Malaysia: Clouded leopard's death to be investigated

New Straits Times 26 Feb 13;

KUCHING: Sarawak's Forestry Department has ordered "a full and urgent investigation" into the killing of a rare and highly endangered clouded leopard in Saratok last week.

The department, in expressing its regret over the shooting of the leopard, said initial reports indicated the leopard had inadvertently wandered into the compound of a government agency.

A member of the public, who was unaware of the animal's totally protected status, shot it dead.

"I am deeply saddened by this incident," said its director and and the state's Controller of Wildlife Datuk Ali Yusop in a statement.

He said the incident served to remind the department of the need to redouble its efforts to educate the public on the importance and necessity of protecting endangered flora and fauna.

"I wish to reiterate to the public not to approach, catch or harm any unknown and non-threatening wild animal they may come across."

Clouded leopards, the largest cats in Borneo, are also found in India, southern China, mainland Southeast Asia and Sumatra.

Despite their wide range, they are thinly dispersed and their total population worldwide is estimated to be fewer than 10,000.

They get their name from the distinctive "clouds" on its coat -- ellipses partially edged in black, with the insides a darker colour than the background.

The clouded leopard has remarkable tree climbing abilities for such a large predator, (1.5m from the nose to the tip of the tail), which allows it to hunt in the rainforest canopy as well as on the ground.

Its remarkably long canine teeth has earned it the title of the "modern day sabretooth tiger".

Its teeth, along with its pelt, have made the clouded leopard a target of illegal hunters. Its survival is also threatened by habitat loss.

In Sarawak, the clouded leopard is a totally protected animal under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998.

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Australian endangered species: Sea snakes

Kate Sanders, University of Adelaide Science Alert 25 Feb 13;

Short-nosed (Aipsyurus apraefrontalis) and Leaf-scaled (A. foliosquama) sea snakes are restricted to coral reefs in Western Australia. Both species are known from Ashmore and Hibernia Reefs, while the Short-nosed has occasionally been found between Exmouth and Broome. As closest relatives, they are both around 80 centimetres long and are banded purplish-brown. They are distinguished by the size and shape of their heads – hence their common names.

Both species forage in crevices and burrows on shallow reef flats and edges and have powerful venom with which to subdue their prey. Little is known of their diets other than Leaf-scaled sea snakes feed on a variety of reef fishes such as wrasse and gudgeons, whereas the few diet records available for Short-nosed sea snakes suggest they might prey mostly on eels.

The Short-nosed and Leaf-scaled sea snakes are fully marine and rarely come ashore. They belong to the Hydrophiini – a group of more than 60 species that evolved from Australia’s venomous land snakes and are now found throughout the Indo-West Pacific.

Status

Short-nosed and Leaf-scaled sea snakes were prolifically abundant on Ashmore and Hibernia Reefs during the 1970s and 1990s. However, Mick Guinea and colleagues have documented dramatic declines in both species since 1998. No Short-nosed or Leaf-scaled sea snakes were recorded on either reef during intensive surveys between 2001 and 2012.

The status of Short-nosed sea snakes on the Western Australian coast is unknown, but the few scattered records between Exmouth and Broome suggest they were never widespread.

Both species are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN and under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Threats

The reasons for the severe declines of Short-nosed and Leaf-scaled sea snakes remain a mystery. Nine other sea snake species have disappeared from Ashmore and Hibernia over the last 15 years, yet their habitats are intact, and snakes are not affected by over-fishing. This may suggest major environmental change, perhaps related to surface water temperatures, salinity and rainfall patterns, and sedimentation. In the same period seismic surveys for oil and gas have increased, using air gunning, although the impact on sea snakes is unknown.

Whatever factors are responsible, they have not only affected the snakes in shallow coral areas but also species that once occupied the reef edges, seagrass beds and deeper waters surrounding the reef.

Strategy

Continued surveys of the sea snakes are vital. These should focus on Ashmore and Hibernia reefs, but should also include coastal reefs where the Short-nosed has been recorded and might still exist. If the Leaf-scaled sea snake is not already extinct, there may yet be time to enact a recovery plan for both species.

We need a better understanding of environmental and direct human threats to sea snakes. First, environmental conditions on Ashmore and Hibernia reefs should be compared to reefs that still support healthy numbers of sea snakes. Studies of the impact of seismic air gunning on sea snakes are also urgently needed and will soon be underway.

Conclusion

Solving the mystery of the decline of Short-nosed, Leaf-scaled and other sea snakes in Ashmore and Hibernia will require a multidisciplinary effort. However, if sea snakes are indeed a miner’s canary of coral reef health, understanding their disappearance should be a top priority for marine conservation.

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Caribbean coral reefs have stopped growing

James Cook University Science Alert 25 Feb 13;

Many Caribbean coral reefs have either stopped growing or are on the threshold of starting to erode, which new evidence has revealed.

