Hard work finding eco-palm oil goods

The onus is on consumers to push manufacturers to act sustainably
Grace Chua Straits Times 16 Jul 13;

SHOPPERS here can buy Fair Trade coffee, organic chocolate and Singapore Green Label notebooks. But they will struggle to find such labels for sustainable palm oil.

Sumatran palm oil plantations clearing land by burning are being blamed for last month's haze, the worst ever recorded in Singapore.

Many people have suggested consumers put pressure on the industry to become more transparent.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said during the crisis: "I am sure consumers will know what to do."

Sustainably grown and independently certified palm oil is available. About 16 per cent of the world's palm oil is certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, or RSPO - a global association of industry and non-government organisations. But the products here bearing the RSPO trademark, meaning they are made with palm oil produced in an eco-friendly way, consists of just a handful of Body Shop soaps.

Complex supply chains and low palm oil prices mean few manufacturers use only certified palm oil. Oftentimes, firms which commit to buy this will mix it with non-certified oil, so they do not have to build separate processing plants - that way, they can still hit their certified targets.

Alternatively, they buy GreenPalm certificates to show they support the sustainable version. Growers get a certificate for each tonne of sustainable palm oil produced. Buyers in distant countries can purchase these certificates to offset physical sustainable oil if there is none readily available.

To be certified sustainable, mills and growers must meet a set of criteria that include no burning except in limited circumstances, transparency, maintaining customary land use and labour rights and plans for improvement.

The process can be completed in three months but depends on the site's size and amount of oil produced, said a spokesman for BSI, an independent certification firm. The certification lasts five years, subject to annual audits.

"The additional cost is about $5 per tonne of certified palm oil," said a spokesman for Singapore-based Golden Agri-Resources, which aims to certify all its pre-June 2010 plantations by 2015. Last week, palm oil prices were hovering around RM2,300 (S$914) a tonne.

If chocolate and soap makers want to use only certified oil for RSPO-trademarked products, they must process them separately from ordinary palm oil, which adds to costs, said World Wide Fund for Nature palm oil spokesman Adam Harrison.

Even so, that does not stop manufacturers from buying and using certified palm oil; just that the end products will not be labelled as such.

Unilever aims to buy all its palm oil from certified suppliers by 2015, while agribusiness giant Cargill has a 2015 target for Europe and 2020 globally.

"Other manufacturers and in particular traders including some of the Singapore-based giants like Wilmar need to show the same level of responsibility," said Mr Harrison. Some of Wilmar's suppliers were caught clearing land by setting illegal fires.

But, he added, India and China each buys as much palm oil as Europe and the US combined. So the WWF and RSPO, of which the former is a member, are trying to recruit makers and retailers.

Palm oil may be listed in ingredients as "vegetable oil" so consumers have a hard time telling if a product contains it or is sustainable. But the European Union is set to label all products containing it by late next year.

Another worry, said agribusiness analyst Khor Yu Leng, is that small growers - of the sort caught setting fires illegally in Sumatra - face cost and operating constraints, so getting them certified to high standards is costly. "The next stage is, there needs to be more inclusiveness."

This week, officials from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are discussing the haze at a three-day Asean meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

But consumers still have a role to play. "It's the processed and packaged foods that drive the increase in oil and fat consumption," Ms Khor said. "If nobody wants to change their behaviour, their consumption habits, it's not very realistic."

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19 caught for having illegal pets in 2012

Tan Qiuyi Channel NewsAsia 15 Jul 13;

SINGAPORE: Pythons and crocodiles are some of the illegal pets authorities have seized from Singapore homes in the past 10 years.

In 2012, 19 people were caught having illegal wild animals, the highest since 2006. The number for the first half of 2013 is 10.

Experts said these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg.

Two albino hedgehogs and two sugar gliders were selling on a local website for S$2,650 in total.

The hedgehogs were found covered in faeces and the gliders were kept in tiny food containers. The animals became some of the latest wildlife seizures by Singapore authorities.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said it acted on a tip-off, and the man hawking the animals online is assisting with investigations.

The animals have been sent to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore for care and custody.

Louis Ng, executive director of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, said: "Pretty appalling conditions that these animals are housed in. Bear in mind that these are exotic species, so they were probably smuggled into Singapore in probably even more appalling conditions."

