Littering punishment under review

Also, green plan to be updated to boost growth, improve living environment: PM Lee
Toh Yong Chuan Straits Times 27 Oct 13;

Litterbugs could soon face tougher penalties, with a review of anti-littering laws under way as part of Singapore's continued push for clean public spaces.

Separately, the national green plan is being updated to include the building of environmentally friendly hawker centres and cutting of carbon emissions, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong disclosed yesterday.

These initiatives are part of the review of the 2009 Sustainable Singapore Blueprint, which outlines strategies to achieve economic growth and a good living environment.

Speaking at the launch of the annual Clean and Green Campaign - into its 45th year - Mr Lee said Singaporeans have to take pride in their surroundings.

While most help to keep the environment clean, a minority still litter, leave tables at hawker centres dirty, and even abuse enforcement officers.

"We must not condone such bad behaviour, or let it spread," he said. "The Government has tightened enforcement, and we will review our penalties to punish littering, to stop littering."

The National Environment Agency (NEA) told The Sunday Times that it is considering higher fines. Currently, litterbugs face a composition fine of up to $300. Recalcitrants hauled to court can be fined up to $1,000 for the first conviction and up to $5,000 for repeat convictions. They can also be ordered to pick up litter in public for up to 12 hours.

In May, Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in Parliament that penalties for high-rise littering will probably need to be reviewed and the fines imposed "significantly raised".

Yesterday, Mr Lee said the NEA is also piloting a Community Volunteers programme, where some 100 citizens have the powers to act against litterbugs. The best way to keep the country clean is not through fines and regulations though, but to exert social pressure on those who do not respect the environment, he added.

Singaporeans could, for instance, tell those who litter to pick up after themselves.

"We must also keep Singapore clean because it reflects our values - to be house-proud, considerate, environmentally conscious," Mr Lee said at the event, at an open field next to the Nex shopping mall.

With a bigger population leading to higher energy consumption and greater waste, the imperative to stay clean and green remains important.

"Let us work together to build a beautiful Singapore that we can proudly call our home."

The year-long campaign's theme is "Every Action Counts" and carnivals, a workshop and a national conference on keeping Singapore clean are on the cards.

Yesterday, the National Environment Agency also lauded 10 "environment champions".

Among them was housewife Elisa Ng, who started a litter-picking drive on Facebook in January.

The 42-year-old picks up litter whenever she sees it in her estate, saying: "For all the resources put in, the place does not look any cleaner to me. We are clean because of the efforts of cleaners."

Other environment champions include Mr Ganesan Kulandai, 58, a grassroots leader who checks on mosquito breeding; and Ms Siti Maryam, 32, a marine biologist who tracks the health of seagrass in Singapore.

Sustainable Singapore Blueprint to be reviewed
Vimita Mohandas Channel NewsAsia 26 Oct 13;

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has announced that there will be a review of the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint.

The aim is to update it with new initiatives which include building more environmentally-friendly hawker centres and reducing carbon emissions next year.

Launched in 2009, the blueprint outlines strategies to achieve twin objectives of economic growth and a good living environment.

Mr Lee said this at the launch of the year-long Clean and Green 2014 campaign on Saturday.

He said more Singaporeans have a greater consciousness of green issues.

For example, recycling rates have been increasing and more people are using energy-efficient appliances.

While the government will be reviewing penalties for litterbugs, Mr Lee said the best way is to put social pressure on them.

Mr Lee said: "We have to set the right example, if your see somebody who is littering, tell them to pick up after themselves. And make sure that we ourselves don't do it. Keeping Singapore clean isn't just about fines and regulations. We must also keep Singapore clean because it must reflect our values - to be house-proud, considerate, environmentally conscious."

Mr Lee added that the environment also depends on Singapore’s neighbours and highlighted haze problems earlier this year.

But he said that should the haze return, the government will do what it can to minimise the impact such as improving its monitoring and surveillance capabilities as well as putting in place contingency plans to ensure that masks and essential supplies can be distributed to vulnerable groups.

Mr Lee also presented Community-In-Bloom ambassador awards at the event.

One recipient was 50-year-old Wendy Tan, who carries out a self-sustainable gardening method of producing fertilisers from kitchen waste.

The youngest Environment Champion was 22-year-old Daniel Tan, who used wall murals to spread the importance of reducing, recycling and reusing.

Mr Tan said: "I've all along been a fan of street art so I wanted to incorporate street art into my project. I hope that by starting young, I can set an example because I think recycling is a habit and it has to start young."

Also displayed at the Clean and Green carnival were mobile applications that help to address environmental issues.

For instance, the Parent Pool app enables parents in the neighbourhood with children attending the same school to form a community so that they can make carpool arrangements. It also has useful information such as weather data.

- CNA/ir/xq

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NUS team fits plastic decoy with robotics equipment to perform tests in water bodies

This 'swan' is no bird brain
Grace Chua Straits Times 27 Oct 13;

If you spot a swan bobbing gently in a reservoir or canal, take a closer look. There could be a lot more going on beneath the surface than paddling feet.

