Malaysia: Logging of Ulu Muda forest may affect rice farmers in Kedah

Natalie Heng The Star 23 Apr 13;

Logging may reduce the water storage capacity of two important dams in Kedah.

THE DENSE vegetation within the Ulu Muda forest complex in Kedah is a crucial feature of the region’s water storage capacity. Topographically speaking, the landscape forms one large drainage system, with its contours directing water to a collection point, such as a river or a lake.

In Kedah, the two most important collection points happen to be the Muda and Pedu dams, key water sources for 95,588ha of padi fields.

Managed by the Muda Agricultu-ral Development Authority (Mada), the fields supply Malaysia with 40% of its rice output.

Prof Chan Ngai Weng of the School of Humanities at Universiti Sains Malaysia explains how logging within the Ulu Muda forest could impact water supply:

Usually, dense foliage will intercept falling rain, breaking its impact so it drips steadily downwards. As the water trickles through leaf litter and into the soil, it is filtered and drains out as clean water into streams. Without forest cover to soften the impact of rainfall, water gushes over bare earth, breaking up soil and carrying sediment into rivers.

“In terms of domestic water supply, siltation can clog up water treatment plants and incur higher maintenance costs,” says Chan. “Other potential side effects of logging, such as soil erosion, sedimentation, water pollution, landslides and downstream flooding can also have a negative impact on local economies and industries.”

Hor Tek Lip, director for dam management and water resources at Mada, is concerned over the long-term effects of logging. He fears that increased siltation will reduce the overall storage capacity and lifespan of the Muda and Pedu dams, which supply 32% of the irrigation needs of Kedah’s 55,130-strong farming community.

Hor says that the dams are important “controlled” sources of water. “During the rainy season, water is stored in the reservoir. We then release this water during the dry season, which enables farmers to plant not one, but two crops per year.”

Phang Fatt Khow, a retired officer from the commodity development division within the Agriculture Department, explains the interconnected nature between water supply, rice yields, and farmer income: “A farmer will get up to RM1,500 per tonne of rice, including subsidies, and in Kedah the average yield per hectare is five tonnes, whilst the average Mada plot size is 2ha.”

Do the maths and each farmer makes around RM15,000 per growing season, although Phang says production costs bring the nett income down to around RM12,000 – an average of RM1,000 a month. Double cropping, enabled through water supplied by the dams, doubles that income to around RM24,000 per year, which is why Phang thinks it is important to avoid any activities that might jeopardise the storage capacity of the dams.

So what if, over years of logging within the forest, sedimentation leads to a reduced water storage capacity within the Muda and Pedu dams?

Ironically, the stakes for such an eventuality are only rising. One of Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Programme’s Entry Point Projects happens to be a scaling up of padi farming in the Muda area – to double the current yield to eight tonnes per hectare.

Mada general manager Datuk Abdul Rahim Salleh says to reach the target, they aim to triple the current irrigation density of 10m of canal per hectare of farm. “The more canals there are, the more efficient water distribution will be to the crops.”

Mada is worried about the impact of logging on water supply. Minutes from a meeting with the Kedah Forestry Department a few months ago show Mada’s position is that logging within the dam catchment area should not be allowed. However, where projects have already been approved, there must be an erosion control plan. At that meeting, the Forestry Department also clarified that an old commitment to gazette 121,008ha of forest reserve as water catchment forest was merely a proposal and the need for other uses for the forest has to be considered.

Currently, 32,000ha of Ulu Muda Forest Reserve falls under water catchment forest and 92,575ha (88%) is “production forest”.

Kedah Forestry Department director Ku Azmi Ku Aman says logging in the state is scattered. “We practise sustainable forest management and do selective logging, which doesn’t do as much damage to forest cover as clear-felling.” He says forestry guidelines only allow for the cutting of six to seven trees per hectare. The maximum volume of timber that can be taken is capped at 68 cu m for virgin forests and 61 cu m for secondary forests, and this is prioritised over the number of trees that can be felled.

The process, Ku Azmi explains, requires an inventory to be conducted of the trees within the logging site. “Our men tag which ones are to be logged and which ones, such as important fruit trees for birds, or tualang, are not to be touched. We also conduct silviculture and replanting activities after logging is complete, ensuring at least 32 residual and mother trees are maintained for regeneration.”

Considering the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve’s Environmentally Sensitive Area Rank 1 status and its crucial role as a water catchment area, many have questioned whether any Detailed Environmental Impact Assessments (DEIA) have been carried out to determine the negative impact from the logging.

However, environmental regulations state that only logging sites measuring 500ha and above are subject to an EIA. Within the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve, the average concession size is between 80ha and 300ha. Ku Azmi says the department deliberately granted smaller concessions in order to minimise the impact of logging.

Forestry Department deputy director-general Datuk Nik Mohammad Shah Nik Mustafa says although no DEIAs have been done for the logging compartments, a macro-EIA, a general EIA for the entire state, was conducted in 2009. He says DEIAs are not needed for each site due to the scattered and low-impact nature of the activity. He says logging for each site is done on a rotational basis over a 30-year cycle, “although forest cover can be almost back to normal after just three years.”

Still, some find it difficult to believe that any kind of logging can go ahead without having some impact on the water quality. Phang, who is ex-chairman for Malaysian Nature Society Kedah, says selective logging still involves a heavy amount of collateral damage – roads must be built and heavy machinery is involved in the cutting and transportation of logs. “All this contributes to soil erosion and increased sediment in surface runoff into rivers.”

A question that has cropped up repeatedly is whether Kedah should be compensated for loss of income should it discontinue logging within Ulu Muda.

The state derives about 12% of its income from forest resources.

Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak says logging is done legally according to a yearly harvest quota of 2,800ha and generates royalties and tax revenues of between RM1,200 per ha (for secondary forest) and RM1,700 per ha (virgin forest) per ha. Logging within Ulu Muda brings in about RM10mil annually.

