Climate change limits turtle's nests

James Cook University Science Alert 28 Jan 13;

A global map predicting where sea turtle nesting sites occur throughout the world has been developed by a James Cook University researcher, to help define where they lay their eggs and to help better protect their habitats.

Dr David Pike, from JCU’s School of Marine and Tropical Biology, said the project was an attempt to map sea turtle nesting habitat in coastal areas across the world.

The three-year study, "Climate influences the global distribution of sea turtle nesting", was the first step in predicting how sea turtles would fare under climate change, he said.

Dr Pike said sea turtles lived throughout the world, but only nested in tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

“Protecting nesting beaches is crucial towards conserving these species, but many areas of the world are difficult to access, and thus our understanding of where sea turtles nest is quite limited,” he said.

“My study used mathematical models to create maps of where sea turtles could nest under today’s climate.”

Dr Pike said he studied all seven of the world’s sea turtle species.

“The most important species here in Australia include green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and flatback turtles (Natator depressus).

“Flatback turtles nest only in northern Australia, so they are very important for Australian conservation even though relatively little is known about them. Green turtles are much different in that they nest in most tropical areas worldwide.”

The work involved computer modelling using global data on where sea turtles were known to nest and climate data such as temperature and rainfall, he said.

“All sea turtle eggs are vulnerable to temperature – nests that are too hot or too cold will not produce baby turtles.

“My study found that current climates, including temperature and rainfall, limit where sea turtles can nest, in terms of whether eggs will hatch, and some species can tolerate a wider range of nesting beach conditions than can other species.”

Dr Pike said that Australasia, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico are important regions for sea turtle conservation because between three and six sea turtle species nest in these areas, and some individual beaches have several species nesting there.

“As the climate warms over the next several decades, we may begin to see signs of some nesting beaches becoming too warm for successful egg incubation, and other areas will become warm enough to produce baby turtles.”

Dr Pike said his main conclusion was that turtle nesting was highly dependent on climate, and that changing temperatures brought on through climate change could have a major impact.

“Turtles nest in areas with very distinctive climates that allow eggs to hatch, and whether these areas will remain suitable under climate change is the next big research question,” he said.

“The tight link between current geographic patterns of nesting and climate, along with the dependence of developing embryos on temperature inside the nest, imply that regional or global changes in environmental conditions could differentially influence the distribution of sea turtle species under climate change.

“Because sea turtles must nest on land, they must be able to continue nesting in areas that will produce hatchling turtles.

“If sea turtles are unable to find suitable nesting beaches, they may be unable to adapt to changing environmental conditions and decline as climate change takes hold.”

To view the maps online http://seamap.env.duke.edu/swot.

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Best of our wild blogs: 27 Jan 13;

asian open-billed stork I @ seletar - Jan2013
from sgbeachbum

Pasir Ris mangroves featured in the Weekender
from wild shores of singapore

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Malaysia: Floating rubbish putting off visitors at Marine Park

New Straits Times 26 Jan 13;

KOTA KINABALU: An Australian family was not happy when they were greeted by floating rubbish while on their way to Manukan Island, near here, last week.

The family was on holiday and one of the items in their travel itinerary was to visit the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (TARP).

They, along with other visitors, had boarded a boat at the Jesselton Point jetty and the first few minutes of the ride was already an eyesore.

Andy Bennedict, 27, shared their sentiment and as a local and a friend who guided the family, he felt embarrassed.

"They asked where the rubbish came from and whether the government was doing anything about it. They were not happy because cleanliness is very much emphasised in Australia.

"A great journey should start with a clean view.

"The jetty is the starting point for tourists to go to TARP, so if the surrounding is already dirty from the beginning, tourists will not be excited," he said yesterday.

He said there were a lot of debris at the jetty and many were floating on the water surface close to the mainland while the cleanliness level at the TARP islands was satisfactory.

Recently, state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said rubbish pollution had reached an alarming level in Sabah and there were cases where tourists did not want to come here.

He said the sight of wastes at tourist spots could drive potential tourists away, adding that locals should play their role and participate in cleaning activity to maintain a clean environment.

