Common Kingfisher: Comfort and feeding behaviour
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Sharing about our shores with Shell
from wild shores of singapore
Read more!
Best of our wild blogs: 18 Jan 13
Read more!
MRT network size to double by 2030
80% of homes here will be within 10-minute walk of a station by then
Christopher Tan Straits Times 18 Jan 13;
SINGAPORE'S train network is set to double in size over the next 17 years, with two new lines and three extensions announced yesterday.
The slew of new projects means 80 per cent of households will be no more than 10 minutes' walk from a station by 2030, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.
They come on top of half a dozen others that are already in various stages of planning and construction.
The new projects will boost the size of the network to about 360km - the current size is 178km - and increase the proportion of households within a 10-minute walk of a station from the current 57 per cent. They are:
Cross Island Line, a 50km train line running from Changi in the east to Jurong industrial estate in the west.
In between, it will link towns and districts such as West Coast, Clementi, Bukit Timah, Sin Ming, Ang Mo Kio, Hougang and Pasir Ris. From Pasir Ris, it will have an offshoot that goes to Punggol - forming the first rail link between the two northern estates.
Jurong Region Line, a 20km H-shaped network targeted for completion by 2025.
It will link Choa Chu Kang, Tengah, Jurong East, West Coast, Boon Lay and Jurong West to the North-South and East-West lines. It is expected to have a stop at the Nanyang Technological University.
A 4km extension that will join the two southern ends of the orbital Circle Line, making it a complete circle by 2025.
A 2km extension of the North-East Line north of Punggol, to serve the future "new Punggol downtown" by 2030.
A 2km extension to link Downtown Line 3 to the future Eastern Region Line. When it is completed by 2025, commuters will be able to travel from Singapore Expo to Marine Parade in less than 10 minutes.
Planners are also considering building a new station on the North-South Line between Yishun and Sembawang stations to serve future mixed developments there. Speaking during a visit to Downtown Line 1's Chinatown station yesterday, Mr Lui said the denser network will not only give commuters better connectivity but will also create "a more resilient network that can better mitigate disruptions".
This means that if there is an incident on one line, commuters can switch to another fairly easily to continue their journey.
The minister said it will also allow parts of the network to be closed for extended periods for improvement works.
Asked if the timing of his announcement was in any way linked to the Punggol by-election, he said: "No, no, we've been planning to announce these for some time now. In any case, the new lines are not quite at the Punggol East SMC (single-member constituency). They will benefit everybody in Singapore."
Although no details of the cost were available as engineering studies have not started, observers estimate that the cost of the new lines - totalling 78km in length - could come to between $70 billion and $100 billion.
Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport chairman Cedric Foo said: "Some commuters will say that the completion date is not ambitious enough.
"But in adding some 180km of rail, there are many second-order effects that the Government needs to balance against. Some of which are disruptions, more foreign workers, the capacity of contractors and sub-contractors, demand for materials" and so on.
Mr Lui said the expanded network "will have more than the capacity needed to meet the expected increase in public transport ridership in the next two decades".
He added: "On the other hand, our response cannot always be to build more lines... we need to find other options, such as a more aggressive decentralisation strategy so that there is a better geographical balance of jobs and people."
He was referring to a plan spelt out as early as the 1980s to create regional centres such as Tampines and Jurong East to bring jobs closer to where people lived. One benefit is shorter, fewer commutes.
Cross Island Line is most ambitious yet
It could be first in Singapore to have trains with more than six carriages
Christopher Tan Straits Times 18 Jan 13;
SINGAPORE is embarking on its most ambitious MRT project yet: the 50km Cross Island Line (CRL), expected to be ready by 2030.
While it is not the longest line here - that is the 57km East-West Line - it could be the first in Singapore to have trains with more than six carriages.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) would not confirm this, merely saying that the CRL will be "a heavy-load system".
Currently the East-West, North-South and North-East lines have six-car trains while the others have three- or four-car trains. In other countries, eight- and 10-car trains are common.
The CRL will also pass through densely built up areas such as Sin Ming, Ang Mo Kio, Hougang and Clementi.
This will pose engineering challenges and raise the possibility of property acquisitions, thus lifting the overall cost.
Mr Chong Kee Sen, vice-president of the Institution of Engineers, Singapore, said: "It really depends on the exact alignment, but if you're going through densely occupied areas, some acquisition may be unavoidable."
But construction methods might improve in the next few years to facilitate things not feasible now, he added.
The CRL will also cut through the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Central Catchment Area.
Observers said provisions must be made to minimise the environmental impact of construction.
Mr Rajan Krishnan, chief executive of engineering firm Kok Thong Holdings and former head of rail projects at the LTA, said it is not hard to ensure the plan will be sound environmentally. But he admits that a higher-capacity system and one that passes through dense developments can have cost implications.
"The first thing that struck me was that there are going to be a lot of projects going on between 2016 and 2018.
"That will exert a huge demand on resources and that will have an impact on cost."
He would not hazard a guess as to how much the line would cost, but said it will not be less than the Thomson Line, a four-car system that costs $600 million per km.
Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport chairman Cedric Foo said: "In a small island state, upgrading public transport is a strategic imperative and not a choice.
"Singaporeans should support it by bearing with the short-term inconveniences that come with such an ambitious project."
National University of Singapore's transport economist Anthony Chin added: "As we position ourselves as a liveable city competing for high-value jobs, the implications on land use will be tremendous. And we can't afford to build many more roads."
Commuter benefits will be significant. The line will have a fork that goes from Pasir Ris to Punggol - the first rail link between the two north-eastern towns.
Residents will be able to travel from one to the other in 10 to 15 minutes, compared with a 40-minute bus ride today.
This, according to the LTA, will form the first leg of yet another possible line: a so-called Northshore line to link up to Woodlands.
Punggol resident Noriezah Idris, 39, a logistics worker at Zuellig Pharma in Changi North, said: "It will be much more convenient for me in the future. Currently, I have to take two bus transfers to get to work."
The CRL will have interchanges at all existing radial lines so it will relieve loads on these systems - in particular the North-East and East-West lines.
But National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der-Horng said: "It is simply too far away for us to long for since we are talking about 17 years from now, if there is no delay.
"It'd be great if it can be expedited."
New Jurong rail line was mooted a decade ago
Jermyn Chow And Christopher Tan Straits Times 18 Jan 13;
THE new rail line linking up the Jurong area that will be ready by 2025 was mooted more than 10 years ago.
The Jurong Region Line was was actually first announced in 2001 by then Communications and Information Technology Minister Yeo Cheow Tong.
But the light rail system, which would have linked the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to the East-West MRT Line's Boon Lay station and been called the Jurong Region LRT Line, was never built.
Transport observers said that low ridership then did not make an additional rail line in an area that is dotted with factories and prawn ponds feasible.
But today, western Singapore is buzzing with activity, with the new Jurong Gateway set to become a major commercial hub.
So a new 20km rail line will provide better connectivity for commuters who live, study and work within the area, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew yesterday.
They include NTU students and workers in Jurong Industrial Estate and Jurong Island.
Commuters can also bypass the Jurong East MRT interchange, which has become a choke point for commuters who have to switch to trains on the East-West Line to get to the city centre.
Mr Lui said the new line "will not only shorten their travel times, but also redistribute ridership" out of Jurong East station.
Better late than never, said Bukit Gombak resident Manoj Kumar, who has to jostle for space in a train every morning at the Jurong East MRT interchange to get to his Raffles Place workplace.
"It should have come earlier... it is madness trying to squeeze with everyone else to get on the trains," said the 42-year-old equity broker.
Jurong GRC MP Ang Wei Neng said he has heard similar complaints from other residents who say the road network and bus services in the area leave much to be desired.
With upcoming launches of new shopping malls, a hotel and offices in the Jurong area, Mr Ang welcomed the latest decision to build the Jurong Region Line.
And although the line will only be ready by 2025, Mr Ang said residents can look forward to more improvements to be made to bus services.
"We have to build in advance, not just for today's requirements," he said.
Singapore to have two new MRT lines by 2030
Hetty Musfirah Channel NewsAsia 17 Jan 13;
SINGAPORE: Singapore will have two new MRT lines, while three existing lines will be extended. These will double the rail network stretch to 360 kilometres, compared with the current 178 kilometres.
By then, eight in 10 households will have a train station within a 10-minute walk, compared with about six in 10 currently.
These plans for the rail network followed a review of the Land Transport Master Plan by the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew announced the new developments when he visited Chinatown Station of the Downtown Line on Thursday.
The new lines are the Cross Island Line (CRL) and Jurong Region Line (JRL).
The CRL will run from Jurong Industrial Estate and pass through areas such as West Coast, Bukit Timah, Ang Mo Kio, Punggol and Pasir Ris before ending in Changi. The 50-kilometre line, which is expected to be completed by 2030, will be connected to all existing lines.
It is expected to relieve the load of the existing East-West and North-East lines and shorten journey times significantly.
Mr Lui said: "The eastern leg of the CRL will also include a segment that extends into the centre of Punggol. Residents in Punggol will be able to take a short cut to Pasir Ris, which is a popular and much demanded travel route, in only 10 to 15 minutes, compared to a 40 minute bus journey that they experience today."
The other new line -- Jurong Region Line -- will be completed in 2025. The 20-kilometre line will pass through areas such as Jurong West, Jurong Industrial District, West Coast, Choa Chu Kang and potential new developments in Tengah.
Those travelling from the North to Jurong, like students of Nanyang Technological University, can skip Jurong East Station on the East-West Line.
The LTA will conduct environmental impact and engineering studies to decide on the final alignment, the number of stations and the type of systems that will run on the new lines.
Separately, three existing lines -- the Circle Line (CCL), Downtown Line (DTL) and North-East Line (NEL) -- will be extended.
The CCL will be four kilometres longer -- to close the link between HarbourFront and Marina Bay stations and save commuters the hassle of making multiple transfers. The extension, which will also pass through Keppel, is expected to be completed by 2025.
