The Last Drop? Climate Change May Raise Coffee Prices, Lower Quality

Wild Arabica coffee could go extinct in 70 years, study warns.
Amanda Fiegl National Geographic News 8 Nov 12;

What would life be like without coffee?

In a world that drinks 1.6 billion cups each day, the prospect probably gives a lot of us the jitters. But a new study led by London's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, warns that, thanks to climate change, the most consumed coffee species, Arabica, could be extinct in the wild by 2080.

Calm down; things aren't quite as black as you might think. The study is about wild coffee plants, while the stuff in our cups is brewed from their domesticated descendants. Still, wild losses leave cultivated crops genetically vulnerable to a host of enemies, which could ultimately lead to lower quality and higher prices for coffee consumers.

"Arabica's history is punctuated by problems with diseases, pests, and productivity problems—and growers have always gone back to the wild and used genetic diversity to address them," said Aaron Davis, head of RGB Kew's coffee research program.

There are only two main types of cultivated coffee, Arabica (which comes from the wild plant Coffea arabica) and Robusta (derived from Coffea canephora). But there are more than 125 species in the wild, with more still being discovered, said Davis, who has been researching coffee plants for 15 years.

"That's one of the things that really surprised me when I first started working with wild coffee," he said. "I mean, here's this immensely important crop, and we don't even know what all the species are yet! And among all those wild species, there are certainly useful genes."

Arabica's Shaky Future

Arabica is the backbone of the coffee industry, accounting for 70 percent of global production, according to the International Coffee Organization. But most of it can be traced back to a handful of plants taken from Ethiopia in the 17th and 18th centuries, Davis said, and its narrow gene pool makes it "very susceptible."

The new study, led by Davis and published in the journal PLOS ONE this week, combined field observations and computer modeling to envision how different climate scenarios could affect wild Arabica species. It focused on Ethiopia—the birthplace of cultivated Arabica, and Africa's largest coffee producer—as well as parts of South Sudan. (Explore an interactive map of the effects of global warming.)

The prospects are "profoundly negative," the study concluded. Even in a best-case scenario, two-thirds of the suitable growing locations would disappear by 2080—and at worst, nearly 100 percent. And that's factoring in only climate change, not deforestation.

Davis and other researchers visited South Sudan's Boma Plateau in April, intending to assess the feasibility of coffee production there. Instead, they discovered wild Arabica plants in extremely poor health.

"After a week or so in those forests, we realized that our objective had changed: It became a rescue mission," Davis said.

The study recommends that specimens from the Boma Plateau should be preserved in seed banks as soon as possible, because the species could be extinct as soon as 2020.

Arabica typically grows in the upper zones of vegetation on tropical mountains, explained botanist Peter Raven, who was not involved in the study. Because such species are already living on the edges of ecosystems, the plants have nowhere to go when temperatures rise.

"The kinds of cloud forest climates where Arabica is native are disappearing, and the plants and animals that occur in them are going to be among the most threatened on Earth," Raven said. "Most coffee production throughout the world will be in trouble as the climate shifts."

In Ethiopia, the world's third largest producer of Arabica coffee, the mean annual temperature has risen by 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.3 degrees Celsius) since 1960, according to a report by the United Nations Development Programme. (Interactive map: "Earth's Changing Climate.")

Previous studies have established that both wild and cultivated Arabica are very climate sensitive, thriving only within a very narrow range of temperatures, Davis noted.

"So even if you do some very simple sums, it doesn't take much to realize that there's an intrinsic threat to these species from accelerated climate change," he said. "The logical conclusion is that coffee production will be negatively impacted as well."

Taking Action

The purpose of the study isn't to scare people, Davis said, but rather to inspire action.

"We're trying to understand: What if we don't do anything—what will happen? And what can we do about it now?" Davis said. "If we're proactive, we can avoid a dire situation."

The study identifies several "core sites" where wild Arabica can likely survive until at least 2080, and recommends that these areas be targeted for conservation.

Conservation activities have helped other species avert extinction, Davis said, so he remains optimistic about the future of wild coffee. Raven, however, takes more of a cup-half-empty view. While the goal of preserving plant species in the wild is "laudable," he said, seed banking is extremely important even in areas where extinction is not yet imminent.

"Regardless of what measures are taken in nature, we can confidently, and sadly, expect the genetic diversity of those populations to go downhill steadily year after year," said Raven. "Seeds from the most genetically valuable species should be stored now, before it is too late."

An Acquired Taste

Robusta—a hardier coffee domesticated in the 19th century in response to a leaf rust epidemic that decimated Arabica crops in Southeast Asia—is mostly used in stronger brews like espresso and Turkish coffee. It can grow at lower altitudes and higher temperatures, so it's somewhat better poised to cope with climate change.

But that doesn't mean most coffee drinkers would simply switch what's in their cup without sputtering, Davis said.

"I can guarantee that we will not all be happy just drinking Robusta," Davis said. "As the name suggests, it's quite strong. Most people don't like the taste, and it has up to twice as much caffeine as Arabica. It's simply not the same drink. If we lost Arabica, I think large segments of the coffee market would disappear."

Such a shift could cause a serious economic jolt: According to the International Coffee Organization, coffee is the second most traded global commodity after oil, and the industry employs about 26 million people.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 10 Nov 12

Singapore's Leaf Rolling Weevils
from Macro Photography in Singapore

I Discovered Another New Butterfly Species for SG
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature

Life History of the Leopard Lacewing
from Butterflies of Singapore

Read more!