Sting operations in recent years have uncovered endangered animals like ball pythons, star tortoises, and even slow lorises available on the market.

While such operations work to put off illegal sellers for a while, some said a more preventive strategy is needed to stop illegal wildlife from coming into Singapore in the first place.

First, the buying has to stop, said Mr Ng.

He said: "If people buy them, people will try to smuggle them into Singapore because there're profits to be made.

"Second is to have sniffer dogs at our border checkpoints that can sniff out wildlife, they can sniff out animal parts, like tiger parts, bear parts, so that there is a very effective deterrent."

According to wildlife trade monitor TRAFFIC, one dog and its handler can carry out a relatively thorough search of passengers and baggage for wildlife contraband in the same time it would take 36 customs officers to perform a cursory examination.

European countries like Germany, the Czech Republic, and the UK are already using wildlife sniffer dogs at their airports.

China began training its first wildlife sniffers - three Labradors - in June.

Authorities investigated 13 cases of online sales of illegal wildlife or their parts like python bone and tiger skin in Singapore between 2010 and 2012.

But the bigger problem, said Acting Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Dr Chris Shepherd, is what comes in and passes through the country.

In January, Singapore customs intercepted 1.8 tonnes of illegal ivory in transit. It had been declared as waste paper.

AVA statistics show over the past ten years, there were about 24 such seizures of illegal wildlife or their parts and products every year on average.

Dr Shepherd said: "Here in Southeast Asia we're just scratching the surface. The trade here is enormous. Wildlife sold in Singapore, we're not sure what the levels are, but it's definitely happening and I think those seizures reflect a very tiny percentage of it. Singapore is in a great position to really be a leader in Asia in tackling the illegal trade for a number of reasons. One, there are resources available, or that could be made available to tackle this trade.”

The country's small size and efficiency also give it a good opportunity to knock out major illegal wildlife trade routes in the region, Dr Shepherd added.

Import and export opportunities like airports and checkpoints are limited in Singapore, Dr Shepherd said, which means less ground to cover in terms of enforcement, compared to neighbouring giants like Myanmar and Thailand.

- CNA/xq

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Malaysia bans export of five types of fish

Straits Times 16 Jul 13;

JOHOR BARU - The Malaysian authorities have suspended the export of five types of fish to overseas markets, including Singapore, for up to two months.

The ban, imposed without prior notice for unspecified reasons, came into effect last Wednesday and will continue until Sept10, China Press reported.

Fish included in the export ban are kembung, pelaling, cencaru, selayang and selar, the report said.

At a press conference held on Sunday, fish distributors for Singapore said that they, as well as their transport operators, had received a notice from Malaysia's Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) informing them of the ban about three days before it came into effect.

The operators send about 20 lorries of the five types of fish to Singapore daily. Last Wednesday, lorries transporting a consignment of fish to Singapore were stopped by Malaysian Customs.

Speaking at the press conference, the distributors said they hoped the Malaysian authorities would look into the matter and ensure that the ban would not affect their livelihoods, or have any impact on the economy.

Johor Democratic Action Party chief and Skudai state assemblyman Boo Cheng Hau, who was present at the press conference, urged the LKIM to inform operators in advance about such bans in future to give them time to adjust.

The official LKIM website did not mention the ban although an announcement was posted on its official Facebook page, reports said.

Malaysia's Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry also did not display any notices on the ban on its website.

Transport operators said the ban was due to the coming Hari Raya Aidilfitri festival, although no official reasons were given by the authorities.

Malaysia bans export of 5 types of fish to Singapore
xinmsm.news 16 Jul 13;

Malaysia's Fisheries Department has announced a sudden ban on the exports of five species of oceanic fish to Singapore.

The ban will last for two months.

Malaysian newspapers report that the banned fish are: kembung, pelaling, cencaru, selayang and selar.

Exports of these fish account for about 20 per cent of Singapore's supply of fresh fish.

It is believed that the ban is meant to ease the shortage of such fish during the Ramadan fasting period.

The sudden ban has taken many fish merchants by surprise, leaving them unable to ship their stock through the Johor Customs in time.

They stand to suffer major losses as a result.

