Malaysia: Committed to 40% cut in carbon emission says Prime Minister

Ili Liyana Mokhtar New Straits Times 5 Nov 13;

KUALA LUMPUR: MALAYSIA's land mass is forested at 56.4 per cent while its green cover stands at 74 per cent, a strong signal to the world that it walks the talk in reducing carbon emission.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Malaysia was committed to a 40 per cent reduction in carbon emission per unit of gross domestic product by 2020, using the 2005 level as a baseline.
This, however, is subject to technology transfer and new additional funding from developed nations.

Najib, who is also the finance minister, added that the new economic model introduced in 2010 outlined the country's commitment to sustainability, not only in activities but the impact of development on environment and natural resources.

In his keynote address at a high-level forum on Biodiversity and Development Post 2015, he also said Malaysia was committed to striking a balance between environmental conservation and sustainable development.

Saying it had not always been an easy path to achieve the balance, especially for a developing nation, Najib added: "In Malaysia, we look for ways to achieve twin goals of development and environmental protection, realising fully well that it is a difficult and delicate equilibrium to achieve.

"If we look around the world, many high-income nations achieved prosperity at the expense of the environment, not in concert with it. We take lessons from the experience of others and we are dedicated to striking that delicate balance."

He said Malaysia was among 189 United Nations member countries that had met all the eight targets in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The MDGs were introduced during the UN Millennium summit in New York in September 2000.

Najib said Malaysia had done well, adding the development agenda under the MDGs needed a sustained commitment.

Malaysia balancing environs and development well
The Star 5 Nov 13;

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is at the forefront in articulating the need for balance between the environment and sustainable development, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“For us, this is the crux of sustainable development – to achieve goals such as relieving poverty by availing ourselves of our natural resources without compromising the ability of future generations to do likewise,” he said in his opening address at the High Level Forum on Biodiversity and Development Post-2015 here yesterday.

The forum is organised by the Malaysia Industry-Government Group for High Technology and Office of the Science Advisor, supported by the Norwegian Envi­ron­ment Agency, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, and the UNEP-World Conservation Moni­toring Centre.

The meeting aims to advance the efforts of halting biodiversity loss by finding solutions as well as to strengthen measures to achieve the development agenda while highlighting key conservation targets.

According to Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, the new economic model introduced in 2010 included commitment to sustainability.

“Malaysia is committed to a 40% reduction in carbon intensity (as measured by tonnes of carbon emission per unit of gross domestic product) by 2020, using the 2005 level as a baseline, subject to technology transfer and new additional funding from developed nations.

“Today, our green cover is at 74%, and 56.4% of our land mass is forested – a strong signal to the world of how Malaysia walks the talk,” said Najib.

Read more!

Borneo: Borneo bay cat photographed in heavily logged region

Extremely rare sighting raises hopes that larger mammals are more able to survive in logged areas than previously thought
Jessica Aldred theguardian.com 4 Nov 13;

One of the world's most elusive wild cats has been captured on camera in a heavily logged area of Borneo rainforest together with four other endangered species, suggesting that some wildlife can survive in highly disturbed forests.

The Bornean bay cat (Pardofelis badia) has been recorded on camera traps on just a handful of occasions to date and was only photographed in the wild for the first time in southern Sarawak in 2003. The cat, extremely secretive and similar in size to a large domestic cat with a long tail and either a reddish or grey coat, had been classified as extinct until new images taken in Malaysian Borneo in 2009 and 2010 gave fresh hope for its survival.

Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Imperial College London have captured more a dozen images of this animal following a study in Kalabakan forest reserve, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, together with evidence of four other wild cat species in a heavily logged area of forest where they were not expected to thrive.

Dr Robert Ewers of the department of life sciences at Imperial College London, who leads the Safe tropical forest conservation project in Borneo, said the discovery of the cats was evidence that large species can survive in commercially logged forests: "We were completely surprised to see so many bay cats at these sites in Borneo where natural forests have been so heavily logged for the timber trade. Conservationists used to assume that very few wild animals could live in logged forest, but we now know this land can be home for many endangered species."

