Coral Hotspots Discovered off Northeast US

LiveScience.com Yahoo News 26 Sep 12;

A survey of underwater canyons off the U.S. East Coast found a number of previously unknown hotspots for deep-sea corals.

The exploration, the first to look for corals and sponges in the area in decades, is helping researchers develop a computer model to determine where other coral hotspots might be found.

The survey took place over a two-week stretch in July. Researchers aboard the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Henry B. Bigelow ship looked for corals in submarine canyons off New Jersey, and connected to Georges Bank, a large elevated area of seafloor about 60 miles (100 kilometers) offshore that stretches as far south as Cape Cod, Mass., and north to Nova Scotia.

"The deep-sea coral and sponge habitats observed in the canyons are not like those found in shallow-water tropical reefs or deep-sea coral habitats in other regions," said Martha Nizinski, chief scientist of the research cruise, in a statement. "We know very little about the distribution and ecology of corals in the canyons off the Northeast coast. Although our explorations have just begun, we've already increased our knowledge about these deepwater coral habitats a hundred times over."

The researchers took thousands of photographs of the coral using a remotely operated camera towed behind the ship. The corals observed live at depths between 650 and 6,500 feet (200 to 2,000 meters). Although no specimens were collected during this expedition, the thousands of images taken will be analyzed in the coming months to determine what types of coral live there.

More than 70 deepwater canyons, ranging in depth from 330 to 11,500 feet (100 to 3,500 m), exist along the Northeast's continental shelf and slope. Few are well studied, and many are likely home to as yet undiscovered life-forms.

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Salt marshes to absorb carbon to 2050, but emit it later

Alister Doyle Reuters 26 Sep 12;

(Reuters) - Salt marshes around the world's coasts will help slow climate change until about 2050 by soaking up greenhouse gases but then risk making the problem even worse as sea levels rise, a study showed on Wednesday.

Plants such as grasses and shrubs - which thrive in salt marshes found from India to the United States - absorb heat-trapping carbon from the air. Much of it then ends up buried in sediment where it no longer stokes global warming.

"The net impact of temperature warming and sea level rise is to increase carbon burial rates in the first half of the twenty-first century," researchers in the journal Nature wrote.

Beyond about 2050, rising sea levels would start water logging plants however, the study said, halting the transfer of carbon into the muddy sediment. "At some point too much flooding is bad," lead author Matthew Kirwan at the University of Virginia told Reuters.

Initially, gradually rising sea levels caused by temperature increases that will melt ice on land and make water in the oceans expand, would help wetland plants grow better. Flooding brings in more nutrients and washes out toxins.

At their peak - around mid-century - the study said salt marshes could absorb about 2 kilos (4.4 lbs) of organic matter per square meter per year, much of it carbon. Marshes could easily withstand a sea level rise of 1 mm (0.04 inch) or more a year, it added.

But absorption would stop and the marshes were likely to start emitting carbon if the rise in sea level accelerated, it said. Wind and waves could then erode the seabed sediment, releasing trapped carbon stored beneath the now-dead salt marsh.

"If the plant is submerged 100 percent of the time the roots cannot get more oxygen and the plant dies. Once the marsh dies it is not sequestering any carbon," said Kirwan.

RISING SEA LEVELS

The U.N. panel of climate scientists has projected that sea levels will rise by between 18 and 59 cms (7-23 inches) by 2100 or more if Antarctica or Greenland melt faster. Seas are now rising by about 3 mm a year (0.1 inch).

Kirwan said that the "million dollar question" was whether rising seas would simply create more marshes further inland.

"The big catch is whether there will be land available," he said. In many nations, governments seek to protect coasts - from New Orleans in the United States to Amsterdam in the Netherlands - and to prevent the formation of marshes.

He estimated that salt marshes worldwide absorbed between 10 and 130 million tonnes of carbon a year - at the top end of the range roughly equivalent to Italy or Mexico's greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2009, a "Blue Carbon" report by the U.N. Environment Program also said that mangroves, salt marshes and sea grasses captured up to 450 million tonnes of carbon a year. It urged far greater efforts to protect such huge stores.

Kirwan said that his study - with colleague Simon Mudd who works at both the University of Edinburgh and the University of California, Santa Barbara - was the first to try to assess the effect of a rising sea level on salt marshes.