Resolving the green energy tri-lemma

Singapore's energy landscape looks to be dominated by liquefied natural gas in the foreseeable future, but can it tap on cleaner and more renewable energy sources here? Feng Zengkun and Grace Chua examine the options.
Straits Times 10 Nov 12;

LAST month, the Government made two major decisions about the future of Singapore's electricity.

First, it announced that it had ruled out nuclear power for the country at the moment.

A two-year study by government agencies and independent analysts had found that existing nuclear plants were still too risky for the Republic's small size and dense population.

Energy experts agreed, saying that while there were designs for safer nuclear plants, these would not be commercially viable for at least another 20 to 30 years.

The Government then announced later last month that it would build a fourth storage tank for the new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, which is slated to begin operations here next year.

The new tank will boost the terminal's capacity by 50 per cent to nine million tonnes a year. It will also help diversify the country's LNG sources and make it less reliant on imports from Malaysia and Indonesia.

When asked, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) said natural gas is expected to make up more than 90 per cent of Singapore's electricity fuel mix in the future, up from the current 80 per cent. The rest of Singapore's electricity comes from sources such as fuel oil, waste and renewable energy.

Natural gas can be costly as its price has been linked to that of oil, although this may change in the future. Is such an overwhelming reliance on this energy resource desirable?

Nuclear energy has been ruled out for now, but can Singapore entertain other clean energy options?

There are already established technologies worldwide for tapping natural resources such as the sun, wind, water and the earth's heat for power.

The initial set-up cost, such as solar panels and wind turbines, is expensive but the resources are effectively free.

They are also better for the environment and could lead to cheaper electricity in the long run.

Yet the EMA has consistently said that Singapore's natural conditions make such green energy sources difficult to use here.

Singapore's energy 'tri-lemma'

ACCORDING to the EMA, Singapore has to maintain a balance across three objectives - energy security, environmental sustainability and economic competitiveness.

This "tri-lemma" limits the potential of renewable energy sources here.

For example, solar energy scores high on environmental sustainability but low on energy reliability. "The heavy cloud cover in Singapore means that solar energy would be intermittent," said EMA.

The National Climate Change Secretariat, which coordinates Singapore's climate change policies, and the National Research Foundation have also noted that harnessing solar power requires a lot of physical space.

In a report last year, they said the sun could potentially meet about 15 per cent of Singapore's electricity needs, but this would require putting solar panels on top of 65 per cent of commercial building rooftop space, 48 per cent of HDB housing block rooftop space, 25 per cent of inland water bodies and 20 per cent of the ground.

Singapore is already short of land, and these panels could compete with other green rooftop uses such as gardens or skylights to reduce the need for lighting.

Another example of how the "tri-lemma" works is tidal energy. It is both environmentally sustainable and secure because Singapore is surrounded by the ocean, but it comes at a cost to Singapore's economic competitiveness.

Mr Timothy Cornelius, chief executive of Atlantis Resources Corporation which sells tidal turbines and has headquarters in Singapore and London, said Singapore's waters are too busy to support large turbines.

The Republic is surrounded by shipping lanes and some of them are the busiest in the world. "It is simply not practical to install turbines in shipping lanes" because of safety, said Mr Cornelius.

Biomass power, which uses biological materials such as plant, wood and paper waste to generate electricity, also fails the economics test.

"We understand that the main biomass produced in Singapore is around half a million tonnes a year. But even if all of these were used to produce energy, it would meet only 1 per cent of the country's energy demand," said Dr Geng Anli, president of the BioEnergy Society of Singapore.

"Transportation of bulky biomass from other countries to Singapore is very impractical," she added.

Promising options

OTHER energy experts said that there is some potential in wind and geothermal power in Singapore.

Dr Grahame Oliver, a senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore (NUS) who teaches geoscience, said power could be tapped from underground hot water near springs in Sembawang and on Pulau Tekong, an offshore military training area.

His theory suggests that shafts could be drilled into the earth at spots near the springs.

Hot water would emerge as steam, which could drive a turbine to produce electricity. The water would then be channelled back into the earth. This technique has been used in other countries such as the United States.

Dr Oliver said the Singapore spring waters are likely heated by hot rock in the earth.

"An optimistic view is that one cubic kilometre of hot rock... under Sembawang or Pulau Tekong may well provide electric power for 50,000 homes," he said. There are slightly more than one million HDB flats in Singapore.

But he cautioned that more research is needed. "Without a new feasibility study which would include drilling, we simply don't know how much energy is stored in the geothermal reservoirs under Sembawang or Pulau Tekong," he said.

A research project including proof of concept drills would cost about $47 million, he estimated.

NUS, the Economic Development Board (EDB) and a "major player in the geothermal power business" are already doing a desktop study that involves computer modelling, Dr Oliver said.

Meanwhile, scientists at Nanyang Technological University's Energy Research Institute (ERI@N) are investigating wind energy.

The institute has analysed the wind in Marine Parade and on Pulau Semakau, an offshore landfill and conservation habitat, for more than a year.

"The initial data suggests it could be possible to set up small wind parks on islands like Pulau Semakau... to power 5,000 HDB homes," said ERI@N executive director Subodh Mhaisalkar.