He says the state is open to other options, such as using the forest for the sale of carbon credits. Amidst reports on Kedah’s rising debt, the chief minister has repeatedly called on the Federal Government to make good on its compensation promises.

The main points of contention behind the logging of Ulu Muda – water and food security – are issues of national, not just state, interest.

Media reports highlighted that Kedah wants to charge Penang three sen per cubic metre of water.

Ku Azmi says it has been suggested that Mada request for Federal funds to compensate the state for not logging the forest reserve.

Aside from asking the Federal Government to deliver on its promise for compensation to Kedah, the Friends of Ulu Muda, a coalition of non-governmental groups, has also suggested the establishment of an Ulu Muda Trust Fund. This fund is to be paid for by beneficiaries of water sourced from Ulu Muda, such as the Penang Government, private companies and the public. The concept has not garnered much traction yet.

Recurring threats
The Star 23 Apr 13;

TEN YEARS ago, the Federal Government stepped in to stop Kedah from logging one of Malaysia’s most important water catchment areas – the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve.

The vast reserve is the source for 80% of Penang’s clean water supply, and contributes to roughly 70% of water in Kedah, and a slightly lesser amount in Perlis, according to water resource expert, Dr Chan Ngai Weng. He was amongst the cacophony of voices that pushed the issue of water security into the limelight back in 2003, when the state proposed to use heli-logging at Ulu Muda.

It was proposed as a less environmentally damaging alternative to conventional logging but an Environmental Impact Assessment revealed that it would still entail construction of 414km of logging roads; soil erosion from this alone would silt up rivers.

Despite the Federal Government’s compensation offer to the state of RM100mil annually, the issue over logging at Ulu Muda never really went away. Of the patchwork of forests that make up the Muda water catchment area, the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve is the most important by virtue of its sheer size. Gazetted as Permanent Reserved Forest in 1932 and spanning 105,060ha, it makes up 64% of the 163,003ha land mass collectively known as the greater Ulu Muda forest complex. The complex consists of of seven Permanent Reserved Forests: Ulu Muda, Pedu, Chebar Kecil, Padang Terap, Chebar Besar, Bukit Keramat and Bukit Saiong.

Back in 2003, PAS had said it would gazette Ulu Muda Forest Reserve as a water catchment area, if elected. When it gained power in 2008 and the RM100mil in compensation stopped coming, Kedah’s new chief minister, Datuk Azizan Abdul Razak, did an about-turn. Repeated requests for the Federal Government to make good on it’s compensation promises went unheard, and so the state announced that it had no choice but to log the area, to fund development in the state.

Recently, various blogs carried images of murky rivers in the catchment.

“The river in front of where my lodge is located used to have a rocky river bed. It was crystal clear. But today, it is sandy,” says Hymeir Kamarudin who runs Earth Lodge. “I didn’t think much of it. I figured it was residual erosion from previous logging in the 90s. That is, until the middle of last year, when the river turned the colour of teh tarik after heavy rains.”

The forest is important not just in terms of water security, but also biodiversity. The Ulu Muda landscape is littered with majestic tualang trees which can grow up to 50m high. Its many salt licks attract large herbivores such as elephants and sambar deer, which in turn attract large predators, such as the elusive tiger. It is also one of only two locations in Malaysia, where you can find all 10 species of hornbills – including the rare and threatened plain-pouched hornbill.

Since 2000, licences have been given out to log 19,000ha, of which 5,500ha have already been logged. Researchers fear that logging might interfere with the roosting sites of the plain-pouched hornbills.

Chan says that without a proper cost-benefit analysis, politicians often find it difficult to make informed decisions about whether to exploit natural resources.

“For example, one might want to investigate what options we will have if our forests no longer supply us with ample clean water. How much would it cost to treat the polluted water, or buy clean water, from somewhere else?”

A 2009 study on the economic benefits of the Muda water catchment conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia showed that it contributes RM157mil to Kedah and RM139mil to Penang in terms of annual water supply. – By Natalie Heng

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Indonesia: Public Concern for Environment Tied to Income, Green Group Says

Gabriel Kereh Jakarta Globe 22 Apr 13

Government efforts to mitigate climate change remain mere rhetoric, while the public approach to the issue varies according to wealth, says a leading environmental advocate.

Chalid Muhammad, the chairman of the Indonesian Green Institute, said that changes in the weather were becoming increasingly unpredictable, affecting the livelihoods of many people, particularly fishermen and farmers, who are the most vulnerable.

“There are two different groups of the society with different awareness levels. The middle- to upper-class people in the cities are getting greener. Even though this seems to be pretty exclusively elitist, this is good,” he said.

“The second one is the lower class, and that is divided into two groups. The first are the traditional people, who embrace tradition and environment-respecting standards. The second are the people who base their livelihoods on labor. They tend to be used by the rich things like illegal mining and illegal logging.”

Chalid said that although the latter people “know that they might die from what they do, this is about the option of dying tomorrow out of hunger or dying in a couple of years from destroying the environment.”

He also accused the government of not setting an example for positive change.

“These people see the government issuing permits that are destructive [to the environment], either directly or indirectly, by letting things happen and ignoring them,” he said.

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Good news on Earth Day! New report highlights growing biodiversity awareness worldwide

IUCN 22 Apr 13;

For IUCN, whose core business is saving biodiversity, there is some very welcome news that awareness of biodiversity is growing worldwide.

The 2013 Biodiversity Barometer report launched by the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) shows that 75% of consumers surveyed worldwide are aware of biodiversity, while 48% can give a correct definition of the term biodiversity.

Communicating the importance of saving biodiversity is challenging if people don’t know what it is, but fortunately, this awareness is steadily increasing thanks to campaigns like the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010 and growing interest from business and industry.

Consumers in Brazil, China and France, according to the study, show a particular awareness about biodiversity.

