Accommodate natural greenery, don't remove it

Straits Times 17 May 13;

I REFER to Dr Wee Yeow Chin's letter ("Wild growth alone won't make S'pore a global eco-city"; May 8).

The satellite study (The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore, 2011) I referred to in my commentary ("Wild greenery makes S'pore a global eco-city"; May 1) states that out of the 29 per cent of "spontaneous" or "non-managed" greenery, scrubland comes to only 6 per cent, with "the majority (21 per cent)... secondary forest of various kinds".

Given the 5 per cent within the nature reserves, this still leaves about 16 per cent unprotected. Relative to the small size of Singapore, this remaining unprotected greenery is "massive".

The National Parks Board's (NParks) reforestation programme in the nature reserves mentioned by Dr Wee is highly laudable. This is to rectify severe fragmentation within the boundary, but this is a different, although related, issue from the increasing isolation of nature reserves in the wider ecological context that I have emphasised.

Dr Wee states that if "natural greenery is removed and replaced with trees and parks, biodiversity will be compromised", but biodiversity will improve over time as the plants mature. This merely whitewashes the damage that has occurred. And if allowing for the subsequent growth of "natural greenery" will improve the biodiversity loss, why remove the natural greenery in the first place?

Would it not be better ecologically to accommodate the natural greenery as much as possible, as I have advocated with the creation of 20 new parks?

Dr Wee mentioned Bukit Batok Nature Park - a good example of creating a park by not destroying all or most of the existing natural greenery (mainly secondary forest) and starting from scratch.

Concerning NParks' commendable hornbill conservation project, it was in 2006 that an artificial nest on Pulau Ubin was used by oriental pied hornbills. But they were already using natural cavities in 1994, when they were first sighted there. The use of natural cavities was also recorded in Changi. Hornbills have been sighted around patches of forest and mangrove in Pasir Ris and Sungei Buloh before the setting up of nesting boxes there, showing that the presence of natural greenery as sources of food and cover contributes importantly to the dispersal of these hornbills.

It is noteworthy that the appearance of wild hornbills on Pulau Ubin after a long hiatus happened around the early 1990s, when the island was largely becoming wild with the phasing out of agriculture. Without the nestboxes, the appearance and dispersal of the hornbills in Singapore would have proceeded anyway, but at a slower pace and in smaller numbers.

Ho Hua Chew (Dr)

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Marina expressway ready by year-end

Structural works done, including undersea tunnel
Royston Sim Straits Times 17 May 13;

FINISHING touches are being applied on the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE), which is on track to open by the end of this year.

All structural works have been completed on the 5km, $4.3 billion highway, including a 420m undersea tunnel.

The bulk of electrical and mechanical systems has been installed and contractors have begun testing and commissioning those systems, a process that will take about five months.

This update on Singapore's 10th expressway was given by Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew after he visited the MCE control centre yesterday. It will be a key link connecting expressways in the east and west, he said.

"The MCE will offer commuters a direct and high-capacity link to the new downtown at Marina Bay, and is therefore a critical development that supports Singapore's growth as a financial hub."

It will connect East Coast Parkway (ECP) and the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) with the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).

With five lanes each way, it can carry 10,000 vehicles an hour in each direction and replace the ECP as the main route for motorists travelling across the various expressways. Designed with a top speed of 80kmh, the MCE will link to the KPE, which has a maximum speed of 70kmh.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it is assessing whether to raise the KPE speed limit to match that of the MCE.

After the MCE opens, a portion of the ECP after Benjamin Sheares Bridge will be downgraded to an arterial road, with traffic lights and crossings, that connects to the Central Business District (CBD).

Currently, the Marina area is split in half by the ECP. The downgraded portion of the ECP will be named Sheares Avenue.

The LTA will readjust several Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries to cover the new road connections created by the MCE.

Gantries currently on the to-be-downgraded part of ECP, like the one in Ophir Road, will be removed and replacements installed on the MCE.

Motorists will continue to pay the existing ERP charges when they use the MCE or ECP to enter the CBD. For instance, it costs between 50 cents and $5 now to pass through the gantry on the ECP after Fort Road from 7.30am to 9.30am on weekdays.

Mr Lui noted the challenging engineering obstacles posed by the MCE. "Since much of the MCE is built on reclaimed land, engineers had to contend with soil condition that, I am told, is almost like peanut butter."

Some 13.1ha of land was reclaimed for the project and the largely soft clay ground had to be improved to stabilise it.

Deep and wide excavations posed another challenge.

The average excavation width was 60m, wide enough for more than 15 traffic lanes, while tunnels went as deep as 25m - the equivalent of an eight-storey building.

In all, 4.3 million cubic m of soil was excavated, about half a kilometre of earth stacked on a football field.

The MCE will have a total of nine entry and exit points to the ECP, Marina Boulevard, Central Boulevard and Maxwell Road. There are provisions for another five access points in Marina East.