"Small wind turbines with a diameter of less than 5m could also be deployed along Singapore's coastlines or on top of ocean-facing homes," he said.

Some 250 such turbines along a 10km coastal stretch could generate electricity for 500 homes.

The studies are ongoing, and the ERI@N team is also mapping wind at other parts of the island, such as Woodlands, Pasir Ris and Jurong. It has designed and filed patents for wind turbines more suitable for low wind-speed conditions and will create prototypes in the next nine months.

Smaller marine turbines sited on the ocean floor could also work for Singapore, but more analysis is needed, said Prof Mhaisalkar.

Future innovation

STILL, the situation isn't static, and new trends or technologies could eventually make the renewable energy sources more attractive for Singapore, said energy experts.

Last month, for the first time here, a decline in the cost of solar panels brought the cost of electricity from solar power on a par with that from conventional electricity sources.

The price of solar panels had been falling over the past two years due to global manufacturing overcapacity and a drop in demand in some parts of the world, noted Energy Studies Institute energy economist Tilak Doshi.

Although a decline in prices for these reasons is likely to be temporary, technological advances are also bringing prices down.

Mr Goh Chee Kiong, the EDB's clean technology group director, predicted that solar power's cost will continue to fall, making it more attractive to users.

Researchers here are also working on new batteries which can store more solar power for longer periods, reducing the intermittency problem.

Electronics giant Panasonic is working on green energy solutions here. Some of its work is being tested in Punggol eco.town.

The Government has also poured money into green energy projects in recent years, particularly in the field of solar power.

Since 2010, the HDB has been testing solar panels under a $31 million, five-year scheme. Last year, the EDB and national water agency PUB unveiled plans to build a floating solar panel system on the Tengeh Reservoir.

In June, the Government's Energy Innovation Programme Office awarded $11 million to researchers working on solar cells. It also plans to improve its understanding of nuclear science and technology.

The solutions may not always be technological.

Greater cooperation between Singapore and its regional neighbours is another way to boost the use of renewable energy here, said energy experts.

The development of an Asean power grid - in the works since the 1980s - could allow Singapore to tap wind, water and other green power generated in other countries which are not subject to the same land and economic constraints, said an international panel of experts during Singapore International Energy Week last month.

The BioEnergy Society's Dr Geng added that, with some process tweaks, Singapore could import converted biomass from other countries.

"Singapore could convert biomass to fuels and chemicals on site first before transporting them here for further processing and consumption," she said.

Question of impetus

IN 2010, a high-level government committee set up to chart Singapore's economic future said renewable energy should supply 5 per cent of the country's peak electricity demand by 2020.

NTU's Prof Mhaisalkar said this was achievable, "and could be stretched to 10 per cent by 2030".

But energy experts said the sense of urgency to meet such targets could be dampened worldwide by a recent development: the emergence of shale gas.

New drilling techniques have given many countries such as the United States access to vast, previously untouchable reserves of the natural gas, upending the global energy equation.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office S. Iswaran said during last month's Energy Week: "The US was expected to be a large importer of natural gas. Today, it could become a major exporter of shale gas to the rest of the world."

But some energy experts warned that relying on the reserves would be a mistake. Said a report from Britain's Chatham House: "The anticipation of cheap natural gas could inhibit investment in renewables.

"But if the revolution fails to deliver a lot of cheap gas, by the time this is realised, it could be too late to revert to renewables."

Singapore's defence must be to remain nimble.

Mr Iswaran said Singapore must be adaptable, especially considering the "great energy and economic uncertainty" worldwide. New technologies and global policies could change the local energy outlook.

"The energy landscape is continually evolving. We need to be prepared for an uncertain energy future by keeping our options open," he said.

Read more!

Scientists fear Myanmar's disappearing mangroves

Aye Sapay Phyu Myanmar Times 9 Nov 12;

Human activity has decimated the coastal and marine ecosystems of Myanmar over the past three decades, conservation experts said at a meeting last week.

Dr Kyaw Tint, chairman of the Mangrove and Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation Network (MERN), said mangrove forests in the coastal areas of Rakhine State, and Ayeyarwady and Tanintharyi Regions had depleted and degraded considerably since 1980.

“Total mangrove forest cover in Myanmar in 1980 amounted to 531,000 hectares but by 2010 only 312,000ha were left, according to Forest Department statistics. Total mangrove coverage in 2010 had been estimated at 659,033ha. But encroachments by agriculture, fisheries and others in the mangrove forests have occupied 346,590ha, leaving only about 312,443ha for mangroves,” he said.

The discussions took place at the National Consultative Workshop on Conservation and Sustainable Management of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems. The workshop was held at the Sedona Hotel on November 5 and 6, and was organised by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Mangroves for the Future, MERN and Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem.

Dr Kyaw Tint said excessive wood cutting for fuel, agricultural expansion and the construction of fish and shrimp ponds were the main reasons for loss of mangroves. He added that natural mangrove forests in Ayeyarwady Region had suffered about 80 percent destruction due to Cyclone Nargis in May 2008 and the intrusion of agricultural land and fish and shrimp ponds, according to the survey conducted by the Forestry Department after Nargis.

He said the extent of mangrove forests in Ayeyarwady had declined by about 6475ha in the period 2007 to 2009.

U Maung Maung Pyone, secretary of the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association, said the consumption of firewood for commercial reasons threatens the future of forest conservation efforts in the area.