The area is only one of four forest areas in all of Borneo – the third largest island in the world and shared between Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia – that has so far been reported to contain all five species, including the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps) and marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata).

All five species are important to the forest ecosystem because they are predators of a wide range of other animals. They are also highly threatened: four of the five species are listed as threatened with extinction on the IUCN's "red list".

Camera traps – an automated digital device that takes a flash photo whenever an animal triggers an infrared sensor – have revolutionised wildlife research and conservation, enabling scientists to collect photographic evidence of rarely seen and often globally endangered species, with little expense, relative ease, and minimal disturbance to wildlife.

The use of camera traps has led to major wildlife discoveries in recent years. They have shown an Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) in China for the first time in 62 years and confirmed breeding among a population of the world's rarest rhinoceros, the Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus). It has also led to the discovery of new species including the Annamite striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi) of south-east Asia and the grey-faced sengi (Rhynchocyon udzungwensis), a species of elephant shrew endemic to Tanzania.

ZSL and Imperial College London PhD researcher Oliver Wearn said: "We discovered that randomly placed cameras have a big influence on the species recorded … The cameras record multiple sightings, sometimes of species which we might be very lucky to see even after spending years in an area. For example, I've seen the clouded leopard just twice in three years of fieldwork, while my cameras recorded 14 video sequences of this enigmatic cat in just eight months."

With rates of forest loss and degradation in south-east Asia exceeding all other tropical regions, and the majority of remaining forest in a highly disturbed state, scientists say there is now an urgent need for accurate assessments of the impacts on wildlife in the region.

ZSL and Imperial College London conservationists will continue to study the effects of logging on wildlife populations, looking more broadly at other mammal species, large and small. More detailed work aims to gather the information to help palm oil producers make their plantations more mammal-friendly, and assess whether saving patches of forest within such areas might be a viable option for saving Borneo's mammals.

Read more!

Emerging economies nearing half of global warming emissions

Alister Doyle PlanetArk 4 Nov 13;

Total greenhouse gas emissions by China and other emerging nations since 1850 will surpass those of rich nations this decade, complicating U.N. talks about who is most to blame for global warming, a study showed on Thursday.

Developing nations accounted for 48 percent of cumulative emissions from 1850 to 2010, according to the study by the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, research group Ecofys and the European Commission's Joint Research Center.

"Somewhere in the current decade the share of the cumulative historical emissions of developing countries will surpass that of developed countries," a statement said.

Developing nations' emissions are rising fast and the report predicted that their share of cumulative emissions would reach 51 percent by 2020.

Almost 200 governments will meet in Warsaw from November 11-22 to discuss plans for a new, global deal to fight climate change meant to be agreed in 2010 and to enter into force from 2020.

"Discussions at the U.N. climate negotiations tend to focus on which countries have contributed most to climate change," the study said.

The biggest emitters since 1850, taken as the start of widespread industrial use of fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases when burnt, were the United States, China, the European Union andRussia, it said.

China, with 1.3 billion inhabitants, argues that its per capita emissions since 1850 are still far below those of developed nations, meaning it has less responsibility to rein in emissions than rich nations.

EMISSIONS RISE

Separately, the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency said that world emissions of carbon dioxide rose by just 1.1 percent in 2012 to a record 34.5 billion tones, a slowdown from annual gains averaging 2.9 percent since 2000.

"This is remarkable, as the global economy grew by 3.5 percent," it said in a statement. "This development signals a shift towards less fossil-fuel-intensive activities, more use of renewable energy and increased energy saving."

The figures were similar to a report by the International Energy Agency in June, which said that worldwide carbon dioxide emissions rose by 1.4 percent in 2012, with gains by China offsetting falls in the United States and Europe.

(Reporting By Alister Doyle; editing by Ron Askew)

Read more!

European Union seeks to reduce plastic bag mountain

Barbara Lewis PlanetArk 5 Nov 13;

European Union seeks to reduce plastic bag mountain Photo: Petr Josek
A worker selects white plastic bags at a dumping ground in Uholicky village near Prague April 10, 2013
Photo: Petr Josek

European Union member states will be encouraged to tax or even ban plastic bags under proposals to tackle the tons of plastic waste that enters the water system and kills wildlife.