Last year, City Hall had stepped up efforts to make Kota Kinabalu a clean city. These included the introduction of proper waste management programme to the people living on the islands and coastal areas within the city's jurisdiction.

Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir said City Hall had been carrying out various intensive cleanliness programmes on the mainland as well as nearby villages on Gaya Island.

He also gave an assurance that enforcement efforts would be intensified to curb the indiscriminate dumping of rubbish like plastic bags into the sea.

Dive operators in the state have also contributed to underwater conservation by implementing Project Aware.

The move by scuba divers have helped to keep the ocean clean from debris and it has been conducted here, on Mantanani Island, Mabul Island and in Semporna.

University Malaysia Sabah students had also taken the initiative to clean up beaches.

They spent three hours picking up rubbish along the bay in Likas here, last month.

More than 30 volunteers, comprising locals and foreigners, had joined in the effort to create a clean city environment.

In April, Astro would be attempting a Guiness World Record for the longest underwater clean-up project at 14 dive sites at TARP.

The Astro Kasih Beautiful Malaysia project hopes to create an awareness of marine conservation and, at the same time, engage with local community.

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A new capital for Indonesia?

Jakarta is increasingly under strain from intense activities and the effects of climate change
Zakir Hussain and Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Straits Times 27 Jan 13;

Beijing has Shanghai, New Delhi has Mumbai, and Washington DC has New York.

Jakarta, though, has just Jakarta, and it hits home harder when a disaster - like the recent severe flooding - strikes, paralysing businesses and ordinary life for several days.

But the floods, which may recur in coming weeks, have reignited debate on whether Indonesia ought to relocate its capital.

The world's fourth most populous country after China, India and the United States is also the only one its size to have an administrative centre and crucial financial hub rolled into one location.

Brazil, Pakistan and Nigeria, which trail in the population rankings, all relocated their seats of government decades ago.

Senior Indonesian officials and commentators now say the city of 10 million packed into 661 sq km - twice the density of Singapore - is no longer able to sustain the intense activity and lack of planning associated with it.

This has also rekindled interest in alternative sites for the capital. It is not a new discussion.

Founding president Sukarno, in fact, designed and built Palangkaraya in central Kalimantan for this purpose 55 years ago. The city on the island of Borneo has wide boulevards and is one of the country's best planned areas - but the move was shelved amid an economic crisis in the early 1960s.

Former president Suharto proposed Jonggol in West Java as an alternative, but this too never materialised.

As Jakarta comes increasingly under strain and attack from climate change and the elements, a change seems inevitable.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's special staff member for regional development and autonomy, Dr Velix Wanggai, told reporters last week that Dr Yudhoyono had, at a meeting with media editors two years earlier, already discussed various scenarios for moving the capital.

"According to the President, Jakarta can no longer accommodate the interaction between man and the environment," he said.

At risk of being erased

Last year, Jakarta celebrated its 485th anniversary.

A trading port had existed on its northern parts since the 4th century, and changed hands several times. In 1527, after troops from the kingdoms of Demak and Cirebon defeated the Portuguese there, the city was renamed Jayakarta or "city of victory". The city of Jakarta has grown from that area.

Planners now wonder whether Jakarta will triumph against rising sea waters or cease to exist as it is by the time it turns 500 in 2027.

A study by the World Bank and Dutch consultancy Delft Hydraulics several years ago projected that without better defences, the sea will reach the presidential palace, some 5km inland, in 2025, inundating the land between the centre of town and Kota Tua, Jakarta's historic old Dutch city.

For the first time since 2007, floodwaters reached the palace two weeks ago, and Dr Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa gamely rolled up their trouser legs and stood in the calf-deep flood.

Last year, former governor Fauzi Bowo elaborated on plans for a dyke to avert such a calamity and revitalise the northern coastline, a project that successor Joko Widodo says should now be hastened.

The wall is estimated to cost some 50 trillion rupiah (S$6.5 billion), and the figure could soar to 200 trillion rupiah if land is reclaimed to create developments around a dam, according to media reports.

By comparison, a group of academics estimates it would cost 100 trillion rupiah to move the capital.