Marina expressway to open at end of year


Nine new gantries in CBD will be put up to replace the seven which will be removed
Woo Sian Boon Today Online 17 May 13;

SINGAPORE — When the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) opens at the end of this year, it will be able to carry 10,000 vehicles per hour each way, thus promising motorists a smoother commute to the new downtown at Marina Bay.

The 5km-long expressway links the East Coast Parkway (ECP) and Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) with the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE). It will have a total of nine entry and exit points to the ECP, Marina Boulevard, Central Boulevard and Maxwell Road. Nine new gantries in the Central Business District (CBD) will be put up to replace the seven which will be removed.

During a visit to the new expressway’s operations control centre yesterday, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew gave the assurance that “motorists using these affected stretches of roads will not be crossing more ERP gantries than today”.

There will also be no changes in ERP charges or operating hours. Currently, gantries on the ECP in the direction towards Changi operate during evening peak hours between 6pm and 8pm, while those in the direction towards the city operate during the morning peak hours between 7.30am and 9.30am.

Built at a cost of S$4.3 billion, the MCE is Singapore’s 10th and most expensive expressway. With parts of it being constructed on recently reclaimed land in the 1970s and 1980s, engineers had to employ extensive ground improvement work to deal with and stabilise difficult soil conditions consisting of soft clay. It is also one of the Land Transport Authority’s most challenging projects, with large-scale excavations of up to 120m wide and 27m deep.

While 3.6km of the expressway will be underground, it also includes a 420m-long undersea tunnel — the first in Singapore — that runs parallel to the Marina Barrage.

This was another challenge as engineers had to ensure that temporary walls were strong enough to withstand the force of the discharge from the barrage as the undersea tunnel was being constructed.

Mr Lui said the LTA has completed all structural work for the MCE, and the tunnel is now being fitted with electrical and mechanical systems. “The MCE is on track to open by the end of the year,” he added.

With its opening, a stretch of the ECP after Benjamin Sheares Bridge will be converted into a network of normal arterial roads to serve Marina South — an area currently split into two unlinked sections by the ECP.

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Indonesia: Raids intensified on illegal hunting in Bengkulu

Antara 16 May 13;

Bengkulu (ANTARA News) - The Bengkulu Natural Resources Conservation Center said it will intensify raids on illegal hunt for wild life in the province.

The number of forest rangers from the center will be increased to launch raids on illegal hunts, which are growing rampant in the province lately , center head Anggoro Dwi Sujianto said here on Thursday.

The officers mostly in plain clothes would be sent to areas known to be illegal hunting grounds in the province, Anggoro said.

He said the hunting grounds are mainly in the regencies of North Bengkulu, Mukomuko, and Kaur and other areas bordering on forests.

The new illegal business surfaced after the Kepahiang police seized and foiled an attempt to sell tens of wild life species including scaly anteaters and snakes to a neighboring province on Monday night.

The Kepahiang police have set free the wildlife again in the Natural Tourism Park of Seblat in the regency of North Bengkulu.

Chief of the Kepahiang district police Adj. Sr. Comr. Sudarno said 25 scaly anteaters and ten of snakes were confiscated from traders.

The traders Sah (46) and Zak (50) from the regency of North Bengkulu told their investigators that they bought the wildlife from hunters.

They said they paid Rp325,000 for each of scaly anteaters to be sold at Rp375,000 . The prices of the snake varied depended on the size.

The two suspects admitted they had been long in the business selling wildlife to buyers in neighboring province.

The two offered Rp5 million for the officers arresting them to settle and not to process the case but their offered was rejected, Sudarno said.

(H-ASG/A014)

Editor: Jafar M Sidik

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Malaysia: Perils behind fish bombing

Roy Goh New Straits Times 17 May 13;

EDUCATIONAL IMPACT: Raising awareness of its threat among students through drama

SEMPORNA: A DRAMATIC step was taken to teach students here about the dangers of fish bombing recently.

A drama competition with "anti-fish bombing" as the main theme was held in the district here to raise awareness on its impact.

Some 200 students from five schools participated in the competition, which was organised by World Wide Fund for Nature-Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) and supported by a group of volunteers who call themselves Green Semporna.

Team Nakoba from SMK Tagasan took top honours with their sketch titled "Loving Sea", followed by Team Humagad and Team Sahasa, both from SMK Datu Panglima Abdullah.

Present were representatives of Sabah Parks, which is working with WWF-Malaysia in the fight against destructive fishing, including fish bombing, one of the biggest threats to marine resources in the region.

WWF-Malaysia Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Eco-region programme manager Robecca Jumin said the competition was held to raise awareness of the impact of fish bombing that continues to destroy marine resources and highlight the importance of marine protection.

She explained that the coral concentration in the Semporna Priority Conservation Area is the largest in Malaysia, and the rich mix of habitat types and ecosystems provides a high level of biodiversity.