(Reporting By Alister Doyle; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

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El Nino seen developing in September-October: U.N. weather body

Stephanie Nebehay PlanetArk 26 Sep 12;

An El Nino event, usually associated with significant changes in rainfall, is likely to develop this month and next in the Pacific, affecting global climate patterns, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday.

The phenomenon, characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific, has been linked previously to drier-than-normal conditions in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, northeastern Brazil, southeastern Africa and parts of Asia, the United Nations agency said.

"A weak El Nino may develop in September and October and last until the northern hemisphere winter," the WMO said in a statement.

El Nino is also associated with wetter-than-normal conditions in Ecuador, northern Peru, southern Brazil to central Argentina and parts of eastern Africa, it said.

El Nino winters tend to be mild over western Canada and parts of the United States and wet over the southern United States, it added.

La Nina, its opposite phenomenon which causes an abnormal cooling of waters, ended in April.

The WMO update is based on many different climate forecast models gathered from centers around the world.

"The majority of these climate forecast models say that there is a 'moderately high likelihood' of an El Nino. Having said that, it can't be ruled out that neutral conditions may continue," WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis told a news briefing.

The Geneva-based WMO promotes cooperation among its 189 member states and their national meteorological and hydrological services and is the U.N. system's voice on weather, climate and water.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Jason Neely and Anthony Barker)

Lower chance of El Nino, but risks remain: Australia
Colin Packham PlanetArk 26 Sep 12;

Tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures indicating the onset of an El Nino have eased over the last two weeks, reducing the chance of the weather event emerging, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said on Tuesday.

However, the bureau warned the risk of an El Nino -- which can trigger drought in Australia, Southeast Asia and India and floods in parts of South and North America -- returning remained.

Pacific Ocean temperatures had cooled in the last fortnight, while other indicators remained in neutral territory, it said.

The bureau said that despite the change in indicators conditions continued to favor below average rainfall over much of Australia in the southern hemisphere spring.

"We are seeing the Indian Ocean showing a pattern that would bring drier conditions to at least central and south east Australia," Andrew Watkins, manager of climate prediction at the weather bureau's National Climate Centre said.

"That signal is a little stronger than the El Nino signature in the Pacific is showing."

Japan's weather bureau said on September 10 its climate models indicated the El Nino phenomenon was under way and there was a high chance it would last until winter.

El Nino can cause above average rains in northern Peru and Bolivia, drought in Southeast Asia, Australia, India and northeast Brazil, cyclones in the central Pacific and stormy weather in the southern and western United States.

The worst El Nino on record in 1997/98 killed more than 2,000 people and caused property damage estimated at $33 billion. The pattern can also cause serious damage to crops such as wheat in Australia due to drought.

(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Ed Davies)

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Climate change is already damaging global economy, report finds

Economic impact of global warming is costing the world more than $1.2 trillion a year, wiping 1.6% annually from global GDP
Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk 26 Sep 12;

Climate change is already contributing to the deaths of nearly 400,000 people a year and costing the world more than $1.2 trillion, wiping 1.6% annually from global GDP, according to a new study.

The impacts are being felt most keenly in developing countries, according to the research, where damage to agricultural production from extreme weather linked to climate change is contributing to deaths from malnutrition, poverty and their associated diseases.

Air pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels is also separately contributing to the deaths of at least 4.5m people a year, the report found.

The 331-page study, entitled Climate Vulnerability Monitor: A Guide to the Cold Calculus of A Hot Planet and published on Wednesday, was carried out by the DARA group, a non-governmental organisation based in Europe, and the Climate Vulnerable Forum. It was written by more than 50 scientists, economists and policy experts, and commissioned by 20 governments.

By 2030, the researchers estimate, the cost of climate change and air pollution combined will rise to 3.2% of global GDP, with the world's least developed countries forecast to bear the brunt, suffering losses of up to 11% of their GDP.

Sheikh Hasina, prime minister of Bangladesh, said: "A 1C rise in temperature [temperatures have already risen by 0.7C globally since the end of the 19th century] is associated with 10% productivity loss in farming. For us, it means losing about 4m tonnes of food grain, amounting to about $2.5bn. That is about 2% of our GDP. Adding up the damages to property and other losses, we are faced with a total loss of about 3-4% of GDP. Without these losses, we could have easily secured much higher growth."

