Marine Mammals In Brunei Bay Threatened By Human Activities

Amrizan Madian Bernama 18 Nov 13;

LAWAS (SARAWAK) (Bernama) -- The Brunei Bay covering a 250,000-hectare area is among the most important habitats for marine mammals in the Southeast Asian region.

The Brunei River, Kilas River, Padas Damit River and Lawas River flows through the Brunei Bay before ending up into the South China Sea.

The area borders along the mangroves and tropical rainforests of Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

The Brunei Bay used to be a rich source of food for a variety of marine life, particularly marine mammals. It is also home to many endangered species such as the Dugong, turtle and dolphins.

However, of late, unrestrained human activities have threatened the ecosystem and destroyed many of the food sources.

The Institute of Oceanography Sciences (INOS), a research institute under Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), is conducting a detailed study into the effects of such activities on the marine life in the South China Sea, including the Brunei Bay.

UMT STUDY IN BRUNEI BAY

Associate Prof Dr Saifullah Arifin Jaaman of INOS said the institute has been collecting samples and conducting research in the waters near Lawas since early this year.

He said previous studies showed that the Brunei Bay was believed to be one of the main sources of food for many marine species.

"Out of the 31 species of marine mammals in Southeast Asia, 27 of them can be found in Malaysia and you can find many of them in Brunei Bay," the scientist told Bernama during a visit to the area recently.

The Brunei Bay provides a rich source of food for marine mammals, especially with the presence of the sea grasses like the Halophila and Halodule that is the favourite diet of the Dugong species.

A UMT study showed that the number of marine mammals in the Brunei Bay is in direct correlation with the amount of food that sustain marine species found in the area.

FOOD SOURCES DESTROYED

However, many activities such as shipping, fishing and dredging at the Brunei Bay have disturbed habitats that support marine life.

The dredging for an oil refinery nearby is said to have destroyed sea grass beds, threatening the existence of the Dugong.

"The fishermen in Lawas said that they have noticed a marked decline in the number of Dugong they came across some 20 years ago. It is believed that this is linked to the diminishing sea grass beds which once could be found in abundance in Brunei Bay," he said,

The research in Brunei Bay will serve as the baseline study to measure the effects of pollution due to human activity onto the flora and fauna.

Saifullah Ariffin, who formerly headed the Marine Mammal Research Unit in Universiti Malaysia Sabah, said the number of Dugong in Malaysian waters is currently less than 300.

Besides the Dugong, the number of turtles that make their way to Brunei Bay in search of food has also lessened.

MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT

It is clear that enforcement of the laws that govern the preservation of marine life in the Brunei Bay is the key in protecting the ecosystem there, but this is easier said than done.

Prof Madya Dr Wan Izatul Asma Wan Talaat from INOS said what made enforcement difficult was that Brunei Bay borders along several different jurisdictions.

The environmental law expert said that to date, only the Sarawak Forestry Corporation has been regulating the commercial fishing activities along the Sarawak waters in Brunei Bay.

"When a coastal area is shared by several regions with different legal systems like in the Brunei Bay, enforcement and habitat rehabilitation becomes difficult," she told Bernama.

Therefore, the institute needed a detailed study and data on the marine life and habitat at the Brunei Bay to strengthen the legal foundation in protecting threatened marine life.

The research is funded by a RM9 million grant from the Education Ministry.

ENDANGERED SPECIES

A local fisherman from Bukit Sari Lawas, Junaidi Ahmad, who is helping UMT with the marine mammal study in Brunei Bay said that the Dugong, once on the fishermen's hunting list is now facing extinction.

"People use to catch Dugong for its meat, which tastes like beef. However, they are harder to find now," he said.

He said marine food sources such as sea grass were the main attraction of marine mammals to the Brunei Bay.

"But a worrying trend that I see now is human activities like logging near coastal areas have disrupted the habitats of marine mammals," he said.

-- BERNAMA

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To tackle pollution, China to drop pursuit of growth at all costs

David Stanway PlanetArk 19 Nov 13;

To tackle pollution, China to drop pursuit of growth at all costs Photo: Aly Song
AA tourist wears a mask while taking pictures on the Bund in Shanghai during a hazy day November 8, 2013. Chinese cities should close schools, cut working hours and stop outdoor activities during the most severe spells of air pollution
Photo: Aly Song

China will steer local governments away from the pursuit of economic growth at all costs and beef up their powers to punish polluters as part of a campaign to reverse the damage done by three decades of unchecked expansion.