Some countries, such as Denmark, have greatly reduced the use of plastic bags by introducing mandatory charges. Monday's initiative aims to spur all 28 EU states into action.

The proposals, if adopted by member states and the European parliament, would require EU nations to cut their use of the thin plastic bags given away in shops. But they fall far short of an EU-wide ban.

It would be up to EU countries to decide how to limit use by introducing taxes, national targets or possibly bans.

"Some member states have already achieved great results in terms of reducing their use of plastic bags. If others followed suit, we could reduce today's overall consumption in the European Union by as much as 80 percent," Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said in a statement.

In Denmark, where plastic bags are taxed, use of thin plastic bags has dropped to an estimated 4 bags per person each year, the lowest in the European Union, compared with 466 per person in Poland, Portugal and Slovakia.

In total, an estimated 98.6 billion plastic bags, mostly of the thin kind that are rarely reused and escape most easily into the environment, were placed on the EU market in 2010, the Commission said.

They have been found in the stomachs of endangered marine species, such as turtles and porpoises, and the Commission estimates the stomachs of 94 percent of all birds in the North Sea contain plastic.

Plastic bags can last for hundreds of years, meaning they accumulate in the environment.

(Editing by John O'Donnell and Janet Lawrence)

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 4 Nov 13

Singapore's shores in a magazine for Singapore school children
from wild shores of singapore

Birdwatching in Bidadari (November 3)
from Rojak Librarian

More Observations on Red Junglefowl Behaviour
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Two More Nymphalinae Make it 308!
from Butterflies of Singapore

Long-tailed Macaque
from Monday Morgue

Read more!

Drainage system at Marine Parade Central market and food centre to be overhauled

Channel NewsAsia 3 Nov 13;

SINGAPORE: Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said the market and food centre at Marine Parade Central will be closed for a few weeks early next year for its drainage system to be redesigned and overhauled.

The measure is meant to resolve recent problems of flooding at the market and food centre, which was built 37 years ago.

The market and food centre is located at the lowest point of Marine Parade Central.

Mr Goh, who is an MP for Marine Parade, made the comments in his Facebook page on Sunday afternoon following a visit to the centre in the morning.

The government's water and environment agencies, as well as grassroots leaders and the town council of the ward were with him on the visit.

Mr Goh said they will discuss with stallholders the best time to close the market and the issues that may arise from the closure.

As a temporary measure, kerbs will be built to keep rain water from flooding the aged drainage system.

Mr Goh noted that apart from not having enough capacity to cope with the high volume of rain water during heavy rains, the sewer pipes suffer from wear and tear. Improper discharge of waste from stalls has also added to the oil sludge and silt.

The market is a sold centre, with the lease expiring in October 2017, Mr Goh said. Stall holders had also turned down upgrading twice.

"But we decided that from the point of flooding, sanitation and sewerage drainage, the overhaul of the present drainage system cannot wait until the lease expires in October 2017," he added.

In nearby Chai Chee, the two pumps installed to ease flooding during heavy rains are reported to be serving their purpose.

Writing on his Facebook page on Sunday afternoon, Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said both pumps kicked in when it rained.

He said water levels, which rose for about 15 to 20 minutes, subsided soon after.

Mr Tan, who is also an MP for Marine Parade which includes the Chai Chee area, thanked workers at the location, and volunteers who kept an eye on the flood situation.

- CNA/ac

Read more!

Malaysia: Study to harvest horseshoe crabs for medicinal purposes

Horseshoe crabs a lifesaver
Avila Geraldine and Laili Ismail New Straits Times 4 Nov 13;

BIOLOGICAL RESOURCE: Sabah govt and varsity carrying out research on local species for use in medical field

KOTA KINABALU: HORSESHOE crabs may not be a popular dish here, but its blood is highly sought after for its medicinal value.

This unique resource promises to put the country on the pharmaceutical map.
Horseshoe crabs are used by the pharmaceutical and medical industries to prevent products from being contaminated by endotoxins.