"Healthy ecosystems are important for fisheries and tourism, two key income generators for Sabah.

"The drama competition is part of a series of WWF-Malaysia's efforts to instil in our younger generation the awareness and importance of marine resources.

"They are our future leaders and from young, they should be conscious of the role they play as custodians of the rich natural resources that Semporna has," Jumin said.

"The dependency of Malaysia on fisheries and other coral reef resources has increased over time. However, 97 per cent of reefs in Malaysia are under threat of overfishing, including destructive fishing, land-based pollution and unsustainable tourism development."

Semporna has the largest percentage of coral cover in the country. Coral reefs play an important role in the fisheries and tourism sectors. The beauty and diversity of the coral reefs attract thousands of tourists from all over the world, and the number of tourist arrivals has put increasing pressure on marine resources.

Last year, a total of 2.88 million tourists were reported to have visited Sabah.

This has highlighted the value of tourism as a key income resource as well as highlighted the need to focus on sustainable tourism and protection.

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In Vietnam, Rhino Horns Worth Their Weight in Gold

Marwaan Macan-Markar Jakarta Globe 15 May 13;

Bangkok. At first glance, the poster appears to be a typical advertisement for an African safari: a large rhinoceros set against a rugged, open terrain. Then you take a closer look and realize something is amiss.

A cluster of human hands has replaced the two horns that distinguish this African animal from the single-horned Indian and Javan rhino. A message over the creature’s head reads: “Rhino horn is made of the same stuff as human nails. Still want some?”

Produced jointly by the wildlife watchdogs TRAFFIC and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), these posters are soon to appear on the walls of public places in major Vietnamese cities including the capital, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Offices, apartment buildings and even airports are all set to become sites in the campaign to end the illegal international trade in rhino horns that is threatening the ungulate to extinction.

Experts say there is no better place than this Southeast Asian nation of 87 million to drive this stark message home.

Vietnam has long been singled out by international groups monitoring the illicit wildlife trade for the dramatic rise in domestic demand for African rhino horns.

Close to 290 of the 20,000 rhinos left in South Africa have been killed for their horns since the beginning of this year, according to conservationists worried that such a deadly spree could see the death toll match the record number of 668 rhinos killed by poachers in 2012.

“We are in the midst of a rhino poaching crisis,” Mark Jones, a British veterinarian who heads the London-based Humane Society International, told IPS, adding that Vietnam has recently emerged as the main market for rhino horns.

The spike in demand has been shaped by a belief among locals that has taken root over the past five years: that rhino horn has special medicinal powers, including the ability to treat cancer, cure hangovers, and act as an aphrodisiac.

According to Naomi Doak, coordinator of the Greater Mekong Program at TRAFFIC, the graphics for the new campaign poster were developed after experts realized that a “large proportion of the Vietnamese public” were not aware that rhino horn, a mass of agglutinated hair, is comprised of keratin, the same basic substance that constitutes human finger and toenails.

She hopes that bringing this fact to light will make people “think twice before consuming rhino horn.”

Yet driving home this message will be “a long and difficult campaign,” Doak admitted in an interview with IPS. “With very few penalties and consequences people really aren’t that concerned about the impacts the consumption of rhino [horn] has either on the animals or on people.”

A status symbol

To understand what wildlife protection groups are up against, one need only take a stroll through Hanoi’s famed Old Quarter, a colorful network of 36 streets where crafts and local products have been hawked for centuries.

Here, shops specializing in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) attract scores of customers seeking remedies made from wild animal parts, including rhino horn.

In his latest documentary “Bad Medicine, Illegal Trade in Rhinoceros Horns”, conservationist and filmmaker Karl Amman traces the routes of illegal traffickers from the Africans wilds to the streets of Vietnam, where “rhino horns have also become a status symbol,” he said.

This explains why gold, once the favorite gift among the communist-ruled country’s expanding class of wealthy citizens, has been dethroned by rhino horns, which currently fetch $65,000 per kilogram.

This is “more than gold, gram for gram,” according to Jones. Though the weight of rhino horns vary, an individual horn can fetch up to $150,000.

The pressure on Vietnam to curb the demand for illegal rhino horns is expected to grow following the resolutions passed in March at the Bangkok meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The strong language at this 16th global gathering of 178 member countries fell just short of imposing sanctions on Hanoi.

The Vietnamese government, meanwhile, has consistently denied allegations that it is a major market in this global trade.

It often points an accusing finger at its powerful northern neighbor, China, which is also under scrutiny for boosting the illegal wildlife trade, particularly the demand for tiger parts.

But activists have proof and are not prepared to remain silent.

Do Quang Tung, deputy director of CITES Vietnam, who headed his country’s delegation to the Bangkok talks, told a Vietnamese newspaper in late March, “From 2004 until now, 13 [individuals] involved in rhino trafficking were arrested, with a total of 150 kg of rhino horns.”

