Malaysia: Friends of the forest

Meng Yew Choong The Star 2 Apr 13;

Enlisting local help to protect vulnerable peatlands.

IN the past, the people have always counted on the Government to supply manpower and resources to protect forests and wildlife. That model has had only limited success as forests, by their very nature, are difficult to secure from determined trespassers. It seems that conservation that involves locals is the way to go.

Take, for example, Selangor’s Raja Musa Forest Rehabilitation Programme, which is a collaboration between the state Forestry Department and Global Environment Centre (GEC), a Malaysia-based non-governmental organisation working on conservation of natural resources and climate change issues.

Other than the support of the state government, one key asset of the programme is the successful enlistment of the local community in not only regenerating the forest, but also in keeping intruders and squatters out. The volunteers call themselves Friends of the North Selangor Peat Forest. This largely pristine peatland forest measures around 73,400ha, which is about the size of Singapore.

The creation of the group drew from lessons learned in protecting the Kuala Gula mangrove sanctuary in Perak. In 2007, GEC had worked with the community there to establish the Friends of Mangrove to rehabilitate, protect and manage the Kuala Gula mangroves. Since the formation of the group, there has been discernible changes in the quality of the mangroves which support local fisheries and forestry efforts.

Nursing the forest

GEC is rehabilitating more than 1,000ha of degraded forest within and adjacent to the Raja Musa forest, which sits between Sungai Bernam and Sungai Selangor. About 3,000ha has been degraded by logging, encroachment by cash crop farmers and fires. Last year, fires affected more than 400ha inside and outside the forest reserve.

Phase 1 of the programme took place between December 2008 and November 2010 and was marked by many community tree-planting events. Some 2,000 volunteers planted more than 30,000 seedlings on 60ha of land.

Malaysia has about 1.54 million hectares of peat swamp forest, with more than 70% in Sarawak, less than 20% in Peninsular Malaysia, and the remainder in Sabah. Some 76,000ha of peat swamps remain in Selangor and the North Selangor block, consisting of the Sungai Karang and Raja Musa Forest Reserves, is the second largest block of contiguous peat swamp in the peninsula (the largest block is at the Pekan-Nenasi area in Pahang).

Peat is defined as a soil type containing at least 65% organic matter, typically formed from half-decayed leaves, stems and roots of plants that have accumulated in a water-saturated environment in the absence of oxygen. The peat layer can be a thick as 20m. Over millions of years, compressed peat can morph into coal.

Tree planting at Raja Musa will help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere. Peatlands store enormous amounts of CO2 but when burnt (whether as coal, lignite and other fossil fuels), the CO2 is released back into the atmosphere. Fires do not generally threaten pristine peat forest as the ground is moist but for peatland that has been disturbed, especially by uncontrolled drainage through man-made canals, fires can wreak havoc as the natural water table has been significantly lowered.

After several decades of logging, the Raja Musa forest is vulnerable to land conversion attempts. This occurred about 10 years ago. Poachers also enter the reserve using abandoned logging tracks and other paths created by illegal settlers. Incursions aside, GEC’s greatest fear is that the degraded peat will catch fire.

“Peatland fires and haze are the most serious environmental problems in Asean, impacting the health and livelihood of millions of people. In 2012, South-East Asia was seriously affected by fire and haze during an El Nino-associated drought cycle. Further fires are expected during the dry season this month,” said GEC director Faizal Parish.

In December 2010, a new phase in cooperation was initiated when Selangor Forestry Department and GEC signed a memorandum of understanding to support community-based forest conservation and rehabilitation.

In the second phase of work, GEC and the state are not only supporting replanting but also long-term protection of the forest. The initiative has received financial backing from the European Union, Bridgestone Tyre Sales Malaysia and HSBC Bank.

GEC now has the cooperation of four villages – Kampung Bestari Jaya, Kampung Ampangan, Kampung Seri Tiram Jaya and Kampung Raja Musa. The community is protecting the forest through fire prevention education, restoration of the natural water table by blocking free-flowing canals, encouraging natural flora regeneration, and replanting severely degraded areas.

“What we do here must also benefit the local community, which is often the first to be impacted by events in the forest reserve. We want them to be our eyes and ears, and hence, they must also stand to benefit from it.

“For example, some villagers are now growing tree seedlings. We buy from them, so they get some income,” said Faizal.