Fish wholesaler, Lim Ah Lik, imports as much as three tonnes of the five kinds of fish from Malaysia every day.

The sudden ban has resulted in a large batch of his stock getting stuck in Malaysia.

He had to sell them there instead at a huge loss.

Mr Lim said the fish typically fetch about $3 to $6 per kg in Singapore, but prices have been rising since last week.

He expects to see prices rise further in the coming days.

Mr Lim said the affected fish merchants will meet on Wednesday to discuss the matter.

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World experts: all pangolin species at risk from illegal trade

TRAFFIC 15 Jul 13;

Singapore, 15th July 2013—A recent gathering of global pangolin experts has concluded the scaly mammals are more threatened now than ever, with all eight species threatened by illegal trade for their meat and medicinal use of their scales.

Currently international trade in the four species of Asian pangolin is not permitted under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), while international trade in the four African species is only allowed provided the correct CITES permits accompany shipments—however, this is rarely the case.

The landmark meeting on the conservation of pangolins was organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature—Species Survival Commission (IUCN-SSC) Pangolin Specialist Group and Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

The conference noted that at least 218,100 pangolins had been seized between 2000 and 2012—a figure likely to represent only a fraction of those being illegally traded. Ninety per cent of these were seized from mainland China, Hong Kong, and four South-East Asian nations—Indonesia, Malaysia, Viet Nam and Thailand. Live animals and meat represented some 60% of all pangolins seizures, while the rest included scales and whole carcasses.

It saw the gathering of Asian and African pangolin experts, who kick-started the process of re-assessing the status of the world’s eight pangolins species for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Red List is recognized as the most comprehensive and globally accepted evaluation of the conservation status of plant and animal species.

The first pangolin assessment was carried out in 2008 when only two of the eight pangolin species—the Sunda Pangolin Manis javanica and the Chinese Pangolin M. pentadactyla—were listed as Endangered. The latest information presented at the Conference suggests that populations of all eight pangolin species are in serious decline and an update of the Red List will reflect this.

Research also indicates that the main threats to pangolins have escalated over the years, with illegal trade contributing more significantly to the problem than habitat loss, in part driven by the rising prices paid for pangolins on the black market.

During the meeting, TRAFFIC highlighted the scale of the pangolin trafficking problem in China and Malaysia, the former a significant consumer country, the latter a source and transit point. TRAFFIC raised the need for stiffer penalties and more effective prosecution efforts to secure convictions.

“Enforcement efforts should not end at seizures—they are only the first of several steps needed to dismantle wildlife smuggling rings,” said Dr Chris R. Shepherd, Acting Director of TRAFFIC in South-East Asia.

“Agencies must be proactive, weeding out the ringleaders behind smuggling operations and putting them out of business.

“Investigators and prosecutors must also prepare thoroughly so that when cases are presented in court they are strong enough for the judge to make a ruling fitting the crime.”

Cases highlighted by TRAFFIC during the meeting included the sentencing of a Malaysian national to life imprisonment for trafficking 2,090 frozen pangolins and 1,800 kg of scales from Malaysia to Guangdong, China, in 2010. He was arrested in China and sentenced along with four others convicted in the same case who received between five and 10 years each in prison.

Comparatively, the highest sentence meted out thus far in Malaysia was in June 2013, against a group of six men who attempted to smuggle 150 pangolins across the country’s land border with Thailand. Their fines totalled RM330,000 (approximately USD103,000), and each man was sentenced to a year in jail. In a separate case in 2012 two businessmen were jailed just one day and fined RM100,000 (USD31,342) each for the illegal possession of 135 pangolins.

Experts agreed that a suite of actions was crucial to curbing this trade. The Conference proposed ramping up law enforcement efforts, improving habitat protection, reducing consumer demand, and improving community stewardship in and around pangolin habitats as key components in any plan to tackle the poaching and trade of pangolins.

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Indonesia: Farmers, Poachers Suspected in Elephant Kill

Nurdin Hasan Jakarta Globe 15 Jul 13;

Banda Aceh. A male Sumatran elephant aged about 30 found dead in Aceh Jaya district over the weekend is the third wild elephant death in Aceh in three months.

Amon Zamora, head of the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency, said on Sunday that the carcass was found by Ranto Sabon village locals on Saturday morning. He believed a person deliberately killed it using a steel booby trap set using a tree.