The DTL will be two kilometres longer by 2025 -- to run through the East Coast area. It will be connected to the East West Line and the Eastern Region Line, which will be ready by 2020, so that commuters can transfer between the Downtown Line and Eastern Region Line in the east.
As for the NEL, two kilometres will be added by 2030 -- in tandem with new developments in Punggol -- to serve Punggol North, including the new Punggol Downtown.
The LTA is also exploring the possibility of an additional station between Sembawang and Yishun stations on the North-South Line, in anticipation of future developments in the area.
Mr Lui said all these changes promise not just faster and more convenient travel.
He said: "We will also have a more resilient network that can better mitigate disruptions in our MRT system and also allow us to shut down parts of the network for longer durations to carry out improvement works without causing too much inconvenience to commuters."
Mr Lui said the vision for Land Transport in the coming years is to have better connectivity and service to support an inclusive, liveable community.
He said the government will invest heavily to achieve this and provide a much better travel experience for Singaporeans.
He assured Singaporeans will feel a marked difference when new rail lines and new trains come into operation
-CNA/ac/fa
Related links
Love our MacRitchie Forest: walks, talks and petition. Also on facebook.
Read more!
Does Jakarta Really Have a 5-Year Flood Cycle?
Ronna Nirmala & Lenny Tristia Tambun Jakarta Globe 14 Jan 13;
The claim that Jakarta’s floods follow a five-year cycle has been a persistent one, perpetuated by people ranging from occupants of high public office to bakso sellers plying their trade on the streets of the city.
Major floods in 2002 and 2007 prompted fears that either last year or this one would herald particularly nasty wet seasons, but now an academic at the Netherlands’ Utrecht University has debunked the claim as a myth.
“The probability of flooding occurring each year [in Jakarta] is 20 percent,” post-doctoral student Edwin Husni Sutanudjaja explained. He added that the so-called five-year cycle “is actually a bad interpretation ... of this statistic: flooding does not occur every five years, but every year, with a different quantity.”
Edwin said the city must conduct routine dredging to reduce the sediment of rivers running through Jakarta.
“Dredging needs to be done routinely each year; not just when the sediment is visible [above the water level],” he said.
Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo on Saturday instructed the city’s public works office to conduct dredging along the Kali Muara River in Penjaringan, North Jakarta, to save the local fishing community, which is hit by flooding annually.
Joko said he found many problems associated with the annual floods after visiting the area, and formulated plans to alleviate the problem.
“Starting with the overflow of streets, they should be raised by another 40 centimeters,” Joko said. “The Kali Muara must also be dredged, its sediments reduced so [fishing] boats can dock [in the river].”
Joko also noted problems with the area’s drainage system, which seems to not work during the flood season.
“So there are many problems. These problems are affecting their daily lives and must be solved,” he said. “These are [temporary] solutions, but to overcome the problems [in the long term] there must be a grand design. There must be other efforts.”
Jakarta has been hit with days of heavy rains sweeping across the area. The rain has caused water in some areas to overflow their drainage systems, creating crippling traffic in other parts of the capital.
The Jakarta public works agency also noted that the rain and overflow have damaged roads in more than 6,400 locations covering 2.7 kilometers in length.
The agency’s head of road and bridge maintenance, Maman Suparman, said his team has been collecting data of the severity of the damage the roads sustained including for the so-called “national roads.”
National roads are major streets or highways constructed and maintained by the Ministry of Public Roads.
Maman said that is would be useless to fix the roads during the rainy season.
“If it’s raining the asphalt won’t dry,” he explained. “Or the roads will get holes in them again if vehicles pass over the repaired areas.”
Among those people to previously voice the five-year claim was Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Agung Laksono, who in December told the Jakarta government to be vigilant of the cycle and take preventive measures.
“We hope the city can act quickly,” he said. “Bad weather and high-intensity rain is part of a five-year cycle and it is predicted that January or February will be marked by continuous heavy rains.”
Floods paralyze Indonesian capital, heavy rains continue
Fergus Jensen and Rieka Rahadiana PlanetArk 18 Jan 13;
Floods paralyze Indonesian capital, heavy rains continue
Heavy monsoon rain triggered severe flooding in large swathes of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on Thursday, bringing the city to a halt with many government offices and businesses forced to close because staff could not get to work.
At least 20,000 people were forced from their homes in the capital and weather officials warned the rain could get worse over the next few days.
"Rain will continue to fall in the greater Jakarta area ... the potential for flooding remains," a spokesman for the Meteorology Climatology Meteorology and Geophysics Agency told Reuters. He said rain was expected to remain heavy in mountains above Jakarta, often the source of floodwater.
Four people were reported to have been killed, according to the National Disaster Prevention Agency, which urged residents to stay at home to reduce traffic congestion on blocked roads.
Torrential rain was reported across much of the country, including the main island of Java and heavily agricultural area of southern Sumatra.