But as Republika columnist Nasihin Masha noted recently, the cost of traffic congestion in Jakarta already adds up to some 46 trillion rupiah a year in wasted fuel and time.

And even if a move happens, Jakarta would still need the wall to stave off erosion.

University of Indonesia urban ecologist Rudy Tambunan hopes discussions about moving the capital do not divert public attention from decades-old problems - Jakarta, after all, must be liveable to those who stay on.

"There have been good plans in the past, but implementation has not been consistent. We tried to spread business activity out from Jakarta - for example, the steel industry to Cilegon, the automotive industry to Karawang and Cikampek, textiles to Bandung. But this did not continue," he said.

Some, like Parliament Speaker Marzuki Alie, say if the city is to have any hope of resolving its most pressing woes, a new capital has to come about.

"Otherwise, its condition will remain like this until the end of time. The capital must first be shifted; only then can Jakarta's problems be resolved in stages," he said.

The mechanics of moving

So if the capital relocates, what exactly would be moved and where to?

Dr Wanggai says there are three options which should be debated openly and thoroughly.

One, the status quo remains, but a total overhaul of flood-prevention, transport and urban planning is needed.

Two, a new capital is built from scratch.

Three, the capital remains in Jakarta, but the seat of government moves.

Option No.3 is likely to be the most feasible. Malaysia made such a move when ministries moved from Kuala Lumpur to the new administrative centre Putrajaya in 1999 to ease the impact of congestion and overcrowding on government.

Regional Representative Council head Irman Gusman feels it would be most effective to move Indonesia's administrative capital and keep Jakarta as a business city.

He is open to moving the government to a suitable site in Banten or West Java, or even Palangkaraya, now the capital of central Kalimantan province with just 220,000 residents and 2,400 sq km of space.

People's Consultative Assembly chief Taufik Kiemas, meanwhile, has suggested Yogyakarta, which was Indonesia's capital from 1946 to 1948 after the Dutch attacked Jakarta.

Dr Marzuki prefers a more greenfield location, telling reporters: "All government offices could be housed in one location, with supporting housing, public and social facilities... It need not be far from Jakarta."

However, public policy academic Andrinof Chaniago argues that a new capital should be sited in Kalimantan, which has 30 per cent of Indonesia's land mass but only 7 per cent of its population.

Conversely, crowded Java has 60 per cent of the country's population on just 7 per cent of its land area.

Prof Chaniago and three other researchers prepared a paper on moving the capital to Kalimantan several years ago.

They have seized on the momentum from the current debate to argue that such a move will help re-orientate development and investments away from Java - a step Indonesia needs to make to ensure growth and wealth are more evenly spread and sustainable. As it is, some 60 per cent of the country's money circulates in the Jakarta area.

"Shifting the seat of administration to Kalimantan will better re-orientate Indonesia, make it easier to bring order to Jakarta and save the future of Java," he said over Twitter on Wednesday.

Dr Wanggai said distributing growth more equitably ought to be a consideration in selecting a capital. He added that President Yudhoyono hopes a strategy for moving will be finalised by the end of his term in October next year.

"This is not just a decision for the President, but a national one," he said.

But nobody expects anything to happen any time soon. With plans still in the preliminary stages, officials expect an actual move could take anything from six to 12 years after the go-ahead is given.

Rising sea waters, inland flooding

A study by the World Bank and Dutch consultancy Delft Hydraulics several years ago projected that without better defences, the sea will reach the presidential palace, some 5km inland, in 2025, inundating the land between the centre of town and Kota Tua, Jakarta's historic old Dutch city.

Five possibilities

Where should Indonesia's new capital be? These five places keep turning up in the debate.

Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan

Former strongman Sukarno proposed this 2,400 sq km city on the island of Borneo for a future capital, and its wide roads were designed with this in mind. Situated smack in the middle of the Indonesian archipelago, in an area relatively free from natural disasters, it now has only 220,000 residents.