“It’s very likely that someone killed [the elephant], because the ivory [tusks] had already been removed by the time it was located. We have asked for help from the police to investigate and try to find out who did this,” he told the Jakarta Globe.

“We are trying hard to capture the individual or individuals who may have killed this elephant for whatever reason, because that is an action that is forbidden by Indonesian law.”

Armidi, the chief law-enforcement official in the Forestry and Plantation Office of Aceh Jaya district, said the heavy trap had been installed on a fallen tree and angled so that the sharp steel spikes would enter the animal’s head.

“By the time the police arrived at the place where the elephant was found, the trap had already been removed by the [perpetrator],” Armidi said.

He added that details regarding the type of implement used to kill the animal had been supplied by people living in the area as well as surmised from marks left on the tree.

Ranto Sabon residents identified the animal as one that had regularly been eating crops planted in the area. They spoke of various unsuccessful attempts to drive it off, including using fireworks.

Armidi said the most recent skirmish with the elephant had been on Friday but that “almost every day that elephant would enter farms” in the area.

According to Ranto Sabon village chief Amiruddin, the presence of the elephant made residents anxious. “People have suffered losses [because of the elephant] and that’s why they put up traps in various locations,” he said.

He said that in view of people’s substantial losses, he could not stop them, adding that reports to the Conservation Response Unit requesting that the animal be dealt with had not received a response.

CRU is a program of Fauna and Flora International Indonesia that attempts to manage human-elephant conflicts by moving tame elephants into conflict areas.

Amon said humans and elephants were in an ongoing struggle for space in 19 of 23 Aceh districts, with Aceh Jaya, North Aceh, South Aceh, East Aceh, Aceh Singkil, and Pidie among the most conflict-prone areas.

“The conflict is caused by roads used [as corridors] through which the elephants pass while foraging. We have warned the residents several times against [creating obstructions], but they’re still continuing to do it.”

Amon said “the population growth for elephants in Aceh is actually pretty good because in a group of elephants there would always be one baby.”

But he noted that elephants were frequently being killed by farmers seeking to protect their crops, as well as by poachers seeking ivory.

In May, a 10-year-old male elephant was found dead near Bangkeh village in Pidie district.

Two months later a 2-year-old elephant died after living for two months as a “pet” for a household in Blang Pante village in North Aceh.

The elephant was reportedly left behind by its mother and captured.

Humans have also clashed with tigers over land further south in Sumatra.

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Seas may rise 2.3 meters per degree of global warming: report

Erik Kirschbaum Reuters 15 Jul 13

(Reuters) - Sea levels could rise by 2.3 meters for each degree Celsius that global temperatures increase and they will remain high for centuries to come, according to a new study by the leading climate research institute, released on Monday.

Anders Levermann said his study for the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research was the first to examine evidence from climate history and combine it with computer simulations of contributing factors to long-term sea-level increases: thermal expansion of oceans, the melting of mountain glaciers and the melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

Scientists say global warming is responsible for the melting ice. A U.N. panel of scientists, the IPCC, says heat-trapping gases from burning fossil fuels are nudging up temperatures. A small number of scientists dismiss human-influenced global warming, arguing natural climate fluctuations are responsible.

"We're confident that our estimate is robust because of the combination of physics and data that we used," Levermann told Reuters. "We think we've set a benchmark for how much sea levels will rise along with temperature increases."

Sea levels rose by 17 cm last century and the rate has accelerated to more than 3 mm a year, according to the IPCC. A third of the current rise is from Antarctica and Greenland.

Almost 200 governments have agreed to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times and plan to agree, by the end of 2015, a deal to curb emissions.

Global average surface temperatures have risen by 0.8C (1.4F) since the Industrial Revolution and the IPCC has said temperatures are likely to be 0.4 to 1.0 degrees Celsius warmer from 2016-35 than in the two decades to 2005.

"In the past there was some uncertainty and people haven't known by how much," Levermann said. "We're saying now, taking everything we know, that we've got a robust estimate of 2.3 meters (7 feet, 6.6 inches) of rising sea per degree (Celsius) of warming."