Two of these cases, he said, occurred in early 2013.

“Illegal trade in rhino horns involves highly organized, mobile and well-financed criminal groups, mainly composed of Asian nationals based in Africa,” a report published by TRAFFIC and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed early this year.

“These networks have recruited pseudo-hunters including Vietnamese citizens, Thai prostitutes and proxy hunters from the Czech Republic and Poland to obtain rhino horns in South Africa,” added the report.

“Pseudo-hunting has significantly reduced as a result of a decision to prevent nationals of Vietnam from obtaining hunting licenses and changes to South African law in April 2012.”

Another embarrassment for Vietnam has been scandals involving its diplomats at the South African mission who were accused of smuggling rhino horns in 2006 and 2008.

When confronted about these incidents at the recent CITES meeting in Bangkok, a Vietnamese government official said that the errant diplomats had received “punishment” for their actions.

Hopes are running high that the impending poster campaign will do its part to educate the public and bring an end to the thriving trade. But it will take more than two animal rights groups to halt rising demand.

Nguyen Thuy Quynh, of WWF Vietnam, told IPS, “We are seeking support and cooperation from many businesses, celebrities, universities, international organizations and mass media who all have an important voice in reaching and influencing the community.”

Inter Press Service

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Contribution of forests to food security and nutrition needs more attention

FAO 16 May 13;

16 May 2013, Rome - Governments, civil society and the private sector should ensure and strengthen the contributions of forests, trees and agroforestry systems to food security and nutrition, participants in the first-ever International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition (13-15 May), organized by FAO, said yesterday.

Globally, millions of people depend on forests for their livelihoods - directly through the consumption and sale of foods harvested in forests, and indirectly through forest-related employment and income generation, forest ecosystem services, and forest biodiversity.

Forest foods, such as leaves, seeds, nuts, honey, fruits, mushrooms, insects and other forest animals, have been important components of rural diets for millennia. An estimated 2.6 billion people rely on fuelwood, including charcoal, for cooking their food.

Incentives for small-scale forest producers

The conference participants agreed that small-scale forest producers should be encouraged to strengthen their involvement in agroforestry, tree‐growing, small‐scale wood processing and the provision of ecosystem services.

Microfinance loans to small and medium-sized forest enterprises in many cases have resulted in gains in family incomes and better health, nutrition and quality of life in rural areas, especially when microloans are given to women.

Improved access to trees and land

The potential economic and environmental gains from secure land tenure are substantial, and tree tenure can also lead to fundamental improvements in land management. The conference stressed the need for improving access rights to trees and land to create significant incentives for farmers to engage in agroforestry, for example, by applying the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests, which were recently adopted by the Committee on World Food Security.

Forest ecosystem services foster food production

The conference highlighted the essential role of ecosystem services provided by forests and trees to agricultural production, which include protecting water and soil resources, contributing to soil development processes, including increasing soil fertility, regulating climate and providing habitat for wild pollinators and predators of agricultural pests.

Forested wetlands and mangrove forests help protect coastal areas from flooding, thereby increasing the stability of food production in coastal lands. Forests also play vital roles in riverine and coastal fisheries, which are often particularly important to poor communities. Mountain forests provide vital ecosystem services, particularly "blue" fresh water for downstream forests and dependent communities.

Intersectoral cooperation

According to the conference recommendations, it is essential to ensure that relevant sector policies, including those on agriculture, forests and trees, as well as food security and nutrition, are coordinated across sectors, and that all stakeholders, from forest‐dependent communities to ministries, are actively involved in their development and implementation.

More than 400 participants attended the conference, including governments, civil-society organizations, local communities, donors and international agencies from more than 100 countries.

Conference participants further encouraged FAO to promote the conference recommendations to the next sessions of the Committee on World Food Security and the Committee on Forestry, as well as to the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) to be held at FAO headquarters in Rome on 19-21 November 2014.

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Climate change threatens global fish stocks

Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation Science Alert 16 May 13;

Ocean warming has already affected global fisheries in the past four decades, a new international study has found, driving up the proportion of warm-water fish being caught and posing a threat to food security worldwide.

The new study, conducted by researchers from the University of Tasmania’s specialist Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and the University of British Columbia and published in the journal Nature, warned that climate change adaptation plans were needed immediately.

“We have demonstrated that climate change impacts have already been operating for several decades. Many people think that climate change impacts are some futuristic and speculative thing which we can defer thinking about, but this study shows it is here and now and has already impacted global ocean life that we depend on,” said one of the study’s authors, Dr Reg Watson, Professor of Fisheries and Ecosystem Modelling and a Research Scientist at the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies.

The researchers analysed data on the species of fish being caught and their preferred ocean temperature in 52 ocean ecosystems between 1970 and 2006.

They identified “an increasing dominance of catches of warmer waters species at higher latitudes and a decrease in the proportion of catches of subtropical species in the tropics.”