Jonggol, West Java

Former president Suharto mooted a move to Jonggol, in Bogor Regency, West Java. Hundreds of hectares were cleared by developers, including one linked to a son of the former strongman. Its close location, just 50km east of Jakarta, was expected to make for a smooth relocation, but the land is now largely disused.

Purwokerto, Central Java

This town in the middle of Java with 300,000 residents has good infrastructure and road connections and was mooted by officials several years ago.

Yogyakarta

Indonesia's capital from 1946 to 1948 after the Dutch attacked Jakarta. With 400,000 residents, it is fairly accessible and widely regarded as an emerging cultural centre.

Palembang, South Sumatra

One of the oldest cities in Indonesia, Palembang, with 1.6 million residents, is in an area relatively free from natural disasters, has developed infrastructure and played host to the 2011 SEA Games.

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Humans are a 'plague on Earth': David Attenborough

Humans are a 'plague on Earth': Sir David Attenborough warns that negative effects of population growth will come home to roost
The Independent 22 Jan 13;

TV naturalist Sir David Attenborough has warned that human beings have become a “plague on the Earth”.

The 86-year-old broadcaster said the negative effects of climate change and population growth would be seen in the next 50 years.

He told the Radio Times: "It's coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so.

"It's not just climate change. It's sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde.

"Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us right now.

"We keep putting on programmes about famine in Ethiopia - that's what's happening. Too many people there. They can't support themselves - and it's not an inhuman thing to say. It's the case.

"Until humanity manages to sort itself out and get a co-ordinated view about the planet, it's going to get worse and worse."

Sir David, whose landmark series are being repeated on BBC2, also said that his style of presenting would soon be extinct.

He told the magazine: "I'm not sure there's any need for a new Attenborough. The more you go on, the less you need people standing between you and the animal and the camera waving their arms about.

"It's much cheaper to get someone in front of a camera describing animal behaviour than actually showing you (the behaviour). That takes a much longer time.

"But the kind of carefully tailored programmes in which you really work at the commentary, you really match pictures to words, is a bit out of fashion now... regarded as old hat."

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Best of our wild blogs: 26 Jan 13

Our SG Conversation for the Green Community @ Singapore Polytechnic
from AsiaIsGreen

Butterfly of the Month - January 2013 - The Blue Jay
from Butterflies of Singapore

Hantu Blog @ Tanjong Katong Girls School
from Pulau Hantu

Sharing Berlayar Creek with Shell
from wild shores of singapore and Pulau Hantu

Art Garfunkel and his bright eyed crab
from Raffles Museum News

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Sheng Siong frees injured shark

Activists upset shark was put in small tank after being purchased
Jennani Durai Straits Times 26 Jan 13;

A SHARK kept in a small tank at the Sheng Siong supermarket in Clementi was released back into the wild, a day after animal activists began campaigning for its freedom.

A photo of the approximately 2m-long leopard shark - held in a tank barely bigger than itself - circulated on social media on Thursday, and was shared nearly 500 times by last night.

Activists from the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) and Shark Savers were even willing to buy the shark's freedom from the supermarket. But a Sheng Siong spokesman said yesterday it was not for sale or consumption.

In fact, the supermarket's intention was to "nurse it back to health" and release it back into the sea, and it did so yesterday morning.

The group's managing director, Mr Lim Hock Leng, said that Sheng Siong's "seafood team" had spotted the shark at Jurong Fishery Port on Tuesday, along with the rest of the day's catch from Indonesia.

"When we saw the shark, it was not doing very well, possibly due to some injury sustained," he said. "So, we bought the shark with the intent of protecting it from harm and nursing it back to health."

Sheng Siong's Clementi Avenue 1 branch was chosen for the shark's rehabilitation, as it had a temperature-controlled glass tank, and the outlet was near the fishery port.

Plans to move the shark to a bigger pool at the port were foiled when the pool was found to be in use.

The supermarket then decided to release the shark.

Mr Louis Ng, Acres' executive director, said this was not the first time that the supermarket chain has incurred the wrath of animal rights groups.

Other sharks had been on display in the past, he claimed, and the supermarket used to have a practice of leaving live fish out on ice to die slowly.

These cases were reported to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), which had in turn informed the supermarket chain to be more humane in its practices.