Associate Professor Scott Smithers, from James Cook University was a part of a seven-member team of international scientists that carried out work at reefs across the Caribbean over a two-year period.

Coral reefs build their structures by both producing and accumulating calcium carbonate, which is essential for the maintenance and continued growth of coral reefs.

The research team discovered that the amount of new carbonate being added by Caribbean coral reefs is now significantly below rates measured over recent geological timescales, and in some habitats is as much as 70 per cent lower.

Associate Professor Smithers said coral reefs formed some of the planet’s most biologically diverse ecosystems, and provided valuable contributions to humans and wildlife.

However, their ability to maintain their structures and continue to grow depended on the balance between the addition of new carbonate, which is mostly produced by corals themselves, set against the loss of carbonate through various erosional processes, he said.

Associate Professor Smithers said traditionally there had been a focus on how coral reef organisms coped under present environmental conditions, but little on how coral reefs as physical structures were faring.

“We decided to give it a go by quantifying the amount of skeleton laid down by reef organisms each year to build the reef framework and comparing that to the amount of physical and biological erosion,” he said.

“We found that many reefs in the Caribbean are now in a precarious balance with very slow growth rates or erosion common.”

Associate Professor Smithers said he was invited to collaborate on the project in his role as a geomorphologist.

“I look at how reef structures grow, and the landforms and features formed by reef growth processes,” he said.

“I was working with an international team made up of scientists with particular skills required to work out the reef growth - and destruction - budgets.”

Associate Professor Smithers said “budgets” was a term geomorphologists used when talking about sediment or calcium carbonate.

The sediment that is produced or deposited is compared to what is eroded or withdrawn, and there is a net amount. If it is positive, growth is occurring, if it is negative, the structure is breaking down.

The field sites were in located in the Bahamas, Bonaire, Belize and Grand Cayman Island.

“I was able to participate in the field work at the first three sites, but was teaching at the time of the Grand Cayman visit.

“All members of the team were involved in refining the methodology for calculating the budget, and then making the budget calculations based on field data.”

The study could have implications for the Great Barrier Reef and other reefs around the world, despite the fact that different reefs behaved in different ways, he said.

“We hope to perform the same calculations for a variety of sites within the Indo-Pacific in the next few years.

“The reason we focused on the Caribbean reefs first is because we wanted to get the methodology developed and refined - and that is easier to achieve on Caribbean reefs because they are taxonomically and structurally less complex than reefs in the Indo-Pacific.

“This relative simplicity made the measurements and calculations necessary to derive the budgets more easy than if we had begun by focussing on reefs outside the Caribbean.”

Associate Professor Smithers said while this project was his first opportunity to see a lot of reefs in the Caribbean, he was “shocked” by what he saw.

“Although there were some areas where the reefs seemed OK, they were generally very poor in terms of coral cover and fish compared to most reefs on the GBR,” he said.

“There are clearly parts of the GBR that are not in great shape, and there is evidence from some reefs that changes have occurred over historical timescales, but I doubt that many have reached the point we established for the Caribbean reefs where they are no longer actively building - but we need to confirm this by applying the technique here.”

The research was recently published in Nature Communications, an online multidisciplinary journal dedicated to publishing high-quality research in all areas of the biological, physical and chemical sciences.

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New Maps Depict Potential Worldwide Coral Bleaching by 2056

Science Daily 25 Feb 13;

In a study published February 24 in Nature Climate Change researchers used the latest emissions scenarios and climate models to show how varying levels of carbon emissions are likely to result in more frequent and severe coral bleaching events.

Large-scale 'mass' bleaching events on coral reefs are caused by higher-than-normal sea temperatures. High temperatures make light toxic to the algae that reside within the corals. The algae, called 'zooxanthellae', provide food and give corals their bright colors. When the algae are expelled or retained but in low densities, the corals can starve and eventually die. Bleaching events caused a reported 16 percent loss of the world's coral reefs in 1998 according to the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.

If carbon emissions stay on the current path most of the world's coral reefs (74 percent) are projected to experience coral bleaching conditions annually by 2045, results of the study show. The study used climate model ensembles from the upcoming Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Around a quarter of coral reefs are likely to experience bleaching events annually five or more years earlier than the median year, and these reefs in northwestern Australia, Papau New Guinea, and some equatorial Pacific islands like Tokelau, may require urgent attention, researchers warn.

"Coral reefs in parts of the western Indian Ocean, French Polynesia and the southern Great Barrier Reef, have been identified as temporary refugia from rising sea surface temperatures," said Ruben van Hooidonk, Ph.D., from the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) at the University of Miami and NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. "These locations are not projected to experience bleaching events annually until five or more years later than the median year of 2040, with one reef location in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia protected from the onset of annual coral bleaching conditions until 2056."