“The Biodiversity Barometer is an important source of information on global trends in biodiversity awareness. The results not only demonstrate a growing consciousness, they also show that respecting biodiversity provides tremendous opportunities for business around the world,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary for the Convention on Biological Diversity.

High biodiversity awareness in China

This year’s special focus on China reveals interesting results: Apart from a very high biodiversity awareness (94%), Chinese consumers surveyed also show high knowledge of biodiversity: 64% could define correctly what biodiversity means. “The survey results do not come as a surprise. In recent years, the government as well as civil society organizations in China has undertaken tremendous activities for communicating and raising awareness of biodiversity issues” says Zhang Wenguo, Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China.

Biodiversity offers branding opportunities

Responses to the question “What are the three brands you consider are making the most efforts to respect biodiversity?” were manifold and often country-specific: In Brazil, there is a clear leader with Natura (49%). In the USA, most mentioned food brands, including Kraft, Starbucks and Ben & Jerry’s. The UK has two leading companies: Bodyshop and CO-OP (23% and 20%). In France Yves Rocher, Nestle and Danone top the list, while in China the perceived leaders are Yili, Mengliu and Amway.

“There are clear opportunities for brands to position themselves around the issue of biodiversity, and anticipate increasing consumer interest on this issue,” concludes Rémy Oudghiri, Director of Trends and Insights at IPSOS.

Biodiversity reporting is growing, but still weak

“Today 32 of the top 100 beauty companies in the world refer to biodiversity in their corporate communications such as sustainability reporting and websites. This is considerably higher than in 2009, but much lower than what we found in the top 100 food companies,” says Rik Kutsch Lojenga, Executive Director of UEBT. In 2013, 87% of consumers say they want to be better informed about how companies source their natural ingredients, and a large majority of consumers say they would to boycott brands that do not take good care of environmental or ethical trade practices in its sourcing and production processes.

Youth is the future of biodiversity

For brands interested in reaching consumers on biodiversity, the 2013 Biodiversity Barometer offers the following insights: Young people tend to have the highest awareness of biodiversity (80%), as well as more affluent and well-educated people. Traditional media remain by and large the key sources of awareness: 51% of all surveyed consumers learned about biodiversity through television, 33% through newspapers and magazines.

About the Biodiversity Barometer

The UEBT Barometer provides insights on evolving biodiversity awareness among consumers and how the beauty industry reports on biodiversity. It also illustrates the progress towards achieving the targets of the Strategic Plan of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and its results will be reflected in the next edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook as a midway point analysis of the achievement of those targets. Since its first edition in 2009, the global research organisation IPSOS, on behalf of UEBT, has interviewed 31,000 consumers in 11 countries (Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Peru, South Korea, Switzerland, UK and USA). In 2013, the biodiversity barometer survey was conducted among 6,000 consumers in six countries - Brazil, China, France, Germany, UK and USA.

About the Union for Ethical BioTrade

The Union for Ethical BioTrade is a non-profit association that promotes the ‘Sourcing with Respect’ of ingredients that come from biodiversity. Members, which include many beauty companies, commit to gradually ensuring that their sourcing practices promote the conservation of biodiversity, respect traditional knowledge, and assure the equitable sharing of benefits all along the supply chain.

For more information, please visit: www.ethicalbiotrade.org
Contact: Union for Ethical BioTrade
Tel: +31 20 223 4567, info@ethicalbiotrade.org

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Green spaces boosts wellbeing of urban dwellers - study

BBC News 22 Apr 13;

Parks, gardens and green space in urban areas can improve the wellbeing and quality of life of people living there, says a University of Exeter study.

Using data from 5,000 UK households over 17 years, researchers found that living in a greener area had a significant positive effect.

The findings could help to inform urban planners and have an impact on society at large, they said.

The study is published in the journal Psychological Science.

The research team examined data from a national survey that followed more than 5,000 UK households and 10,000 adults between 1991 and 2008 as they moved house around the country.

They asked participants to report on their own psychological health during that time to estimate the "green space effect".

Dr Mathew White and colleagues at the European Centre for the Environment and Human Health found that individuals reported less mental distress and higher life satisfaction when they were living in greener areas.

This was true even after the researchers accounted for changes over time in participants' income, employment, marital status, physical health and housing type.
Benefits for society

Dr White compared the scale of the effects of living in a greener area to "big-hitting" life events such as marriage.

"We've found that living in an urban area with relatively high levels of green space can have a significantly positive impact on wellbeing, roughly equal to a third of the impact of being married."

The effect was also found to be equivalent to a tenth of the impact of being employed, as opposed to unemployed.

Even when stacked up against other factors that contribute to life satisfaction, living in a greener area had a significant effect, the study said.

"These kinds of comparisons are important for policymakers when trying to decide how to invest scarce public resources, such as for park development or upkeep, and figuring out what bang they'll get for their buck," said Dr White.

While the effect for an individual might be small, he pointed out that the potential positive effects of green space for society at large might be substantial.

"This research could be important for psychologists, public health officials and urban planners who are interested in learning about the effects that urbanisation and city planning can have on population health and wellbeing."

Beth Murphy, information manager at the mental health charity Mind, said: "For people living busy lifestyles in densely populated areas, being able to get outdoors and access green space is a great way to escape the stresses of day-to-day life.

"Our research has shown that 94% of people who took part in outdoors 'green exercise' said it benefited their mental health and can have huge impacts on physical health.

"We believe this is food for thought for any policymaker involved in urban planning, or local authority developing its public health strategy."

Parks Pay Off: Green Cities Boost Happiness
Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Yahoo News 23 Apr 13;

Avoid the concrete jungle: A new study finds that people who live in cities with more green space feel better than those surrounded by stone and steel.

In fact, the well-being boost associated with green space is equivalent to one-third the jump in well-being people get from being married and to one-tenth of the extra life satisfaction derived from being employed versus jobless, according to a study to be published in a forthcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science.