National University of Singapore (NUS) researchers have kitted out a plastic decoy swan with equipment and robotics so it can float around testing water quality, transmit findings wirelessly, return on its own to a charging dock and even call for help if it is nicked.

Such decoys are used in Canada to stop noisy, messy geese from landing on ponds, but NUS researchers performed a little surgery on one to add electronics to its innards, and Global Positioning System and wireless sensors to its head.

Its undercarriage bears a cylinder that can be fitted with sensors for chlorophyll, pH, dissolved oxygen and any other water-quality measure desired.

Lead researcher Mandar Chitre, head of the Acoustic Research Laboratory at the university's Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) and an electrical and computer engineering assistant professor, said the project stemmed from a need to monitor the quality of freshwater bodies.

The swan saves manpower, he said. It can also provide measurements over time and over a large area, compared with, say, having fixed sensors or sending out people to test water from a boat.

The swan is also easier to maintain and cheaper than submerged robots, added research associate Koay Teong Beng.

The project is among dozens of efforts that have propelled Singapore into the top ranks of the global water research community.

In a survey by consultancy Lux Research earlier this year, NUS came in No. 1 in water research and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) second, among about 400 universities and institutes worldwide.

Since 2006, Singapore has committed $470 million to grow the water sector. NTU's Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute this year received an extra $132 million until 2016 from the industry, public agencies and grants from funding bodies.

The NUSwan (New Smart Water Assessment Network) project by the NUS Environmental Research Institute and the TMSI evolved from existing work on underwater autonomous robots.

The swans can paddle about at a top speed of two knots, or a little over 3.5kmh, and currently cost some $20,000 to $30,000 to develop. But the cost could drop when they are produced commercially.

The long-term vision is to have a flock of such robots that can also be used to map out coral reefs and monitor their health, said Dr Chitre.

But what about the fact that swans are not native to Singapore? "If you want to increase the biodiversity, you can use a different species," he quipped.

Big task to remove tiny particles in water
Singapore is seen as a world leader in water research, and has committed substantial amounts of public funding to grow its water sector. The Sunday Times looks at some of the work done to safeguard Singapore’s water quality
Grace Chua Straits Times 27 Oct 13;

Nanoparticles - tiny particles of materials like silver and gold, a fraction of the size of a virus - have special properties. They can be used in antibacterial coatings, to kill tumours, or to deliver drugs.

But they can be a double-edged sword.

The same properties that enable them to enter and kill cancer cells or bacteria also mean they can be toxic to healthy cells in the wrong context.

The use of nanoparticles has become more widespread in recent years, and they can be found in thousands of consumer products ranging from sunscreen to food packaging.

Scientists have yet to fully understand where these particles end up, and their effect on human and environmental health.

That's why researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Hebrew University of Jerusalem are working together on how best to detect and remove such nanoparticles from water, especially using low-cost, readily available materials.

Professor Suresh Valiyaveettil of the NUS chemistry department said silver nanoparticles have been shown to kill cells and cause abnormalities in zebrafish, the guppy- size fish popular in toxicity testing because their reactions are similar to humans'.

Increased use of nanoparticle products will increase the concentration of nanomaterials in the environment, particularly water, if their manufacturers do not deal properly with waste, he added.

Prof Suresh said: "The next question that came up in our mind was, 'How do we remove such contaminants from the water supply?' How do we detect these tiny particles in contaminated water? Do the existing methodologies of water purification remove these emerging contaminants?"

So he and his colleagues worked with a water treatment expert, Professor Avner Adin, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Earlier this year, they found that apple and tomato peel and other food wastes like sugar cane residue and soybean hulls could be used to remove nanoparticles and other contaminants from water.

They also found that nanoparticles clung to the surface of metal oxides like zinc oxide (the white powder commonly used in zinc sunscreens), and suggested that the nanoparticles could be clinging to charged areas on the surface of the oxide particle.

"All materials used in our lab are relatively easy to get in large amounts and can be modified to fit the need of certain communities," he said.

Now the researchers are looking for collaborators for field trials of these materials, Prof Suresh said.

Finding the right mix of minerals for purified water
Straits Times 27 Oct 13;

Singapore is ramping up its desalination programme so that it can get even more fresh water from the sea.

This year, it opened its second desalination plant at Tuas, and desalinated sea water can now meet up to a quarter of the nation's water needs.

After the salt and minerals are taken out of the sea water, however, it becomes very pure.

This super-pure water can leach minerals from metal water pipes, so minerals must be added before the water goes into the distribution networks - just enough to prevent damage to the pipes, but not so much that mineral deposits form in them.

Researchers are figuring out what minerals to add, how much and at what concentrations would be best for the pipes.

Currently, Singapore adds some calcium to its desalinated water and Newater to prevent pipe damage. In some countries, minerals such as calcium and magnesium are also added to drinking water for health reasons such as to keep bones strong.