The findings emphasize that without significant reductions in emissions most coral reefs are at risk, according to the study. A reduction of carbon emissions would delay annual bleaching events more than two decades in nearly a quarter (23 percent) of the world's reef areas, the research shows.

"Our projections indicate that nearly all coral reef locations would experience annual bleaching later than 2040 under scenarios with lower greenhouse gas emissions." said Jeffrey Maynard, Ph.D., from the Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement (CRIOBE) in Moorea, French Polynesia. "For 394 reef locations (of 1707 used in the study) this amounts to at least two more decades in which some reefs might conceivably be able to improve their capacity to adapt to the projected changes."

"More so than any result to date, this highlights and quantifies the potential benefits for reefs of reducing emissions in terms of reduced exposure to stressful reef temperatures."

"This study represents the most up-to-date understanding of spatial variability in the effects of rising temperatures on coral reefs on a global scale," said researcher Serge Planes, Ph.D., also from the French research institute CRIOBE in French Polynesia.

The researchers involved in the study all concur that projections that combine the threats posed to reefs by increases in sea temperature and ocean acidification will further resolve where temporary refugia may exist.

Journal Reference:

R. van Hooidonk, J. A. Maynard, S. Planes. Temporary refugia for coral reefs in a warming world. Nature Climate Change, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1829

Scientists create new maps depicting potential worldwide coral bleaching by 2056
University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science
EurekAlert 25 Feb 13;

New maps show how rising sea temperatures are likely to affect all coral reefs in the form of annual coral bleaching events under different emission scenarios

MIAMI – February 25, 2013 -- In a study published today in Nature Climate Change researchers used the latest emissions scenarios and climate models to show how varying levels of carbon emissions are likely to result in more frequent and severe coral bleaching events.

Large-scale 'mass' bleaching events on coral reefs are caused by higher-than-normal sea temperatures. High temperatures make light toxic to the algae that reside within the corals. The algae, called 'zooxanthellae', provide food and give corals their bright colors. When the algae are expelled or retained but in low densities, the corals can starve and eventually die. Bleaching events caused a reported 16 percent loss of the world's coral reefs in 1998 according to the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.

If carbon emissions stay on the current path most of the world's coral reefs (74 percent) are projected to experience coral bleaching conditions annually by 2045, results of the study show. The study used climate model ensembles from the upcoming Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Around a quarter of coral reefs are likely to experience bleaching events annually five or more years earlier than the median year, and these reefs in northwestern Australia, Papau New Guinea, and some equatorial Pacific islands like Tokelau, may require urgent attention, researchers warn.

"Coral reefs in parts of the western Indian Ocean, French Polynesia and the southern Great Barrier Reef, have been identified as temporary refugia from rising sea surface temperatures," said Ruben van Hooidonk, Ph.D., from the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) at the University of Miami and NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. "These locations are not projected to experience bleaching events annually until five or more years later than the median year of 2040, with one reef location in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia protected from the onset of annual coral bleaching conditions until 2056."

The findings emphasize that without significant reductions in emissions most coral reefs are at risk, according to the study. A reduction of carbon emissions would delay annual bleaching events more than two decades in nearly a quarter (23 percent) of the world's reef areas, the research shows.

"Our projections indicate that nearly all coral reef locations would experience annual bleaching later than 2040 under scenarios with lower greenhouse gas emissions." said Jeffrey Maynard, Ph.D., from the Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement (CRIOBE) in Moorea, French Polynesia. "For 394 reef locations (of 1707 used in the study) this amounts to at least two more decades in which some reefs might conceivably be able to improve their capacity to adapt to the projected changes."

"More so than any result to date, this highlights and quantifies the potential benefits for reefs of reducing emissions in terms of reduced exposure to stressful reef temperatures."

"This study represents the most up-to-date understanding of spatial variability in the effects of rising temperatures on coral reefs on a global scale," said researcher Serge Planes, Ph.D., also from the French research institute CRIOBE in French Polynesia.

The researchers involved in the study all concur that projections that combine the threats posed to reefs by increases in sea temperature and ocean acidification will further resolve where temporary refugia may exist.

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Indonesia's Palm Oil Blues Spreading to Africa: Report

Hayat Indriyatno Jakarta Globe 23 Feb 13;

Major palm oil producers accused of destroying Indonesia’s forests and driving its iconic wildlife to the verge of extinction are now taking their practices to the relatively pristine forests of the Congo Basin, an environmental group has warned.

In its report “Seeds of Destruction” released this month, the Rainforest Foundation UK said there was “a real and growing risk that some of the serious, negative environmental and social impacts resulting from the rapid expansion of palm oil production in Indonesia and Malaysia, such as widespread deforestation, social conflict and dispossession, could be repeated in the Congo Basin.”

“This report shows that some of the same major players behind oil palm production in Southeast Asia [such as Sime Darby, Goodhope, Wilmar and FELDA] are now turning their attention to Africa,” RFUK said.