“We saw huge piles of firewood, sometimes larger than houses, for use in the dried prawn business when we visited to Pyapon township in Ayeyarwady Region. There are a number of such businesses in the area, and firewood demand is very high,” he said.

Dr Kyaw Tint said the forestry department survey had recommended the reforestation and protection of a five-mile strip along the coast, and the planting of trees for 100 metres on either side of big streams to help protect against bank erosion and to protect coastal dwellers from strong winds and sea waves.

He added that Myanmar’s rich coral species were also affected by human activities and climate change. Coral is sold at some beaches and fishing on coral reefs is increasing. Illegal dynamite fishing is widespread in coastal areas and is also a major threat to coral systems. Coral bleaching as a result of climate change has also been observed in Myanmar waters, he said.

Another issue discussed at the workshop is overfishing.

“A survey conducted in 17 fishing blocks near the Ayeyarwady delta coastline and in coastal and deep-sea areas off Tanintharyi Region in 2007 found that the catch was 85.92 kilograms an hour, down from 96.12 kg recorded by government surveys conducted in 1996 and 1998,” Dr Kyaw Tint said.

U Mya Than Tun, assistant director of Environment and Endangered Aquatic Animal Conservation Unit, Department of Fisheries, said that fish resources such as hilsa were significantly down because of the use of unsustainable fishing techniques.

The workshop recommended the development and implement of integrated ecosystem management, the formulation and implementation of integrated coastal management plans involving stakeholders, mainstream biodiversity conservation and climate change initiatives.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 9 Nov 12

New Wild Singapore book is launched
from wild shores of singapore and Otterman speaks

Bidadari Cemetery – soon to be a site for the living
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Job: Two Research Assistant positions for project on ‘Enhancing Singapore’s Coral Reef Ecosystem’ (deadline: 16 Nov 2012) from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS

Reflection by Lee Raphael
from Senior High Student Council EXCEL Exposure and Reflection by Jinjing

Read more!

Malaysia: Floods hit Negri Sembilan, situation in Johor and Malacca worsens

The Star 9 Nov 12;

KUALA LUMPUR: Residents in Negri Sembilan have are the latest to get hit by floods in the peninsula while the situation in flood-hit Johor and Malacca has taken a turn for the worse.

However, the flood situation was reported to be improving in Selangor and Perak.

In Negri Sembilan, Kampung Keru Hilir in Tampin was flooded by up to one metre following incessant heavy rain overnight and forced 34 people from nine families living there to evacuate.

Tampin Land Office deputy administrator Mohd Amin Ludin said the victims were being sheltered at the kampung's surau and that all necessary assistance was being rendered.

According to the National Security Council's flood portal, in Johor, the number of flood victims had increased from 767 people to 1,095 people overnight.

It said four more relief centres had to be opened in the state, two each in Johor Baharu and Kulai Jaya.

Six relief centres in Batu Pahat and one in Ledang are already in operation in Johor.

In Malacca, the number of victims more than doubled overnight, from 61 people to 134 people.

The victims are all in Jasin and are being sheltered in one relief centre.

In Selangor, the number of food victims dropped from 1,012 people last night to 983 people this morning.

All the victims are sheltered at four relief centres in Kuala Langat while three relief centres in Dengkil have been closed and the victims housed there allowed to return to their homes.

In Perak, the number of victims dropped to 134 people from 177 people Thursday night with just one relief centre still operating in Hilir Perak.

So far, no casualty has been reported since floods broke out in the peninsula since six days ago and neither has there been closure of any road.

Meanwhile, the Drainage and Irrigation Department said the water levels at major rivers in Selangor, Johor and Pahang were still above the warning level.

The level of Sungai Langat at Bukit Changgang, Selangor is now at 3.83 metres; Sungai Selangor at Rantau Panjang (7.45m), Sungai Lenik at Batu Pahat, Johor (5.32m) and the Repas Dam in Bentong, Pahang (113.67m).

The department also issued a flood warning for Selangau in Sarawak following the water level at Sungai Selangau B exceeding the danger level of 17.92 metres. - Bernama


Heavy rainfall expected over next six days
Up to 2,000 evacuated in past week because of flooding in five states
Yong Yen Nie Straits Times 10 Nov 12;

KUALA LUMPUR - If you are planning to drive to Malaysia for a break this weekend, be sure to slow down a little and take along an umbrella and raincoat.

The forecast for this weekend is more rain, which may keep some already flooded areas on the outskirts of Johor, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan inundated, and most other parts of the country wet.

So far, the number of Malaysians who are affected by floods is still low, and major tourist destinations such as the Malacca heritage town area remain accessible.

Nevertheless, the Meteorological Department expects thunderstorms to continue around the country for the next six days as the north-east monsoon season begins.

The monsoon occurs between November and March each year. However, the Met said continuous heavy monsoon rains, which last more than two days at a stretch, have not begun.

"For Malacca and Penang, we expect frequent thunderstorms to occur in the afternoon or early evening," an official from the Met told The Straits Times.

"Continued heavy rain for one hour or more can lead to flash-flooding occurrences, especially in low-lying areas."

According to the department, evening thunderstorms are also expected to hit all parts of Johor - including Mersing and Johor Baru - as well as Kuala Lumpur from today until next Thursday. However, no road closures were reported.