Associate Professor Hu Jiangyong, deputy head of research at the National University of Singapore's civil and environmental engineering department, together with colleagues and collaborators from national water agency PUB, compared various concentrations of calcium and magnesium in the water, based on what is added to desalinated water around the world.

They found that using calcium and magnesium together was better at preventing corrosion than calcium alone. But the exact ratio and amount need to be studied further, Prof Hu said.

The team also looked at three types of pipes - ductile iron and cast iron, which older distribution pipes are made of - and newer cement-lined ductile iron pipes.

They found cement-lined pipes were better at staving off corrosion than the older metal pipes.

Now they want to more closely simulate real-life conditions in tests, using segments of pipeline rather than just pieces of pipe wall, said Prof Hu.

"We hope to better understand the technical details and provide more technical information to the authorities," she said.

Grace Chua

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Dinosaur expert's advice to Singapore: 'Cut fossils up to study them'

Doing so will advance the world's knowledge of prehistoric animals, says palaeontologist
Tan Dawn Wei Straits Times 27 Oct 13;

The world's most famous palaeontologist thinks Singapore should cut up the three prized dinosaurs that will be the star attractions of the new natural history museum opening next year.

That is the only way to glean any scientifically significant data to advance the study and knowledge of these prehistoric animals, he argues.

"I bet I can convince them that they should," he told The Sunday Times. "There is more information inside than there is outside. And if they don't cut it, they won't be able to do more than what anyone else has done."

It's a controversial idea that sounds like a horror story to any museum with a real dinosaur in its collection - slicing into the bones of these rare, million-year-old specimens that most would think ought to be encased like the Mona Lisa.

But palaeontologist Jack Horner, who discovered his first dinosaur fossil at the age of eight, insists the bones can be cut and put together again and nobody would know they had been taken apart.

Every single dinosaur bone that he exhibits at the Museum of the Rockies in Montana - and he has thousands in his collection - has been sliced open and put back together again.

It is only by looking into the fossils that scientists learn about how fast these animals grew, at what age they died, and what they ate.

They have also found that birds are actually dinosaurs, and that the prehistoric creatures might in fact have been warm-blooded.

A superstar in palaeontology circles, the 67-year-old Mr Horner has amassed the largest collection of North American dinosaur fossils at the Museum of the Rockies in Montana State University, where he has been curating, teaching and researching on dinosaur growth and behaviour.

Despite not having a degree - his dyslexia caused him to flunk his college exams seven times - he became famous after he and a colleague discovered in Montana the first dinosaur eggs and embryos.

His research established that dinosaurs were social animals that nested and took care of their young.

Then Hollywood came knocking. Movie producer-director Steven Spielberg wanted Mr Horner to advise him when he was making the first three Jurassic Park movies.

The palaeontologist was already in the books that inspired the series. Author Michael Crichton had based one of the characters, Dr Alan Grant (played by Sam Neill in the movies), on Mr Horner.

"I'm very happy I haven't been eaten," he said of his character. He's not fussed about the artistic licence that Spielberg and gang eventually took with the dinosaurs.

"It's my job to make sure the dinosaurs look accurate, but the animals, just like the people, are acting. They run faster than they should. No dinosaur would break apart a building to get to a person to eat when there's a perfectly good triceratop lying out in the field," he said, and shrugged.

"I'm fine with it. I wanted it to be a good movie."

That is why he agreed to play consultant again to the fourth instalment, due out in 2015. But he is tight-lipped about the new villain in this eagerly awaited sequel.

"All I can tell you is it's scary. Scarier than the first three."

Make-belief dinosaurs aside, he is busy creating his own real-life dinosaur in his lab, from a chicken.

He and his team have, for the past few years, been looking at how to turn on and off certain genes that would give chickens some dinosaur traits, like a tail, teeth and three digits on each feet.

"What we've discovered is when you turn one on, it turns on other things, so we have to figure out how to leave those off," he explained. "It is a little more complicated than we thought it would be. But we're learning a great deal about evolution."

The lab inevitably produces mutants, like three-legged chickens, but he says he does not let them develop very far.

It's not an idea that sits well with those who throw the ethical book at him, but he said: "I don't think scientists or discovery should be limited. I think we should know everything we can know. Ethics then becomes somebody's opinion."

It is in that pursuit of knowing everything one can know that he thinks dinosaur bones should be cut open - something the upcoming Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum here is not averse to.

It paid under $8 million for three diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs, the largest measuring 27m in length.

Its director, Professor Peter Ng, says the museum is already collaborating with the Tokyo National Science Museum and exploring research partnerships with the Americans.

They have all warned that some damage will have to be done.

"Before we go down this path, we will try and use new imaging technology as best as we can first," he said.

"As researchers first and foremost, curiosity drives us and we want to maximise what we can get out of good fossils like these. Good science should follow."