SCEPTICS

Some scientific studies have projected sea level rise of up to 2 meters by 2100, a figure that would swamp large tracts of land from Bangladesh to Florida.

David Vaughan, head of the Ice2sea project to narrow down uncertainties about how melting ice will swell the oceans, has said sea levels would rise by between 16.5 and 69 cm under a scenario of moderate global warming this century.

Vaughan told Reuters the biggest impact rising seas will have is that storms will be more destructive in the near future.

"It's not about chasing people up the beach or the changing shape of coastlines," he said. "The big issue is how the storms will damage our coasts and how often they occur. That'll increase even with small levels of sea rise in coming decades."

Climate skeptics, however, say the evidence is unconvincing. Measurements of changing temperatures are unreliable, contradictory and unsupported by solid historic data, they say.

They question the accuracy of computer climate forecasts and point to historic, cyclical changes in the world's temperature as evidence that global temperature changes are natural. Others say the evidence shows temperatures have stopped rising and that the sun plays a bigger role than human activities.

"Continuous sea-level rise is something we cannot avoid unless global temperatures go down again," Levermann said. "Our results indicate that major adaptation at our coastlines will be necessary. It's likely that some currently populated regions can't be protected in the long run."

(Reporting by Erik Kirschbaum; editing by Patrick Graham)

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'Social, environmental risks' to Asia's growth

Fiona Chan Straits Times 16 Jul 13;

ASIA'S growth prospects are being threatened by rising income inequality and environmental degradation, a regional poverty-fighting organisation has warned.

A new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report noted that the region's economic policies have brought prosperity to many parts of Asia but neglected to tackle social and environmental problems.

"The strong priority on growth meant that the non-economic dimensions of development... have been generally underemphasised," said Mr Peter Petri, Carl Shapiro Professor of International Finance at Brandeis University in the United States, and Mr Vinod Thomas, the ADB's director-general of independent evaluation, who co-wrote the report.

"Asian economies typically kept social expenditures low and focused investments on economic infrastructure," they added.

This has led to income gaps widening over the last two decades, according to the report. Developing Asia's Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, rose about 1.4 per cent a year between the mid-1990s and the late 2000s.

"The income distribution is worsening, and possibly undermining demand, in countries that are home to 80 per cent of the region's population," the authors said. "The trends suggest that inequality in Asia is still rising and neither national nor international trends... promise early improvements."

Environmental conditions in Asia are also deteriorating, the report noted. Developing Asia now accounts for 35 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions - twice its share of global economic output - and this is projected to rise to 44 per cent by 2030.

Much of this is due to China and India, the largest and third-largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world respectively, the report said.

If left unchecked, the growing emissions could raise global temperatures by 5 deg C by the end of the 21st century, according to the World Bank.

This would likely "depress crop yields, decrease water availability, and raise risks of intense weather events", added the ADB.

Its warnings join those of the International Monetary Fund, which in April cautioned that unequal income growth could cause Asia's economies to stagnate.

The ADB is urging the region's policymakers to broaden its successful "evidence-based policy- making" - a pragmatic trial-and- error approach - to one that adds the goals of social inclusion and environmental sustainability to economic progress.

"Evidence is now telling us that future growth will likely depend on halting today's negative social and environmental trends," said the report.

If policymakers fail to take heed, not only will economic growth be hurt, but so will "social cohesion and the legitimacy of governments", it concluded.

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Best of our wild blogs: 15 Jul 13

Latest Green Jobs in Singapore [8 - 14 Jul 2013]
from Green Business Times

27 Jul: Your chance to volunteer at Tampines Eco Park
from The Green Volunteers

Battlefield Tour July 28 Sunday
from a.t.Bukit Brown. Heritage. Habitat. History. and Green Activist Bhavani Prakash’s Plea

31 Jul Green Drinks: Mosquitoes and Dengue
from Green Drinks Singapore

Festival of Biodiversity 2013
from Butterflies of Singapore

Festival of Biodiversity 2013
from my gap year

A Naturalist Guide to The Birds of Singapore (Book launch)
from Rojak Librarian

Night Walk At Venus Drive (12 Jun 2013)
from Beetles@SG BLOG and Morning Walk At Durian Loop (13 Jul 2013)

Butterflies Galore! : Fluffy Tit
from Butterflies of Singapore

Bigfin Reef Squid
from Monday Morgue

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NUS, NTU complete studies on underground campus space

Feng Zengkun Straits Times 15 Jul 13;

Singapore's two largest universities have completed exploratory studies to see if they can tap their campuses' underground space for classrooms, libraries, sports halls and other facilities.