Meanwhile, morning rain is expected in the states of Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu.

In the past week, some 2,000 Malaysians were evacuated because of floods in five states - Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Perak and Selangor.

However, some victims in Perak and Selangor returned home yesterday, leaving only 1,700 in evacuation centres.

Four more evacuation centres were opened in Johor yesterday, including two in Johor Baru, to accommodate more flood victims, Ms Khatijah Abdullah, a temporary relief centre officer, told The Straits Times.

The number of flood victims in Johor rose to 1,095 overnight from 767 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, 12 evacuation centres were closed yesterday in areas where waters had receded.

In Malacca, only one evacuation centre is operating in Jasin, with 134 flood victims.

Despite the continuous rain, relief officers said the flooding is not as bad as anticipated.

"We are able to keep the pace of helping flood victims evacuate and allow many to go home as soon as the waters have receded," Mr Abdul Hadi Hamzah, an officer in Selangor, said.

Malaysia faced its worst flood crisis in 2006, after experiencing unusually heavy rainfall due to Typhoon Utor that hit the Philippines and Vietnam. The floods wiped out farms and caused some 100,000 people in Johor to be evacuated.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the National Disaster Management Committee chairman, said all agencies and emergency units are on standby to assist flood victims.

"We are ready. The relief centres are ready and there is a stockpile of food for flood victims," he said on Thursday.

The Met expects floods to get worse in the coming months as thunderstorms are expected to continue until March.

So far, tourists appear unperturbed.

Mr Joseph Lim, sales coordinator of Mahkota Hotel in Malacca, said bookings for hotel rooms are still brisk.

"We have recorded up to 80 per cent occupancy rate for this weekend, with the higher number of travellers arriving from Singapore due to the Deepavali holiday," he said.

Read more!

Mangrove losses raising risks in South Asia - experts

Amantha Perera Reuters AlertNet 8 Nov 12;

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AlertNet) – Rapid destruction of South Asia’s mangroves, which act as a buffer against extreme weather conditions such as storm surges and rising sea levels, is endangering lives and livelihoods in the region, experts say.

Asia is home to 41 percent of the world’s mangroves, but in countries including Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India they are fast disappearing. Ajanta Dey, a project director at the Nature, Environment and Wildlife Society, a Kolkata-based organisation that works on environmental and sustainable livelihood issues in eastern India, says her organisation believes at least 40 percent of Asia’s mangroves have been lost in the last 50 years.

“There has been a lot of destruction,” she told AlertNet.

Preserving mangroves is important because they can act as a natural shield against storm surges and other severe weather. Most are also rich biodiversity hotspots, harbouring fish, shellfish and other animals that can provide food and income for people in the area.

But in Pakistan, over 80 percent of the mangrove cover has been lost in the last 80 years, according to the Pakistan office of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Mangrove forests that once covered over 600,000 hectares are now reduced to around 86,000 hectares.

And such mangrove losses are now spreading increasingly across South Asia, including to India and Bangladesh’s coastal Sundarbans region, and to regions of Sri Lanka undergoing rapid development after years of conflict.

Along Pakistan’s Indus Delta, mangroves have been cut down largely to be used as firewood, or low-lying mangrove areas have been used for landfill, IUCN research found.

Tahir Qureshi, a senior advisor on coastal ecosystems at IUCN Pakistan, told AlertNet that communities living near mangrove forests bear the brunt of the harmful impacts from their destruction.

“Livelihoods of local populations (have) decreased, poverty has increased and the coastal areas have become exposed to cyclones, tsunami and other natural disasters,” Qureshi said.

According to Siddiq Roonjha, an elderly fisherman from Kerti Bunder, a coastal village in Pakistan’s Thatta District about 200 km (125 miles) southeast of Karachi, the villagers did not fear storms and cyclones before development set in and the mangroves were destroyed.

“In those days there used to be thick mangrove forests and we would go and hide our boats in them. That is why no storm or rain was such a danger to us,’ Roonjha recounted in a short video titled ‘Sentries of the Coast’ released by IUCN Pakistan.

The old villager blames the depletion of the mangroves on the development and expansion of Karachi. As the city grew, so did the demand for firewood and the mangroves were cut down en masse.

"WE ARE AFRAID FOR THE FUTURE"

“We are afraid of the future. There is no cover. We are left with nothing,” Roonjha lamented. The fisherman said his catch had been reduced so much that he had gone hungry on some days.

A similar scenario is evolving in Sri Lanka and India, where rapid cutting of mangroves is threatening the incomes of local communities while putting them at increased risk from extreme weather.

After the devastating 2004 Asian tsunami that killed over 30,000 people, interest in protecting Sri Lanka’s mangroves grew because of the protection they offered.

But as the island recovers from over two decades of civil war, rapid development is now threatening mangroves on the northwestern, eastern and northern coasts.

Such development “is likely to impact on the remaining mangrove areas” in the country’s Northern and Eastern Provinces, an IUCN study said.

Delicate natural habitats along Sri Lanka’s northwest Mannar lagoon are already threatened by rapidly advancing tourism projects. The Coast Conservation Department says the area is now prone to heavy coastal erosion because of changing monsoon rain patterns that mean the rain now comes in short, intense bursts.

In India, depletion of mangroves in the low-lying Sundarbans region is affecting the lives of millions who live close to them.