Mr Ng added: "I hope they sought a veterinarian's advice to make sure the shark was fit for releasing. Otherwise, I'd question if it was safe to release it after putting it through a lot of stress and then releasing it with the same injury it was found with."

An AVA spokesman said leopard sharks are not protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Imports are allowed for local sale as long as they are handled by AVA-licensed seafood importers.

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IKEA to stop providing plastic bags

Customers will need to bring their own bags or purchase its reusable ones from March
Woo Sian Boon Today Online 26 Jan 13;

SINGAPORE — In an effort to get shoppers to use fewer plastic bags here, a major retailer has decided to stop providing them in stores.

Come March, customers visiting Swedish furniture giant IKEA at both its Alexandra and Tampines outlets will either have to bring their own bags or purchase its blue reusable bags for their shopping.

The prices of the reusable bags have been reduced to S$0.90 for the large ones and S$0.30 for smaller versions, down from S$1.20 and S$0.60 respectively.

Said its Managing Director Christian Rojkjaer: “This initiative is the next natural step for us to further reduce the use and consumption of disposable plastic bags in Singapore and, at the same time, support change in people’s everyday behaviour for a positive sustainable impact for the environment.”

In 2007, IKEA became the first retailer here to charge for plastic bags.

Proceeds from the 18 million plastic bags sold since the start of the initiative have been donated to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to boost eco-education programmes.

While some retailers have moved to encourage shoppers to use fewer plastic bags, they remain a step away from ceasing to provide them altogether.

In the retail environment here, “shoppers still expect retailers to provide plastic bags for their purchases”, a spokesperson for Dairy Farm Singapore, which manages Cold Storage supermarkets, noted. “While we will continue to encourage shoppers to either bring their own reusable bags or purchase reusable bags at the checkout counters, there are no plans at this point to not provide customers with plastic bags,” she added.

At NTUC FairPrice, a scheme that provides a S$0.10 rebate to customers who bring their own bags, for purchases of at least S$10, has saved about five to six million plastic bags annually.

“We are seeing an increasing number of customers bringing their own bags but we acknowledge that it is a habit that will take time to nurture,” said Mr Koh Kok Sin, Chairperson of NTUC FairPrice’s Green Committee.

The supermarket chain has also started dedicated checkout lanes for customers who bring their own bags or who do not need them at two stores: City Square Mall and myVillage at Serangoon Garden.

“We will consider including more of such lanes in future in other stores depending on the customer response,” Mr Koh said.

Mr Jose Raymond, the Singapore Environment Council’s Executive Director, noted that “cost and convenience are both facets of everyday life in Singapore that are difficult to compromise on”.

Further, some shoppers may feel it is necessary to obtain plastic bags so that they could bag their domestic rubbish before disposal, he added.

If an IKEA plastic bag is used at home for bagging rubbish, Mr Rojkjaer felt that at least it has served another purpose.

“But I’m more nervous about the disposable bags that doesn’t end up as garbage bags, but in all the other places where they tend to end up in but shouldn’t — in the sea, in parks and so on,” he added.

A “workable strategy”, Mr Raymond felt, would be to take into account a certain level of plastic bag usage, while focusing on eliminating wastage.

“This is where retailers can play a part — by cutting down on the provision of bags that are not viable for rubbish disposal, for example those that are too small or thin.

“Instead, retailers should look at giving out bags of a certain size and thickness that will see an extended life cycle use,” he added.

At IKEA, the move to stop supplying plastic bags in Singapore “took a bit longer” as compared to stores in Thailand and Malaysia, said Mr Rojkjaer.

In Thailand, IKEA had opened last November without the provision of plastic bags, while the Malaysia store stopped supplying them last year, with customers being “more forgiving than we thought they would be”, he noted.

To prepare customers here on the move, signs will be put up in both stores a month before the new measure kicks in.

“I think the Singapore consumer are more wealthy, on average. With wealth, comes demand and a requirement for services and a better lifestyle. That’s why, together with our customers, we want to change this way of thinking … in which we will be better off in the long term,” Mr Rojkjaer said.