The National University of Singapore's two-month study was completed late last year while a research group at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will finalise its report by next month.

NUS' vice-president of campus infrastructure Yong Kwet Yew said delving underground would expand use of the Kent Ridge campus' land while conserving existing green and open spaces on the surface.

"In the exploratory study, some possible uses identified included sports facilities, classrooms, libraries, auditoriums, and even research laboratories, data centres and parking structures," he told The Sunday Times.

However further studies are needed, such as how to make the underground spaces more comfortable for people, for example through the use of natural lighting.

He added that the university is also exploring research areas related to the use and development of underground space, but did not elaborate further.

Meanwhile at NTU, students could eventually swim in a subterranean pool or borrow books from an underground library.

Its Nanyang Centre for Underground Space (NCUS) led a year-long study with an international team of researchers to outline how the university can expand underground.

The study was sponsored by NTU's Sustainable Earth Office and the researchers said it could complement the university's 15-year masterplan to develop the campus, which was unveiled in 2011.

Among other things, the NCUS report - which comes out next month - will provide preliminary designs for a four-storey underground learning complex and a three-level sports hall below the Jurong campus' surface.

The NCUS' interim director Zhao Zhiye said: "NTU may not build these underground facilities in the near term, but this concept study will be a good start for planning purposes."

For example, if the university wants to expand below the surface, it will need to set aside space above-ground for access shafts.

The report is based on available data about the NTU grounds' geology and topography, and sets out concept plans for caverns, tunnels and basements and how these could be linked to the surface.

The underground learning centre, for example, consists of 220,000 sq m spread over four levels, including space for libraries, function rooms, and a main concourse.

The three-storey sports hall would be located under the existing sports centre on campus, and feature a swimming pool and courts for indoor games such as badminton and basketball.

The researchers estimated the amount of rock that would need to be excavated for these two facilities, but not their price tags as these could change depending on the subsurface geology.

The report's principal investigator Zhao Jian, a rock mechanics and tunnelling professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, added that the report will include information from previous studies on underground facilities' safety and sustainability.

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Routine fogging harmful to health

Straits Times 15 Jul 13;

IN MY letter ("Ban routine fogging, focus on destroying mosquito breeding sites"; June 1), I wrote about the need to ban routine thermal fogging as it is ineffective, creates pesticide resistance in the mosquitoes, destroys the natural predators of the mosquitoes and pollutes the environment.
Put your hair in our hands. Watch it unbelievably restored.

I am glad that the National Environment Agency has noted that "some studies do not support outdoor fogging" ("NEA outlines dengue control measures"; July 5).

Routine fogging, besides being ineffective, is also harmful to our health and hazardous to vulnerable and at-risk groups.

Thermal fogging uses diesel as a carrier for the insecticide. This makes the constituents of the fog fat-soluble and, when absorbed into the body (by contact or inhalation), will accumulate and remain in the fatty tissues of the body - a process known as bio-accumulation.

With droplet sizes of 0.3 to 50 microns, and with most particles at less than 15 microns, the smallest droplets can easily be absorbed into the body through inhalation.

When this happens, it is not easily removed or broken down by the body's protective processes. The outcome is an accumulation of the pesticide and diesel, which is toxic and potentially carcinogenic in the long term.

Long-term diesel exposure is also known to damage the kidneys and affect blood-clotting. Repeated exposure will have a cumulative effect on the body.

Unfortunately, very little is known of the long-term dangers of pesticide and diesel exposure.

If we regulate outdoor smoking because of second-hand smoke and ban the burning of garden refuse because of the air pollution it generates, why do we allow routine fogging - the fog is far more toxic and hazardous than ordinary smoke or haze - to be carried out indiscriminately when it is of little help?

The pest-control companies need to redevelop their processes and services to provide alternatives that are effective and not hazardous to the population, instead of offering palliative services that are not helpful but harmful.

The NEA can play a critical role in this issue.