The report said the companies were turning to the Congo Basin region, which includes Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, among others, because of lower land and labor costs and preferential access to the European Union market.

It warned that unless the African governments were fully aware of how these companies were operating in Indonesia and Malaysia, they could suffer from the same problems seen in Indonesia.

“Of the companies which have been identified as being behind specific developments, or are otherwise known to be seeking oil palm land in the Congo Basin, three — Cargill, Sime Darby and Wilmar — have been found in the past to be involved in illegal and destructive oil palm development in Indonesia,” the report said, citing independent claims made by the environmental groups Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace and AidEnvironment.

It added that the negative environmental and social impacts “typical of [palm oil] developments in Indonesia have already been well-documented at ... Sime Darby’s concession in Liberia.”

RFUK listed the negative impacts as deforestation and loss of biodiversity, increased carbon emissions from the clearing of primary and peat forests, conflicts with indigenous residents over land rights, pollution of local water resources and poor working conditions for local laborers.

To avoid these problems, it recommended greater transparency in the palm oil contracts, ensuring respect for local communities and empowerment of smallholder farmers, among other measures.

The increased expansion into Africa by Southeast Asian palm oil firms grabbed headlines last month when farmers in Liberia denounced the “modern slavery” visited upon them by an Indonesian company, Golden Veroleum Liberia.

“The Indonesians came here for the first time in September 2010,” resident Benedict Manewah told AFP.

“They said, ‘We have a concession agreement, your president has sold it to us.’ Three months later they came back ... and they started to destroy the properties, farmlands, crops, livestock and houses.”

Sime Darby, from Malaysia, was the subject of similar complaints in Liberia.

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Best of our wild blogs: 25 Feb 13

Latest Green Jobs in Singapore [18 - 24 Feb 2013]
from Green Business Times

An Afternoon Trip To Mandai Track 15
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature

rufous woodpecker @ berlayar creek - Jan2013
from sgbeachbum and rufous woodpeckers @ chek jawa mangroves

Singapore's shores featured in SIF magazine
from wild shores of singapore

Slender Squirrel
from Monday Morgue

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High-speed rail station 'may be in east or west'

Straits Times 25 Feb 13;

NORTHERN Singapore is unlikely to host the station for the proposed high-speed railway between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, said National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

He pointed to two factors: a large number of developments in the north and current plans for another transport connection, the Rapid Transit System (RTS), between Woodlands and Johor Baru.

Speaking at an event to announce preliminary plans for the new Woodlands Regional Centre yesterday, he noted that while plans are still being discussed, the landing point here is unlikely to be in the north because "in the north with our developments, as you can see, it will be quite congested".

"With the rapid transit between JB and Singapore there, it is actually quite good for connectivity. So for the high-speed train, maybe we want it to be elsewhere, which means either the eastern side or the western side."

The highly anticipated RTS - linking a station near Republic Polytechnic in Woodlands and JB Sentral in Johor Baru - is scheduled to be completed by 2018.

The high-speed rail project, announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak last Tuesday, will slash travel time between KL and Singapore to 90 minutes by 2020 when it is slated to be completed.

The journey between the two cities now takes about four hours by car.

Other transport links will also help fuel the growth of the Woodlands Regional Centre.

They include the new Thomson MRT Line that will be opened in stages from 2019 to 2021.

The future North-South Expressway will connect Woodlands, Sembawang, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan and Toa Payoh with the city centre.

JESSICA LIM

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Bringing new life to Woodlands

Wong Wei Han Today Online 25 Feb 13;

SINGAPORE — One precinct will be a lush, green waterfront leisure hub, while the other will be a pedestrian-friendly zone of retail shops.

These preliminary plans for Singapore’s third regional centre in Woodlands were unveiled yesterday, as the Government looks to make Woodlands the “key commercial cluster” of the north and decentralise commercial activities to other parts of Singapore.

Speaking at a community event yesterday, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the developments, along with the new transport infrastructure planned for the area, will improve the quality of life for current and future Woodlands residents.

He also gave the assurance that the developments would not drive housing prices there out of control. “Please don’t worry. As I’ve always maintained — public housing will always be affordable … I am confident because we are the ones who set the price for new HDB flats,” said Mr Khaw. “BTO prices will be linked in relation to the median income of the targeted population, so we can always make sure that new BTO prices will be affordable for new families starting up. That is a promise that we can deliver.”

The Woodlands Regional Centre is another step in the Government’s regionalisation strategy, which saw Tampines and Jurong developed into regional centres in 1992 and 2008 respectively.

Mr Khaw said Woodlands would have unique features, with one of the proposed precincts built around Woodlands Waterfront. Named Woodlands North Coast, this precinct will be a leisure destination covering the area between Republic Polytechnic and the waterfront, with a mix of business, residential and lifestyle developments.

The other precinct, Woodlands Central, will be a pedestrian-friendly retail hub built around Woodlands MRT Station. Current proposals include a pedestrian mall flanked by low-rise commercial buildings, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said.