Other ways in which GEC helps the villagers are by giving them advice on how to improve their agricultural yield. “We have been getting plantation giants Felda and Sime Darby to give talks on best practices so that they can increase the productivity from existing plots. There is then less need to get things from the forest or to intrude there. Forest burning means no visitors as the area will be shrouded in haze, so all these rehabilitation and management (activities) are actually beneficial for them.” said Faizal.

The creation of the Friends of the North Selangor Peat Forest is one good example of community involvement in sustainable peatland management and peatland forest fire prevention that is promoted by the ASEAN Peatland Forests Project-SEApeat project (www.aseanpeat.net). Initiated in 2011, the project aims to improve environmental awareness, education and conservation of peat swamp forests in South-East Asia. In Malaysia, the Raja Musa forest was chosen as the pilot site.

People power

It is not only those who have a direct stake in agriculture who care about the forest. Syamsul Ramli and his wife Noor Hazan Morah Huddin, both 39 and from Kampung Bestari Jaya, are enthusiastic members of the volunteer group.

“When we were young, we had no idea what peatland was, other than the blackish water seen in its vicinity. We did not know about the combustability of peat, but we are now aware. GEC’s approach is effective, and our challenge now is how to attract more villagers to learn about peat. We still have a lot of work to do in order to arouse interest,” said Syamsul, who sells school reference books for a living.

Azmi Md Zaki, 39, is another enthusiastic volunteer. “When I was a kid, peat never entered my vocabulary. We just went around playing and swimming in the lakes and rivers. But when GEC came to the village to suss out the interest of the people in caring for peatland, I became aware, and my interest grew from then on,” said the company administration officer.

Group chairman Sariat Kadot, 55, revealed that illegal incursions into Raja Musa forest is now under control on account of regular motorcycle patrols in the forest, conducted by villagers who are self-employed or retired. “We will advise intruders about the no hunting, no fishing, and no open burning policies. There are some outsiders who challenge us. In those cases, we will jot down the details and file a report. Our job is only to advise, not to get into any violent confrontation. Those who come in to hunt illegally are not only armed, but are sometimes drunk, so we have to take precautions.”

With about 100 volunteers, the group is seeing more and more members starting to take an active role in forest management. Last year, some of them battled fatigue during Ramadhan (Muslim fasting month) to help fight an underground fire that eventually burned 400ha.

“We lacked the protective gear like those worn by firemen, but we joined in the fight just like the rest. Now, where can you find greater dedication than that?” asked Azmi.

With villagers like that looking out for the forest, it appears that Selangor’s commitment to rehabilitate the Raja Musa forest is heading down the right path.

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Indonesia seizes nearly 700 endangered turtles

(AFP) Google News 1 Apr 13;

TANGERANG, Indonesia — Indonesian authorities have seized nearly 700 endangered pig-nosed turtles at the main airport serving the capital Jakarta, an official said Monday.

The turtles, which were less than a month old, had been transported from the easternmost province of Papua to Soekarno-Hatta airport on a local carrier but their final destination was unknown, said quarantine official Teguh Samudro.

"We don't know where they were being sent as the address on the package does not exist," the official said. The turtles would be released back into their native habitat in Papua soon, he added.

The 687 pig-nosed turtles, a species distinguishable by its fleshy snout-like nose, arrived at the airport on March 15 but officials did not know who had sent them.

Under Indonesian law, the offence carries a maximum three-year jail term and a fine of 150 million rupiah ($15,406).

Pig-nosed turtles are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which imposes international trade restrictions to protect species from over-exploitation.

Quarantine officials foil attempt to smuggle 687 pig-nosed turtles
Antara 1 Apr 13;

Tangerang, Banten (ANTARA News) - Quarantine officials at Seokarno-Hatta Airport have foiled an attempt to smuggle 687 pitted-shelled turtles, chief of the airport`s quarantine office Teguh Samudro said.

"We discovered the smuggling attempt after their container got leaked," Teguh, the head of Soekarno-Airport`s Quarantine Office of Fisheries Quality and Security Control Agency (BBKIPM), said here on Monday.

He said that one-month old pig-snout turtles were dispatched from Papua on March 15 aboard of a Sriwijaya plane and had a transit at Makassar airport before arriving at Soekarno-Hatta airport.

But the officials could not disclose the passenger who brought the endangered species. They were suspicious to have fled when the turtles were confiscated by the officials.