Mr Jack Horner was in Singapore last week to open the Titans Of The Past - Dinosaurs And Ice Age Mammals exhibition, which showcases life-size dinosaur skeleton casts, real dinosaur fossils and animatronics from the Museum of the Rockies, as well as from Argentina. The exhibition is on till Feb 23 at the Science Centre Singapore.

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A Singaporean’s Laotian mission

Life sciences grad moves to a remote village to help rescue, return animals to their habitat
Kok Xing Hui Today Online 27 Oct 13;

Waking up every three hours to feed a Malayan sun bear cub is not something most Singaporeans will ever experience. But for the past six months, Mr Ong Saylin and his staff at the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES) Lao Wildlife Sanctuary have been doing just that.

The two-and-a-half-month-old cub, Neung (which means one in Lao), grew up in a guesthouse in the tourist region of Vang Vieng — known for its raucous bars until the government shut them down in September last year.

Neung was the first bear the sanctuary rescued and Mr Ong, 26, vividly remembers their first encounter.

“She was totally famished — she was very grumpy, very fierce. And I literally carried her into our vehicle to take her to our sanctuary,” he says.

Mr Ong got involved in animal welfare work at 21. After graduating from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a life sciences degree four years later, he landed a job as Executive Director of the sanctuary in Laos set up by ACRES Singapore.

His job: Rescuing bears in Ban Kern village, roughly a two-hour drive from downtown Vientiane, the country’s capital.

“I wanted to try something new, something different while I was young,” Mr Ong says as we chat in his office inside the sanctuary, which comprises a zoo housing 80 species of animals but sees few visitors.

The bear bile trade

There is more to the ACRES Lao Wildlife Sanctuary than rescuing bear cubs kept as pets. ACRES’ main purpose in setting up shop in Laos is to deal with a bigger problem: The emerging bear bile trade which, Mr Ong believes, may be run by the same networks involved in drug and human trafficking.

Bear bile farming, he says, mostly happens in North Korea, Vietnam and China. “But now ... bear bile traders are saying they are coming to Laos to catch bears because they cannot find them in the forests (in the other countries) any more. In Laos, we estimate that there may be 200 to 300 bears. And the traders are starting to move here.”

Last year, ACRES partnered the Laos Zoo — the country’s only zoo — to turn it into a wildlife sanctuary.

Now, one-and-a-half years after its inception, the sanctuary is working on improving its animal welfare — “grouping the animals and putting them in state-of-the-art enclosures that are more naturalistic”, says Mr Ong.

Next year, the sanctuary plans to ink a Memorandum of Understanding with the Laos government, which will enable it to begin rescuing captive bears from the bile farms.

The end game, he says, is to release rehabilitated bears back into the wild.

Plugging the NGO gap

“A lot of NGOs said that ACRES in Laos is a good thing because we can fill a gap in this whole big network of conservation. Many times we read online or see on television that an animal smuggling attempt was intercepted. Everybody is happy, the media comes ... But nobody really knows what happens to these animals,” says Mr Ong.

“Does anybody know how to rehabilitate and release them into the wild?”

Here is where the sanctuary comes in. While it has rescued only one bear so far, it has taken in other animals and built new enclosures for over 30 rescued macaques and sheltered snakes, turtles, lizards, an owl and an eagle.

Together with the Wildlife Conservation Society, it is caring for some 30 Siamese crocodile hatchlings — a highly endangered species with fewer than 150 in Laos — and will release them into the wild when they are older.

Apart from his administrative and accounting duties, Mr Ong is also involved in tasks such as preparing medication for crocodiles suffering from a fungal infection, deciding on material for the fence for the bear enclosure and introducing a rescued macaque to the sanctuary’s two existing tribes.

The sanctuary takes in many macaques because they are popular as pets in Laos, yet many people are unequipped to care for these sociable monkeys which, in Mr Ong’s words, “do not make good pets”.

He says owners tend to give them the wrong food and the macaques get frustrated as “it’s unnatural for them to be alone, they start getting aggressive, making a lot of noise”. “(Most owners) didn’t know what to do until ACRES came in ... they realised we’re taking in rescued animals so they give (them) up (to us),” he says, sharing that some of these macaques have been abused.

Among the macaques at the sanctuary, one lost an eye after getting hit on the head by its owner, while another walks with a limp after spending most of its life crouched in a small laundry basket. Yet another, which used to be fed a diet of cigarettes and beer, is displaying behavioural problems.

A Singapore boy in Laos

While ACRES has since engaged a tutor to teach Mr Ong the Lao language, settling in a foreign country still has its difficulties. He misses the comforts of home, such as the shops and restaurants at the malls — there are no Starbucks or McDonald’s in Laos and the nearest English-language cinema is an hour across the border in Thailand.

“It’s simple things like going home to your family, going out with a friend, meeting people ... It’s all missing.”

“Working in a foreign country that is different from Singapore and speaks a totally different language, you have to understand the culture. It can get very challenging if you don’t understand what sets people off and how sensitive people are.”