“Such changes in catch composition have direct implications for coastal fishing communities, particularly those in tropical developing countries, which tend to be socioeconomically vulnerable to the effects of climate change,” the authors warned in their paper.

“Continued warming in the tropics to a level that exceeds the thermal tolerance of tropical species may largely reduce catch potential in this region.”

Australia at risk

David Booth, Professor of Marine Ecology at the University of Technology, Sydney, said the authors of the study used the best data available on the temperature preferences of nearly 1000 fish species and changes in their catch distribution over 30 years to show a strong link with climate change increases in ocean temperature.

“In particular, tropical fisheries may lose significant numbers of species and see declining catch rates as a results of climate change temperature rises. Australia has over half of its fishing area in tropical waters and is one of the countries at risk,” said Professor Booth, who was not involved in the study.

“Much of the tropical Pacific and Indian ocean islands have subsistence fisheries that rely on fish as part of local diet and protein uptake. Climate change sea temperature rise will affect them most of all.”

The new study was one of the first on a global scale to show how climate change sea surface temperature rise will affect fish distributions, Professor Booth said.

Professor Jessica Meeuwig, Director of the University of Western Australia’s Centre for Marine Futures (Oceans Institute), said the study provided compelling evidence for the effects of climate change on fisheries catches.

“It is also an elegant use of one of the few global data sets we have for the ocean: fisheries data,” said Professor Meeuwig, who was not involved in the study.

“Recognising that the species targeted by fisheries are under pressure from climate change means that our approach to the exploitation of these species needs to be extremely conservative, erring on the side of under- rather than over-exploitation and opening new fisheries only with great caution.”

The results of this study ring a significant warning bell with respect to many Australian endemic southern fishes, including blue gropers, Professor Meeuwig said.

“These cold water species will have difficulties shifting southward as subtropical species move in given the lack of appropriate shallow water habitat off the continental shelf.”

Global problem

James Smith, Research Fellow in Fisheries at University of New South Wales said the new study “cleverly uses existing catch data to explore range shifts on a global scale.”

“This large-scale data confirms the many local and single-species studies showing range shifts in fish species,” said Dr Smith, who was also not involved in the study.

“The findings are sound, and may in fact underestimate the problem, given that it doesn’t take into account small spatial shifts in fishing effort, as fishing grounds shift to follow the shifting fish.”

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Melting Glaciers Cause One-Third of Sea-Level Rise

Stephanie Pappas LiveScience.com Yahoo News 17 May 13;

The world's glaciers lost 260 gigatons of water each year between 2003 and 2009, making these rivers of ice responsible for almost a third of sea-level rise in that time, new research finds.

The study, to appear tomorrow (May 17) in the journal Science, used multiple methods to pin down estimates of how much ice is lost from glaciers. The results suggest that on-the-ground measurements yield estimates that are too extreme, but some satellite methods don't go far enough.

"There was a large amount of uncertainty in how much these glaciers were contributing to sea-level rise prior to this study," lead researcher Alex Gardner, a professor of geography at Clark University in Massachusetts, told LiveScience. "What our study provides is a really strong estimate for what the glacial contribution was over this time." [Ice World: Gallery of Awe-Inspiring Glaciers]

Observing ice

Sea-level rise is caused by melting ice from glaciers as well as from the Greenland ice sheet and the Antarctic ice sheet. Sea levels also go up as the oceans warm, because warm water takes up more space. Teasing out the influence of each factor can be tricky.

In November, an international group of researchers published a study in Science estimating the loss of ice from polar ice sheet melt. That research determined that ice lost from Antarctica and Greenland is responsible for a fifth of the 2.2 inches (5.59 centimeters) of sea-level rise since 1992.

"What they did for the ice sheets, we've done for the glaciers," Gardner said.

In many ways, glaciers are even tougher to track than ice sheets. They're scattered across the globe, many in inaccessible spots. Before 2002, all scientists could do was trek out on the ice, make measurements, track changes, and then extrapolate those changes to glaciers they couldn't observe directly.

In 2002 and 2003, however, NASA launched two satellite missions to give a better view of Earth's melting ice. The first, GRACE (or Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment), uses two satellites that measure the Earth's gravity field. These satellites can detect changes in the gravity field that occur when a glacier loses or gains a lot of ice.

A second mission, ICESat (Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite), ran until 2009 and measured, among other things, Earth's elevation across the globe. These elevation measurements also captured changes in ice thickness.

Bringing it all together

Gardner and his colleagues compared the data from these satellite missions directly. The two have different strengths, he said. GRACE, for example, is not sensitive enough to tell the difference between ice lost from ice sheets and ice lost from glaciers right next door to ice sheets — which include about 30 percent of the world's glaciers.

For large regions, Gardner said, GRACE and ICESat's measurements are nonetheless in close agreement. In contrast, in icy regions of less than about 1,900 square miles (5,000 square kilometers), the satellite measurements didn't agree as clearly.