“Everyone knows that mangroves are essential to their existence in this vulnerable area,” Dey told AlertNet. In particular, the mangroves help protect delicate sand embankments around villages from cyclones and storm surges.

Dey said that research by her organisation found that there was a direct link between the income levels of nearby communities and depletion of their nearby mangroves.

In Kolkata, Dey and her group are engaged in a project to replant around 6,000 hectares (13,200 acres) of mangroves, with a target of replanting 4,500 hectares (9,900 acres) in 2012. By the end of 2011, close to 2,500 hectares (5,500 acres) had been replanted.

In Pakistan the IUCN has so far replanted around 30,000 hectares (66,000 acres) while the government has agreed to replant 100,000 hectares (220,000 acres) by 2018.

“We need to keep focused and stick to our targets,” Dey said.

Read more!

Malaysians lose bid to halt rare earths plant

Eileen Ng Associated Press Google News 8 Nov 12;

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian activists lost a court battle Thursday to halt Australian miner Lynas Corp. from firing up a rare earths plant that has sparked health and safety concerns.

After months of delay, Lynas in September obtained the Malaysian government's approval to start processing rare earths, which are minerals crucial for manufacturing high-tech products.

But villagers and civic groups took the case to court, calling for the Australian company's operating license to be suspended until the court rules on whether it would permanently block production.

Coalition leader Tan Bun Tet said the High Court refused Thursday to suspend Lynas' license before a final decision on the plant's fate is made.

"The court ruled that our fears are premature because the plant is not in operation yet. We are disappointed with the decision but we will appeal. We will fight to the end," Tan told The Associated Press.

The court ruling paves the way for Lynas to start operations immediately but it can still face obstacles later on if the court rules in favor of the villagers.

Lynas Malaysia managing director Mashal Ahmad told AP that the company plans to start operations "as soon as possible, definitely by this year."

The 2.5 billion ringgit ($818 million) refinery in northern Pahang state is to be the first in years outside China, which has restrictions on rare earth exports.

Rare earths are 17 minerals used in the manufacture of hybrid cars, weapons, flat-screen TVs, mobile phones, mercury-vapor lights, and camera lenses. China has about a third of the world's rare earth reserves but supplies about 90 percent of what is consumed.

Residents living nearby the plant and civic groups have staged protests for months over fears of health and environmental risks posed by potential leaks of radioactive waste. Lynas has said its plant has state-of-the-art pollution control.

Controversy over the project poses a headache to the government with general elections expected to be called by April.

The Lynas plant is expected to meet nearly a third of world demand for rare earths, excluding China. It will refine ore from Australia. Lynas said output for the first phase has been sold out for the next decade.

Malaysia's last rare earths refinery — operated by Japan's Mitsubishi group in northern Perak state — was closed in 1992 following protests and claims that it caused birth defects and leukemia among residents. It is one of Asia's largest radioactive waste cleanup sites.

Read more!

Humans Caused Historic Great Barrier Reef Collapse

Tia Ghose, LiveScience Yahoo News 7 Nov 12;

The expansion of European settlement in Australia triggered a massive coral collapse at the Great Barrier Reef more than 50 years ago, according to a new study.

The study, published Nov. 6 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, found that runoff from farms clouded the pristine waters off the Queensland coast and killed the natural branching coral species, leaving a stunted, weedy type of coral in its place. The findings suggest that decades before climate change and reef tourism, humans were disrupting the ecology of the Great Barrier Reef.

"There was a very significant shift in the coral community composition that was associated with the colonization of Queensland," said study co-author John Pandolfi, a marine biologist at the University of Queensland Australia.

Europeans began to colonize Queensland, Australia, in the 1860s, cutting down forests to make way for sheep grazing and sugar plantations. By the 1930s, large amounts of fertilizer and pesticide-laden runoff poured from rivers into the nearby ocean.

Several recent studies have shown that snorkelers and climate change kill coral, and one study found that half of the majestic Great Barrier Reef has vanished over the last 30 years.

But Pandolfi's team wondered whether humans had been altering reef ecology for much longer.

To find out, the team drilled sediment cores, 6.5 to 16.5 feet (2 to 5 meters) long, from the seafloor at Pelorus Island, an island fringed by coral reefs off the Queensland coast. When coral dies, new coral sprout on the skeletons of old organisms and ocean sediments gradually bury them in place, Pandolfi told LiveScience.

By dating different layers of that sediment, the team reconstructed the story of the reef.

The fast-growing Acropora coral dominated the reef for a millennium. This massive, three-dimensional coral can grow to 16 feet (5 m) high and span 65 feet (20 m) across, forming a labyrinth of nooks and crannies for marine life to hide in, Pandolfi said. [Image Gallery: Great Barrier Reef Through Time]

"They're like the big buildings in the city, they house a lot of the biodiversity" he said.

But somewhere between 1920 and 1955, the Acropora stopped growing altogether and a slow-growing, spindly coral called Pavona took its place.

That spelled trouble for the panoply of animal species that shelter in the reef, and for the nearby coastline, because the native Acropora species provide wave resistance to shelter harbors.

The team believes that over time, polluted runoff clouded the normally pristine Pacific water and poisoned the native species. The same polluted water fueled an algal bloom that choked out the native coral species when they tried to grow back, he said.

"They just weren't able to come back after the 1950s."

While the findings suggest humans have been damaging reefs far longer than previously thought, the problem has a straightforward, local solution: Reduce polluted runoff into the ocean, Pandolfi said.