However, officials said there had been no reports of any serious damage to key crops such as rice, sugar and palm oil.
An estimated more than 175 mm (7 inches) of rain fell in one part of west Jakarta between 7 a.m. and midday.
"In 30 years of my life here it has never flooded, ever. This is the very first time," said Ninuk, 30, a resident of central Jakarta.
Floods even forced the country's anti-corruption agency to move some of its most prominent prison inmates, including a former deputy head of the central bank, to a notorious women's prison, Pondok Bambu, in east Jakarta, a spokesman said
The flooding will put pressure on the capital's popular new governor, Joko Widodo, who came to office last October with promises to work to fix a huge array of basic infrastructure problems that bedevil the city of about 10 million people.
"The government has to do something to prevent floods ... If it needs to build stronger dykes, then build them," said Syaiful Bakhri, a taxi driver whose car was stuck in the flood.
In the centre of Jakarta, where streets are jammed at the best of times, long lines of idled cars waited for waist-deep water to recede. An inflatable dinghy provided by emergency services ferried people to safety across water dividing the heart of the city.
The city's main airport was open but many roads leading to it were reportedly blocked. Most commuter trains and buses were suspended.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange did open but trading was light.
Flooding was even reported at the presidential palace, forcing the postponement of a meeting between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his visiting Argentine counterpart, Cristina Fernandez.
(Additional reporting by Michael Taylor and Janeman Latul; Writing by Jonathan Thatcher; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Read more!
Spare mature tress in Dover Crescent
Straits Times Forum 10 Jan 13;
I LIVE in Dover Crescent. Over the past few days, some mature trees along that road have been felled and saplings planted in their place.
I do not understand the logic of this. For many years, the mature trees have been providing shady relief on sunny days; these young saplings can provide none.
Some residents have stuck notices on the remaining trees, with the plaintive message: "Please do not cut me down."
I hope the authorities will heed this plea.
Also, I have observed that trees that provide good shade in several housing estates have often been over-pruned by chainsaw-wielding workers.
It seems that after nearly 50 years of tree-planting and calling ourselves a garden city, we still have not found a better way of managing and caring for our trees.
Wong Shin Hoe
Dover Crescent trees removed due to decay
Straits Times 17 Jan 13;
WE THANK Mr Wong Shin Hoe for his feedback ("Spare mature trees in Dover Crescent"; last Thursday).
To ensure public safety, we are removing tree species that are storm-vulnerable, and replacing them with hardier ones.
The trees that were removed in Dover Crescent were Andira inermis, which was observed over the years to be a storm-vulnerable species.
We tried to keep those in Dover Crescent for as long as possible, but they recently showed signs of decay and had to be removed.
Before doing so, we planted more than 60 Tembusu Tikus (Pteleocarpa lamponga) trees, which are less prone to damage during storms. Tembusu Tikus is a medium-sized native tree that produces attractive bright yellow flowers.
The mature trees on the other side of Dover Crescent are of a different species. They are less storm-vulnerable and are in good condition. They will continue to provide greenery and shade.
Oh Cheow Sheng
Director, Streetscape
National Parks Board
Read more!
Malaysia: Perak to gazette 19,000ha forest
New Straits Times 16 Jan 13;
WILDLIFE SANCTUARY: One of four states is involved in Federal Govt's Central Forest Spine project
SOME 19,000ha of the Lower Belum Forest along the Grik-Jeli Highway will be gazetted as a permanent forest reserve under the Federal Government's Central Forest Spine project.
Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the area was a productive forest located within the Belum-Temenggor complex near the Grik-Jeli Highway.
He said Perak was one of the states involved in the CFS project, which would link up four major forest complexes in Peninsular Malaysia to create one contiguous forested wildlife sanctuary.
"The move shows how serious the state government is about preserving the environment and green lung of Perak. This is a huge sacrifice because the area involved is a productive forest for timber production. This long-term investment will benefit future generations," he said here yesterday.
Zambry said some groups had been urging the state government to gazette more areas in Temenggor, adding that a study needed to be done to ensure the timber industry was not affected.
The CFS is a master plan to enable the animal and plant species in the country to continue to thrive for future generations.
Under the plan, the forest complexes will be connected through a network of 37 linkages to form a 5.3 million ha of forest complex. This area would allow animals to roam freely from north to south of the peninsula.
The four forest complexes are Titiwangsa-Bintang-Nakawan Range; National Park to Eastern Range; Southeast Pahang Swamp Forest, Tasik Chini and Tasik Bera; and Endau Rompin National Park-Kluang Wildlife Reserve.
Earlier, Zambry witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the state government and Pulau Banding Foundation to promote sustainable development of the rainforest ecosystem of the Belum-Temenggor rainforest.
Zambry: 19,000ha along East-West Highway in Perak to be permanently gazetted
The Star 16 Jan 13;
IPOH: A total of 19,000ha of land along the East-West Highway in Perak are to be gazetted as a permanent forest reserve.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said the move was in line with the Federal Government's Central Forest Spine initiative for a contiguous network of forests in the backbone of the peninsula.