Regional Conservation Director of the Ministry of Maritime and Fishery Affairs, Tonny Ruchimat said pig-nosed turtle was a protected species based on the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), Law N0 5 /1990, article 21, and article 40 point 2 and 4 of Government Regulation No. 7/ 1999 on plants and animals conservation.

"We are still investigating the sender of the young fly-river turtles. We are also examining why the animals could escape examinations at Makassar airport without the knowledge of officials," Teguh said.

The pig-nosed turtles have been handed over to the Directorate General of Forest and Nature Conservation (PHKA) for release to their habitat.

Last month, the Bengkulu Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) also released around 200 turtle hatchlings in Pasir Putih beach, Bengkulu province.

Turtles have been protected by the Indonesian government, but turtles poaching and illegal trading are still rampant in the country, Bengkulu BKSDA Chief Anggoro Dwi Sujianto said.

The turtles were hatched in Alam Air Hitam sanctuary, Mukomuko District, Bengkulu Province, and therefore some of the hatchlings were released in Mukomuko and the rest in Bengkulu city`s beach.

Turtles that hatch in Bengkulu beaches do not only come from the province but also from Thailand. Thai turtles come to Bengkulu waters only to lay their eggs, and they then disappear in Indian oceans.
(Uu.A014/O001)

Editor: Priyambodo RH

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Best of our wild blogs: 1 Apr 13

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This could be Singapore's first World Heritage Site

Tan Dawn Wei Straits Times 1 Apr 13;

SINGAPORE is making a pitch for its first Unesco World Heritage Site - the 154-year-old Botanic Gardens.

It has sent its initial application for the coveted status to the global body, formally known as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

The historic gardens was founded at its present site in 1859 by an agri-horticultural society. Its director, Dr Nigel Taylor, said an application to Unesco was made last December.

But more work needs to be done before the gardens can be considered for official listing as a World Heritage Site.

"The Singapore Botanic Gardens fulfils the criteria for World Heritage Site assessment, and is a well-loved outdoor area for Singaporeans from all walks of life," he said.

"It is also significant for its interesting history that parallels Singapore's development."

Unesco World Heritage Sites are cultural or natural sites that have been deemed to have outstanding universal value. There are 962 in the world, with 33 in South-east Asia such as Angkor in Cambodia, and Malacca and George Town in Malaysia. Singapore ratified the World Heritage Convention last year, which means it is bound to protect its national heritage.

In describing the gardens to Unesco, the Republic pointed out that it was the oldest surviving example of its kind in the Straits Settlements, and a "living testament to the foresight of the early pioneering spirit of Singapore".

The 74ha park, which draws more than four million visitors a year, was instrumental in pioneering rubber cultivation and tapping techniques, and orchid breeding. Its botanical research and conservation have also put it on the international map.

The other botanic gardens that have made the Unesco list are the Royal Botanic Gardens in London and Orto Botanico in Padua, Italy.

Historians and heritage buffs say the gardens is an obvious choice for Singapore's first stab at gaining Unesco status.

Dr Chua Ai Lin, an historian and one-time member of the former Singapore Sub-Commission on Culture and Information for Unesco, said the idea of backing the Botanic Gardens for the listing had been discussed for a few years.

"It was quite clear the Botanic Gardens was a low-hanging fruit," she said. Getting the Unesco stamp "will show that it is not a history that is just meaningful to us here in a small way, but meaningful in a universal way".

University lecturer Tan Wee Cheng, who started a Facebook page in 2009 to campaign for Singapore to get itself on the list, said the gardens was a "fitting choice" to be the country's first official site.

"But instead of just celebrating if and when we do get on the list, we should consider issues of identity and conservation - if there are other sites we should conserve and further build on our national identity."

Gaining the recognition would be good for national pride, he said. "From a tourism perspective, they can then put the Unesco logo on their brochures."

The country will now have to put together a nomination file.

More details will be shared at a later date, said Dr Taylor, but The Straits Times understands that there will be a series of public engagement exercises running till the end of this year, before the documents are submitted officially.

Singapore gardens aim for UNESCO heritage status
Bhavan Jaipragas (AFP) Google News 4 Apr 13;

SINGAPORE — Singapore, one of the world's most densely populated countries, is campaigning to get its 154-year-old Botanic Gardens declared a UNESCO world heritage site.