These products include intravenous drugs, vaccines, and implantable medical as well as dental devices for humans and animals.

At present, Limulus polyphemur, an American horseshoe crab species, is widely used to produce the endotoxin detection kit.

Three of the four crab species in the world, namely Tachypleus gigas, Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda and Tachypleus tridentatus, can be found in the coastlines of Malaysia.
The Tachypleus tridentatus, especially, is abundant in Sabah waters.

Experts said this particular species was mentioned in British Pharmacopeia (the official collection of standards for UK medicinal products and pharmaceutical substances), as a source of Ameobocyte Lysate, a highly sensitive compound that is used to detect endotoxin contamination.

Recently, the state government, through the Sabah Biodiversity Centre (SaBC) and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), signed a research agreement to study the population of Tachypleus tridentatus and the species' foraging areas in Pitas, Kuala Penyu, Tawau and Lahad Datu.
SaBC allocated RM60,000 for the university to conduct an 18-month research in areas where the local horseshoe crab population is reportedly centred.

Its director, Dr Abdul Fatah Amir, said the study would be a breakthrough for Malaysia, as no local horseshoe crab had been used for medical purposes.

"Information on the Malaysian horseshoe crab population, size and behaviour is lacking, and, therefore, should be gathered, documented and analysed for sustainable management of these unique resources.

"A better understanding of the range, population size and dynamics, as well as a combination of shoreline survey and tagging programme should be carried out."

Fatah said the information gathered at the conclusion of the project would benefit many and allow locals to generate income.

"Normally, these crabs are caught for consumption but it is not a popular delicacy. Sometimes, the crab shells are used as decorations.

"Once researchers have established its potential for medicine, the community will be involved in the harvesting of horseshoe crabs."

He said fishermen could also be involved in supplying horseshoe crabs to the pharmaceutical and medical industries.

Fatah said blood could be drawn from the crab without killing it, before it is returned to its natural habitat unharmed.

He has called on the state government to consider making horseshoe crabs a protected biological resource.

"This will provide the government with accurate data to be used in the planning and development of the endotoxin detection kit industry."

Read more!

Malaysia: Fish net size stays

Koi Kye Lee and Balqis Lim New Straits Times 4 Nov 13;

REGULATION: Fishermen given notice of ruling 3 months earlier

PUTRAJAYA: THE ruling requiring fishermen to use fishing nets with mesh size bigger than 38mm stays.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the regulation, which was enforced on Friday, was to protect marine resources, not spoil the livelihood of trawler fishermen.

He was commenting on groups of fishermen in Selangor, Perak and Penang who were refusing to go out to sea in protest of the regulation's enforcement.

Ismail said the fishermen, who collectively own some 400 boats, could carry on with their protest as the Fisheries Department and Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) had given them a heads up on the ruling three months earlier.

"They know that the regulation has always been part of the Fisheries Act 1985. They know why it must be enforced. We will not withdraw this stance."

Ismail said fishermen who had been using nets with meshes smaller than 38mm were hauling in a lot of fry which could affect the country's fish supply in the future .

"These fry cannot be sold at markets and end up being used as fertiliser. Malaysia is only following the footsteps of other countries, including Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, which had already enforced a similar ruling."

He added that only 10 per cent of fishermen were using nets with mesh smaller than 38mm.
LKIM chairman Datuk Irmohizam Ibrahim said the ongoing protests by fishermen in the three states had not caused a dip in the country's fish supply.

"The new ruling was to ensure sustainability of marine life, and these fishermen should be more responsible and aware that their action would cost the country and the people dearly in the long run."

Irmohizam said the fishermen had ample time to prepare themselves for the enforcement of the ruling. He said LKIM would not hesitate to engage new fishermen and import more fish should the need arise.

"There is no reason to worry about supply as we have more than 90,000 fishermen."

The regulation has existed since 1967, but it has not been implemented due to opposition from fishermen. Additional reporting by Phuah Ken Lin

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 3 Nov 13

Night Walk At Venus Drive (01 Nov 2013)
from Beetles@SG BLOG

Read more!