Dr Zambry said it was important for animals, especially elephants that have been moving between the lower Belum and upper Belum forests, to roam freely along the route.
The area, which is along the Grik-Jeli stretch, is now a production forest, where logging is allowed.
“We will gazette the area soon. Once gazetted, no logging will be allowed in the area (which comprises forests on both sides of the highway),” he said after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the state government and Pulau Banding Foundation at his office here yesterday.
State Secretary Datuk Abdul Puhat Mat Nayan signed for the state government while the foundation was represented by its chairman, Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Mohamad.
Foundations adviser Tan Sri Mus-tapha Kamal Abu Bakar said the MoU was for the foundation to manage and coordinate research at the Belum-Temenggor Rainforest.
He said this would allow both local and internationally renowned universities and research institutions to carry out scientific research on flora and fauna at the rainforest.
State govt plan to gazette 19,000ha along highway highly commendable
The Star 22 Jan 13;
THE Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) welcomes the Perak state government’s recent announcement to protect via gazetting, 19,000ha of forest along the East-West Highway.
This commitment signifies a willingness on the part of the state to contribute to the long-term conservation initiative led by the Federal Government and positively supporting the implementation of our national policies, such as the National Physical Plan (NPP) and National Biodiversity Policy.
Nevertheless, having campaigned to protect the whole Belum-Temengor forest complex since 1993, the MNS has in recent years, been concerned also with the forest flanking the East-West Highway which basically and geographically separates the now Royal Belum State Park and the Temengor Forest Reserve.
The viability and integrity of the forest complex in its entirety (Royal Belum State Park plus Temengor Forest Reserve) will be lost if this forest is allowed to be logged or degraded.
Change of land use in this 19,000ha and Temengor Forest Reserve, especially through ongoing logging activities and the introduction of monoculture will have adverse effect on threatened and endangered biodiversity as well as jeopardise the water supply and hydropower especially the catchment for Temengor Dam and the other series of dams along Sg Perak.
MNS was been involved actively in the process leading towards the Belum Temengor Integrated Management Plan (BT IMP) which is a site specific strategic plan for the development of the area. This plan is yet to be adopted by the state.
MNS reiterates its stand that the state and nation can generate revenue especially through developing nature tourism attractions and promoting scientific research and environmental education within this, the oldest rainforest in the world.
MNS stands committed and unwavering in its pursuit of further commitments to our original and consistent call for Temengor Forest Reserve to be accorded the protection it deserves.
The organisation will soon embark on a new campaign to advocate the conservation of the Belum-Temengor area as an Important Bird Area (IBA) as well as a Trans-Boundary Protected Area established linking the Royal Belum State Park and the Temengor Forest Reserve (in Malaysia) to the Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary and Bang Lang National Park (in Thailand).
All these areas are globally recognised IBAs.
PROF DR MAKETAB MOHAMED
President, MNS
Read more!
Malaysia: Penang artificial island project 'not viable'
MNS: RM75bil project not viable
The Star 16 Jan 13;
GEORGE TOWN: A RM75bil mixed development project proposed in Balik Pulau is too expensive and not viable, says the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS).
MNS Penang branch adviser D. Kanda Kumar said it would be cheaper and more viable for a project of such scale to be developed on the mainland.
“It is expensive to build such a development on the sea. Why is there a need to spend so much money?
“The other concern is how to divert the traffic. The road system to Balik Pulau is poor.
“Another road will have to be built to contain the traffic and this will involve taxpayers’ money,” he said yesterday, while commenting on the project.
Kanda Kumar said he was present, along with representatives from several other non-governmental organisations, at a presentation of the project’s concept by its consultant late last year.
“However, there was no commitment from MNS due to a lack of details about the proposed project. We, however, highlighted our concerns,” he said.
An English daily reported on Monday that the proposed 2,833ha development comprises electrical and electronics, oil and gas industries, tank farming, government administration offices, schools, hotels, residential areas, parks – all to be built on stilts – and an artificial beach.
It quoted the proposal document titled “Proposed creation of offshore concrete structures for industrial development on the west coast of Penang island” submitted by Al Cube Sdn Bhd, the local vehicle for a Malaysia-Hong Kong joint venture.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who had declared on Monday that the state government had not considered the project, said yesterday that the state would now not consider the matter at all even if it had approval or endorsement from non-governmental organisations.
Fishermen’s RM75bil worry
Hafiz Marzukhi and Christina China The Star 16 Jan 13;
BALIK PULAU: Fishermen in Kuala Sungai Pinang are still worried over a proposed RM75bil mixed development project which, if implemented, could affect their livelihoods.
Most of them were shocked over the plans for the 2,833ha project on stilts, involving factories for electrical, electronics, oil and gas and tank farming industries, schools, hotels, residential areas, parks and an artificial beach.
Although the state government had said the project would not be considered, locals are apprehensive because of the conflicting statements made by the authorities.
According to news reports, State Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh had said the state was aware of the project.
However, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the project “did not exist”.