In wide-ranging economic and social reforms unveiled last week, the ruling Communist Party said it would put more emphasis on environmental protection when assessing officials, and would also hold local authorities directly responsible for pollution.

The document, which also pledged to relax its "one-child policy" and further free up its markets, said China would draw an "ecological protection red line" that would limit the economic development of environmentally vulnerable regions.

Three decades of industrialization and double-digit growth in China have left the country badly polluted.

With public anger mounting over a series of scandals involving hazardous smog, contaminated soil and toxic water supplies, China has identified the environment as one of the biggest potential sources of instability. But despite a pledge to create a "beautiful China" over the next decade, Beijing continues to struggle to bring polluting state-owned industrial enterprises and growth-obsessed local governments to heel.

The new policy document said China would "correct the bias towards assessing (officials) on the speed of economic growth and increase the weight placed on other indicators such as resource use, environmental damage, ecological benefits, industrial overcapacity, scientific innovation, work safety and newly-added debt."

China already assesses local officials on the way they handle the environment, but with the economy still considered the priority, local authorities stress their green credentials by building ostentatious national parks, wetlands or reforestation projects rather than address the cause of pollution and risk revenues and jobs.

"Before, they were just using environmental protection as another way of generating economic growth and even if something causes a great deal of immediate environmental damage, they would still consider the short-term economic benefits," said Zhou Lei at Nanjing University, who studies the impact of industry on the environment.

THE POWER TO PUNISH

The Communist Party document also pledged to improve the way environmental rules are enforced by establishing a more "unified" central government authority and by eliminating administrative overlaps.

Experts expect China to strengthen the powers of the environmental ministry as part of a wider government department reshuffle likely to take place during the annual session of parliament in March next year.

Officials, including vice-environment minister Pan Yue, have complained that the current regime lacks teeth, partly because many crucial environmental responsibilities are dispersed across a wide range of departments.

Next year's reshuffle could see the environment ministry taking on responsibilities currently held by the State Forestry Commission, the Ministry of Water Resources as well as the powerful planning superministry, the National Development and Reform Commission, none of which consider environmental protection a priority.

The pledges made in last week's document will also be bolstered by amendments to the country's environmental protection laws, which are expected to be published soon and will give environmental agencies a range of new powers to fine and punish serial violators, as well as improve the way Beijing monitors pollution across the country.

But Zhou of Nanjing University said the new rules are unlikely to go far enough.

"In my opinion, it is typical Chinese lip service and should not be treated seriously," he said. "What will really solve the current environmental degradation is to systematically re-appraise all the problematic projects and let justice be served regarding all the perpetrators."

(Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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U.N. talks on new carbon markets break down

Stian Reklev and Michael Szabo PlanetArk 18 Nov 13;

International negotiations on how to set up new carbon markets to cut greenhouse gas levels broke down over the weekend in Warsaw, sources said, after developing nations refused to progress the issue before rich nations increase efforts to cut their own emissions.

More than 9,000 delegates from almost 200 countries are gathered in the Polish capital for November 11-22 United Nations-sponsored meetings aimed at forging by 2015 a new treaty to fight climate change, which would enter into force after 2020.

Sources said negotiators were unable to agree, before the start of high-levels talks beginning on Monday, proposals to develop new carbon markets and link them together through common accounting and transparency standards.

Talks on the issue have been shelved until June 2014, despite agreement in Warsaw expected by many.

A spokesman for the European Union Commission said the negotiations had proved very difficult and that it regretted that progress was not made.

"We remain interested in a political discussion on the role of markets in the 2015 agreement here in Warsaw," he added.

Reaction to the breakdown in talks was mixed.

"The profound lack of progress is obviously disappointing. We hope the parties regroup and find a way to progress the (talks) as soon as possible," said Miles Austin of trade group the Climate Markets & Investment Association.

Meena Raman of green groups alliance Third World Network welcomed the news, "given the grave lack of ambition from developed countries to reduce emissions".

Poorer nations, which bear the brunt of the worst effects of climate change, want rich governments to take on more ambitious and binding emissions reduction targets.

REVIEW THE FAILURES

Rich nations including the United States, Japan, and members of the EU, favor designing new market-based mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as cheaply as possible.

But developing countries are reluctant to launch new markets when existing ones are not working. They say rich nations support markets as a way of outsourcing carbon-cutting efforts abroad to ensure they don't have to make any reductions at home.