But major economies will also take a hit, as extremes of weather and the associated damage – droughts, floods and more severe storms – could wipe 2% of the GDP of the US by 2030, while similar effects could cost China $1.2tr by the same date.

While many governments have taken the view that climate change is a long-term problem, there is a growing body of opinion that the effects are already being felt. Scientists have been alarmed by the increasingly rapid melting of Arctic sea ice, which reached a new record minimum this year and, if melting continues at similar rates, could be ice free in summer by the end of the decade. Some research suggests that this melting could be linked to cold, dull and rainy summers in parts of Europe – such as has been the predominant summer weather in the UK for the last six years. In the US, this year's severe drought has raised food prices and in India the disruption to the monsoon has caused widespread damage to farmers.

Connie Hedegaard, the European Union's climate chief, warned that extreme weather was becoming more common, as the effects of climate change take hold. "Climate change and weather extremes are not about a distant future," she wrote in a comment for the Guardian last week. "Formerly one-off extreme weather episodes seem to be becoming the new normal."

Michael Zammit Cutajar, former executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said: "Climate change is not just a distant threat but a present danger – its economic impact is already with us."

100 million will die by 2030 if world fails to act on climate: report
Nina Chestney PlanetArk 26 Sep 12;

More than 100 million people will die and global economic growth will be cut by 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 if the world fails to tackle climate change, a report commissioned by 20 governments said on Wednesday.

As global average temperatures rise due to greenhouse gas emissions, the effects on the planet, such as melting ice caps, extreme weather, drought and rising sea levels, will threaten populations and livelihoods, said the report conducted by humanitarian organization DARA.

It calculated that five million deaths occur each year from air pollution, hunger and disease as a result of climate change and carbon-intensive economies, and that toll would likely rise to six million a year by 2030 if current patterns of fossil fuel use continue.

More than 90 percent of those deaths will occur in developing countries, said the report that calculated the human and economic impact of climate change on 184 countries in 2010 and 2030. It was commissioned by the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a partnership of 20 developing countries threatened by climate change.

"A combined climate-carbon crisis is estimated to claim 100 million lives between now and the end of the next decade," the report said.

It said the effects of climate change had lowered global output by 1.6 percent of world GDP, or by about $1.2 trillion a year, and losses could double to 3.2 percent of global GDP by 2030 if global temperatures are allowed to rise, surpassing 10 percent before 2100.

It estimated the cost of moving the world to a low-carbon economy at about 0.5 percent of GDP this decade.

COUNTING THE COST

British economist Nicholas Stern told Reuters earlier this year investment equivalent to 2 percent of global GDP was needed to limit, prevent and adapt to climate change. His report on the economics of climate change in 2006 said an average global temperature rise of 2-3 degrees Celsius in the next 50 years could reduce global consumption per head by up to 20 percent.

Temperatures have already risen by about 0.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. Almost 200 nations agreed in 2010 to limit the global average temperature rise to below 2C (3.6 Fahrenheit) to avoid dangerous impacts from climate change.

But climate scientists have warned that the chance of limiting the rise to below 2C is getting smaller as global greenhouse gas emissions rise due to burning fossil fuels.

The world's poorest nations are the most vulnerable as they face increased risk of drought, water shortages, crop failure, poverty and disease. On average, they could see an 11 percent loss in GDP by 2030 due to climate change, DARA said.

"One degree Celsius rise in temperature is associated with 10 percent productivity loss in farming. For us, it means losing about 4 million metric tonnes of food grain, amounting to about $2.5 billion. That is about 2 percent of our GDP," Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in response to the report.

"Adding up the damages to property and other losses, we are faced with a total loss of about 3-4 percent of GDP."

Even the biggest and most rapidly developing economies will not escape unscathed. The United States and China could see a 2.1 percent reduction in their respective GDPs by 2030, while India could experience a more than 5 percent loss.