Former Kuala Sungai Pinang Area Fisherman Association unit leader Sazali Abdul Rahman, 55, said he was worried the mega project could cause fish species to dwindle and affect the livelihoods of 500 people who depended on fishing in the area.
“While such a mega project may attract foreign investors, what benefit will it bring to local villagers?”
“The authorities and the project consultants should have asked the views of local fishermen,” he said.
Phee said yesterday that he knew about the project proposal only because the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) wrote to him about its concerns late last year.
“I had no access to any official document in my capacity as state exco member, so there is no contradiction with Lim's denial of the project's existence.”
According to a report in an English daily, project consultant Dr Nik Zamri Majid said the project's Hong Kong investors had instructed him to scrap the plan.
He said mass media attention towards the project had had a negative effect on the investors' reputation.
Dr Nik Zamri said he had been told to look at other locations in Thailand and Myanmar instead for the mega project.
Meanwhile, Penang Barisan Nasional secretary Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya urged the state government to preserve the island's “last remaining green lung”.
Dr Hilmi, who is also Balik Pulau Umno chief and Teluk Bahang assemblyman, said he only found out about the proposed project through an online news portal on Tuesday.
“I knew nothing of the massive development plan. I was surprised when I read about it because Balik Pulau cannot sustain such a huge project.
“When Barisan was in power, it was a policy to keep Balik Pulau as a green lung. Hopefully, this will continue,” the former deputy chief minister said.
Pulau Betong assemblyman Muhammad Farid Saad said the project was not viable as it might have adverse effects on the environment.
CM: RM75b project does not exist
Looi Sue-Chern New Straits Times 15 Jan 13;
COUNTER-CLAIMS: Confusion over project in Balik Pulau
GEORGE TOWN: A PROPOSED RM75 billion mixed-development project in Balik Pulau, which was revealed in an English's daily's report, "simply does not exist", Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said yesterday.
Lim said he was "surprised" at the scale of the project.
"It was not even considered or evaluated by the state government and no approval had been given. The state would only consider it if we get Federal Government approval," he said.
Lim's statement was in contrast to that of Penang Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh, who was quoted in the daily as saying that the state was aware of the project.
Lim said the state had no issues about the project's consultant approaching environmental non-governmental organisations to get their endorsement.
However, he said the state would still reserve the right to make its own decision on the project, even if the development had approval from the Federal Government or the endorsement of NGOs.
Phee could not be reached yesterday for comments.
When contacted, project consultant Dr Nik Zamri Majid responded with a laugh when asked to comment about Lim saying that the project was non-existent.
"The project is still in the proposal stage but the proposal was presented to the state government, and we met with Lim, his deputy Datuk Mansor Othman and state officials last year," he said.
"Before the daily published the news about this project yesterday, only related federal and state government departments, like the state Economic Planning Unit and Environmental Department in Putrajaya, and some NGOs were in the know."
"I have no idea who leaked the information to the reporter," he said, adding that even the local elected representatives in Balik Pulau had not been approached by the company about the project.
The Malay Mail yesterday reported that the Penang government was presented with a 22-page proposal in October by Malaysian-Hong Kong joint venture company Al Cube Sdn Bhd for an offshore concrete industrial development on the west coast of the island, just 5.5km from the shore near Kuala Sungai Pinang in Balik Pulau.
The project, which reportedly has Hong Kong investors backing it, covers 2,833ha and will cost an estimated RM75 billion.
Were they keeping it under wraps?
Marina Emmannuel New Straits Times 16 Jan 13;
THE mind boggles how a proposed mixed development mega-project tagged at RM75 billion in Balik Pulau has remained a mystery to the public and then gets scrapped soon as details are leaked out.
On Monday, the Malay Mail revealed the "Proposed Creation of Offshore Concrete Structures For Industrial Development on the West Coast of Penang Island" was detailed in a 22-page document bearing the state government logo.
The front page of the English tabloid screamed "Penang's Mystery Mega Project" and a whole page inside the paper details how its developers, Al Cube Sdn Bhd, a local vehicle set up by a Malaysia-Hong Kong joint venture company, intends to site the project about 5.5km from the shore near Kuala Sungai Pinang.
Ambitious plans such as siting industries, hotels and homes on three inter-connected decks were highlighted for the proposed project which was meant to be built on steel stilts.
State Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh even went on record as saying that the state authorities were aware of the project and "are reviewing it based on complaints".
"It is important that stakeholders are not affected by it," Phee was reported to have said.
What reporters following up on the story were unable to reconcile with, was the fact that Chief Minister Lim Guan the following day chose to distance himself from the issue by stating that the project "simply does not exist".
He went on to question why "certain parties" were attempting to "smear" the state government's name. Compounding matters was project consultant Dr Nik Zamri Majid, who told the New Straits Times that a team of experts led by a Universiti Sains Malaysia academician would begin conducting an environmental impact assessment as early as next week.
He singled out representatives from the state government and also the Federal authorities, who were aware of the proposed project, but conceded that the company had yet to approach the elected representatives in Balik Pulau (Teluk Bahang, Pulau Betong and Bayan Lepas state consituencies fall under the parliamentary seat of Balik Pulau).