If selected by the UN cultural body, the lush and serene 74-hectare (182-acre) park on the edge of downtown Singapore will join the Royal Botanic Gardens in London and the Orto Botanico in Italy on the prestigious list.

The Singapore gardens were founded in 1859 by the Agri-Horticultural Society while the island was under British colonial rule.

The gardens became known for pioneering rubber tapping and orchid breeding techniques and evolved into a hugely popular attraction for Singaporeans and foreign tourists alike.

It now sees around four million visitors a year in a city-state of 5.3 million people.

"The Singapore Botanic Gardens fulfills the criteria for World Heritage Site assessment, and is a well-loved outdoor area for Singaporeans from all walks of life," said the attraction's director Nigel Taylor.

The campaign for the gardens to be considered a UNESCO World Heritage site was initiated in December, said Taylor, a former curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens.

The Singapore gardens currently sit on UNESCO's 'Tentative List'.

"Such sites will be further researched on before they are considered for official listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site," said Taylor.

The 962 sites currently on the World Heritage List are places of cultural or natural heritage "considered to be of outstanding value to humanity", according to UNESCO.

The Straits Times newspaper said Singapore authorities are planning a series of public events throughout the year before an official application is submitted to UNESCO.

The gardens boast over 30,000 plant and tree species, according to the Singapore National Commission for UNESCO, as well as a swan lake and amphitheatre where classical music and other concerts are held.

It is also internationally acclaimed for its VIP and Celebrity Orchids area, where varieties are cultivated and named after famous people, from Princess Diana to Nelson Mandela.

Local conservationists have welcomed the campaign, and say the garden is Singapore's best bet at gaining UNESCO heritage site status.

"The gardens have been extremely well maintained over the years and are well deserving to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site," said Yeo Kang Shua, the honorary secretary of the Singapore Heritage Society.

"The entire process of applying to UNESCO will allow Singaporeans to understand the importance of the gardens in our economic development since the British era," he told AFP.

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Leopards and Humans Peacefully Coexist in India

Becky Oskin LiveScience.com Yahoo News 31 Mar 13;

Leopards and humans peacefully share the same densely populated rural landscape in western India, a new camera trap survey shows.

The cameras caught leopards and other jungle cats, as well as hyenas and jackals, prowling close to houses through the night in farmland in western Maharashtra, India. The carnivores and people shared the same paths — so much so that the researchers had to turn off their camera traps during the day because of the human and livestock traffic.

Yet the leopards went largely undetected by people, according to a statement from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which helped fund the study.

"Human attacks by leopards were rare despite a potentially volatile situation considering that the leopard has been involved in serious conflict, including human deaths in adjoining areas," Ullas Karanth of the WCS, a study co-author, said in the statement. "The results of our work push the frontiers of our understanding of the adaptability of both humans and wildlife to each other's presence."

The findings were published online March 6 in the journal PLOS One.

The camera traps documented 10 large carnivores per 38 square miles (100 square kilometers) in the densely populated area — five leopards and five hyenas. The human population density is more than 300 people per 38 square miles. [Images: Backyard Leopards Caught on Camera]

The discovery of so many large carnivores living in proximity to people highlights the need to focus on conservation outside of protected areas, the researchers said.

The farming-intensive landscape lacks wilderness and wild herbivores for prey, and the region has only one protected area for wildlife, the Kalsubai Harishchandragarh Wildlife Sanctuary, the researchers said.

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Earth-cooling schemes need global sign-off, researchers say

World's most vulnerable people need protection from huge and unintended impacts of radical geoengineering projects
Ian Sample The Guardian 31 Mar 13;

Controversial geoengineering projects that may be used to cool the planet must be approved by world governments to reduce the danger of catastrophic accidents, British scientists said.

Met Office researchers have called for global oversight of the radical schemes after studies showed they could have huge and unintended impacts on some of the world's most vulnerable people.

The dangers arose in projects that cooled the planet unevenly. In some cases these caused devastating droughts across Africa; in others they increased rainfall in the region but left huge areas of Brazil parched.

"The massive complexities associated with geoengineering, and the potential for winners and losers, means that some form of global governance is essential," said Jim Haywood at the Met Office's Hadley Centre in Exeter.

The warning builds on work by scientists and engineers to agree a regulatory framework that would ban full-scale geoengineering projects, at least temporarily, but allow smaller research projects to go ahead.