That lack of agreement is because GRACE doesn't always catch melt in small glaciers, which are often in mountainous regions surrounded by lakes and groundwater.

"What if the glaciers are melting but the lake is filling?" Gardner said. "GRACE sees that nothing happened, because no mass was actually removed from that region."

The upside, Gardner said, is that in large icy areas, GRACE and ICESat provide strong measurements of melt. In spots dotted with smaller glaciers, ground observations turn out to be more accurate.

The 260 gigatons of water lost per year was more than would be expected from previous satellite estimates, which were limited in scope. But the loss was less than would have been expected from extrapolating just from ground measurements, likely because glaciers that are closer to civilization and therefore easier to observe may be melting more rapidly than remote glaciers, Gardner said.

Future melt

Antarctic glaciers lost the least ice overall, the researchers found, because spots on the continent melting rapidly were offset by other regions gaining ice. Glaciers in the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, coastal Greenland, the southern Andes and high-mountain Asia were vanishing rapidly, however. Glaciers alone were responsible for about 0.3 inches (0.71 millimeters) of sea-level rise per year between 2003 and 2009, the researchers concluded. The glacial melt represents about 30 percent of the sea-level rise in that time period. [8 Ways Global Warming is Already Changing the World]

Now that it's clear that ground observations weren't providing good estimates, scientists need to go back to their old observational data to try to figure out how to use it to come up with better global estimates of previous glacier melt, Gardner said. Knowing what happened in the past is important for understanding what will come in the future. The current study can't say precisely what future climate change has in store.

"All we know is that every region on Earth right now, regardless of any additional warming, is losing glacial mass to the oceans," he said. "We anticipate that the rate will increase with additional warning."

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Best of our wild blogs: 16 May 13

Random Gallery - Common Palmfly
from Butterflies of Singapore

五月双溪布洛华语导游 Mandarin guide walk@SBWR, May (XXXXI)
from PurpleMangrove

White-bellied Sea-eagle just before fledging
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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Singapore among those granted observer seat on Arctic governing council

Alister Doyle PlanetArk 16 May 13;

The Arctic Council agreed on Wednesday to admit emerging powers China and India as observers, reflecting growing global interest in the trade and energy potential of the planet's Far North.

The organization, which coordinates Arctic policy, is gaining clout as sea ice thaws to open up new trade routes and intensify competition for oil and gas - estimated at 15 percent and 30 percent respectively of undiscovered reserves.

China has been active in the polar region, becoming one of the biggest mining investors in Greenland and agreeing a free trade deal with Iceland. Shorter shipping routes across the Arctic Ocean would save its companies time and money.

The council groups the United States, Russia, Canada and Nordic nations. Observer status gives countries the right to listen in on meetings and propose and finance policies.

China, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore and Italy were granted observer status.

"Despite the varied interests we have heard today from the permanent participants, there is nothing that should unite us quite like our concern for both the promise and challenges of the northernmost reaches of the Earth," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told the meeting in Sweden's northern town of Kiruna.

Canada, which will chair the council for the next two years, said the time had come to realize the "tremendous potential and opportunities" in the Arctic, which has rich reserves of gold, tin, lead, nickel and copper.

"This development must be done in a responsible and an environmentally sustainable manner so that the land, the water and the animals ... are not negatively impacted," Canadian Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq told reporters by phone from Kiruna.

Indigenous groups have expressed concern the number of observers could dilute their voice as their traditional cultures are threatened by a possible influx of oil and mining projects.

A Chinese shipping firm is planning the country's first commercial voyage through a shortcut across the Arctic Ocean to the United States and Europe in 2013, saving time and money. The distance from Shanghai to Hamburg is 2,800 nautical miles shorter via the Arctic than via the Suez Canal.

The council ruled the Europe Union could observe meetings until a final decision on its status was taken.

Diplomats said Canada and other Arctic states objected to an EU ban on imported seal products. Indigenous groups say they depend on the seal trade.

Aglukkaq said she would hold talks with the EU in a bid to find a compromise on the seals issue but gave no details.

WORLD'S BIGGEST DEPOSITS OF RARE EARTHS

China already has mining links with Greenland and trade ties with Iceland. Greenland may have the world's biggest deposits of rare earths, used in smart phones and green technology.

"The entry of countries like China not only reflects how the Arctic has become a region of global interest, it also shows how the Arctic Council has become the main body of Arctic governance," said Damien Degeorges, founder of the Arctic Policy and Economic Forum.

The council also adopted an agreement to coordinate a response to potential spills that could result from increasing oil and gas exploration, including joint training exercises to deal with major accidents.

The meeting also heard about the threat to the region's biodiversity. Summer temperatures are warmer than at any time in the past 2,000 years, threatening animals and plants, according to an Arctic Biodiversity Assessment report given to ministers.