Balik Pulau is home to 50,000 people, of whom, 39,765 are voters.
To keep something as major as a big-ticket project -- which is bound to affect the lives of many in the area -- under wraps, smacks of arrogance and disregarding public interest or transparency.
DAP insiders, who are usually clued-in to major projects planned for Penang, have claimed ignorance of the issue and even stated that they were not even sure if the project had been discussed during any state executive assembly meeting.
Read more!
India: Hundreds of dead Olive Ridley turtles washed ashore
Hrusikesh Mohanty Times of India 16 Jan 13;
Berhampur: Around 150 carcasses of Olive Ridley turtles have been washed ashore near the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district, a major mass nesting site of the endangered species, in the last one month. Forest officials found at least eight dead turtles on Monday.
"Most of the carcasses were found in decomposed state. We suspected these were washed ashore to Ganjam coast from Astaranga area in Puri district, where a number of turtles were found dead recently," said divisional forest officer, (DFO) Berhampur, S S Mishra.
Wildlife activists, however, said the number of carcasses washed ashore was much more than the officials' claim. "Strict patrolling is needed to protect the marine creatures. Wanton fishing by trawlers is one of the main reasons behind the death of the turtles," said Biswajit Mohanty, a wildlife activist.
He said over 4,000 carcasses were washed ashore off Odisha cost in the last one month. Majority of them were found between Astaranga and Konark in Puri district. "We have been seeking speed boat patrolling for the last several years. But our demands have fallen into deaf ears, and fishing boats have been used in stead," Mohanty, who is also the coordinator of Operation Kachhapa, an organization working towards protection of the rare turtles since 1998, said.
Forest officials denied there was any lapse in surveillance on the sea shore. "Since several pairs of Olive Ridley turtles have been spotted mating, surveillance measures have been tightened in the coastal areas in order to provide them with congenial atmosphere," a forest official said.
Forest personnel and local volunteers guard the mating turtles in the Bay of Bengal, while Coast Guards look after their safety. The government also imposes a ban on marine fishing within five to 10 km area from the sea shore over 170-km coast in the state from November 1 to May 31 every year to protect the turtles.
Millions of Olive Ridley turtles come ashore in between Kantiagada and Gokaharakuda beach near Rushikulya mouth during the last week of February for mass nesting every year. It is considered the second major mass nesting site for the turtles after Gahiramatha in Kendrapara district. Besides Gahiramatha and Rushikulya mouth, Devi river mouth in Puri district is another place for the mass nesting of the turtles.
Read more!
Iconic Beach Resorts May Not Survive Sea Level Rises
Science Daily 16 Jan 13;
A leading coastal scientist has warned that some of the world's best known beach resorts may not survive projected sea level rises and that problems caused by changing sea levels are compounded by a lack of political will and short-term coastal management initiatives.
Professor Andrew Cooper, Professor of Coastal Studies in the School of Environmental Sciences at the university's Coleraine campus, said a rise in sea level of even a few feet could threaten some of the world's most iconic resorts.
Professor Cooper has investigated and reported on the world's coasts in a research and teaching career that has taken him to more than 50 countries on six continents over the past quarter century. He co-authored the book "The World's Beaches: a global guide to the science of the shoreline" last year.
The Coleraine-based academic said that while the most pervasive driver of coastal change at present is global sea level rise, rising sea levels alone do not necessarily threaten beaches -- the problem arises when beaches are artificially hemmed in and not given room to move.
"Beaches have survived 120 m of sea level rise over the last ten thousand years. Problems only arise if we don't give beaches room to move and to adjust to the changing sea level," he said.
Professor Cooper explained: "A key attractor in most of the world's examples of coastal resort cities has been the presence of an adjacent beach. Some well-known examples are Benidorm, Torremolinos, (Spain), Cannes (France), West Palm Beach, Florida, Atlantic City, New Jersey (USA), Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (USA), Virginia Beach, Virginia (USA), Cancun (Mexico) and the most rapidly developed of all coastal resort cities, Dubai (United Arab Emirates). In all of these resorts the challenge is to preserve the real estate behind the beach and still save the beaches, which are being pushed landwards by rising sea level.
"All around the world, people are responding to the threat of rising sea level by building concrete walls to protect valuable beachfront property. When sea level rises, the beach wants to move, generally further landward, but the wall stops it so eventually, the beach gets squeezed out. When the rising water reaches this protective wall, as it inevitably does, the beach is drowned."
He continued: "Coastal defences built to protect valuable developments along shoreline are stopping beaches from moving landward which is where they want to go. That's really the Achilles heel of coastal resorts as beaches must be allowed to 'move'."
Beach replenishment or nourishment is sometimes seen as panacea for disappearing beaches but, according to Professor Cooper, this is not a solution either.
"There are a lot of issues with beach nourishment -- not least the cost -- but beach nourishment would not be needed if developments were properly planned in the first place to give beaches room to move. Maintaining resort beaches by nourishment is a major challenge with rising sea level.