"Any kind of measures that are going to improve the water quality should help those reefs to recover."

Read more!

Best of our wil blogs: 8 Nov 12

2013 TeamSeagrass dates now open for sign up!
from teamseagrass

Plant-Bird Relationship: 10. Anacardiaceae, Annonaceae and Apocynaceae
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Read more!

Feathers fly over bird's early morning call

Some complain that Asian Koel disrupts their sleep, but others sing its praises
David Ee Straits Times 8 Nov 12;


The calls of the male Asian Koel (above) are territorial, and the birds stake their first territorial claims in the early morning, said the Nature Society's Bird Group chairman Wing Chong. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF WEE YEOW CHIN

WITH its early morning cry of "ko-wel, ko-wel", it is a familiar feature of dawn in Singapore.

But not everyone is singing the praises of the ubiquitous Asian Koel.

Last week, a writer to The Straits Times Forum Page complained that the birds disrupt his nightly rest. He called on the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) to step in. His letter was followed by others yesterday, with one deriding the bird and another fighting in its corner.

But three out of every four Facebook users who subsequently wrote on The Straits Times' homepage had no complaints about the Koel. Some said it showed that their urban residences were truly immersed in nature. Others loved the bird simply for its familiar call.

Teacher Mandy Low, 42, said she used to "wake up to the flute-like music" of the Koel when she lived in Yio Chu Kang. She said: "The lush greenery together with the Koel and other migratory birds... simply brightened my day."

Others wrote in support of the bird, calling it their "resident alarm clock".

Engineer Harinder Singh, 30, who moved to Singapore in 2003, said the Koel brings back fond memories of his childhood years in a village in India, where he grew up hearing its call.

But Madam Low conceded that what was music to some might not be so to others. This was especially so for those whose curtailed sleep literally left them with a headache.

"If I don't get enough sleep, I get headaches and I can't study well," said student Chen Jiawen, 19, who lives in Chai Chee. The Koels start calling from 5am, she said, and their "sharp and irritating" calls wake her up.

The same is true for Ms Jasmine Wong, 35, a Bukit Merah resident. She has had to make do with three to four hours' sleep on some nights because of the Koel's call. "If it is during the day, it's fine, but it's in the middle of the night and it goes on for hours," she said.

The Asian Koel is a large, migratory black bird that has settled here over the past two decades, drawn by abundant food sources such as palm fruit.

It is protected under the Wild Animals and Birds Act, which includes all species except domestic dogs and cats, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, domestic pigs, poultry and ducks. This means that Koels cannot be trapped, killed or kept without a licence.

Bird experts said they are drawn to residential areas as they are a brood parasite of the house crow, which frequents the same areas as a scavenger.

Koels lay their eggs in the crows' nests. The Koel population here is unknown, as no census has been carried out.

The calls by males of the species are territorial, said Mr Wing Chong, chairman of the Nature Society's Bird Group. Although they may call at any time of day, they stake their first territorial claims in the early morning.

Residents need to be more tolerant, said Dr Wee Yeow Chin of the Bird Ecology Study Group, as the Koels "are part and parcel of the nature in our Garden City".

The AVA said it is working with town councils to remove crows' nests and food sources, and prune trees, to discourage Koels from remaining in residential areas.

It added that "while we are aware that there are Singaporeans who have been inconvenienced... there are also others who enjoy the presence of such wildlife in our environment".

Dr Lena Chan, director of the National Biodiversity Centre, said that Singapore's transformation into a "City in a Garden" means nature can be "part of everyday life for all Singaporeans".

"The more we learn about our rich biodiversity, the more we grow to appreciate it," she said.

Read more!

Biodiversity in the Singapore story

Grace Chua Straits Times 8 Nov 12;

THE other day, as I stood drying my hands in a Botanic Gardens bathroom, I saw a crimson sunbird flitting about, not 3m from the roar of the hand-dryer.

The common bird is a scarlet, palm-length marvel, right there for the viewing for anyone with a little patience and a good set of eyes.

It's not the only surprise Singapore's biodiversity has in store.

As a tropical island, Singapore has an impressive list of species both resident and visitor - more than 300 bird species, 58 mammal and 68 freshwater fish species.

Its marine biodiversity is even richer. Singapore waters host a third of the world's hard coral species and more than 100 species of intertidal sponge.

Among the species found are some "fellow Singaporeans", such as the rare mangrove Bruguiera hainesii or berus mata buaya, the crocodile's eye in Malay; the Elysia singaporensis, a 3cm, leaf-shaped aquatic slug; and the Johora singaporensis, a highly endangered freshwater stream crab found nowhere else on Earth.

They live cheek by jowl with other introduced species that have decided to settle here and breed.

Some, like the green crested lizard, are pushed further into the forest by foreign competitors such as the changeable lizard.

Who knows what other species have been lost to development? Singapore's mangroves have shrunk from 6,400ha in 1953 to about 500ha today, and field biologists have seen old sites, such as Tanjong Gul in Tuas and Tanah Merah beach, turned into indus-trial areas and runways.

Still, its current diversity belies the line, often used by proponents of further development, that urbanised Singapore is a sterile place.

Arguably, biodiversity in a highly urbanised city-state is a balancing act.

Singapore has one of the world's busiest ports, but it is also carrying out its largest-scale audit of marine life yet to better understand what is out there and how best to protect it.