"Decisive action taken now can help sustain vast, relatively undisturbed ecosystems of tundra, mountains, fresh water and seas and the valuable services they provide," it said.

(Additional reporting by Alister Doyle, Alistair Scrutton and David Ljunggren; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Cynthia Osterman)

Singapore gets permanent observer status
It gains platform to participate in body that shapes future policies in icy north
Esther Teo Straits Times 16 May 13;

SINGAPORE has been granted permanent observer status in the Arctic Council, giving it a platform to participate in a body that shapes future policies in the icy northern region.

Four other Asian countries - China, India, Japan and South Korea - were also admitted as observers yesterday to the council, along with Italy.

Reacting to the news of Singapore's new status, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a statement: "I would like to thank the Arctic Council states for admitting Singapore as an observer.

"Singapore is not situated in the Arctic, but developments there - whether the melting of the ice cap or opening of new sea routes - will have important implications for Singapore as a low- lying island and international seaport," he said. "We look forward to contributing to the work of the Arctic Council."

The council, formed in 1996, groups the eight Arctic nations - the United States, Russia, Canada, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Observer status gives countries the right to listen in on meetings and propose and finance policies.

The body addresses issues faced by Arctic governments and inhabitants of the region. It is gaining clout as sea ice thaws in the face of global warming to open up new trade routes and intensify competition for oil and gas - estimated at 15 per cent and 30 per cent respectively of undiscovered reserves.

The announcement was made at the Eighth Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council held in Sweden's northernmost city of Kiruna yesterday and is seen as a victory for Singapore which has been lobbying for the place for 11/2 years.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) noted in a statement yesterday that Singapore submitted its application for observer status in December 2011. Singapore's special envoy for Arctic Affairs Kemal Siddique is also in Sweden.

The MFA noted that the work of the Arctic Council includes issues such as sustainable development and environmental protection of the Arctic region. The council also disseminates information, encourages education, and promotes interest in the Arctic.

China has been active in the polar region, becoming one of the biggest mining investors in Greenland and agreeing to a free trade deal with Iceland, Reuters reported.

The council yesterday also ruled that the Europe Union could observe meetings until a final decision on its status was taken. EU members France, Germany, Spain and Britain have observer status.

Diplomats said Canada and other Arctic states objected to an EU ban on imported seal products. Indigenous groups say they depend on the seal trade, Reuters said.

Russia has long been sceptical of letting in the EU as an observer, arguing it has representation through its members Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

US Secretary of State John Kerry told the meeting: "Despite the varied interests we have heard today from the permanent participants, there is nothing that should unite us quite like our concern for both the promise and challenges of the northernmost reaches of the Earth."

'Singapore is now an ocean state'
M. Nirmala Straits Times 16 May 13;

SINGAPORE'S admission into the Arctic Council as a permanent observer is a significant move tied to the city's future existence and continued economic prosperity.

This means that Singapore can now attend the council meetings and gain insights into the significant changes in the region that will have an impact on the country. For instance, Singapore is concerned about fast-melting polar ice, which can erode the island-state's position as one of the world's busiest ports.

Celebrating the news, a jubilant Singapore team of diplomats and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was getting ready the champagne glasses when this reporter rang them.

Speaking to The Straits Times from Sweden, Singapore's Special Envoy for Arctic Affairs Kemal Siddique said: "Singapore is now an ocean state with an important maritime sector."

Getting the observer status in the council will also mark a significant change in the way the world sees Singapore: not just as a maritime nation, but a country with a part to play in protecting the world's ocean resources.

The Arctic now holds 30 per cent of the world's undiscovered gas and 13 per cent of oil.

A toehold in the Arctic will also give a leg up to Singapore businesses seeking opportunities in the North. PSA International can offer its expertise in running major port facilities to the Arctic which is seeing a shipping boom.

Keppel Singmarine, whose ice breakers are already cracking ice blocks in the Arctic, is now working on oil rigs which can work in freezing temperatures.

Singapore will also have faster access to Arctic data on the rising sea levels caused by the melting polar ice. It can then swiftly change its policies to prevent coastal flooding in Singapore.

The melting ice in the Arctic also endangers its spot as one of the world's busiest ports.

A new shipping route in the North is being carved out, cutting the travel time needed for ships to sail from Europe to Asia by half.

Singapore can also play a greater role in helping countries govern the oceans in a peaceful way.

Ambassador-At-Large Tommy Koh chaired the the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea about 30 years ago.

This work was a historic milestone as it provided the framework for the global governance of the world's oceans and seas. This law will now play an even more important role as the world's coastal population grows and man harvests more ocean resources.

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ST's Run in the Park offers a workout close to nature

Priscilla Kham Straits Times 16 May 13;

RUN past flowing waterways and lush greenery and catch a glimpse of colourful waterside birds at what will be the largest running event at one of Singapore's new scenic hot spots.

The Straits Times Run in the Park promises participants an invigorating trail through the Punggol Waterway park connector, which is part of the North- eastern Riverine Loop.