Geoengineering comes in many flavours, but among the more plausible are "solar radiation management" (SRM) schemes that would spray huge amounts of sun-reflecting particles high into the atmosphere to simulate the cooling effects of volcanic eruptions.

Volcanoes can blast millions of tonnes of sulphate particles into the stratosphere, where they stay aloft for years and cool the planet by reflecting some of the sun's energy back out to space.

In 2009, a Royal Society report warned that geoengineering was not an alternative to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, but conceded the technology might be needed in the event of a climate emergency.

Writing in the journal Nature Climate Change, Haywood and others show that moves to cool the climate by spraying sulphate particles into the atmosphere could go spectacularly wrong. They began by looking at the unexpected impacts of volcanic eruptions.

In 1912 and 1982, eruptions first at Katmai in Alaska and then at El Chichón in Mexico blasted millions of tonnes of sulphate into northern skies. These eruptions preceded major droughts in the Sahel region of Africa. When the scientists recreated the eruptions in climate models, rainfall across the Sahel all but stopped as moisture-carrying air currents were pushed south.

Having established a link between volcanic eruptions in the northern hemisphere and droughts in Africa, the scientists returned to their climate models to simulate SRM projects.

The scientists took a typical project that would inject 5m tonnes of sulphate into the stratosphere every year from 2020 to 2070. That amount of sulphate injected into the northern hemisphere caused severe droughts in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Chad and Sudan, and an almost total loss of vegetation.

The same project had radically different consequences if run from the southern hemisphere. Rather than drying the Sahel, cooling the southern hemisphere brought rains to the Sahel and re-greened the region. But Africa's benefit came at the cost of slashing rainfall in north-eastern Brazil.

The unintended consequences of SRM projects would probably be felt much farther afield. "We have only scratched the surface in looking at the Sahel. If hurricane frequencies changed, that could have an impact on the US," said Haywood.

Matthew Watson, who leads the Spice project at Bristol University, said the study revealed the "dramatic consequences" of uninformed geoengineering.

"This paper tells us there are consequences for our actions whatever we do. There is no get-out-of-jail-free card," he told the Guardian.

"Whatever we do is a compromise, and that compromise means there will be winners and losers. That opens massive ethical questions: who gets to decide how we even determine what is a good outcome for different people?

"How do you get a consensus with seven billion-plus stakeholders? If there was a decision to do geoengineering tomorrow, it would be done by white western men, and that isn't good," Watson said.

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Best of our wild blogs: 31 Mar 13

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Indonesia: No flight of fancy with Mr Wildlife

Indonesian tycoon is single-minded in his conservation effort, and doing it his way
David Ee Straits Times 31 Mar 13;

Just an hour's flight south of Singapore lies a place that feels like the very end of the earth. Swathed in thick jungle and with nothing but the ocean lying between it and Antarctica, this remote coastal forest on the south-western tip of Sumatra, Indonesia, might at first glimpse appear untended and undistinguished.

But descend towards the sandy shore and a wide airstrip reveals itself - a pale green band slicing through the dark forest. Later, as one encounters uniformed guards on horseback and officers on paraplane patrols, it becomes clear that this forest is no ordinary one.

The Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation reserve is the private ecological endeavour of one of Indonesia's richest men, businessman Tomy Winata.

The 54-year-old head of the Artha Graha conglomerate has 35,000 employees, and oversees operations ranging from banking and mining to real estate. In 2011, Globe Asia ranked him as the country's 46th richest man, with a net worth of US$570 million (S$707 million).

The reserve might well represent the next frontier of conservation in Indonesia, a country whose rich forests remain threatened by extensive logging and mining interests.

Singapore has extended green fingers to aid Mr Winata - researchers from the Singapore Botanic Gardens visited Tambling in January to advise him and his team regarding forest restoration, as part of the Gardens' efforts to share its wealth of knowledge throughout the region.

Tambling, despite appearances, is hardly pristine. It still bears the scars of illegal logging and mining, which took place before Mr Winata secured the 45,000ha from the Indonesian government in 1996. More than half the size of Singapore, it was once part of the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park.

Eight years were spent tackling pollution and setting up ranger patrols and guard posts to deter loggers and poachers. Mr Winata has spent US$25 million of his own money on the reserve, which remains closed to the public for now, though eco-tourism is on his mind.