Transport links will be given a boost with two new stations — Woodlands and Woodlands North — which are part of the coming Thomson Line.

The Woodlands North Station will serve as an interchange to the future rail link to neighbouring Johor. Mr Khaw said there are plans to site an immigration clearance facility there, but said it is unlikely for the high-speed rail system between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to be sited in Woodlands.

In total, Woodlands Regional Centre will take up around 100 ha of land. In comparison, Gardens by the Bay is only about 60 ha, Mr Khaw said.

Details of the developments within the centre, which should take at least a decade to complete, would be released later this year as part of the draft Master Plan. The last Master Plan was released in 2008.

Woodlands residents TODAY spoke to expressed excitement over the plans, but some were concerned over space constraints as more residents are attracted to living there.

“Currently Woodlands only has one mall, cinema and stadium — they will be packed once the estate becomes more developed,” said a resident who gave his name as Mr Neo.

Nearby neighbourhoods like Sembawang and Yishun should be developed in line with Woodlands Regional Centre “to help disperse the residents”, he added.

Another resident, who only wanted to be known as Peter, said the plans should also cater to other demographic needs. “We have an ageing population, so hopefully all age groups will be able to enjoy the developments once they are complete in about 10 years or so,” he said.

Give your feedback on plans for the Woodlands Regional Centre at http://www.ura.gov.sg/woodlands/contribute.htm

Woodlands Regional Centre to have two distinct precincts
Hetty Musfirah Channel NewsAsia 25 Feb 13;

SINGAPORE: The upcoming Woodlands Regional Centre, which aims to bring jobs closer to homes in the north, will have two distinct precincts.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan revealed this as he unveiled preliminary plans for the area on Sunday.

The plans are part of Singapore's draft masterplan for land use which will be exhibited later this year.

The two precincts will be developed from some 100 hectares of land.

70 percent will be used for the Woodlands North Coast, which will include the area between the Republic Polytechnic and the Woodlands Waterfront.

The Woodlands North Coast is envisioned to be a unique waterfront and leisure destination for Singapore. The intention is to create a mix of business, lifestyle and residential developments, all within the lush greenery and waterfront environment.

Woodlands Central - which is the area around the Woodlands MRT station - will form the other precinct. It will be turned into a pedestrian-friendly regional retail hub.

"There will be more shopping malls, more HDB BTOs, more private condominiums, ECs, and of course, commercial activities and therefore jobs, jobs for the people, so that the people do not have to travel very far to go to their workplaces," said Mr Khaw.

The Woodlands Regional Centre will be served by two new MRT stations (Woodlands and Woodlands North stations) on the Thomson Line which will be completed by 2019.

The Woodlands North station will serve as an interchange to the future rail link to neighbouring Johor.

Mr Khaw said there also plans to site an immigration clearance facility there.

But he said it is unlikely for the high-speed rail system between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to be sited in Woodlands, "because in the North, with our developments, as you can see, would be quite congested".

"And with a rapid transit between JB and Singapore, that is quite good for connectivity. So, for fast-speed train (system), maybe you want it to be elsewhere which means eastern side or the western side," said Mr Khaw.

The minister said it will take about 15 to 20 years to develop the Woodland Regional Centre.

Even with the developments, new housing will always be kept affordable, assured Mr Khaw.

"Yes, all these are beautiful plans, very good and exciting, but can I afford the housing here? Please, don't worry, don't worry, as I have always maintained that public housing will always be affordable," he said.

"Why am I so confident? I am so confident because we are the ones who set the price for the new HDB flats. It is not left to the market. I have shown how it can be done during the last one and a half years. I have unpegged the relationship between resale flats. We just stabilise. That is the objective.

"We stabilise the BTO prices and the prices will be linked to the median income of the targeted population. So we can always make sure that the new BTO prices will be affordable for new families starting up, and that is a promise which we can deliver."

Members of the public are invited to give their feedback on the Woodlands Regional Centre, including the names for the two precincts.

- CNA/ir/fa

Woodlands to become waterfront metropolis
70ha of waterfront for business, lifestyle and residential uses; 30ha for retail hub
Jessica Lim Straits Times 25 Feb 13;

RESIDENTS in northern Singapore may soon get their own mini-metropolis when Woodlands is transformed into a waterfront destination that is also rich in jobs.

These preliminary plans were unveiled yesterday by National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan for the regional centre that will serve as a major commercial node in the north.

The centre, stretching from the north coast fronting the Strait of Johor to the centre of Woodlands, offers 100ha for development.

It will have two distinct precincts. The 70ha Woodlands North Coast, an area between Republic Polytechnic and Woodlands Waterfront, is slated to be turned into a lush waterfront environment with a mix of business, residential and lifestyle uses.