The full report is available at: daraint.org/

(Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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Best of our wild blogs: 26 Sep 12

Little Grebe’s Splashing Good Time
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Rice hopper
from The annotated budak

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Malaysia: 10 big questions to ask about Pengerang petrochemical projects

Thomas Fann Malaysian Insider 25 Sep 12;

SEPT 25 — On May 13, 2011, PM Najib announced that Petronas will invest RM60 billion in a major integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in Pengerang, Johor. The Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Development (RAPID) project by Petronas, as it is known, is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2016, as part of the national oil company’s efforts to expand its downstream production.

Exactly a year later on May 13, 2012, when the RAPID project was officially launched, the total value is now RM120 billion, with expected investments from Taiwanese and German petrochemical companies, easily making this Pengerang project the biggest-ever in the history of this nation.

In the midst of all the excitement and promises of economic benefits to the state of Johor and the nation, there has been some disquiet amongst the Pengerang community. Local NGOs were formed and had submitted memorandums to various authorities and several protests were organised this year.

It would be wrong to say that these NGOs and the people they represent are against any form of development in Pengerang but what many are concerned about is that it has to be sustainable. These local NGOs have adopted a unifying theme — Kekalkan Pengerang Lestari, or Maintain the Sustainability of Pengerang. Development of such scale must be embarked upon with regards for the people affected by it and be done responsibly to minimise its impact on the environment.

We have to ask honest questions and hear honest answers to these questions so that the concerns of not just the Pengerangites but also Malaysians are allayed.

There are many issues and questions to ask but I want to list down 10 big questions to ask the government about this massive project.

Question 1: The RAPID Project requires 6,424 acres of land but why is the Johor government using the Land Acquisition Act 1960 to acquire 22,500 acres of land? We hope a plausible and detailed explanation for its justification is forthcoming so that the government would not be accused of using Rapid as an excuse to grab land from the ordinary people of Pengerang.

Question 2: What is going to happen to the fishermen and smallholders who would have lost their means of livelihood? There are about 3,100 residents within the seven villages affected, who earned a living as fishermen and smallholders. Though some argued that 40,000 jobs would be created during the construction phase and 4,000 by the time the projects are completed in 2016, the reality are for many of these affected fishermen and farmers, it would be difficult for them to work in these new jobs because their skills are different.

Question 3: It has been reported that licensed fishermen are being offered RM30,000 compensation whilst unlicensed ones are offered half that amount. Smallholders with 1-2 acres land are offered between RM65,000 and RM105,000 for their land. As a “sweetener”, the Johor government is offering “subsidised” alternative housing on 6,000 sq ft of land with built-up area between 750 and 1,600 sq ft. The discounted prices the villagers would have to pay for these houses range from RM35,000 to RM105,000. In short, they would have given up their 1-2 acres of land and houses in exchange for 6,000 sq ft of land with a house on it, some 15-20km away, with little or no money in their pocket and no land to earn a living. I am told many of these lands are shared between several siblings in the first place, thus, after dividing the compensation they won’t even be able to afford the “subsidised” housing. Is this a fair deal?

Question 4: Why is our government so keen to welcome KuoKuang Petrochemical of Taiwan when they have been rejected by their own country? Again, like the Lynas case, is our government telling us that Malaysian lives are worth not only less than the Australian but also now, less than the Taiwanese? We have to understand why the Taiwanese people were so against KuoKuang before we welcome them into our land.

Question 5: Is it true that a petrochemical plant the scale of Rapid would need massive amount of processed water a day to operate, almost 75 per cent of Johor’s current daily consumption? If this is true, wouldn’t it cause acute water shortages in Johor? Have the government foresaw this and made plans to increase the supply of processed water for the state?

Question 6: Apart from consuming large quantity of water, it would also need large quantity of electrical energy? If not, has the government made plans to increase the energy output in Johor? Has this got anything to do with the rumoured nuclear power plants to be setup in Pengerang? What would our neighbour across the straits have to say about this, especially in the light of the recent Fukushima nuclear disaster?

Question 7: In May 2009, during a visit to Singapore, PM Najib proposed to his counterpart PM Lee that a third link be built linking Pengerang to Singapore. When would this proposal be followed-up with another announcement? Would it be after all the land near this third link has been acquired and parceled to third party companies so that they can make a killing?