"These kinds of comparisons are important for policymakers when trying to decide how to invest scarce public resources, e.g. for park development or upkeep, and figuring out what 'bang' they'll get for their buck," study researcher Mathew White of the University of Exeter Medical School said in a statement. [7 Things That Will Make You Happy]

It's no surprise that nicer areas of town might be populated by happier people, but previous studies had never been able to tease out whether the emotionally well-off simply moved to greener spots or whether greenery really boosts well-being. White and his colleagues dug into the question by using long-term, national data collected between 1991 and 2008.

That way, the researchers could compare the life satisfaction of the same people as they moved from more to less verdant areas and vice versa. They also controlled for income, employment, marital status, health, housing time and local area factors, such as crime rates, to ensure as much as possible that the effects were coming from greenery.

The results showed that people's life satisfaction, as assessed by questionnaire, did improve when they moved to greener urban areas and decreased in urban spots where nature was out of site. Greener spaces were also linked with lower mental distress in residents.

The study can't prove conclusively that the green space caused the happiness boost, because it's impossible to control for every variable that might be at play, the researchers wrote. But experimental studies have also found that parks are linked with psychological health. In one study, researchers followed residents of public housing who were randomly assigned to apartments with views of trees and grass or with views of barren courtyards. The people living in view of greenery reported less domestic violence and fewer aggressive conflicts. They were also less likely to view their problems as unsolvable.

Another study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology in 2010, found that just a five-minute dose of nature could improve self-esteem. Green areas with water were deemed most beneficial.

Greenery may influence physical health as well as psychological. One 2002 study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health found that seniors in Japan had lower mortality rates in the five years of the study when they lived in areas surrounded by walkable green space.

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This faith in the markets is misplaced: only governments can save our living planet

The European emissions trading system died last week. Why? Because of the lobbying power of big business
George Monbiot The Guardian 22 Apr 13;

In other ages, states sought to seize as much power as they could. Today, the self-hating state renounces its powers. Governments anathematise governance. They declare their role redundant and illegitimate. They launch furious assaults on their own branches, seeking wherever possible to lop them off.

This self-mutilation is a response to the fact that power has shifted. States now operate at the behest of others. Deregulation, privatisation, the shrinking of the scope, scale and spending of the state: these are now seen as the only legitimate policies. The corporations and billionaires to whom governments defer will have it no other way.

Just as taxation tends to redistribute wealth, regulation tends to redistribute power. A democratic state controls and contains powerful interests on behalf of the powerless. This is why billionaires and corporations hate regulation, and – through their newspapers, thinktanks and astroturf campaigns – mobilise people against it. State power is tyranny, state power is freedom.

But the interchangeable middle managers who call themselves ministers cannot wholly dismiss the wishes of the electorate. They must show that they are doing something to protect what people value. They resolve the contradiction between the demands of the electorate and the demands of big business by shifting their responsibilities to something they call "the market". This term is often used as a euphemism for corporations and the very rich.

To justify the policy of marketisation, they invest the market with magical capabilities. It can reach the parts that the ordinary scope of government can't reach; it can achieve political miracles. I don't believe that market mechanisms are always wrong. I do believe that they fail to solve the problem of power. In fact they tend to compound it.

Last week the European emissions trading system died. It was supposed to create a market for carbon, whose escalating price would force companies to abandon fossil fuels and replace them with less polluting alternatives. In principle it was as good a mechanism as any other. What it did not offer was a magical alternative to political intervention.

The scheme collapsed on Tuesday after the European parliament voted against an emergency withdrawal of some of the carbon permits whose over-supply had swamped the market. Why were too many permits issued? Because of the lobbying power of big business. Why did MEPs refuse to withdraw them? Because of the lobbying power of big business.

If a market is to serve a wider social goal than simply maximising corporate profits it must operate within a tight regulatory framework. Pricing mechanisms do not magic away the need for regulation – if anything, they enhance it. To make them work, politicians still have to confront and overcome powerful interests. They still need to govern and decide. Yet everywhere markets are invoked as an alternative to dirigiste and decisive government.

To make a significant impact, the price of carbon needs to be in the region of €30 or €40 per tonne. It needs to be incapable of falling far, and likely to rise. At the time of writing the price is €2.8 per tonne, and it's going nowhere. The Economist reports that this puts European carbon permits "below the level of junk bonds".

In an important respect the scheme has been worse than useless. New airports and roads and power stations have been justified with the claim they they will not raise emissions, as the greenhouse gases they produce will be absorbed by cuts made elsewhere. The one lasting impact of the European carbon market has been to rationalise polluting projects which might not otherwise have been built.

But even as this scheme collapses, governments are launching new ones, creating markets that are far less appropriate – even in theory – than the trade in carbon. Last month, the UK's Ecosystem Markets Task Force, a body set up by the government but largely composed of company executives, published its final report. It invokes the magic of the markets to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of democratic governance.

Not everything it proposes is dangerous and wrong. Creating incentives to reforest the hills from which our rivers flow, or for farmers to use anaerobic digesters to process waste makes sense: as long as it redeploys rather than augments farm subsidies. But in other respects an attempt to reconcile the protection of the living planet with commerce simply turns the biosphere into another corporate asset.

For instance, the taskforce revives the old myth that nature is best served by harvesting timber. As long ago as 1995, a paper by the biologists Clive Hambler and Martin Speight showed that of the woodland insect species listed as threatened in Britain, 65% are threatened by the removal of old and dead wood, while just 2% are threatened by a reduction in this management. But the taskforce maintains that bringing "unmanaged woodlands into active, sustainable management for wood fuel … is a win-win for business and nature." Just as the myth was at last being laid to rest, it has been revived by the need to make nature and markets appear compatible.