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Treat illegal wildlife trade as serious crime: CITES

AFP Yahoo News 24 Jan 13;

Illegal trade in wildlife products like ivory and rhino horn must be treated as a serious crime in order to end the devastating poaching of protected species, the head of UN wildlife trade regulator CITES said Thursday.

"This is serious crime, and you need serious resources and serious penalties" to address it, CITES Secretary General John Scanlon told reporters in Geneva.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of CITES's 177 member states in Bangkok in early March, Scanlon said finding better ways to crack down on the illegal trade of ivory and rhino horn were among the top issues on the agenda.

Pointing out that illegal wildlife trade is estimated to rake in about $20 billion a year, he insisted that such crimes needed to be treated in the same manner as for instance the international illegal drug trade.

A World Wildlife Fund report last month listed the illicit sale of wildlife products as the fourth-largest illegal global trade after narcotics, counterfeiting and human trafficking.

The sharp increase in poaching of protected species like elephants and rhinos in recent years appears to be fuelled by organised criminals eager to reap massive profits at very low risk, and is also believed to be helping to fund insurgencies in Africa, Scanlon said.

"These trends with ivory and rhino horn are going up (so much) that we will start wiping out local populations very soon," he warned.

Rhino horn can sell for as much as $80,000 a kilo, and poachers have killed some 2,000 rhinos in the past two years -- a huge number considering only about 25,000 rhinos remain, he said.

Elephant poaching in Africa has also increased sharply, with devastating incidents like the family of 11 elephants killed in a Kenyan park earlier this month, and the up to 450 elephants slaughtered last February in Cameroon by poacher gangs, likely from Chad and Sudan.

"It would appear that some individuals are stockpiling. You could say they are banking on extinction (and) assuming that as these species become rarer, the rhino horn and the ivory will become more valuable," Scanlon said.

To halt the trade, authorities need to work harder to trace the illegal products to the people creating the demand, he said.

"Until we find out who ordered (the products), prosecute them, convict them and impose a serious penalty, we're not going to be able to stop this."

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What Is Geodesign-and Can It Protect Us from Natural Disasters?

Larry Greenemeier Scientific American Yahoo News 26 Jan 13;

As New York, New Jersey and other states hit hard during Superstorm Sandy last fall begin their long road to recovery, the decisions they make on how to rebuild are crucial to determining how well they're weather than next big storm. The choices range from installing large storm-surge sea barriers near Staten Island and at the mouth of New York Harbor to keep rising waters at bay, to cultivating wetlands around the southern tip of Manhattan that can provide a natural buffer.

Both concepts are on the drawing boards and are being fiercely debated on their merits. Although they are radically different, each one takes geographic design into consideration to some degree. Geodesign is an approach to city planning, land use and natural resource management that takes into account the tendency in recent years to overdevelop land at the expense of natural habitats, as well as population growth and climate change, which have left communities increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters.

Geodesign arose thanks largely to the availability of geographic information system (GIS) data. Such data is gathered from maps, aerial photos, satellites and surveys and stored in large databases where it can be analyzed, modeled and queried. Particularly useful is data provided by the Landsat program, a joint initiative between the U.S. Geological Survey and NASA, has been placing satellites in orbit since 1972 to collect GIS data.

"With GIS, we have the tools to understand our landscape and [the] impact of our design decisions," says Tom Fisher, dean of the University of Minnesota's College of Design. As an analytical tool, GIS is more than geographical information--it's a way to visualize weather, climate and demographic data as well, he adds.

Careful study of GIS data--which includes weather data but also takes into account population demographics, land use and a variety of other factors--could uncover clues about the likely intensity and impact of future storms as well as the extent to which zoning decisions can mitigate potential damage, according to Fisher, the emcee and moderator of this week's Geodesign Summit hosted by GIS mapping software maker Esri at the company's Redlands, Calif., headquarters. "This is an issue with Sandy--do we rebuild on the same sites, considering there could be another [major] storm within the next seven or so years? My sense is not that we lack data but that we've lacked the ability to visualize it and apply it to certain places," he adds.