He says his parents were initially “very apprehensive” about his move and some of his friends questioned if “an NGO salary” was enough. “They asked me how I was going to go back to Singapore on such a salary. But I do have friends who are very supportive.”

His family and friends have visited him. His 19-year-old sister, who has followed in his footsteps by taking a life sciences course at NUS and regularly volunteering at ACRES Singapore, visited last December. About 10 friends have dropped in as well.

“People are generally interested to know what my work is like!”

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Indonesia: Petition Set Up to Save Sulawesi’s Bangka Isle

Olga Amato Jakarta Globe 26 Oct 13;

Imagine if a piece of heaven on earth, home to some of the rarest marine species, was at risk due to mining activities.

This is the case of the island of Bangka in North Sulawesi, set to be ravaged if Mikgro Metal Perdana’s plan to start mining iron ore there is not stopped.

Mobilization has been coming from inside and outside Bangka in an attempt to make the local government to take a firm stance against MMP.

Almost the entire population of the island is against the mine. As reported in Divemag Indonesia, 65-year-old coconut farmer William Hadinguang, is no exception.

“Some people think the mining plan will bring jobs and money,” William told Divemag.

“But I know that it will only bring destruction. The 15 percent of people who are pro-mining are looking for fast money. They don’t think of the future generations. What will they eat? Where will they live?”

Astonishment and disapproval was not limited to locals. Environmental lovers from around the world have joined the chorus of indignation.

Bangka lover Kaka, from the iconic Indonesian rock group Slank, started a petition at Change.org, addressed to North Sulawesi Governor Sinyo Harry Sarundajang and Sompie Singal, the deputy district head of North Minahasa, in which Bangka falls administratively, to stop the mining plan.

Kaka explained to Change.org how the first time he went to Bangka to dive, he fell in love. The unmistakable charm of the island brought him back repeatedly, and he said he knew well how the population and nature would suffer if the mining went ahead.

Open-pit mining on an island the size of Bangka would be catastrophic, not only to the rich biodiversity of the corals surrounding the island, but to the soil and water table on Bangka itself. It is because of this danger that Indonesia passed legislation in 2007 to protects coastal areas and small islands.

“Based on the regulations, any island with an area of less than 200,000 hectares cannot be mined,” Kaka said, as reported by Change.org. “And this is only 4,700 hectares! So the mining plan of MMP is obviously illegal!

“From the environmental point of view, the waste would be overwhelming, from the rivers to the sea. The coral reefs would be destroyed, and the fish will disappear. If the fish are gone, the fishermen will be gone too! Not to mention the tremendous amount of evictions that will happen, who knows to where,” the singer said.

“All your life you live in your home, then suddenly you’re forced to move and start all over again.”

Arief Aziz, the communications director at Change.org Indonesia, said it was important to get people involved in important causes, no matter where they were.

“It used to be much harder to know about, let alone support movements happening in rural and remote areas across Indonesia,” he said.

“With this campaign, we have a case where inhabitants of a small island in North Sulawesi have their home and livelihoods threatened. And now, we have a way to connect to them and mobilize support from anywhere in the country. If this succeeds, it can add to the already numerous beacons of hope, a precedent that when people voice out, be it online or offline, people in power have no choice but to listen,” Arief said.

Riyanni Djangkaru, a professional diver and editor in chief of DiveMag Indonesia, agreed on the importance of drawing attention to the issue in order to create awareness not only about the importance of preserving nature but also about how vital an eco-friendly economy was for the future of the local people.

“Profits that are gained from the mining industry are short-term and extremely destructive,” she said.

“There are other sustainable activities that can generate profit without destroying the environment, like fishing and ecotourism. These are activities that if developed carefully and in accordance with eco-friendly standards, give long-term economic profit for the island without hurting the environment.”

Riyanni added that mining on Bangka would certainly result in the destruction of other tourist sites nearby.

“If the water around the island of Bangka is polluted because of the mining activities, this will automatically lead to the damage of the sea and underwater species in famous tourist spots such as Bunaken and Lembeh.”

To prevent this, the campaigners are calling for immediate action.

Save Bangka Island

To sign the petition, go to: http://www.change.org/id/petisi

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Best of our wild blogs: 26 Oct 13

Dan Friess on “Carbon policies such as REDD+ are doomed for coastal conservation” (Wed 30 Oct 2013: 4.30pm @ NUS E1) from Otterman speaks

Call of the Red Jungle Fowl this morning – in the Kent Ridge forest at NUS! from Otterman speaks

Butterflies Galore! : Purple Duke
from Butterflies of Singapore

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3m-long python snared in industrial park

Lim Yi Han Straits Times 29 Oct 13;

A PYTHON measuring 3m in length was caught yesterday morning at an industrial park in Ang Mo Kio after it was spotted by workers in the area.

Driver Ronald Ong, 29, told The Straits Times that he learnt about the snake from another worker there, who spotted it at Block 5048 in Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2 at around 8.15am.

