ('Sell culled boars to hawkers'; Tuesday).

Unlike farmed pigs, wild boars are free-roaming and eat just about anything in the wild. They are not vaccinated and may carry unknown diseases, which can pose risks to human health.

Although such boars are considered a delicacy in other countries, those who wish to taste such a delicacy can go ahead and try it overseas.

I certainly hope the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) does not allow sales of wild boar meat to hawkers.

Sell culled boars to hawkers
Straits Times Forum 17 Jul 12;

THE National Parks Board made the right decision to start culling the boars in the Lower Peirce area ('Wild boar culling to go ahead: NParks'; last Thursday).

These animals are strong; they bite and can cause serious injuries to the public, especially young children, even if they merely charge at them.

On another note, the meat of the wild boar is regarded as a delicacy by some food lovers. Some travel to far-flung restaurants in Malaysia that serve it. The meat tastes better when dipped in chilli, garlic and vinegar.

As the authorities have confirmed that culling will begin, perhaps they should consider tendering out the meat for hawkers who can make a good meal out of it.

Thomas Lee

Game for local boar meat?
While edible, expert warns it may be host for bacteria. -TNP
Joyce Lim The New Paper AsiaOne 22 Jul 12;
Whole wheat 'stracci' pasta with braised imported wild boar meat in red wine.

WILD boar meat is sought after here.

So if National Parks Board (NParks) is planning to cull the growing population of the animal, why not make its meat available for consumption?

Responding to the NParks decision to cull the boars in the Lower Peirce Reservoir area, a Straits Times reader wrote to suggest tendering the wild boar meat to hawkers since it is "regarded as a delicacy by some food lovers".

He added that some people travel to far-flung restaurants in Malaysia that serve it.

But how safe is it to consume wild boar meat here?

While wild boar meat is edible, the problem is that nobody has studied if the meat from the animals here is safe to consume, maintained Dr Diong Cheong Hoong, the former head of the Natural Science Academic Group at the National Institute of Education.

So The New Paper turned to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), the food watchdog which decides what is safe for consumption.

An AVA spokesman said there is no appropriate facility in Singapore to ensure the safe and hygienic processing of local wild boar meat.

And without proper processing, it may not be safe to consume products made from wild boar meat here.

But why is it unsafe?

Associate Professor Hugh Tan Tiang Wah, the deputy director of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research at the National University of Singapore, said wild boars here could have been exposed to pollutants and toxins that they consume, and their flesh may be infected as a result.

Sure, but how bad can it get?

Chef Riku Lek, 35, who has tried braised wild boar meat in Johor Baru, said: "It's a delicacy in Malaysia. It's definitely tastier than regular pork. The meat is lean, yet it is soft and melts in your mouth.

"Wild boar meat needs to be well-cooked as bacteria are known to grow on it. Most chefs would braise or slow-cook it.

"When you cook it for long hours, I don't think any bacteria will have a chance of surviving in the meat."

Dr Diong said: "Consumers risk being infected with disease pathogens that are transmissible directly from the boars to humans.

"Wild boars are hosts and reservoirs for a number of bacteria, viruses and parasites that are transmissible to humans.

"Some of the serious diseases... that are transmissible to humans include viral hepatitis E, swine fever, Japanese encephalitis, tuberculosis, brucellosis, leptospirosis and trichinosis.

"There is no study to date on the prevalence and infection intensity of infectious disease agents in the wild boar population in Singapore and until then, a wild boar carcass, in a culling operation, should be treated as a biohazard and disposed of accordingly."

Death

If that is not scary enough, Dr Diong added that infection can come about by eating infected meat that is not properly cooked or by open skin contact with blood and tissue fluids of infected boars.

He said: "Human deaths resulting from the consumption of wild boar meat infected with disease and pathogens have been reported in Japan."

Mr Yong Ding Li, a research coordinator with the Nature Society (Singapore) and lead author of a research paper on the animal in Singapore, said: "To the best of my knowledge, there are no published studies on disease transmission in the consumption of wild boar meat locally.

"But people have contracted hepatitis E from eating undercooked wild boar meat."

Imported wild boar meat, however, is a different matter.

From January 2011 to last month, Singapore imported about 0.8 tonnes of wild boar meat, said an AVA spokesman.

Most of the meat came from the US and were tested by AVA before being supplied to the restaurants.

An AVA spokesman said: "All imported meat products, including wild boar meat, must come from sources approved by AVA.

"The accreditation process includes evaluating the countries' veterinary infrastructure, animal health status, legislations for control of animal diseases and food safety.