Why protect Singapore's wildlife, though?

I'd argue that the story of Singapore's biodiversity is really the story of Singapore the city.

Once upon a time, during an ice age, sea levels were much lower than they are today. Singapore the island was physically connected to the greater Asian land mass by a chunk of land called the Sunda shelf. Then, animals could cross from what is now Sumatra to what is now Borneo, or from today's Singapore to Malaysia.

Today, these countries share overlapping sets of land animals, testament that they were once a continuous land mass, just as languages, ethnicities and food dishes Singapore shares with its neighbours point to a common heritage.

Fast-forward a few millennia. Singapore the city has its own rhythms: the shipping port, the hawker centres, schools, offices, buses, trains. Singapore's ecosystems have their own: night, day, the tides, the seasonal bloom of durian flowers, the spawning of coral.

To see all these, one has to get out almost before dawn. Then, flocks of swifts wheel overhead, snapping up insects on the wing. Low tide can be in the middle of the night but is the best time to spot exposed shore life.

Sometimes, nature comes straight to you. Early one morning, I nearly tripped over a pangolin on a MacRitchie nature trail.

Those who study it are a different breed from the rest of us. National University of Singapore biologist Zeehan Jaafar spends her time staring at gobies, small fish the size of an ikan bilis - and they are all brown. As time goes by, she said, they do look different. One spot? Two spots? One stripe? Three?

"I think people like to study the big sexy things, but in terms of biomass, the small ones are very important," she said, referring to the sheer mass of living organisms.

There is a lesson here.

In an ecosystem, just as in a city, every species counts. Not just the big charismatic ones or the flashy pretty ones. The small brown ones are predators and prey for other, larger fish. They are what keep the ecosystem chugging along.

And no one knows what is there until someone bothers to look.

In the last few years, both public and private funding has gone to a comprehensive marine biodiversity survey, which has already revealed several species such as a fat, bumpy anemone that could be entirely new to science.

I may never have seen all of Singapore's organisms alive but it should be a point of national pride to know they are out there. Even the small brown ones.

Today, Singapore is building its first natural history museum in decades.

"It's not about dead specimens," said Professor Leo Tan, a biologist who was chairman of the National Parks Board and director of the Singapore Science Centre and is now helming fund-raising for the new Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.

"The dead animal tells me a lot about how they live, how they survive."

Other spaces can be living museums as well, Prof Tan said.

For example, the Labrador Nature Reserve holds the mainland's only remaining coral reef.

Without places like it, "your future generations will never appreciate how far we have come because they will never see what Raffles saw, what Singapore was when he landed", he said.

The story of Singapore's biodiversity, then, is a crucial part of Singapore's history.

"Biodiversity does not observe national boundaries," pointed out Dr Lena Chan, director of the National Biodiversity Centre at NParks.

So just as Singapore negotiates its place in international trade and other agreements, it is also a party to international conservation agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, and has helped come up with an index for cities to gauge how well they are protecting their nature.

Singapore's biodiversity is also clawing itself back. Seeds dropped on farms or kampungs cleared 30 years ago are now mature trees.

Now it must be managed, both to keep it thriving and to slow its approach as plenty of uses compete for the same space.

But where such natural spaces are available, both human and animal life can thrive. And it does so despite the odds, with the building of condominiums next to forest areas and the bustling ship traffic and refinery activity.

Prof Tan likes to tell of sea turtles hatching at East Coast Park several times in the last few years. Human volunteers shepherded them the right way, out to sea.

They may have swum around the world, and East Coast Park may be a flat patch of reclaimed land far too bright at night for their liking, but it makes no difference to them.

In 20 years, provided there is a beach to swim up on, when it comes time for these hawksbill turtles to lay their eggs, they will come home.

This is a Singaporean story indeed.

TREASURES IN OUR BACKYARD

PHOTOS: ST FILE, TROPICAL MARINE SCIENCE INSTITUTE, JEAN YONG, NUS, WILDSINGAPORE

CRIMSON SUNBIRD: In 2002, this eye-catching sunbird - which could be described as a little red dot and is native to Singapore - won a Nature Society competition for the title of Singapore's national bird.

CROCODILE'S EYE: In 2003, plant expert Jean Yong, then at the National Institute of Education, found one of these rare, slow-growing and highly endangered mangrove species in Pasir Ris. There are only 10 to 12 known specimens in Singapore of Bruguiera hainesii, also known as berus mata buaya, or crocodile's eye in Malay. Conservationists have started a nursery to grow this and other uncommon mangrove species.

A GOBY NICKNAMED ZEE: This goby fish, measuring about 2cm, may be entirely new to science. It was found during a Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey at the Lim Chu Kang mudflats last year and is now being studied by Dr Zeehan Jaafar of the National University of Singapore.

BILL THE ANEMONE: This bumpy anemone was also found in the mudflats of Lim Chu Kang during a biodiversity survey. It is new to science and does not have a scientific name yet.

GREEN CRESTED LIZARD: This bright-green lizard, which grows to half a metre long, was once commonly seen along roadsides and in shrubs. Males have a distinctive head crest. Today, it can still be seen in parks and gardens but its range is shrinking due to the more aggressive, non-native, changeable lizard. It is native to Singapore, Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia, the Philippines and other parts of South-east Asia.

Read more!