This is an example of what happens in a market-based system: any clash between generating profit and protecting the natural world is resolved in favour of business, often with the help of junk science. Only those components of the ecosystem that can be commodified and sold are defended. Nature is worthy of protection when it is profitable to business. The moment it ceases to be so, it loses its social value and can be trashed. As prices fluctuate or crash, so do the fortunes of the ecosystems they are supposed to protect. As financial markets move in, with the help of the environmental bonds and securitisations the taskforce champions, the defence of nature becomes ever more volatile and uncertain. The living planet is reduced to a subsidiary of the human economy.

When governments pretend they no longer need to govern, when they pretend that a world regulated by bankers, corporations and the profit motive is a better world than one regulated by voters and their representatives, nothing is safe. All systems of government are flawed. But few are as flawed as those controlled by private money.

Twitter: @georgemonbiot. A fully referenced version of this article can be found at monbiot.com

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Best of our wild blogs: 22 Apr 13

Latest Green Jobs in Singapore [15 - 21 Apr 2013]
from Green Business Times

UNESCO Heritage Listing?
from a.t.Bukit Brown. Heritage. Habitat. History.

Bird Watching @ Kranji Marshes, #5 Kranji Reservoir Park
from My Nature Experiences

Makan time at Ubin
from wild shores of singapore

From Lornie Trail to Rifle Range Link
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature

Female Olive-backed Sunbird Sips Nectar – In Slow Motion
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle
from Monday Morgue

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More sightings of wild otters in Singapore

Resurgence may be due to land development in Johor: Researchers
David Ee Straits Times 22 Apr 13;

LESS than 20 years ago, the Singapore Zoo may have been the only place here where you could see these playful animals. But sightings of wild smooth-coated otters, once rare here, have soared by 10 times in the past decade.

In 2000, just four sightings were reported. By 2011, the number had risen to 39, according to figures from otter researcher Meryl Theng. The actual number would "definitely be higher", said the National University of Singapore graduate, if unrecorded sightings were included.

A fortnight ago, a pair of the mammals, listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, were sighted resting on a breakwater at East Coast Park, creating a stir online. At least three others were also seen on the rocky southern coast near Marina Bay.

While the exact numbers are uncertain, as are the reasons for their resurgence, researchers suspect that development and land reclamation in nearby Johor in recent years may be the catalyst. "Johor is developing rapidly, and this could be forcing the otters out," said wildlife consultant Subaraj Rajathurai.

Much of Singapore's northern coast - with the densely vegetated shores in Sungei Buloh, along Sungei Tampines, and in the new Punggol and Serangoon reservoirs - is suitable for otters, he said. But Singapore's southern shores tend to be more developed and make poor habitats for otters.

Why then have they been seen there, and even as far south as Pulau Semakau? Mr Rajathurai explained that these are generally young males trying to establish their own packs.

The sleek creatures are social, often hunting together in groups of four to seven. They are estuarine, making them equally at home in fresh water or sea water, feeding on fish and prawns.

But they may not succeed along the urbanised southern shores, and face threats from onshore traffic. In 2011, a dead otter was found in Harbour Drive near West Coast Park. Another was hit by traffic near Bedok Reservoir.

Mr Rajathurai is hoping that the first islandwide otter study, a collaboration with the National Parks Board, which he is concluding next month, may shed more light on the otter population. It could convince the authorities to designate some reservoirs as wildlife sanctuaries. "Our reservoirs are here, holding water for us. Why not make them more attractive for wildlife?" he said.

Mechanical engineer Ishad Rageeb saw an otter for the very first time last month while cycling at Serangoon Reservoir. "It was completely unexpected. Seeing them that close was remarkable. I think it's important that we nurture their populations."

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7 habits of environmentally conscious people

Straits Times Forum 22 Apr 13;

TODAY, April 22, is Earth Day, which is celebrated globally with activities to remind us to do our part for the environment.

But do we still continue this effort after Earth Day? There are seven habits commonly found in people who are environmentally conscious that we can learn from.

One, develop a respect for nature, and renew our bond with nature and its biodiversity.

Nature has much to teach us on how to live in harmony with other creatures on earth. Without this respect and bond, there will be no desire to protect nature. Start exploring nature areas in Singapore and join guided walks to learn more.

Two, read up on local and global environmental issues. What are the current environmental trends and problems? What needs to be done? Make a commitment to learn more about these issues from channels such as websites, books, and newspapers.

Three, reduce our environmental impact by taking personal action to reduce energy and water consumption, and waste. Embrace sufficiency in our consumption, and practise the 3Rs - reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Four, spread the green message and educate family members, friends, classmates or colleagues. Share your knowledge with them and make use of social media. Influence the organisation that you belong to, whether it is a school, company, or social group, to be more environmentally friendly.

Five, participate in government and civil society initiatives for the environment. Support local environmental causes and non-governmental organisations, and join the various activities organised by the groups or volunteer your time with them.

Six, participate actively and constructively as citizens in the formulation of government policies on the environment. This could be through government dialogue sessions or feedback channels, and also through the media. Play a part in advocating green causes that you feel strongly about.

Seven, make a conscious choice to be a responsible consumer. Buy only what you need and always think twice before buying. Choose more eco-friendly, sustainable, ethical and organic products that are made by sustainable businesses.

We can all commit to adopt and practise the seven habits and do our part for the earth.

Eugene Tay Tse Chuan

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Animal welfare included in syllabus on building character

David Ee Straits Times 22 Apr 13;

BOTH primary and secondary students will learn the importance of animal welfare in the new upcoming Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) syllabus to be introduced next year.

Through this, they will gain an understanding of "how they can contribute towards developing a caring society", using their daily experiences as a guide, an Education Ministry (MOE) spokesman said.

MOE was responding to queries from The Straits Times, after Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam - who has championed animal rights in recent years - revealed in an interview with a magazine this month that the CCE syllabus would teach students about animal care and handling.

He had said: "I'm a strong believer that children are automatically interested and loving towards pets, so we should encourage them and educate them so that the future generation will be even more loving or at least tolerant of animals."

MOE did not provide more details about the syllabus content.