The other precinct - Woodlands Central - a 30ha area around Woodlands MRT station and Causeway Point mall, is envisaged as a pedestrian-friendly retail hub. Low-rise commercial developments will have activity-generating uses on the first storey to create a vibrant street experience.

Detailed plans will be unveiled later in the year as part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Draft Master Plan.

It typically takes 15 to 20 years for a centre to mature as time is needed to introduce detailed land-use plans, sell sites and build infrastructure. Success also depends on factors such as the economic climate and demand.

"We already have Causeway Point, but we need to build up much more. So there will be more shopping malls, more HDB (flats), BTO (flats), more private condos, executive condominiums and, of course, commercial activities and therefore jobs," said Mr Khaw. He was speaking to about 700 people who had turned up for a community event in Woodlands yesterday.

He added that jobs created will mean that "they don't have to travel very far to go to their workplaces".

Woodlands town now has about 230,000 residents.

Singapore's first two regional centres were launched in Tampines in 1992 and in Jurong in 2008. Plans for a fourth, in Seletar, will be announced in due course.

Regional centres, an idea announced in 1991, aim to decentralise Singapore to guard against congestion and over-development in the Central Business District (CBD) and the Marina Bay areas.

The Woodlands Regional Centre is also part of the new North Coast Innovation Corridor - a commercial belt from Woodlands and Sembawang to the future Seletar Regional Centre and Punggol.

Analysts said the new centre is likely to attract firms that complement labour-intensive industries across the Causeway.

"These could be companies that do research and development, or product design. That could be done here, but they may have their labour-intensive production and distribution arms in Iskandar," said Mr Danny Yeo, group managing director of property consultancy Knight Frank. Iskandar in Johor has been earmarked for projects such as retail, industry and education.

"It's the best of both worlds," he added, pointing to the new transport connections that could ease the flow of workers between both countries.

Sembawang GRC Member of Parliament Hawazi Daipi has high hopes that the plans will inject more life into Woodlands, which currently has only one mall.

He also suggested that the URA turn a temporary coastal promenade in Woodlands into a permanent feature, and that public courtyards be built.

Woodlands resident Vivekanand Ayyasami, 38, hopes the area will become a regional attraction. The IT professional and father of one, who lives in a three-room flat, spends 40 minutes getting to his CBD office by train. "If I could have a good job near my home, I would definitely consider it."

The URA has launched a website (www.ura.gov.sg/woodlands) where the public can find out more and give feedback on preliminary plans.

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Tuas coal power plant: More economical for now, but what about the long term?

Richmond Lee Today Online 25 Feb 13;

I refer to Tuas Power’s new Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex, which uses low-sulphur coal to generate power.

Oil and gas prices are subject to volatility, and burning coal for power could stabilise our utility bills for now. However while coal is a cheaper and more abundant fuel, it is much more polluting than gas or oil, adding health costs to society and damage to our environment.

Unfortunately, quantifying the health and environmental impact as a result of burning coal now is tricky as these effects will only be apparent many decades later.

Possible effects include more cases of asthma due to increased exposure to particulate matter — or in the worst-case scenario, higher incidence of lung cancer — or mercury emissions leading to higher mercury levels found in fish reared locally for food.

Power generation companies have assured that the process of burning coal here is subject to stringent regulations, with filters to remove the particulate matter and only low-sulphur coal being used. However, the process of digging for coal and treating it to remove sulphur and mercury are already environmental costs at the source.

We are not better off just because we are using “cleaner” coal at the expense of others.

Another concern is that the premium on low-sulphur coal could increase due to supply constraints, and we may be compelled to switch to the more polluting type of coal in our plants in the spirit of economics.

And can we be assured that environmental standards will be strictly adhered to many years down the road when the filters start to degrade?

The more sustainable solution remains making our homes and industries more energy efficient and cutting back on energy consumption. As for the burning of coal, there must be consensus on the health and environmental impact versus economics.

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Singapore can be a role model as a sustainable city: Balakrishnan

Sharon See Channel NewsAsia 24 Feb 13;

SINGAPORE: Singapore does not have to sacrifice green spaces to be a beautiful and sustainable city, said Environment and Water Resources Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

He added Singapore can become a role model for the world to achieve this.

Dr Balakrishnan was speaking to the media during his visit to the Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre on Sunday morning to unveil a new lift for the centre.

He said high density living is the most sustainable and green way of life on the planet and which Singapore can take the lead.

He said: "The most amazing thing about Singapore is that almost half of our land is covered in green. But equally, you realise that this has been achieved because we have been able to go high-rise. Because so many of us live in apartments, and that also give the fantastic landscape, cityscape of Singapore and the bright lights at night.

"So the point I'm making is we have to stop thinking in terms of zero-sum games, that I can only have this or that and not go, but to actually exercise imagination and to make it even better."

On Sunday morning, Dr Balakrishnan, who is the adviser to the Bukit Timah Grassroots Organisations and the area's MP Sim Ann unveiled a new lift for the centre, which they hope will provide easy access for customers and stall holders with heavy goods.