Geodesign is not entirely new, of course. After the1930s Dust Bowl across the over-farmed Great Plains, the U.S. government initiated changes in land cultivation, Fischer says. Federal organizations such as the Civilian Conservation Corps cultivated grass on government-protected lands to keep topsoil in place and retain moisture. They also planted millions of trees from Canada to Texas to block wind gusts and likewise keep soil in place. Farmers were also educated on how to rotate crops, implement soil terracing and use other more sustainable farming methods.

Regardless of how New York and New Jersey decide to rebuild, geodesign projects are already underway nationwide. The city of Asheville, N.C., offers an interactive mapping tool called Priority Places to help local businesses determine where best to put their offices and factories, help urban planners find neighborhoods for renewal projects and help real estate developers make decisions based on population demographics and zoning regulations. In Montana, the Yellowstone Ecological Research Center's data processing and modeling capabilities help biologists and land managers with landscape planning and management of local species and their habitats. Meanwhile, Florida planners are turning to geospatial data that reveals information about the state's population distribution to anticipate the state's needs in 2060, by which time the population is expected to have doubled to 36 million people, placing a heavier burden on already overcrowded urban areas and infrastructure.

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Best of our wild blogs: 25 Jan 13

Cushy
from The annotated budak

31 Jan 2013, Thursday: 4pm @ DBS CF2: Dr David Edwards on The Biodiversity Value of Degraded Tropical Forests from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS

Typhoon Bopha decimated coral reefs
from Mongabay.com news by Jeremy Hance

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Punggol steps closer to being net zero energy town

Channel NewsAsia 24 Jan 13;

SINGAPORE: Another 80 HDB residential blocks in Punggol Eco-Town will be solar powered.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has awarded a tender to lease three mega-watt-peak solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for the blocks.

The tender attracted keen competition from the industry, with a total of 13 bidders, compared to the first Solar Leasing project in 2011 which only garnered three bids.

Under the tender, solar system developer Sunseap will design, finance, install, operate and maintain the solar PV systems.

Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council will have a service agreement with Sunseap to pay for the solar power generated and used, at a preferential rate of up to 5 per cent discount off the retail electricity tariff rate.

Installation works are scheduled to be completed by 2014.

HDB is currently the largest stakeholder in the installation of solar PV system in Singapore.

To date, HDB has committed a total of S$15 million for the installation of solar PV systems for 175 blocks of flats. This is equivalent to powering the energy needs of 1,800 4-room flats for a year.

With the second solar leasing project, HDB has moved a step closer to the aim of developing Punggol Eco-Town as a net zero energy town by 2016.

Dr Cheong Koon Hean, HDB's chief executive officer, said: "Punggol, as Singapore's first eco-town, serves as a 'living laboratory' to test new ideas and technologies in sustainable development.

"The expansion of our solar PV installations through solar leasing is in line with the second thrust of HDB's 'Roadmap for Better Living' -- to develop sustainable towns.

"Solar technology has been given an extra boost with our largest tender ever under the Solar Capability Building Programme which aims to test-bed solar PV technology in 200 public housing blocks by 2015.

"The scheme will help enhance the industry's capabilities and test the feasibility of implementing solar technology on a wider scale when it becomes more cost effective."

In a blog post, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said Singapore, being in the tropics, should potentially be a great user of solar energy.

He said although solar energy technology is still expensive, the economics are getting better every day.

Mr Khaw added that people should experiment, with the government providing financial incentives to help spawn more pilots.

- CNA/al

More Punggol flats to go solar
Another 80 HDB blocks will use sunlight to power common facilities
Daryl Chin Straits Times 25 Jan 13;

SOLAR panels will be installed in another 80 Housing Board blocks in eco-town Punggol to harness energy to power services in common areas.

Facilities such as lifts, lights in corridors and staircases and water pumps will use the energy, the HDB said yesterday.

This will take the town a step closer towards relying entirely on solar power for common services by 2016, it added.

Commenting on his blog, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that while solar energy is still more expensive than energy produced from oil or gas, that should not deter efforts to go green.