Question 8: Currently, the Department of Environment (DOE) requires developers to submit the EIA report. This report is paid for by the developers, in this case Petronas. Can we trust the glowing DEIA (Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment) report by Integrated Envirotect Sdn Bhd? Isn’t it a case of “he who pays the piper calls the tune”? Shouldn’t an independent panel of local and international experts be appointed to do the DEIA so that the integrity of the report would not be compromised and the truth of potential environmental impact can be known?

Question 9: It is oppression to the local communities when you unilaterally announce a major development without consultation. That was what happened in Pengerang. When PM Najib made the announcement in May 2011, it was said that even the local state assemblyman was clueless, let alone the villagers. Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) is an approach outlined in international human rights law and declarations. It recognises the right of local affected people to be consulted, and to negotiate with, project developers on the impact of a project on their community. Have the voices of the Pengerang people being heard?

Question 10: For all the claims of huge economic benefits these petrochemical projects would bring to this country, we hear that the Taiwanese company, KuoKuang Petrochemical will be given a tax holiday of 10 years! Their government rejected them and ours give them this incentive to move here. While we, the taxpayer pay our government to look after us, hazardous foreign companies are invited into our country to pollute us tax-free, denying us probably billions in taxes which could have bee used to clean up the environment and improve health care here. What is going on here?

In Conclusion...

What do we value in our society? Have we come to a point where everything is valued by ringgit and sen? If a project is valued at RM120 billion, then it is more valuable than the rights of people, our heritage, creatures under our care, our floral and fauna, and the environment? If so, how are we different from the prostitute who offers herself to the highest bidder?

As Malaysians, we are concern with what is happening in Pengerang not because it could directly impact us but because it could be our homes and livelihood that would be taken next. What we are confronting is not an isolated situation but a systemic problem of lack of transparency, disregards for the people’s rights and the environment.

These are honest questions that are in need of answers from the only people who can answer them — the government. We hope that honest answers will be forthcoming in the days to come. We hope that the declaration “Rakyat didahulukan, Pencapaian diutamakan” (People first, Performance now) is more than an empty slogan when it comes to Pengerang.

But for now, myself and thousand others will be attending Himpunan Hijau Lestari Pengerang on September 30 because we are seeking answers and standing in solidarity with our fellow Malaysians in Pengerang. For more information, you can visit www.hijau.info.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

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Indonesia: Thick Haze Paralyzes Jambi Airport

Jakarta Globe 24 Sep 12;

Jambi. Thick smoke from ground and forest fires have severely curtailed visibility and forced the closure of the Sultan Thaha Syaifuddin airport in Jambi city on Monday, an airport executive said.

The airport was closed for landing as visibility was down to 500 to 1,000 meters. The day's first scheduled flight at 6:00 a.m. had to be delayed by about 30 minutes.

The first flight scheduled to land at the airport, a Lion Air flight from Jakarta that should have landed at 7:30 a.m., was not able to do so and was diverted to the airport in Palembang.

Alzog Pendra, the operations manager of the Jambi airport, said they have warned aircraft against forcing to land if visibility was not permitting.

The thick haze began to disrupt the flight schedule at the Jambi airport on Sunday, Alzog said.

On Sunday, the same first flight from Jakarta operated by Lion air also failed to land because of the low visibility and was diverted to Palembang in neighboring South Sumatra. But similar low visibility due to haze in Palembang' Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin airport forced the plane to return to Jakarta instead.

A Garuda flight from Jakarta that had been due to arrive on Sunday morning only managed to land in Jambi at 1 p.m. after visibility improved.

An air pollution control index showed that in Jambi city, the air was entering the level of serious pollution, with smoke and ash at 90 particles per million over the past three days.

Bambang Priyanto, the deputy mayor of Jambi, said he has asked the city's health office to begin distributing free masks to the public because of the worsening air quality there.

"We have prepared some 70,000 masks in anticipation of the smoke," he said. The city, Bambang added, was also currently considering whether to temporarily close down schools, especially for kindergarten and primary schools.

Suara Pembaruan

Ongoing Jambi Fires Spark Public Health Fears
Jakarta Globe 26 Sep 12;

Jambi. The thick and chocking haze from ground and forest fires that has blanketed Jambi for the past three months has pushed up the number of sufferers of respiratory tract ailments, health officials said on Tuesday.