Ms Ann said: "We do have a number of elderly residents and it is a mature estate and I think for them to climb up and down the stairs especially after having done their shopping is not very convenient. Some of them have also told me it is quite painful to do that, so I think with the lift, it improves the situation."

Dr Balakrishnan said the government has improved this food centre over the years based on feedback from patrons and stall holders and will continue to do so.

He added that Singapore will need many more of such places with an authentic identity of its own.

Dr Balakrishnan said hawker centres can be cosy and unique places within the high density urban environment Singapore is moving towards.

His vision of the city, he said, is to make most things, including school, eating places and work, within a walking range of up to 400 or 500 metres.

On the negative reactions from some Singaporeans towards the Population White Paper, Dr Balakrishnan said the high level of emotions is a good thing as it shows Singaporeans care deeply about the country.

He said: "Well, actually part of me is actually quite glad because it shows that the people loves Singapore, people care deeply about the future, care deeply about what happens to our identity our children our livelihood and to our senior citizens. So the level of emotions to me is a good thing. I would be far more worried if people say I don't care, so let's recognise and give credit to Singaporeans for that. That we all care and care very deeply."

He added: "At the end of the day, the government has to do the right thing for the long term good of our people but has to convince our people. If we cannot convince people, then these plans will not work."

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Land scarce Singapore looks underground for space

Heather Tan Associated Press Inquirer 22 Feb 13;

SINGAPORE—Already one of the most densely populated countries in the world, tiny land scarce Singapore is projecting its population to swell by a third over the next two decades. To accommodate the influx, its planners envisage expanding upward, outward and downward.

The population target of 6.9 million people, an increase of 1.3 million from the present, is contentious in a country where rapid immigration has already strained services such as public transport and contributed to surging home prices and a widening wealth gap. It sparked a rare protest last week, with some 3,000 people gathering in a park that’s the only approved area for demonstrations.

Singaporeans, whose forebears mostly hailed from southern China, fear their falling birth rates combined with the relentless immigration will reduce them to a minority in their own country. Adding a new dimension to their complaints is the idea that planners want underground living to leap off their drawing boards and become a solution to overcrowding.

State media is already championing the idea. In September, the Straits Times newspaper characterized underground living as the “next frontier” for Singapore. It said Singaporeans may one day “live, work and play below ground in vast, subterranean caverns that make today’s underground malls look like home basements.” The Building Construction Authority, which oversees a new agency responsible for surveying underground, said it could become reality by 2050.

The public’s reaction has included derision and disbelief.

“Why pull me down,” said Patricia Bian-Hing, a retired 87-year-old businesswoman. “The only time I will go underground peacefully to live will be in my coffin.”

But experts are calling for an open mind about the possibility.

“Singaporeans are dismissing this prospect because it is new, not because it is unworkable or implausible,” said Jeffrey Chan, an assistant professor of architecture at the National University of Singapore.

“Astronauts who live in space stations, despite the abundance of direct sunlight have to live in shade most of the time, and they are only debilitated from the lack of gravity, not light,” he said. “Hence, I think if there are any biologically-imposed constraints, psychologically or real, these biological constraints can be overcome through new habits or technologically.”

With about 675 square kilometers (261 square miles) of land, Singapore is only 3.5 times the size of Washington DC and has limited options for increasing its space. Land reclaimed from the sea already accounts for a fifth of its landmass and Singapore’s appetite for imported sand for reclamation has caused tensions with neighboring countries concerned about coastal erosion. But its ruling People’s Action Party, in power since 1959, sees a bigger population as crucial to its goal of transforming Singapore into what it calls a leading world city.

The government’s new plans call for releasing land for housing and industry by closing golf courses and military training grounds and paving over some of the island’s nature reserves. That along with reclamation will free some 5,200 hectares (52 square kilometers, 20 square miles) of land to help accommodate an additional 700,000 homes and new shops and factories over the next 20 years. The projected increase in available land lags far behind the planned population increase so projects to put industry and other activities underground are already advancing on several fronts despite the technical challenges and significantly higher costs of subterranean construction.

“Going underground is one option for Singapore as it frees up surface land,” said David Tan, assistant chief executive officer of Jurong Town Corporation, Singapore’s main development body.

The JTC is studying construction of an underground science complex beneath an existing science park that’s used by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Projected to cost 50 percent more than a similar facility above ground, it would go down 30 storeys — 80 to 100 meters — and house laboratories, offices and a data center.

The corporation has already overseen construction of a massive underground oil bunker in rock caverns that freed up a surface area equivalent to six petrochemical plants. The island also saved 300 hectares of space by putting an ammunition bunker underground.