Busy as he is, he is not running the reserve by proxy from Jakarta. Once a month, he sheds his business suits and leaves the capital behind, heading for his little slice of paradise to personally direct the progress there. He spends up to a week there each time, clad in baggy polo tees, wrinkled shorts and slippers. Staff update him as he saunters through the cluster of lodges in the home base.

Occasionally, accompanied by rangers, he drives a golf cart into the reserve's fringes to inspect camera traps and try to spot unrecorded animal species.

The tycoon, who grew to love nature as a young man while working as a military contractor in Kalimantan and Irian Jaya, says Tambling is a place where he can breathe.

His love affair with the area and conservation began with a moment of disquiet. In 1995, he went to Tambling with friends to hunt deer. "I didn't feel good," he says. "I kept quiet. But deep in my heart, I knew I would come back."

He returned the next year. Now, 17 years on, Tambling has drawn curiosity, praise and scepticism from many quarters - at the root of which is Mr Winata's unconventional approach to conservation.

One source of controversy has been his re-introduction of "conflict" tigers into the reserve.

These captured Sumatran tigers attacked or killed humans in the past. Conventional wisdom holds that they should be kept under lock and key. However, with fewer than 400 of these critically endangered tigers left in the wild, Mr Winata is determined to save them, and is convinced they can be rehabilitated and released into the jungle safely.

In the reserve, the attempt is being made primarily by keeping the animals in isolation at a tiger rescue centre and minimising their contact with humans. In addition, the 150 villagers living in the reserve are told not to venture deep into the forest and not to cut down trees on which tigers have left scratch marks to mark their territory.

Five tigers have been released and have joined the estimated 15 already living in the reserve. So far, no villagers have been attacked.

Populations of elephants, rhinos, wild buffalo, tapir and sambar deer are flourishing as well.

And the Tambling forest is slowly regenerating, in stark contrast to the surrounding national park where, as Mr Winata points out in an aerial photograph, illegal logging and mining persist.

His single-mindedness in protecting the reserve appears to be succeeding where government efforts have faltered. He is determined to go it alone, convinced his way is the best way to conserve Tambling's rich flora and fauna - red tape be damned.

Little surprise then that his favourite karaoke song - one he can often be heard crooning at night in the main lodge while hosting guests - is Frank Sinatra's hit, My Way.

Given how things have turned out, Mr Winata feels vindicated.

"People think, 10 hours from Jakarta, you still find illegal logging. How is it possible that, one hour from Jakarta, you can conserve?" he says.

He laughs off criticism from groups that question his intentions, given that rich supplies of gold and iron ore lie within the reserve - he chooses to be judged by Tambling itself. "They can not like me, but they cannot not like my reserve."

Explaining his project's Singapore connection, he says Tambling does not yet have a resident ecologist. "I need Singapore's science and biology. They tell us which species are important - if not, we wouldn't know. I'm trying to make Tambling as it was originally."

In January, researchers from the Botanic Gardens brought precious cargo from its own collection of plant specimens: about 150kg of seeds from hardwoods such as the Belian and Meranti - species once endemic to Sumatra but since lost to timber logging.

While in Tambling, the researchers trained the reserve's staff in basic ecological techniques, such as how to propagate seeds and nurture saplings. They also identified important species to preserve, including a variety of saline-resistant Syzygium grande that forms a tree buffer along the coast, protecting inland trees from salty winds.

In addition, a team from Tambling has visited Singapore to train at the Botanic Gardens. Eventually, the tree seeds could be planted in the reserve, setting it on a path back to the way it once was.

Mr Winata says he appreciates how much Singapore researchers value what they see in Tambling - an attitude he rarely sees in his own country. "Maybe because Singapore does not have much forest... in Indonesia, we have too much forest, so we don't care."

He has plans to protect a similar forest reserve in Sulawesi, and start a botanic garden in Bali. He says he aims to spend 60 per cent of his business profits on conservation and social causes, and hopes more people like him will follow suit.

"We have 28 million hectares (of forest) in Indonesia. There's a lot of room for businessmen to show they care," he says.

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Sumatran rhino footprints found in Borneo

WWF 31 Mar 13;

Sendawar, Indonesia -- A team from WWF-Indonesia has found fresh footprints resembling those of a critically endangered Sumatran rhino in the Heart of Borneo (HoB) area of East Kalimantan, Indonesia, the first time in over two decades that traces of the elusive rhino have appeared in the area.