The event, which spans the natural coastline of Punggol Beach, and the banks of Punggol and Sengkang reservoir, aims to be a refreshing alternative to runners used to pounding the streets or treadmill.

To be held on Aug 25, the event is part of the Straits Times Appreciates Readers (Star) series to actively engage readers and the community. Past events have included a carnival and concert at Gardens by the Bay, and exclusive movie ticket giveaways.

Said Straits Times editor Warren Fernandez: "Many of our readers love to get outdoors and have fun while keeping fit.

"They read us for the latest news and trends on how to do that. So we have decided to take them to this unique spot on the park connector network for a run with a difference."

He added that The Straits Times will also be with runners every step of the way during their preparation, through articles in the newspaper and its websites in the run-up to the event.

The Straits Times is partnering the National Parks Board (NParks), which is celebrating 50 Years of Greening Singapore, for this event.

Said chief executive of NParks, Mr Poon Hong Yuen: "The loop goes round one of the most scenic places in Singapore, with lush greenery by the river, as well as rich biodiversity. Several species of birds, butterflies, and even otters have been spotted there."

Even after the event, participants will get a chance to spot other marine wildlife creatures. Each participant will get a goodie bag containing a ticket worth $33 to Resorts World Sentosa's S.E.A Aquarium. The bag also includes a New Balance running T-shirt worth $49, among other things. More giveaways will be announced later.

"As with other Star programmes, we aim to give participants good value. So the ticket will be worth a lot more than what you pay for it, thanks to our generous partners," said Mr Fernandez.

Registration will start early next month and details on how to do so will be announced soon. Runners can sign up for a 5km "fun run", or a 10km or 15km competitive run. The registration fee is $55 (competition run) and $46 (fun run). Group discounts are also available.

Avid runner Adrian Loo, 41, a biology teacher said: "Runners get bored of the same old routes along East Coast and the city. I am interested in this run as it seems like a more unique route. I've cycled along this park area before. Hearing the birds chirping is extremely therapeutic."

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Malaysia: Experts want Sumatra and Borneo rhinos to be conserved as single unit

New Straits Times 16 May 13;

KOTA KINABALU: Sumatran rhinos in Sumatra and Borneo should be conserved as a single unit, according to experts in Sabah. With a population as little as 100 left in Indonesia and Malaysia, consolidated efforts are needed to ensure the its survival.

The species, which have minimal genetic differences, are not conserved as a single unit because it is found in different locations.

This was asserted in a study by the Sabah Wildlife Department, the Wildlife and National Parks Department, the Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora), Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Cardiff University and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC).

The paper was recently published in the science journal Oryx.

Lead author and DGFC director Dr Benoit Goosens said the differences between the species found in Sumatra and Borneo were minimal and this did not justify keeping the populations found in both locations as separate management units.

In a similar scenario, the Javan rhinos found in Ujong Kulon, Indonesia, and Cat Tien, Vietnam, were conserved as different units.

Despite slight genetic differences, it had been proposed that the Indonesian and Vietnamese governments should consider exchanging the rhinos to raise its population.

"But no action was taken and in Cat Tien National Park, the last animal was found dead in April 2010. We certainly do not want the same thing to happen to the Sumatran rhinoceros," Goosens said.

Experts: Malaysia and Indonesia should team up to breed rhinos
Ruben Sario The Star 16 May 13;

KOTA KINABALU: Wildlife researchers are pushing for a more cohesive effort between Malaysia and Indonesia to conserve the critically endangered Sumatran rhino.

With fewer than 100 animals left in Sumatra and Borneo, scientists are proposing that the population be managed as a single conservation unit.

The Sumatran rhino is found in Sumatra and possibly Kalimantan in Indonesia and Sabah in Malaysia.

“Although habitat loss and poaching are reasons for the decline, the reproductive isolation of the mammals, which are too sparsely scattered even within protected areas, is the main threat to the survival of the species,” said wildlife research NGO Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) executive director Dr Junaidi Payne.

He is the co-author of a paper published this week in the scientific journal Oryx, in which researchers demonstrate the necessity to consider the remaining populations of Sumatran rhinoceros in Sumatra and Borneo as a single conservation unit.

The paper was the outcome of a joint study by BORA, the Sabah Wildlife Department, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Cardiff University and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC).

DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens, the paper's lead author, said the genetic differences are minimal and do not justify keeping the Sumatran and Bornean populations as separate management units.

A study of the Javan rhinoceros showed low genetic diversity in that population and there was a critical need for population expansion for the species to survive, Dr Goosens added.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said state authorities are working with researchers.

“We understand the need to exchange gametes between Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Actions to initiate genome resource banking and artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation are under way in Sabah and elsewhere,” said Dr Laurentius.

He said it is considering sending Tam, a captive male rhinoceros, to Cincinnati Zoo in the United States to breed with a mature female.

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