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat had announced last November that the CCE syllabus - begun in the 1990s to teach values - would from 2014 no longer focus solely on textbook learning, and that schools would be given more flexibility to design their own CCE programmes.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) had written to Mr Heng last December, asking him to consider including an animal welfare module in the new CCE syllabus.

Animal welfare groups were pleasantly surprised by the news. Despite few details being made available, they said this could be "a big step forward" in changing mindsets towards animals.

Mr Ricky Yeo, president of Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD), said: "If a child grows up learning about animals, it would not consider them foreign and alien. For those who don't, it would be very hard to change their minds."

SPCA executive director Corinne Fong added: "This is more than just about pets. It's about being compassionate to any living thing, including our fellow human beings."

But for the syllabus to be meaningful, they said that it would have to include interaction with animals, not just classroom lessons, and be taught to children from a young age.

The SPCA hosts up to 100 school field trips a year at its shelter, where students as young as pre-schoolers interact under staff supervision with rabbits, hamsters, dogs and cats. ASD occasionally brings dogs to schools for students to learn how to interact with them.

Both groups said they hoped these opportunities for students continue, whether under the new CCE syllabus or not. They welcomed the MOE to make use of the experience animal welfare groups here have.

Educators similarly hailed the move. "I view this as very timely," said Mrs Jacinta Lim, principal of Yangzheng Primary. "We have to start with the younger generation. That's where impressions are made. If you want to mould a child, you have to start right when they're young."

She added that the inclusion of animal welfare under CCE "underscores its importance".

Supplementing CCE lessons with, for example, attachments to animal welfare groups, is important, said Ang Mo Kio Secondary principal Abdul Mannan.

In the future, this may even lead to improved pet care and a fall in animal abuse cases, said Mr Yeo. "You will see the effects of it a generation later, when these kids grow up."

Animal welfare improving but 'more can be done'
Irresponsible ownership, pet abandonment among concerns
David Ee Straits Times 23 Apr 13;

ANIMAL welfare is gaining ground, with its introduction into the national school curriculum and laws in this area expected to be toughened.

But groups say they would like to see more done.

To encourage character-building, the Education Ministry is incorporating it into the Character and Citizenship Education syllabus to be introduced next year.

Last month, the Government-commissioned Animal Welfare Legislative Review Committee also recommended wide-ranging measures - both legislative and industry-led - to improve the lives of pets in Singapore.

There have been other signs of progress.

Pilot programmes to get stray dogs and cats adopted in Housing Board flats started on a positive note, a national adoption centre is in the pipeline and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has in recent years begun re-homing some stray dogs.

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law K.Shanmugam and Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin have also been visible in championing greater animal protection.

But tensions and challenges remain. Animal welfare groups - most representing dogs and cats - have grown by about 20 per cent since 2004 and now number at least 30.

The largest of these are the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Cat Welfare Society (CWS), Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD), Agency for Animal Welfare (AAW), Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD) and the Animal Lovers' League.

Passionate and vocal, their volunteers and other animal lovers often harness social media as a clarion call, bringing animal concerns to the fore. At times, this has put the AVA and even the SPCA on the back foot.

On March 19, a member of the public took to Facebook claiming that the AVA put down a stray golden retriever unnecessarily. Her post was shared more than 5,000 times and prompted the authority to issue two explanations on its Facebook page.

Last October, the SPCA moved to improve how it identifies lost animals after hundreds of netizens criticised it for mistakenly euthanising a lost pet dog.

"It's not a sit-and-wait situation any more. Now everything is out on the Net in the open. People are tweeting, Facebooking," said Ms Eunice Nah, chief advocate volunteer for the AAW.

Groups say social media can be just as counter-productive as it can helpful. "It could give a bad image to animal welfare," said SOSD president Siew Tuck Wah. "People may sympathise less with the cause, thinking that (animal lovers) are going overboard."

The AVA said it welcomes greater awareness about animal welfare as it "reflects civic-consciousness and a maturity of understanding about the treatment of animals".

This very civic-consciousness has driven groups to regularly air their views on moves they feel AVA should take.

Welfare groups say problems of irresponsible ownership, animal abandonment, the large stray dog population and re-homing policies are linked, and that the AVA should focus on these root causes rather than rely on culling.

On their wish list of policies not included in the committee's report: a concerted effort to sterilise the 8,000-strong stray dog population here, for HDB to relax its ban on medium and large dogs in flats and mandatory training for all prospective pet buyers.

A national sterilisation programme would control the stray population, they say, reducing the need for heavy-handed culling. While the AVA recognised that sterilisation could be "effective", it stressed that "relying solely (on it)... is not a viable option. Dogs, sterilised or not, can still pose a public safety and public health risk".

Others want HDB rules relaxed as most strays are larger than the approved size, greatly lowering the odds of them being re-homed since about 80 per cent of Singaporeans live in public flats.

Groups say that larger breeds can be well managed as long as owners are informed and responsible dog keepers. But HDB says that small dogs are "generally more manageable", especially with the need to maintain conducive living for residents in these high-density estates.

A pilot to re-home stray dogs - stretching the rules - began in April last year, led by ASD and supported by the Government. It has since re-homed 18 strays. Last year, ASD re-homed about 100 out of the 240 dogs in its shelter, the vast majority in landed or condominium homes.

A similar pilot re-homing stray cats in Chong Pang is also underway.

Progress is being made, they acknowledge, but root causes like these mean the stray population remains large and animal shelters have been full for years. Culling is often the result, with the AVA killing strays for public safety and the SPCA doing the same to prevent overcrowding at its shelter.

In 2011 and 2012, the AVA euthanised about 2,400 stray dogs and re-homed about 220 others. In 2010, it put down 5,100 stray cats. SPCA declined to reveal its figures. Groups like the ASD and SOSD practise a "no kill" policy.

An AVA spokesman said it supported re-homing, but that "not all impounded dogs can be successfully re-homed and humane euthanasia is our last resort".