"It also includes assessing the establishments to ensure that production facilities, production practices, hygiene and food safety levels meet AVA's standards."

And yes, there are people who love the taste of wild boar meat.

Food suppliers TNP spoke to said that it has always been in demand here and can easily cost twice the price of pork.

joycel@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The New Paper.

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Indonesia: Rare Rafflesia flowers attract tourists to Bengkulu

Antara 24 Jul 12;

Bengkulu (ANTARA News) - The Taba Penanjung natural sanctuary in Central Bengkulu Regency has become a holiday destination overnight after two Rafflesia arnoldii flowers blossomed in the area on Tuesday.

"When they blossomed on Sunday (July 22), visitors started pouring in. Moreover, the flowers have bloomed at a strategic location, just 10 metres away from the sanctuary's main avenue," said Juanda, the keeper of the Rafflesia flowers, on Tuesday.

The blossoming of two Rafflesia flowers at the same time was a rare occurrence and the two flowers bloomed just 2 metres away from each other, he added.

Thanks to local and national media attention, visitors thronged to the sanctuary to see the two flowers.

"We get approximately a hundred visitors a day. We haven't kept count," Juanda stated.

He and his two colleagues, Ibnu and Reck, have placed donation boxes along the driveways of the sanctuary, the proceeds of which would be used to buy tents, so the flowers could be preserved at least for 24 hours.

"If we do not protect the flowers, they may be stolen. That has happened twice," he explained. The rare flowers are also vulnerable to damage. However, visitors are allowed to take pictures with the flowers by paying only Rp5.000,00.

"They can take some pictures with the flowers, but cannot touch the sheath because the flowers are extremely delicate," Juanda stated.

One of the visitors, Yusak, who came from Jakarta, said he was impressed and amazed by the uniqueness of the Rafflesia flower.

"I had never seen the flowers before. I went to Bengkulu on business, so I could see how unique the Rafflesia flowers actually were," he said.

In the meantime, Juanda said the two flowers would continue attracting visitors at least for two more days.
(Uu.LPW/INE/KR-BSR/O001)

Editor: Priyambodo RH

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Mangroves: A Filter for Heavy Metals

ScienceDaily 24 Jul 12;

A mangrove is a forest consisting of various species of mangrove trees growing with their bases submerged in water, at the interface between land and sea. They cover more than three quarters of tropical coastlines, that is to say almost 200,000km². In New Caledonia, they accounts for almost 80% of the island's western coastline. They act as a buffer zone between the lagoon and the mountain mining areas, rich in metallic elements (iron, manganese, nickel, chrome and cobalt, nearly all toxic pollutants).

New Caledonia is the3rd largest nickel producer worldwide, with over 30% of the planet's resources, and it has been the location of intense mining activity since the end of the 19th century. Around 300 million m3 of spoils rich in heavy metals have been created until now. A significant amount of this mining waste has been transported to coastal areas by the dramatic climate events, (thunderstorms and tropical tempests, cyclones) that often occur in this region. Accentuated by mining activity, this erosion is the most important cause of deterioration of the coastline, the mangroves, the fringing reef and the lagoon.

Polluted mangroves

An IRD team and their partners(1) have recently demonstrated that concentrations of mineral metals such as iron, nickel and chrome are 10 to 100 times higher in mangroves situated downstream from mining sites. Recently, two studies have been published, one concerning the mangrove downstream from a nickel mine that operated in the 20th century at the mouth of the Dumbéa river in the south west of the island, the other being unaffected by mining activity in its catchment area (used as a control) in Conception Bay, near Nouméa.

Core samples of sediment 70cm in length were taken at low tide from the different zones in the mangroves, in order to account for differing coverage in vegetation. The mangrove ecosystem is clearly divided into different zones, each dominated by a separate type of mangrove tree, according to the topography of the land and the duration of tidal immersion. Rhizophora trees are found where the mangrove meets the sea, large in size with their root systems above ground. In the central zone where high tides are intermittent, the medium-sized Avicennia mangrove shrubs are found. Located at the rear is the 'tanne', the area least often submerged by water, consisting salt-saturated soil, bare or sparsely populated with vegetation.

The core samples extracted were examined using a variety of chemical treatments designed to dissolve minerals containing metallic elements. Such analysis has enabled a comparison between the concentrations of metals in the sediment from the two mangroves under study, in addition to their potential toxicity, and revealed the biogeochemical processes that are specific to the various species of mangrove trees.