The men alerted the police and the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), an animal rights group.

About an hour later, two officers from Acres arrived and caught the snake, which was hiding under a container.

Mr Ong said: "I don't think this is the first time a snake has been spotted here. But we're not scared or worried. We'll just take care not to provoke them."

He noted that signs had been put up to warn people of snake sightings in the area.

The 10kg python had eaten a cat, said Ms Anbarasi Boopal, the group director of wildlife at Acres, who added that it would be released into the wild.

She noted that Acres receives about three to five calls a day about snakes, and they usually do not pose a public danger.

"Not all the snakes are rescued, because they are found in their natural habitats. People might be alarmed, not knowing that they can be harmless," she said.

"For example, pythons can be found in canals but it's all right to let them be."

Members of the public can call Acres' 24-hour Wildlife Rescue Hotline at 9783-7782.

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New unit plays mediator on heritage issues

It studies impact of development and serves as link between Govt, activists
Straits Times 26 Oct 13;

THE National Heritage Board (NHB) has set up a new division to study the impact that development can have on the country's heritage, in the wake of rising civic activism.

Called the impact assessment and mitigation division, it comprises a small team supervised by Mr Alvin Tan, 41, the new group director of policy at the board.

He was previously in charge of three heritage institutions - the Malay Heritage Centre, Indian Heritage Centre and the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall - among other things.

When asked, NHB said the division was set up on July 1 as part of an "internal re-organisation". Its job is to "conduct impact assessments of redevelopment works on heritage sites and structures and work with the necessary stakeholders to establish mitigation measures".

There has been a growing, ground-up movement in recent years advocating for some of Singapore's built and environmental heritage to be preserved.

Civic groups and the authorities have locked horns in some cases, such as the Government's decision to build a road over Bukit Brown cemetery.

Since setting up, the team has played a mediator role between these civic groups and other government agencies, such as helping to negotiate the lease extension of the dragon kilns in Jurong.

Heritage groups said the establishment of the team has been a long time coming. It also signifies the Government's move away from a more "bulldozer" approach in the 1970s and 1980s to a more engaging one, said Mr Kwek Li Yong, 24, who founded civic group My Community, citing the loss of important buildings and landmarks such as the Stamford Road National Library and the National Theatre over the years.

"The new team serves as a link for civic groups and government agencies, and its assessment efforts help to bridge the expectations of statutory boards and the community," said Mr Kwek.

My Community submitted a paper to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in July to save 18 historic sites in Queenstown, Singapore's first satellite estate. The NHB team helped assess these sites on their architectural, historical and community merits. It found that eight were of "high heritage value" and three, including the Queenstown Public Library, were subsequently conserved by the URA.

Mr Benson Ng, 54, a managing partner at Focus Ceramic Services, which operates Jalan Bahar Clay Studios at 97L Lorong Tawas - where the 43m-long Guan Huat dragon kiln from the 1950s lies - said he appreciated the team working as an intermediary.

The site had been earmarked for the development of an eco-friendly business park. "Before the team approached us, we didn't know who to approach and how to state our case in terms of heritage value," he said.

The team has also worked on including certain heritage elements, such as the preservation of 20 tombstones of notable Singaporeans, at a 10ha park in the new Bidadari housing estate. It also contributed to the documentation and preservation efforts of Bukit Brown cemetery.

Heritage groups such as the Singapore Heritage Society (SHS) said assessments should be "holistic", and not merely focus on historical research alone but consider both built and social heritage and a site's surrounding environment as well.

Singapore should also look towards common international assessment standards, especially since it has put in a bid to list the Singapore Botanic Gardens as a Unesco World Heritage site, said heritage conservation expert Johannes Widodo.

"This may give Singapore an opportunity to show its ability in nurturing our heritage at the global level and might set a good example for other nations in heritage preservation and management areas," said Professor Widodo, a jury member of the Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards.

Dr Chua Ai Lin, president of SHS, said that while the society welcomes the new division, the assessment of vulnerable sites not protected by law is just one step in a larger process. The next step is to assess if a further level of legal protection is required.

This requires more than just input from NHB alone, but also an intra-agency effort on the part of the Government and community participation to come to a solution together, said Dr Chua.

MIDDLEMAN

The new team serves as a link for civic groups and government agencies, and their assessment efforts help to bridge the expectations of statutory boards and the community.

- Mr Kwek Li Yong, founder of civic group My Community

BOARD GETS NEW NAME

AFTER 42 years of being known as the Preservation of Monuments Board, this government department under the National Heritage Board (NHB) has a new name.

On July 1, it was renamed the Preservation of Sites and Monuments, to "more accurately reflect the division's expanded role of championing nationally significant heritage sites", said a spokesman for the NHB.

These sites include the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which has put in a bid to be listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The division was set up to gazette and preserve national monuments.

There are currently 65 of these. They include the former Supreme Court and Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church.

The division is responsible for identifying monuments worthy of preservation and disburses money for their restoration, repair and maintenance, among other things.