Inadequate law enforcement is another issue that has long been a sore point among animal lovers.

Animal abuse cases handled by the AVA and SPCA rose from 1,162 in 2007 to 1,426 in 2011, but warnings or fines were issued in only about 300 cases.

The AVA said it investigates every case of animal cruelty reported to it, but that it needs "verifiable evidence and witnesses who are willing to testify in court" to take further action.

SPCA's executive director, Ms Corinne Fong, said the AVA would be able to do more if given legislative power and a boost in manpower. She called on the public to be more understanding.

"AVA is hamstrung by the current laws. If the law is broadened and they are given specific powers of enforcement, then their job would be much easier. The courts must give them more bite and they need a larger budget."

The AVA said that it views working together with the groups as "integral" to animal welfare.

Ultimately, groups remain optimistic about the path ahead, saying that political will and public sentiment appear to be in their favour. "If you do this for so long, you have to be optimistic," said CWS president Veron Lau.

SPCA developing animal-welfare website for educators and students
Straits Times Forum 24 Apr 13;

WE ARE pleased that the Education Ministry has confirmed the inclusion of animal welfare in the new Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) curriculum ("Animal welfare included in syllabus on building character"; Monday), starting next year in primary and secondary schools.

Our meeting with the ministry earlier this year regarding the CCE curriculum went well, and we discussed extensively the importance of teaching our young good values.

We cannot stress enough the importance of these changes to the education curriculum as we are raising the next generation of young girls and boys to be respectable and responsible citizens, and to live lives of kindness, having compassion for animals and fellow human beings. This is the breakthrough we have been hoping for.

We are putting together a dedicated website for educators, teachers and students. This site will serve as a resource for those who wish to teach or learn about animal welfare.

As our schools have a fair amount of autonomy when it comes to deciding the curriculum for the CCE syllabus, we look forward to helping our educators and children with this resource material.

Corinne Fong (Ms)
Executive Director
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

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Haze disrupts flights in Pekanbaru

Rizal Harahap The Jakarta Post 22 Apr 13;

A thick haze on Monday morning forced authorities in Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru, Riau, to apply a flight ban from 6 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. local time.

“The haze is hampering pilot visibility, which is reaching only around 200 meters. This is very dangerous and is far below flight safety standards. An aircraft will be permitted to take off only if the visibility from the cockpit reaches more than 500 meters,” said Ibnu Hasan, Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport's duty manager, in Pekanbaru on Monday.

Limited visibility caused delays to eight regular flights from and to Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport for several hours.

Passengers on Lion Air and Garuda flights to Jakarta and Wings Air to Batam, which should have departed at 6 a.m. local time, had to wait until the haze dispersed.

“At 8:30 a.m., cockpit visibility was beyond 800 meters, so it was quite safe for aircraft to take off,” said Ibnu.

Flights operated by Mandala Airlines and Lion Air from Jakarta, Wings Air from Batam, Air Asia from Bandung, and Silk Air from Singapore landed one at a time at the airport after 9:20 a.m., while they should have arrived at Pekanbaru between 7:15 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

Ibnu said the airport’s operations started to return to normal after 10:20 a.m. “I have to underline that the haze that affected the airport’s operations this morning was caused by dew, not by smoke,” he added. (ebf)

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Malaysia: Johor, by any other name, is just as famous

Peggy Loh New Straits Times 22 Apr 13;

EVOLUTION: We all know the state by its current name but few know that Johor originally went by some very unusual names, writes Peggy Loh

DID you know that before the reign of Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim, Johor was once known by obscure names like Lenggiu, Ganggayu and Galoh?

There was a time when the spelling for Johor was Johore - with an "e" - a word believed to have originated from the Arabic word, Jauhar, which means, "gem" or "jewel". When you pass the corner of Jalan Wong Ah Fook and Jalan Sawmill, look out for the Jawi rendition of the word, Jauhar which is now preserved there in a beautiful sculpture.

A plaque in the Johor Bharu Chinese Heritage Museum states that when Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim gained sovereignty over the territory of Johor in 1855, he called it Iskandar Petrie, which was renamed Johore Bahru (note spelling) in 1866.

Based on historical records, Johor had various ancient names like Hujung Medini, Ujong Tanah (land's end) or Wurawari, a Javanese word that means "clear water." The area south of the Muar River to Singapore was known as Ujong Tanah because this region was acknowledged as the southernmost tip of mainland Asia.

When Stamford Raffles came to Singapore in 1819, the Chinese in the Riau Islands and Singapore were already successfully cultivating gambier. In Singapore, the land around Kranji and Sembawang, they fondly called the "Old Mountain," was exhausted and infertile after being cultivated for 10 to 15 years. So when Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim invited them to move into Johor to open the land for new plantations, the Chinese were ready to relocate.

Aware that Johor had an enlightened ruler who understood the Chinese and encouraged them to come to Johor, their interest was aroused. With a strong pioneering spirit, immigrant Chinese were attracted to the prospect of settling on huge tracts of land, just waiting for them to clear for cultivation of pepper and gambier under the kangchu or River Lord system. Not long after Iskandar Petrie was established, the Chinese accepted Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim's grants to establish plantations in Johor and started to arrive by cargo-carrying barges or tongkang through Sungai Segget or Segget River, and settled in the nearby area.

At that time Iskandar Petrie was only a frontier outpost with a few huts occupied by fishermen and charcoal-makers near Sungai Segget. It was surrounded by jungle and mangrove forests and a flagpole flying the Johor flag near a police post on a hill represented the presence of a government. Its capital, Tanjung Puteri, was situated at a coastal site that had the most convenient boat access to Singapore - opposite the end of Bukit Timah Road in Singapore.