Andi Pada, from the Jambi provincial health office, said the number of people suffering from respiratory tract ailments in the Sumatran province has risen to 3,020, with 1,241 of them in the capital.

Batanghari district followed with 943 people, East Tanjung Jabung with 581 and Muarojambi with 455. There were no reports yet from the seven other districts and municipalities in Jambi.

Andi said the standard air pollution index in Jambi city had already reached unhealthy levels at more than 100 particles per million.

The local health office has already distributed some 3,000 masks to the population, especially for motorists.

Zubaidi, the head of the Jambi Disaster Mitigation Agency, said that a team from the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) was attempting to artificially induce rains in the area by spreading salt in the sky over Jambi.

However, he said, the rain-making often failed because of the scarcity of clouds and the very dry nature of the air.

“But this Tuesday morning, rains have begun to fall, although not heavily,” Zubaidi said.

“Hopefully there will be enough clouds over Jambi in the next few days for the rains to overcome the problems of smoke and ground and forest fires in Jambi.”

A thin rain began to fall over Jambi city at around 7:30 a.m. but only lasted for 15 minutes, failing to rid the city of the thick and chocking smoke.

Even after the rain, visibility was well below one kilometer and monitoring from the Jambi Environmental Agency showed the air pollution index at 95 to 97 particles per million.

By 8 a.m., no flights had been able to land at Jambi’s Sultan Taha Syaifuddin Airport because of the low visibility. The first airplanes usually land at the airport at 7 a.m. Alzog Pendra, the operational manager of the airport, said that planes can only land if visibility is at least two kilometers.

Meanwhile, environmental activists in Jambi on Tuesday criticized the local governments for its slow response to the haze problem that began three months ago.

Rakhmat Hidayat, the executive director of the Indonesian Conservation Community and the Jambi Conservation Information Stall, deplored the local government for not acting quickly to deal with the growing haze problems in the region.

He said that the government was not fast enough in preventing the use of fire for land clearing, both by large plantation companies and by individual farmers.

The practice of clearing land with fire is outlawed but enforcement has been hard because of the limited funding and personnel.

Rakhmat said that thousands of plantations and forests in Jambi were now on fire, mostly intentionally, but the local government has not taken any actions against those making the fires.

He also said that the government was late in distributing masks to minimize the number of sufferers of respiratory tract ailments.

Suara Pembaruan

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Malaysia: Terengganu villagers now see the need to save terrapins

Farik Zolkepli The Star 25 Sep 12;

THE struggle to save painted terrapins, an endangered species, is seeing a breakthrough with the release of 80 baby terrapins in Kampung Mangkuk, Setiu, Terrenganu.

The activity, organised by WWF-Malaysia, saw the involvement of more than 60 students from SK Mangkuk and villagers.

WWF Malaysia Terengganu Turtle Conservation team leader Rahayu Zulkifli said the organisation has been making headway in efforts to save the terrapins with the cooperation of local villagers.

“This activity show the support of the locals and their awareness of the importance of saving the terrapins.

“We have been going full force in doing studies to save the terrapins since 2009 but it would not have been possible without the locals,” she said recently.

She added that the event was all the more special with the presence of the students.

“It is important to spread awareness on terrapin conservation from young. The students’ participation means they can be educated on the importance of such conservation,” she said.

Rahayu said WWF’s buy-back scheme was one of the milestones in the effort to save the terrapins as well as turtles.

“The purchase of painted terrapin eggs and turtle eggs purchased from licensed egg collectors has been successful in protecting these eggs from being sold to the markets, and subsequently eaten.

“We managed to collect 10 nests in 2009 from Kuala Baru Utara and Mengabang Sekepeng near here but the number increased to 101 nests last year,” she said, adding that the hatching rate for last year was 78%.

Meanwhile, local fisherman Mat Rahim Mamat, 63, said he fully supported the effort to save the terrapins.

“The awareness on the need to save the terrapins has been growing over the last five years. I, along with other fishermen, now have the mindset to pass any eggs we may find to the WWF,” he said.

He added that the habit of eating turtle eggs was also slowly diminishing.