To confirm the presence of the rare animal, a second team comprised of WWF-Indonesia, the West Kutai Forestry Agency, Mulawarman University and local observers launched a follow-up survey that found more evidence of rhino footprints, active mud wallows, marks on tree trunks, and signs that the rhinoceros species had been feeding in the area.

The survey team also identified more than 20 plant species rhinos feed on in abundance in the area, including Dillenia supruticosa, Glochidion glomemerulatum and Nblia Japanica. The abundant food and the overall natural conditions of the area further support the findings.

“This is a very important finding to the world, and especially to Indonesia's conservation work, as this serves as a new record on the presence of Sumatran rhinos in East Kalimantan and especially in West Kutai,” said Bambang Noviyanto, the director for biodiversity conservation at the Forestry Ministry.

“Information surrounding the presence becomes important to draft strategies to protect the population, if it is found to be viable and breeding, and to educate [people living around] the habitat where [traces] of rhinos have been found,” continued Bambang.

Experts taking part in the survey stated that no visual sighting has been made to date, and also cautioned that it is still too early to confirm whether the signs were made by a group of rhinos or just one remaining individual.

Sumatran rhinos in Kalimantan were presumed extinct in early 1990s. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the rare animal as Critically Endangered, with a population of fewer than 275 individuals now living in the wild.

Commenting on the findings, WWF-Indonesia conservation director Nazir Foead said, “WWF-Indonesia together with all stakeholders will conduct a follow-up and more comprehensive survey to map rhinos' habitat preference and their population in West Kutai.”

“Based on the result of this survey, joint strategies and comprehensive and holistic action plans need to be immediately formulated.”

Nazir further stated that the conservation plan and efforts for Sumatran Rhinos needed to be long-term, and therefore sustainable funding was needed, partly to ensure that the work also benefit people living around the rhinos' habitat.

The head of the West Kutai district, Ismael Thomas SH. M.Si, said, “Rhinos, dolphins, clouded leopards and local buffalo are among God's creations that are getting rare, but apparently they're still alive in West Kutai”. Ismael added, “We must protect them, and the communities must live in harmony with nature.”

According to Ismael, the West Kutai administration is committed to protecting rhinos, and will immediately issue a law on Endangered Animal and Plant Protection.

In partnership with WWF Indonesia, the local government will form a team to study and investigate the presence of the animals, to decide on precise conservation policies and programs, as well as sources of funding to support efforts to protect rhinos.

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Best of our wild blogs: 30 Mar 13

Masked Lapwing, six years on
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Singapore's first LNG terminal

It will import 3 million tonnes a year to diversify sources of natural gas
Grace Chua Straits Times 30 Mar 13;

SINGAPORE got its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this week, in time for the Republic's first LNG terminal, which will be up and running in the next few weeks.

The LNG cargo arrived on Wednesday from Qatar on a massive QMax carrier ship, heralding a new era in energy security for the island.

Up until now, Singapore has relied largely on piped natural gas from Indonesia and Malaysia for its energy needs.

With the new Singapore LNG Terminal at Jurong Island, it will import some 3 million tonnes of LNG a year to diversify the geographical sources of natural gas, the main fuel it uses for power generation.

Singapore gets more than 80 per cent of its electricity from natural gas, about 18 per cent from fuel oil, and the rest from other sources like waste incineration.

The $1.7 billion Singapore LNG terminal is built and run by the government-owned Singapore LNG Corporation.

There are plans to install more tanks to be able to import up to 9 million tonnes a year, and room for even more tanks in future.

For now, Singapore plans to import LNG from Trinidad & Tobago, Egypt and countries in West Africa.

Singapore LNG Corporation had previously said it looked to Qatar for its first batch of LNG because it offered the most competitive terms overall.

Earlier this month, The Straits Times visited Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's answer to Jurong Island.

Where Jurong Island is a mere 32 sq km and lacks natural resources, Ras Laffan is a full 295 sq km and taps a 6,000 sq km gas field off Qatar's north-east shore.

This North Field was discovered in 1971, and today Qatar is the world's largest producer of LNG, accounting for 77 million tonnes a year.

The gas is pumped from offshore platforms, and water, sulphur, carbon dioxide and heavier hydrocarbons called condensates are removed.

What is left is methane, the part that is burnt for energy generation. That is cooled to minus 160 deg C, which turns it into liquid.