He noted that the greater use of solar technology has been fuelled in part by the falling cost of solar photovoltaic cells.

The costs have dropped some 60 per cent since HDB first tested using solar panels on the top of HDB blocks in Serangoon North and Sembawang in 2008.

"As solar panels improve on their efficiency and their cost of production drops, the economics of solar energy is getting better every day," he said.

To encourage more companies to bid to set up the solar panels, the HDB offsets up to 30 per cent of the start-up costs.

The firm that won the 20-year contract sells the energy tapped to Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council at up to 5 per cent off the retail electricity tariff rate.

Mr Khaw believes that this leasing arrangement would enable more flats to benefit from the technology.

The HDB said the initial capital outlay from the Government acts as an incentive, as contractors bidding for the project can take about 20 years before they recover operational costs.

The cost of the system in the latest tender is $8.84 million, of which the HDB will foot $645,000. In a previous tender in 2011, also in Punggol, the winning bid was $10.9 million for a less advanced system that covered 45 blocks. The Housing Board put up $3.28 million. Solar developer Sunseap won both bids.

HDB chief executive Cheong Koon Hean said the latest move is in line with its vision to create sustainable towns.

National University of Singapore researcher Kua Harn Wei said that while investing in greener gadgets and equipment is a must, society should not forget that it is also about "sustainable consumption".

Small things, like switching on the lights only when necessary, can help.

To date, the HDB has committed a total of $15million to install solar systems for 175 blocks of flats. The energy harnessed is enough to meet the needs of 1,800 four-room flats for a year.

The aim is to test-bed such technology in 200 public housing blocks by 2015.

Said Punggol resident Eric Tong, 33, a businessman: "It's great that my town is going greener, but of course it will be better when conservancy charges also fall."

Solar energy to light up more HDB blocks
Developer wins tender to maintain, operate photovoltaic systems in Punggol Eco-Town
Then Ai Ping Today Online 25 Jan 13;

SINGAPORE — Eighty more blocks of public housing in Punggol Eco-Town will be powered by solar energy by next year, as solar power — once considered too expensive for widespread use — becomes an “increasingly viable” energy solution, said the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

The HDB announced yesterday that it had awarded a tender to solar system developer Sunseap to lease three mega-watt-peak (MWp) solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for these HDB blocks.

The power generated will power common areas such as lifts and corridors, as well as staircase lighting and water pumps.

The tender attracted “keen competition”, with 13 bidders compared to the first solar leasing project in 2011 which only had three bids, said the HDB.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in a blog post yesterday that, while solar energy was not yet cheaper than energy produced from oil or gas, the economics were “getting better every day”.

“We should not wait until the economics is fully proven,” he said. “We should experiment, pilot and acquire the necessary experience while the scientists work hard in the research lab.”

Since the HDB first tested solar PV systems in 2008, global prices of solar PV cells have fallen rapidly. “When we started in 2008, the price of a solar panel was S$5.17/Wp. It has since dropped by 60 per cent,” he said.

Solar leasing from the private sector — where the HDB offsets a portion of the company’s start-up costs and the company takes care of the subsequent operational and maintenance costs — has also allowed residents to enjoy a lower electricity tariff. This way, the HDB need not procure and install the PV systems and town councils need not maintain them.

“For example, in the recent solar leasing project, the Pasir Ris-Punggol (Town Council) gets up to 5 per cent discount off the retail electricity tariff rate for the solar energy generated,” Mr Khaw said.

The initial capital outlay offered by the Government under the solar leasing model is “necessary” as the current payback for solar remains long at about 20 years. However, outlay remains low due to the increased competition in the local market and cheaper prices of solar PV cells globally, the HDB said.

In the latest tender, the cost for a 3 MWp system is S$8.84 million and the system cost payable by the HDB is about S$645,000. In comparison, the cost for a 2 MWp system in the first tender was S$10.9 million, with the HDB paying S$3.28 million up front.

More than 100 HDB blocks have been fitted with solar PV systems in the last five years and the HDB aims to reach 200 blocks by 2015.

To date, it has committed S$15 million to install solar PV systems for 175 blocks.

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