“We want the future generation to be able to see terrapins, so the fight to save it must begin now,” he said.

SK Mangkuk Year Six pupil Noralia Syafiqah, 12, said she felt fortunate to take part in the release of baby terrapins for the first time.

“The experience has made me want to protect them even more.

“I hope such events are held more in the future,” she said.

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Thailand: Phuket endangered species experts launch turtle preservation project

Phuket Gazette 25 Sep 12;

PHUKET: Islanders living on Koh Ra and Koh Pratong in Phang Nga have been selected by the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) to participate in a pilot scheme for a community network to preserve the sea turtle population.

Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, who heads the PMBC’s Endangered Species Unit, told the Phuket Gazette that the number of turtles laying eggs on beaches along the Andaman coast has decreased drastically.

Citing discarded fishing nets and other human activities among the main causes of turtles being washed ashore, Dr Kongkiat said that the PMBC needs help from local villagers to preserve sea turtle numbers.

“Preserving sea turtle populations is not the responsibility of just one country. Every country needs to work on it together, especially among Asean members as many of us share the same ocean,” said Dr Kongkiat.

“The PMBC will launch the project around Koh Ra and Koh Pratong. We want to instill awareness of the problem and build up a preservation network in the community.

“We chose Koh Ra and Koh Pratong because these islands have plenty of seagrass and the conditions are suitable for Olive Ridley, Hawksbill, Leatherback and Green turtles to lay eggs,” he added.

Referring to the damage to the turtles’ egg-laying sites, Dr Kongkiat pointed the finger at local departments who he said had failed to look after the beaches.

“Now only Green and Leatherback turtles lay eggs on these two beaches,” he added.

According to PMBC statistics, in 2009 officials counted 30 turtle nests on the beach. By 2010 that figure had dropped to only four or five nests and last year only two nests were identified.

“So far this year we have counted only three nests on Koh Ra and Koh Pratong. We need to get into the community and ask for everyone’s cooperation. I believe that if the villagers help us and do not encroach into the egg laying areas, the turtles will return and the number of eggs being laid will increase,” Dr Kongkiet said.

The preservation project comes in the wake of the PMBC recovering at least 24 injured turtles that washed ashore on beaches in Phuket and Phang Nga over the past three months.

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Indonesia has succeeded in reducing deforestation: President

Antara 25 Sep 12;

New York (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has stated that Indonesia has succeeded in reducing deforestation and the government is continuing its reforestation efforts by implementing a number of programmes involving the local community.

"The most depressing event relating to deforestation in our country is when we lost 3.5 million hectares of rain forests during the transition-to-democracy period in 2000," he said in New York on Monday night.

"From that point on, Indonesia launched a number of policies to regain its forest cover," he added.

President Yudhoyono admitted that it was not easy to implement such policies, which required cooperation of the local community as well as the international community.

"One of our decisions was to make a breakthrough by implementing the REDD plus program in cooperation with the Norwegian government," he said.

However, the decision was widely criticized across Indonesia. The head of the state had to assure his countrymen that the move was part of the government's efforts to preserve the environment and it would benefit Indonesia in the long term.

"We also issued a moratorium to protect our forests, as part of our reformation efforts," the President said.

"One of the positive outcomes of the policy is that 35 percent of Indonesia`s tropical rain forests are currently protected by the government," he explained.

"Besides, we also aggressively initiated our reforestation efforts. I led the campaign and have managed to plant one billion trees every year. So far, we have planted about three billion trees," President Yudhoyono stated.

He also called on the global community to cooperate with Indonesia in its efforts to achieve sustainable economic growth.
(A050)

Editor: Ella Syafputri

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Global shark conservation plan in the balance at landmark talks

Representatives from 50 nations have met to discuss the draft plan to ban shark finning and manage populations
Stanley Johnson guardian.co.uk 25 Sep 12;

A ban on shark finning and the adoption of a global shark conservation plan is being sought at a meeting of more than 50 countries in Bonn this week.

The UK-backed draft plan to monitor and manage shark populations is under discussion at the first official meeting of signatories to a landmark memorandum of understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS). A decision is expected on Thursday.