If you have been to the former Royal Abu Bakar Museum, housed in the Grand Palace in the Istana Gardens, you will remember some of the Sultan's hunting trophies preserved in the gallery. The elephant skeleton and ferocious fangs of stuffed tigers standing in the showcases, gave us a glimpse of the types and sizes of wild animals that once roamed the dense Johor jungles. In addition to being confronted by wild animals such as these, Chinese immigrants lost lives to strange diseases and the harsh environment as they braved physical challenges to clear the jungles and open up land through the rivers into Johor's interior.

Through the kangchu system, the River Lords could collect taxes and govern Chinese communities in their areas along the rivers. After Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim was succeeded by Sultan Abu Bakar, he continued his father's legacy in trying to develop Johor into a thriving metropolis.

According to Wu Hua, author of local history written in Chinese, Tan Kee Soon opened up Tan Chu Kang near Kangkar Tebrau while Wong Ah Fook opened up Jiu Soon Kang on the left bank of the Sungai Segget. Tan Hiok Nee opened a market on the right bank of Sungai Segget while Tan Tua Choon started a public trading post on Jalan Segget.

To the Chinese, Johor is Yau Fatt Chow (Cantonese) while Johor Baru is traditionally called Sun San (Cantonese), Sin Sua (Teochew) or Xinshan (Mandarin) a name literally translated as, "New Hill".

Sun San is a name believed to have been coined by the kangchu who had been farming pepper and gambier in Lim Chu Kang and Choa Chu Kang in Singapore, when they sighted a hill on their arrival in JB. This hill - probably Bukit Timbalan - was then known as Bukit Bendera or Flagstaff Hill.

The literal meaning of the word, san may mean, "hill" or "mountain," but the word, Sun San may likely be derived from the colloquial Chinese term, sanbah, which used to mean "jungle" or "rural area." So to Chinese immigrants, Sun San was in fact, the New Rural Settlement that was attracting them. The Chinese who settled in plantations were mainly Teochew who were involved with jungle clearing and opening rivers while a large number who came to Iskandar Petrie were Cantonese, mainly from Taishan, with occupations like carpenters and artisans, who contributed to the development of urban settlements.

In 19th century Johor, the Teochew settlement spanned from Jalan Ngee Heng - which used to stretch up to present-day Jalan Tun Abdul Razak - down Jalan Trus to Jalan Tan Hiok Nee while the Cantonese community was centered in Kampung Wong Ah Fook, an area between present-day Jalan Sawmill and the start of Jalan Tun Abdul Razak near Komplex Tun Abdul Razak. These two centres of early Chinese communities in Iskandar Petrie were geographically divided by Sungai Segget. The contributions of pioneering Chinese to the development of modern Johor remains a lasting legacy in a state which we now call, Johor Darul Takzim, the "Abode of Dignity."

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Philippines: New population of Irrawaddy dolphins discovered in Quezon, Palawan

Jonathan L. Mayuga Business Mirror 22 Apr 13;

A NEW Philippine population of the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins has been discovered near the coastal town of Quezon, Palawan, the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines (WWF-Philippines) announced on Monday.

The discovery was reported by Mavic Matillano of WWF-Philippines’s Palawan Team, aptly as the country joins the world in celebrating Earth Day on April 22.

The Quezon, Palawan, pod represents the fourth known group of Irrawaddy dolphins reported in the Philippines.

Along with the sea cow, locally called dugong, the Irrawaddy dolphin has been identified as “critically endangered” in an assessment report on the conservation status of marine-mammal species in the Philippines.

Scientifically known as Dugong dugon and Irrawaddy dolphin, scientifically called Orcaella brevirostris, both face an extremely high risk of extinction, according to the Red List Status of Marine Mammals in the Philippines report, a comprehensive and up-to-date list of the country’s threatened dolphins, whales and dugongs that was published early this year.

Dugongs and Irrawaddy dolphins continue to face threats such as destruction of habitat, entanglement in fishing nets, solid waste, coastal development, boat traffic and sedimentation all made more severe with climate-change impacts.

WWF-Philippines described the Irrawaddy dolphins as unique because they are able to literally smile; they are able to adapt to a wide range of salinities, too. Irrawaddy dolphins are lightly colored all over. They have a blunt, rounded head and an indistinct beak. Their dorsal fin is short, blunt and triangular. In the wild, they have been seen spitting out steams of water, another unique and peculiar behavior.

According to WWF-Philippines, Irrawaddy dolphins are not river dolphins. They are oceanic and live in brackish water near coasts, river mouths and estuaries.

“The discovery confirms the fact that the Philippines is a hotbed for cetacean diversity. Irrawaddy dolphin habitats must be properly managed to ensure that their widely distributed but largely fragmented populations are able to reproduce indefinitely,” said Gregg Yan, the WWF-Philippines communication and media manager in an interview.

Yan said the best way to conserve Irrawaddy dolphins would be through a species conservation plan. A good first step, he said, would be to minimize the threat of catching them.

“Eurohaline and river dolphins sometimes get snagged in passive fishing gear and drown. To augment fishing incomes, ecotourism is a viable alternative livelihood,” he said.

Director Theresa Mundita Lim of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the latest discovery is yet another reason to strengthen integrated coastal management in the area where they have been found.

“These dolphins live near the coasts so it is important that coastal communities in the area are aware of their importance and that they should avoid unsustainable land-use activities that could impact on the shores,” Lim told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

This means that the local government should also work to prevent land-based pollution and unsustainable land development that could cause siltation and adversely affect the river system.

“Partnership and awareness raising would be good activities to start with to protect this population,” Lim said.

The group of at least 20 Irrawaddy dolphins, locally known in Palawan as lampasut, was spotted by chance in Quezon, Palawan, along the coastline of the West Philippine Sea.

The pod of rare marine mammalswas displaying typical behavior, foraging for prey around lift net fish traps sitting approximately 1 kilometer offshore, WWF-Philippines said in a press statement.

According to WWF-Philippines, previous populations of these dolphins have been documented in Malampaya Sound, as well as off the island of Panay by another WWF-Philippines team led by Dr. Louella Dolar.

Jonathan L. Mayuga

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