The division is also in charge of promoting 100 existing heritage sites, such as Alexandra Hospital and Changi Beach.

MELODY ZACCHEUS

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Indonesian soldiers jailed over stuffed endangered tigers

(AFP) Google News 26 Oct 13;

Banda Aceh — An Indonesian military tribunal has jailed two soldiers for illegally possessing two stuffed Sumatran tigers and a stuffed bear, with the men forced to appear in court alongside the protected animals.

The court in Banda Aceh, on western Sumatra island, Thursday handed Chief Sergeant Joko Rianto a two-month jail term and Chief Private Rawali a three-month sentence.

Rianto was given a five million rupiah ($460) fine while Rawali, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, was ordered to pay 2.5 million rupiah.

"Rawali and Joko Rianto have been found legitimately and convincingly guilty of illegally possessing dead protected animals," judge Lieutenant Colonel Budi Purnomo said.

Rianto, who was caught with one of the tigers and a bear in his house, argued he had purchased the critically endangered tiger to use its teeth to cure his sick wife.

Tiger parts are frequently used in traditional medicine in Asia despite the lack of peer-reviewed scientific evidence showing that they have any medicinal benefits.
Rawali claimed a friend had given him the tiger to repay a debt.

Ratno Sugito, a local animal activist, welcomed the sentences: "Even though the sentence was weak, at least the military court showed its willingness to enforce the law."

The Sumatran tiger is critically endangered and there are only an estimated 400 to 500 still alive in the wild on the island from which the animal takes its name.

Its numbers are rapidly dwindling due to destruction of its rainforest habitat and poachers targeting the animals to sell their parts, mainly for use in Chinese medicine.

The court did not disclose the species of the bear although it said the animal was protected by law.

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Indonesia: 2 Malaysians suspects in Riau forest fire case

The Jakarta Post 25 Oct 13;

The Riau Police have named two Malaysian citizens as suspects for their role in starting forest fires, believed to be a way of clearing land for plantations in Riau province last June.

"The two suspects hold high-ranking positions in PT API, a subsidiary of a Malaysia-based company," said Riau Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Guntur Aryo Tejo in Pekanbaru, Riau, on Thursday as quoted by Antara news agency.

"But they have not been arrested yet as we are still conducting an investigation in the case," Guntur said, adding that the suspects, who are identified with the initials TKY and DKRS, allegedly helped locals burn forested lands in Pelalawan regency to clear land for oil palm plantations.

Last June, Riau province was blanketed by thick haze due to large-scale forest fires, forcing thousands of people to move from the area. Even neighboring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia filed complaints with Indonesia as the haze from the burning forests spread into their territories.

Previously, the police named seven other companies for their alleged involvement in setting off the forest fires, namely PT JJP, PT LIH, PT BMS, PT BBHA, PT RUJ, PT SPM, and PT SRL, according to Antara.

However, no individual suspects have been named from the seven companies yet. Investigations into the case are ongoing.

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Thai east hit by worst floods in 50 years

77 dead in Oct alone; govt struggling to respond to annual problem: Experts
Nirmal Ghosh Indochina Bureau Chief In Bangkok Straits Times 26 Oct 13;

IN ITS worst floods in 50 years caused by heavy rain and overflowing dams, eastern Thailand has seen 600,000ha of farmland in more than 20 provinces inundated and 77 people die this month.

This follows floods in 2011 that claimed 800 lives and inundated eight industrial parks just north of Bangkok, dealing a heavy blow to Thailand's export sector.

But the country is still groping for a response to the annual flooding cycle which, with erratic weather caused by global warming and overbuilding of urban infrastructure in low-lying flood plains, is only likely to get worse, said experts.

Government agencies and experts are wasting time arguing instead of basing decisions on sound scientific data, said one of the country's top climate scientists, Dr Anond Snidvongs, director of the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency.

"We have to consider investing more to cope. But if we base our future on personal opinion and arguing against one another, it is not going to work. We need the data. But nobody really wants to discuss this, it's all personal opinion and emotion," he said.

The government launched a 350 billion baht (S$13.9 billion) national water management scheme last year, but it is still in the early stages and has run into opposition from many sectors, including local communities who do not want more dikes and dams.

Meanwhile this month, heavy rain from a tropical typhoon, on top of monsoon rains that fall from June to October, caused rivers like the Chi river in Chaiyaphum to overflow.

On Wednesday, the Moon river in Nakhon Ratchasima burst its banks, inundating rice-growing areas and houses in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima.

The province of Chachoengsao, east of Bangkok, has been badly affected by waters from the Bang Pakong river and runoff from an overflowing upstream dam.

"People living near the river are in water up to their necks; it is higher even than in 2011," Chachoengsao Member of Parliament Thitima Chaisang told The Straits Times over the phone. "Industry is safe, but pig farms, rice farms and mango orchards have been affected," she added.

And last week, in an echo of 2011, Thailand's largest industrial park was partially flooded after 10 hours of heavy rain.