A possibility explored for several years is an underground extension of Singapore’s Nangyang Technological University after a 1999 study by the government and the university found at least part of the area beneath the campus could be turned into rock caverns. Planners envisage four underground levels that could accommodate lecture theatres, cinemas, libraries, offices, laboratories and car parking.

“If we think about it, there are already underground spaces here in Singapore and throughout most major metropolitan regions,” said Erik L’Heureux, an architecture professor NUS.

“We already have underground train stations and malls, and there are already many buildings here that take advantage of spaces below ground so the real questions are how much time will one spend underground, what goes on there, and how far down from natural light and fresh air.”

For the Singapore for Singaporeans camp, the space squeeze has only highlighted the costs of the government’s population and economic policies. Its efforts to attract high-skilled professionals in finance, science and other industries it wants Singapore to be known for has resulted in nature sanctuaries and cemeteries being overrun by golf courses and luxury condominiums.

“Ultimately it will be Singaporeans who will suffer,” said Rachel Mun, a 33-year old sales assistant. “As it is, Singapore is already bursting with people and things we once depended on like transportation, have become exhausted because of the influx of commuters.”

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Malaysia: Timber! Kedah’s crying hills keep dying

Embun Majid and Kow Kwan Yee The Star 25 Feb 13

JITRA: Even as the issue of extensive logging activities in Pedu and Gunung Inas in Kedah remains very much in the news, yet another hill in the state has been found stripped of its forests.

An area covering 145ha about the size of 180 football fields at the Bukit Perangin Forest Reserve has been cleared of trees for timber.

The PAS-led state government reportedly approved logging in the area more than a month ago.

The concession is believed to have been awarded to high ranking officers in the Kedah Civil Service (KCS) and the land would be re-planted with rubber trees.

It is also learnt that the state government had approved a total of 780ha about the size of 963 football fields in the same area for the same purpose.

Deputy Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Datuk Mohd Johari Baharom, who visited the site over two days after being alerted by locals, was shocked by the rape of the hill.

The Kubang Pasu MP said excessive and indiscriminate logging had laid the land bare, polluting the water in Sungai Kechik, Sungai Badak and Sungai Wang Perah, which are used by locals.

The three rivers flow into Sungai Temin, which provides raw water to the Mukim Temin and Jeragan water treatment plants.

“The outcome of the logging activities will also affect farmers in Kubang Pasu, Temin, Hosba, Binjai and Malau, which are under the Muda Agriculture Development Authority (Mada),” he said here yesterday.

He said that although the logging activities were legal, it should not have been done to the extent of causing adverse environmental effects.

Mohd Johari also questioned whether the state had done an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the land clearing.

“I don't think the Department of Environment would give the green light for logging in the area.

“Although this is not a water catchment area, the state must be responsible and take care of the ecosystem,” he said.

Mohd Johari said he would write to the state government to immediately stop logging activities in the area.

He said he would also raise the matter with the Natural Resources Ministry and the Department of Environment.

“If the state government refuses to stop, we will bring the people to the place to see the ecological damage to the hill for themselves,” he said.

Meanwhile, people in nearby Kampung Wang Perah, Kampung Bukit and Kubang Betong said the wanton logging in the forest reserve area was worrisome.

Kampung Wang Perah villager Abu Bakar Salleh, 43, is sad to see the trees in the forest reserve area destroyed.

“If we do not stop it now, the damage in future could be worse,” he said.

Villager Che Tom Musa, 62, who has been living there for 45 years, said this was the first time the forest reserve area was being cleared.

“I hope the state will stop the logging immediately because we will face problems arising from the land clearing,” he said.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak declined to comment on the logging in Bukit Perangin.

“I think the Forestry Department knows about the logging activities there, so please ask them,” he said.

Kedah Forestry Department director Ku Azmi Ku Aman said many approvals had been given to logging activities in the area.

He declined further comment until he was certain about the specific area.

“We have approved many logging activities there, so I do not know the exact location of the site,” he said.

Ku Azmi said the department had yet to receive any formal complaint about logging in the area.

Rampant logging in state since 2008
The Star 25 Feb 13;

JITRA: Rampant logging activities have been going on in Kedah since 2008 in spite of concerns over the need to preserve the environment.

Large scale logging began in Gunung Inas, Baling, in late 2011 where 5,000ha of the 15,000ha of the pristine Bukit Bintang forest reserve were cleared for a “Ladang Sejahtera” (Peaceful Plantation) rubber replanting project.

Alarm bells rang again soon after when it was found that about 400ha of forest reserves near Tasik Pedu had been logged to develop an eco-tourism project.

The barren hilltop is located near Pedu Lake, a vital water catchment area for Kedah.

Bukit Perangin is the third such area in the state that has come under the spotlight for rampant land clearing.

Although logging in the 145ha had been found to be were done legally, there are concerns about long-term effects to the environment.

People in three nearby villages are worried over the impact of the state government's supposed approval to another rubber plantation project involving 780ha of land in the surrounding area.

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