Piped natural gas from neighbouring countries needs undersea pipelines. LNG, after it is regasified, will still have to be piped around Singapore, but no undersea pipelines are needed as it comes in by ship.

The world is demanding - and supplying - more natural gas.

The International Energy Agency reckons global use of gas by 2035 will rise 50 per cent from 2010 levels and account for a quarter of the world's energy mix, especially as China's demand rises and if countries use it instead of coal.

Closer to home, Singapore firms will be installing more than 2,000MW of power generating capacity by 2015, adding to the current 10,000 or so MW, largely to meet future industrial de-mand.

Meanwhile, the United States is considering exporting some of its shale gas as LNG.

But will importing LNG lower energy costs for Singapore consumers? Not necessarily.

While a large supply has driven gas prices down in the US, where gas is traded freely, Asian gas prices are still tied to crude oil.

And US pipeline gas must be processed and transported before it eventually arrives in Asia, which will add costs.

As a fossil fuel, natural gas emits the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide when it is burned, but a third less than oil and half as much as coal, said Professor Michael Quah, director of the National University of Singapore's Energy Office.

If Singapore wants to de-link its energy use from its economic growth, Prof Quah said, it can keep domestic energy demand down through conservation and increased energy efficiency, while for petrochemicals, manufacturing and power generation, moving to lower-carbon-footprint industries could help along with energy efficiency measures.

But natural gas will be around for the long term.

"At issue are the economics versus Singapore's ability to harness renewable energy, including from our next nearest neighbours," he said.

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Dengue infections on the rise across Asia

Straits Times 30 Mar 13;

DENGUE fever outbreaks are on the rise again in various parts of Asia, claiming victims in remote villages of India as well as tourist spots such as Bali.

In Indonesia, several regions have seen a spike in dengue cases. In East Java province, with 41 million people, there were 4,997 cases in January and February, three times the figure in the same period last year, local reports said. The number of deaths rose to 49, from 32 in the same period.

All four strains of the disease are present in Indonesia. Regions with higher incidence of dengue include Padang in West Sumatra, Central Kalimantan and Bali.

Australian media reported this month that 415 cases - or 80 per cent of all dengue cases in West Australia last year - could be traced to Indonesia, mostly in Bali.

The peak season of transmission in Indonesia is from January to May, as the rainy season gives way to warmer weather - a combination that fosters the spread of the mosquito-borne disease. Widespread puddles of stagnant water form perfect incubators for the Aedes mosquito.

Over in Thailand, experts warn that the country could be headed for a record year for dengue fever infections. As of March 11, there were 13,200 cases, a nearly fourfold increase compared to the same period last year.

Dr Monir Islam, acting World Health Organisation (WHO) representative to Thailand, said the rising figures are worrying because they are happening even before the start of the rainy season.

Thailand's Ministry of Public Health and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have issued public warnings. The ministry has stocked up on medical supplies and trained more clinicians to spot symptoms, said Dr Islam.

As to the reasons for the surge in infections, he suggested several. "It could be because water is collecting in more places like tyres or coconut husks, or it could be that the surveillance system has gotten better."

Another could be that people were becoming more complacent, and not protecting themselves when the Aedes mosquito strikes.

Dr A.P. Dash, regional adviser for vector-borne diseases at the WHO's South-east Asia regional office in New Delhi, said cases of hospitalisation from secondary infection are rising in India, Indonesia and Thailand. Population growth, urbanisation, and increased movement of people contribute to this surge.

India, with 1.2 billion people, will find it difficult to detect and contain the disease. WHO records show 17,744 cases with 117 deaths in 2011. Last year, the figures shot up to 49,602 cases and 241 deaths.

"The truth is India has a huge population and rudimentary disease recording so the whole shape and size and scope of the problem in India is poorly known," said United States-based tropical disease expert Scott Halstead, who focuses on dengue research. "There could be millions of cases."

Methods of containing the disease usually involve door-to-door checks and fogging. Malaysia, which stepped up such measures after a major outbreak in 2010, is confident of curtailing its spread.

As of March 23, there were some 5,700 cases, with Selangor and Johor registering the highest numbers. But the total number of cases has actually fallen compared to the 6,000 cases recorded over the same period last year.

Reporting by Zakir Hussain in Jakarta, Nirmala Ganapathy in New Delhi, Tan Hui Yee in Bangkok and Yong Yen Nie in Kuala Lumpur

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