Professor Cooper recently published the results of a study along Australia's Gold Coast to assess adaption options for coastal resort cities. The study, believed to be the first of its kind to specifically assess adaptation options for coastal resorts, could become a blueprint for other resorts around the world.
"On developed coasts, human activities dominate over natural processes in shaping the coastline. Beach resort cities are mostly artificial creations on the shoreline that rely on beach nourishment to sustain them and on their reputation for a clean and safe environment. To maintain this during rapid sea level rise will be near impossible. To hold beaches stationary while sea level rise is pushing them landwards will require a massive increase in the amount of sand being pumped onto beaches.
"Our study of resorts along the Gold Coast of Australia suggests that with advance planning, we might just cope with a 1metre sea level rise but not even careful planning beforehand could enable resorts to survive more than that.
"The problems are the volume of additional sand required to hold the beach in place and the engineering requirements for protection of low-lying developments and infrastructure. These problems are compounded by a lack of political will to adapt, uncertainty regarding how much sea level will rise, short-term coastal management initiatives, and the climate change skeptics."
Read more!
Best of our wild blogs: 16 Jan 13
Random Gallery - Scarce Silverstreak
from Butterflies of Singapore
Singapore sponges and Henry Carter
from wild shores of singapore
By The Water: GARS clinics along Lower Seletar, 2013
from Gamefish And Aquatic Rehabiliation Society
Read more!
Thai ivory ban needed to save elephants
WWF 15 Jan 13;
Massive quantities of African ivory are being laundered through shops in Thailand and fuelling the elephant poaching crisis, conservation group WWF says. The organization today is launching a global petition asking Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to ban all ivory trade in Thailand in order to curb the illegal killing of African elephants.
Although it is against the law to sell ivory from African elephants in Thailand, ivory from domestic Thai elephants can be sold legally. Criminal networks are exploiting this legal loophole and flooding Thai shops with blood ivory from Africa.
“Existing laws are not effective at keeping illegal African ivory out of the Thai market. The only way to prevent Thailand from contributing to elephant poaching is to ban all ivory sales,” said Janpai Ongsiriwittaya, campaign leader in WWF-Thailand. “Today the biggest victims are African elephants, but Thailand’s elephants could be next. Ms Shinawatra can help put an end to the killing, and I believe Thai citizens will support greater protection for these iconic animals.”
Poaching is at record levels in Africa with tens of thousands of elephants being slaughtered each year for their ivory tusks. Trade data released last month shows that international ivory trafficking has reached its highest ever recorded rate. Thailand is the biggest unregulated ivory market in the world and a top driver of poaching and illegal trade.
“Thailand’s legal allowance of trade in ivory tusks from domesticated Asian elephants is exploited to market African elephant ivory as worked products through hundreds of retail outlets,” according to the 2012 report of the Elephant Trade Information System.
“Many foreign tourists would be horrified to learn that ivory trinkets on display next to silks in Thai shops may come from elephants massacred in Africa. It is illegal to bring ivory back home and it should no longer be on sale in Thailand,” said Elisabeth McLellan, manager of WWF’s Global Species Programme.
In March, representatives from 176 governments will meet in Bangkok to discuss global wildlife trade issues, including rampant elephant poaching in Africa. WWF is calling on Ms Shinawatra to use the opportunity to announce her country’s commitment to banning ivory trade in Thailand.
Read more!
Indonesia: Sumatran elephant deaths on the rise
Antara 15 Jan 13;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has reported that an increasing number of Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) are dying every year, due to which their population has plunged to the lowest levels since the 1980s.
Citing WWF data, the Program Coordinator of Tiger and Elephant Species of WWF in Indonesia, Sunarto, said here on Tuesday that the elephant population had declined from 1,342 in 1985 to 210 in 2007.
"People think that the elephant is their enemy. One of the websites of a palm oil plantation had put elephants in the same category as caterpillars and other pests," he added.
WWF reported 27 cases of elephant deaths last year, comprising 15 in Riau (eastern Sumatra) and 12 in Aceh (northern Sumatra).
"The elephants` habitat has declined over the years. Therefore, only a few of them are left in what remains of the deep forests of Sumatra," Sunarto explained.
"The decline is mainly due to palm oil plantation companies that are increasingly encroaching upon the elephants` habitat. And elephants feed on young palm trees," he continued.
"Therefore, the animal has become an enemy of the palm oil industry and the plantation people do everything - from shooing them away by bursting firecrackers to even using poison - to keep the elephants away," Sunarto said.
He noted that the conflict between elephants and palm oil businessmen was not a recent development but was becoming worse over time as forest land was getting increasingly exploited for palm oil farming.
"The WWF has also reported about the systematic illegal hunting of elephants, which has led to an increasing number of elephant deaths in the region," Sunarto pointed out.
"We have also found evidence. Many elephants have been found dead with their tusks cut off and missing," he added.
(T.A060/INE/KR-BSR/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Read more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
visitors since Nov 07