Located east of Bangkok, the Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate where around 700 factories provide close to 200,000 jobs, is in a low-lying area about 3km from the sea. It escaped the 2011 floods unscathed, but this time, 17 factories had to shut down for a day and a half when workers could not commute.

Government ministers, worried about Thailand's credibility with foreign investors, rushed to the park.

Army units were deployed to help create sandbag walls and pump water out.

To help factories stay open, the army also sent about 30 buses and trucks to ferry workers to and from flooded communities in the surrounding countryside.

Industrial park director Viboon Kromadit said no production lines were affected by the water. He added that the cost of the flood control operations had yet to be assessed.

He blamed road works and a dam under construction for blocking the flow of water to the sea.

Speaking to The Straits Times at the park on Wednesday, Minister for Industry Prasert Boonchaisuk agreed. "What we need to do… is build concrete walls or dikes as high as 60cm to 1m," he said.

And in a sign of the greater social and political complexities of the flood problem, Mr Viboon said: "We had to let some of the water into the park, using our roads as flood ways, to reduce the resentment of communities outside who would otherwise point at us and say we are privileged."

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Children urged to put away screens and play outside

Judith Burns, BBC News 25 Oct 13;

Children are being urged to take back their "wild time", swapping 30 minutes of screen use for outdoor activities.

The call to renew a connection with nature comes from a collaboration of almost 400 organisations, from playgroups to the NHS.

The Wild Network wants children to take up activities like conkers and camping.

"The tragic truth is that kids have lost touch with nature and the outdoors in just one generation," said chairman Andy Simpson.

The organisers argue that swapping 30 minutes of television and computer games each day for outdoor play would increase the levels of fitness and alertness and improve children's well-being

Marketing nature

"Time spent outdoors is down, roaming ranges have fallen drastically, activity levels are declining and the ability to identify common species has been lost," said Mr Simpson.

He referred to recent research by the RSPB which suggested only one in five children aged eight to 12 had a connection with nature.

"With many more parents becoming concerned about the dominance of screen time in their children's lives, and growing scientific evidence that a decline in active time is bad news for the health and happiness of our children, we all need to become marketing directors for nature," said Mr Simpson.

"An extra 30 minutes of wild time every day for all under 12-year-olds in the UK would be the equivalent of just three months of their childhood spent outdoors.

"We want parents to see what this magical wonder product does for their kids' development, independence and creativity, by giving wild time a go."

The campaign launches on Friday with the release of a documentary film, Project Wild Thing.

It tells the story of how, in a bid to get his daughter and son outside, film-maker David Bond appoints himself marketing director for nature, working with branding and outdoor experts to develop a campaign.

'Misty-eyed nostalgia'

"I wanted to understand why my children's childhood is so different from mine, whether this matters and, if it does, what I can do about it," said Mr Bond.

"The reasons why kids, whether they live in cities or the countryside, have become disconnected from nature and the outdoors are complex.

"Project Wild Thing isn't some misty-eyed nostalgia for the past. We need to make more space for wild time in children's daily routine, freeing this generation of kids to have the sort of experiences that many of us took for granted.

"It's all about finding wildness on your doorstep and discovering the sights, sounds and smells of nature, whether in a back garden, local park or green space at the end of the road."

The campaign, said to be the biggest ever aiming to reconnect children with the outdoors, includes the National Trust, the RSPB, Play England and the NHS, as well as playgroups, businesses and schools.

Children told to go play outdoors in new nature campaign
Wild Network aims to get schoolchildren off their computers and outdoors to experience the wonders of the wilderness
Steven Morris The Guardian 25 Oct 13;

A campaign is being launched to encourage children to surrender 30 minutes of screen time a day to head for the great outdoors.

The newly formed Wild Network – a collaboration of nearly 400 organisations - is attempting to attract youngsters away from television and computer screen and into fields, woods and parks.

Organisers say it is the UK's biggest ever campaign to reconnect children with nature and outdoor play, and claim it could help improve fitness, mental alertness and general wellbeing.

A documentary film, Project Wild Thing, will herald the launch at more than 50 cinemas across the UK from Friday. It looks at the increasingly fragile link between children and nature.

Members of the network include the National Trust, RSPB, Play England and the NHS sustainable development unit.

Andy Simpson, chairman of the Wild Network, said: "The tragic truth is that kids have lost touch with nature and the outdoors in just one generation.

"Time spent outdoors is down, roaming ranges have fallen drastically, activity levels are declining and the ability to identify common species has been lost."

Suggestions of how to get more time in nature include collecting conkers, camping or snail racing, and observing autumn colour on trees.

From January, the network will aim to make suggestions to politicians on how government can do more to get children muddy and bright-eyed.

This is not the first time the message of less screen, more play has been brought up. Children in the 1980s were entreated to do the same by the BBC TV series Why Don't You, which somewhat confusingly called on its viewers to "switch off your TV set, and go do something less boring instead".

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