William Tok Gek Sun

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Malaysia: Elephant sanctuary to open soon

Olivia Miwil New Straits Times 15 Jul 13;

PHASE ONE: Sabah centre will treat animals and conduct awareness activities

KOTA KINABALU: THE first phase of the elephant sanctuary in Kinabatangan here will be opened in September, lifting hopes for the survival of the species in Sabah.

The opening phase of the Borneo Elephant Sanctuary was recently completed with a handling paddock, staff quarters and a store built at a cost of RM1.8 million.

Initiated by the Sabah Wildlife Department and non-governmental organisation Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT), the centre will serve as a rescue and treatment centre for injured or displaced elephants, as well as for conducting awareness programmes and activities.

This will be followed by the second phase, which will cost RM5.2 million, to develop a 25ha plot in the sanctuary. A forested area has also been identified for rehabilitated elephants to be released into.

Both were part of the Elephant Conservation Action Plan that will see a bigger area turned into a full-fledged sanctuary measuring more than 1,200ha, which will cost up to RM30 million to establish.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said the first two phases of the programme could cater to between 12 and 16 elephants.

"Injured elephants will be treated at this centre before being released into forests and wildlife reserves. Other wildlife will be accepted and treated at this sanctuary, such as sun bears, proboscis monkeys, orangutan, clouded leopards and banteng."

BCT conservation and research head Raymond Alfred said the first phase of the project was financially aided by BCT Japan, Asahiyama Zoo, Saraya, Hunting World, Tokio Marine, NTT Data Kirin, Taiseh and Yusen Logistics. Phase two is aided by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council.

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Vietnam lists itself among the countries with no more rhinos

VietNamNet Bridge 15 Jul 13;

The culprit who killed the Java rhino at the Cat Tien National Park three years ago remains unknown. No state official has been disciplined for the rhino death. This shows the serious loophole in the management work of the Vietnamese agencies in the protection the wildlife.

The death of the Java rhino in April 2010 has officially put Vietnam onto the list of the countries where there is no more living rhino.

As soon as the death of the rhino was discovered, WWF urgently asked to conduct an investigation in a large scale. Tran Van Thanh, Director of the national park then committed to closely cooperate with the competent agencies to take the investigation and clarify the death. The Cat Tien National Park then asked competent agencies to apply necessary measures to track down the rhino horn taken away by someone.

Meanwhile, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen said at a press conference on May 17, 2010, nearly one month after the rhino’s death, that he just heard the news on that day.

An official of the Environment General Directorate then said he read the information about the rhino death in April 2010, but the Cat Tien National Park was put under the management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, not the Ministry of Natural Resources the Environment.

At the time when the press conference was held, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment carried out a lot of big activities to respond to the International Year of the Biodiversity. However, it still denied the responsibility for the rhino death.

Analysts have commented that the battle of preventing the trafficking of rhino horns from South Africa to Vietnam has been very tough, because Vietnam still lacks a “commander” who has the big power and responsibility enough to win the battle.

The rhino horn trafficking from South Africa to Vietnam has become more tragic. The rhinos in South Africa have been in a so big danger that the conservatives have to inject poison in rhinos’ horns. The poison would make people, who eat rhino horn powder, vomit and cause fits of convulsion. The horns have also been covered with a substance which allows competent agencies easily discover them in the travelers’ luggage at the airports.

However, Vietnamese traffickers still keep bringing rhino horns to Vietnam, though they know about the poisoning.

A lot of traffickers and the “money-bags” have been planning to import rhinos in a whole from South Africa to Vietnam, where they would legalize their existence by keeping them at farms.

According to TRAFFIC, in three years from 2007 to 2010, 657 rhino horns were legally imported to Vietnam. Meanwhile, CITES Vietnam reported 170 horns only. This means that the State of Vietnam failed to collect $2 million worth of tax because of the loss of the 74 percent of the rhino horn imports from South Africa during that time.

At a workshop in August 2012, Dr Ong Vinh An from the Vinh City University, said the trafficking can bring huge profits, about $4.2 billion a year.

At least two big workshops on preventing the wildlife trafficking have been organized by the Central Committee for Propaganda and Training, TRAFFIC and WWF since 2009.

Thanh Tra

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