The market for shark fins, used in shark fin soup, is a major threat to shark populations, with fins among the most expensive fish products in the world at $740 (£456) per kilo. The high value of fins compared to the usually lower value of the rest of the shark meat creates an economic incentive for the wasteful practice of slicing off a shark's fins and discarding the body at sea. Several hotel chains in Asia, including Shangri-La and Peninsula, have banned shark fin soup as a result of campaigning for an end to finning.

Shark finning has been banned by more than 60 fishing nations as well as the European Union. But in the EU and in many countries, permits for processing on board can be obtained in some cases, whereby shark fins can be removed from the carcasses and stored separately. A vote in the European parliament's committee on fisheries voted on the issue on 19 September, but failed to close the loopholes.

Sandrine Polti, shark policy adviser to the Pew Environment Group, said: "Pew strongly supports the European commission's proposal [made in 2011, to end the permits] and urges all parliamentarians to endorse a strict EU policy against removing shark fins at sea, without any more exceptions,"

The plan under discussion at this week's CMS would commit countries to: "Where not already in place, consider enacting legislation or regulations requiring sharks to be landed with each fin naturally attached."

Officials from the UK hope to strengthen the language so as to achieve a global, watertight and exception-free commitment to a ban on shark finning. The fisheries minister, Richard Benyon, plunged into a tank of sharks – behind a net – at the Sealife London Aquarium in August to highlight the UK's opposition to shark finning.

• Stanley Johnson's new book, Where the Wild Things Were: Travels of a Conservationist, is published by Stacey International

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UN recognizes wildlife crime as threat to rule of law

WWF 25 Sep 12;

New York - Poaching and the illicit trafficking of wildlife products were raised on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly for the first time Monday during discussions on strengthening national and international governance. World leaders gathering in New York for the global body’s 67th annual meeting highlighted wildlife trafficking along with other severe threats to the rule of law such as corruption and drug running.

In a written statement, permanent Security Council member United States highlighted “the harm caused by wildlife poaching and trafficking to conservation efforts, rule of law, governance and economic development.” The rapidly-growing illicit international trade in endangered species products, such as rhino horn, elephant ivory and tiger parts, is now estimated to be worth $8-10 billion per year globally.

“Such organized crime is increasingly affecting the environment and biodiversity through poaching and illegal fishing,” Gabon’s President Ali Bongo said during the High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law. “Gabon intends to strengthen its criminal justice system to combat this phenomenon. But such efforts will require a greater international legal cooperation.”

Permanent member France also emphasized the severity and negative impacts of wildlife crime. “There are still entire sectors of activity without any legal safety,” French Minister Delegate for Development Pascal Canfin said. “International law is lacking when it comes to the plundering of natural resources, for example, or the trafficking of fauna.”

President Bongo took the occasion to reaffirm his country’s commitment to “combating violations of the Convention on International Trade [in] Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora as well as other conventions to protect the environment and biodiversity.”

In response to record levels of elephant poaching in Africa, President Bongo oversaw the burning of Gabon’s seized ivory stockpile earlier this year after a full audit supported by WWF and TRAFFIC. Organized criminal syndicates, sometimes linked to armed insurgent groups, are believed to be behind many of the tens of thousands of elephant poaching deaths occurring in Africa each year. Ivory tusks are highly valuable on Asian black markets.

“Illicit wildlife trafficking can have severe consequences for people as well as the environment, yet it is not considered a serious crime by many governments. It is often a low risk and high profit criminal activity, which is a dangerous combination,” said Wendy Elliott, WWF Global Species Programme Manager. “Governments have made a significant step forward by introducing the issue into this important forum on the rule of law. We now call on all them to increase their law enforcement responses to wildlife crime on a commensurate basis.”

Roland Melisch, Director of TRAFFIC’s Africa & Europe programmes said: “Good governance is essential to prevent crimes such as illicit wildlife trafficking. Countries need to be held accountable to their commitments under relevant United Nations treaties.”

WWF and its partner TRAFFIC, the wildlife monitoring network, are campaigning for greater protection of threatened species such as rhinos, tigers and elephants. In order to save endangered animals, source, transit and demand countries must all improve law enforcement, customs controls and judicial systems. WWF and TRAFFIC are also urging governments in consumer countries to undertake demand reduction efforts to curb the use of endangered species products.

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