The mangrove -- a highly adapted forest

Mangrove trees use a real arsenal of survival techniques to deal with the extreme conditions of their natural habitat. To counteract the absence of oxygen in the mud, they have developed remarkable root systems, enabling air to penetrate the soil. The Rhizophora located on the waterfront have developed roots that form stilts, emerging from their branches, in order to combat the swell and currents. As a result, there is a major accumulation of litter within the sediment, where anoxic(2) processes take place, leading to the precipitation of 'sulphide' type minerals. In this type of forest, metals can thus merge with decomposing organic matter, or co-precipitate with the sulphides, and are thus trapped by the mangrove.

The Avicennia are characterised by a star-shaped root system that develops a sub-surface level, with vertical growths emerging skywards. These formations are known as 'pneumatophores', and allow the mangrove tree to extract oxygen from the atmosphere. However, these breathing organs are not watertight, and lose a portion of their oxygen to the sediment. As such, beneath the vegetation, metallic elements linked to iron oxides are dissolved and transferred to the mangrove trees.

This research has led to a better global understanding of the processes that control the mangrove ecosystem. It has confirmed that mangroves act as a well for contaminants over the long term. However, their surface coverage is decreasing by 1 to 2% each year. The cause: demographic growth along the tropical coastlines and urbanisation, as well as prospecting for and exploitation of natural resources, such as nickel in New Caledonia. Without the dense network of vegetation provided by the mangrove trees, sediment that is loaded with pollutants could be returned to the lagoon, a haven for biodiversity and a major source of revenue for the local population through fishing and aquaculture.

This research has been carried out by the University of New Caledonia, Koniambo Nickel SAS and the AEL/LEA laboratory in Nouméa, the University of Orléans and Paris-Sud University.

Journal References:

C. Marchand, J.-M. Fernandez, B. Moreton, L. Landi, E. Lallier-Vergès, F. Baltzer. The partitioning of transitional metals (Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr) in mangrove sediments downstream of a ferralitized ultramafic watershed (New Caledonia). Chemical Geology, 2012; 300-301: 70 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2012.01.018
C. Marchand, M. Allenbach, E. Lallier-Vergès. Relationships between heavy metals distribution and organic matter cycling in mangrove sediments (Conception Bay, New Caledonia). Geoderma, 2011; 160 (3-4): 444 DOI: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2010.10.015

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Malaysia: Fishermen net 5 giant manta rays near Langkawi

New Straits Times 25 Jul 12;

TELUK INTAN: A group of fishermen from Hutan Melintang who were out to sea on Monday were pleasantly surprised when they found five giant manta rays (ikan pari hantu) stuck to their nets along with other fish.

The manta rays weighed 80kg, 120kg, 170kg, 190kg and 200kg, respectively.

The fishermen were in waters near Langkawi about noon when they stumbled upon the whopping catch.

Boat skipper Lim Joo Heng, 43, said this was the first time he had stumbled upon the manta rays.

"The 80kg manta ray is a male while the rest are females. We sold three of the manta rays to a businessman from Bukit Mertajam and one each to wholesalers from Sekinchan and Air Tawar, Perak."

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Indian court bans tourism in tiger reserve 'core zones'

BBC News 24 Jul 12;

The Supreme Court in India has ordered a ban on tourism in "core zones" of more than 40 of the country's central government-run tiger reserves.

In a landmark ruling, it warned that states that fail to implement the ban face contempt proceedings and fines.

The court imposed fines of 10,000 rupees each ($178;£115) on six states for not complying with its earlier tiger protection directives.

Tiger numbers have shrunk alarmingly in India in recent decades.

A 2011 census counted about 1,700 tigers in the wild.

A century ago there were estimated to be 100,000 tigers in India.
Poaching and conflicts

Conservation groups have welcomed the ruling, describing it as a significant development.

The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation petition filed by conservationist Ajay Dubey which sought the removal of commercial tourism activities from core or critical tiger habitats in tiger reserves.

Most tiger reserves in India have "core zones".

The reserves also have buffer zones - fringe areas that surround tiger reserves up to a distance of 10km (six miles).

The BBC's Soutik Biswas in Delhi says that while the ruling is important, it is unclear what impact if any it will have on the tourism industry, which is mostly confined to the buffer areas.

The court's order is one of a number of initiatives recently taken by the Indian authorities to conserve tigers.

In February an entire village was relocated in the state of Rajasthan to protect the animals.

Officials say conservation efforts by the government and wildlife organisations have helped tiger populations increase.

But poaching and conflicts between the tigers and people living in and on the periphery of the tiger reserves remains a threat.

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