NEA volunteers should patrol with volunteer constabulary, say observers

Hu Jielan Channel NewsAsia 2 Nov 13;

SINGAPORE: The government recently said it plans to look into how to catch litterbugs more effectively with the help of volunteers from the community. One possible idea is having them patrol with the Volunteer Special Constabulary (VSC).

At the moment, volunteers with the National Environment Agency (NEA) have the power to book litterbugs and report them to authorities.

Some members of the public told Channel NewsAsia that it was good to have them around to help keep the environment clean.

One of the ideas to strengthen the volunteers' role is to issue them the same warrant cards as regular NEA officers, which would give them the power to issue summonses to litterbugs.

However, there are many challenges as a volunteer. Randy Wong, a volunteer with the NEA, said: "I think the most challenging part is handling everyone's different mentalities. For example, there may be cat lovers who do not clean up the area. But if you understand their point of view, it'll be much easier to persuade them."

- CNA/ac

Read more!

'Biocement' could help build underground structures in Singapore

Eileen Poh Channel NewsAsia 2 Nov 13;

SINGAPORE: Building structures underground in Singapore may be made easier if a study to strengthen weak rocks below ground is successful.

It is one of four projects under the Ministry of National Development's S$8 million Sustainable Urban Living R&D Programme which seeks solutions in expanding Singapore's land space.

The projects touch on areas such as underground space utilisation, land reclamation technology and space optimisation.

Underground construction poses several challenges -- cracks in rocks is one of them. Such cracks can cause instability and water seepage problems.

However, this may soon be resolved with a new material called 'biocement', which is simply bacteria with chemicals in water.

The solution will act as a glue to seal cracks in rocks or bond sand particles.

Water containing bacteria, urea and calcium ions are injected into cracks in the rocks. The bacteria breaks down urea and forms calcite and after about two weeks, the calcite deposits harden and fill the cracks.

This method, if successful, can replace the current use of cement to fill the cracks at half the cost.

Associate Professor Tan Soon Keat from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), said: "It is almost like a liquid, like water itself. So where water can flow, (the biocement) can also flow there. So even if it is a hairline crack, it will follow through."

Assoc Prof Tan and his team at NTU have shown that biocement works under lab conditions.

Assoc Prof Tan added: "We have done the laboratory-scale test and it has worked out. But it has actually not been done in the real-scale. The proof is to do it in... the actual application, that is when we have a test site."

That is what the professor and his team will be focusing on next in a project funded by the Ministry of National Development. The testing stage of the project will take a few years.

- CNA/ac

Read more!

Malaysia hit hard by dengue virus

Tashny Sukumaran The Star 3 Nov 13;

PETALING JAYA: The country saw the highest number of dengue cases in a single week this year with 1,680 cases recorded from Oct 20 to 26, with Selangor bearing the brunt of the assault by the Aedes mosquito.

Selangor had the largest increase with 1,142 cases, up by 272 cases from the previous week.

From Jan 1 to Oct 26, a total of 28,707 cases has been recorded, which represents a 58% increase compared to the corresponding period last year, said the Health Ministry in a statement on Friday.

The Health Ministry is concerned as the weekly cases this year, at more than 900, is more than twice of last year’s weekly average of 400.

The analysis for Selangor (up to June) noted that it hosted 323 of the 408 dengue hotspots nationwide, with 26 high risk areas found in the Petaling district, 19 in Hulu Langat, eight in Gombak and one in Sepang.

The rest of the outbreak areas were located primarily in Johor (37) and Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya (16), with the rest spread out over the other remaining states.

Johor saw 167 cases of dengue last week, while Perak had 64.

Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya remained steady over the last two weeks with 60 cases.

The good news is that Malacca (71, compared to 92) and Kelantan (33 compared to 38) are some states that had fewer cases last week than the previous one.

The cumulative mortality from dengue so far is 60, up from 29 for the same period last year.

In the statement, Health Ministry deputy director for public health Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman urged Malaysians to cooperate with relevant agencies to destroy mosquito breeding areas.

Read more!