"We need to review the failures of existing carbon markets to assess if they have any role to play in equitable and ambitious mitigation," Raman said.

The Clean Development Mechanism, one market born from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, lets governments and companies in developed countries invest in carbon-cutting projects in developing nations, and in return they receive carbon offsets that they can use against their own emissions targets.

While the scheme has channeled more than $315 billion to developing countries, it is faltering due to a dearth of demand for offsets from countries that are reluctant to raise their ambition under a new global pact.

Environment ministers will discuss carbon markets on Tuesday, but observers said nothing on new markets was likely to be agreed.

"(It's) not a huge loss," said one negotiator from the developing world who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

"We want to see a new market mechanism, but one that's designed to generate substantial net reductions the atmosphere actually sees, rather than a tool that relocates effort in a zero-sum game. So the outcome is disappointing from this perspective."

(editing by Ralph Boulton)

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'Clean up your act,' UN climate chief urges coal industry

Alister Doyle and Susanna Twidale PlanetArk 19 Nov 13;

'Clean up your act,' UN climate chief urges coal industry Photo: Kacper Pempel
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his wife Yoo Soon-taek (R) walk with holocaust survivor and Council for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews chairman Marian Turski(2nd R)
Photo: Kacper Pempel

The U.N. climate chief urged a radical clean-up of the coal industry on Monday to help limit global warming, at an industry meeting in Warsaw condemned by environmentalists as a distraction from the nearby U.N. climate change conference.

Christiana Figueres, head of the U.N.'s Climate Change Secretariat, told the coal summit that the industry had to change "rapidly and dramatically" to limit high pollution and carbon emissions, including in heavily coal-dependent Poland.

She urged the industry to "leave most existing reserves in the ground", to shut inefficient plants and to capture and bury all emissions of carbon dioxide from coal-fired plants, a technology that has proved too costly so far for wide use.

As she did so, Greenpeace activists scaled the Polish Economy Ministry, hosting the coal summit, and unfurled a 15-metre (50 foot) banner asking: "Who rules the world? Fossil industry or the people?"

An international panel of climate scientists says fossil fuel use is extremely likely to be the main cause of a sharp rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution that is now changing the climate.

A group of 27 leading climate scientists working with the panel's data said in Warsaw that there were 3.8 trillion tonnes (1 tonne = 1.102 metric tons) of carbon dioxide trapped in the world's fossil reserves, about 60 percent of it in coal.

They said 1 trillion tonnes would suffice to push the post-industrial temperature rise past 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), set by governments as a ceiling to avoid rising sea levels as well as worsening heatwaves, droughts and floods.

"MOVE BEYOND THE RHETORIC"

The World Coal Association (WCA), co-hosting the conference with the Polish government, says the world cannot abandon coal, which generates about 41 percent of world electricity and is likely to overtake oil as the main source of energy by 2020.

"We want to move beyond the emotional rhetoric, and focus on what we can all do in practical terms," said Milton Catelin, chief executive of the WCA. He said the industry meeting was a "constructive contribution" to the U.N. climate talks.

Environmentalists condemned the summit as a deliberate distraction from the talks involving almost 200 nations at a soccer stadium nearby, which is working on the outlines of a deal meant to be agreed in 2015 to slow climate change.

Poland produces about 90 percent of its electricity from coal and is among the European Union nations most reluctant to implement deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2020.

"The summit can develop clear signals that coal is an important component of climate policy," Polish deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechoci?ski told the start of the two-day coal meeting.

Worldwide, there are plans for almost 1,200 coal-fired power plants to be built, according to the World Resources Institute think-tank.

DEVELOPING WORLD NEED

Godfrey Gomwe, chief executive of Anglo American Thermal Coal, said coal was vital to help 1.3 billion people with no access to electricity in developing nations to escape poverty.

"A life without access to modern energy is a life lived in poverty," he told the coal summit.

U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern said broad coal use was "not going to change overnight", adding: "The most important technology which can provide a longer-range future for coal in a low-carbon world is CCS (carbon capture and storage)."

The 27 climate scientists said CCS was the only way for the world to limit a rise in temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius while still using coal.

They said that renewable energies such as wind and solar power, usually more expensive than coal, were far more competitive if governments factored in the damage to health and to the environment caused by fumes from coal-fired plants.

The World Bank and European Investment Bank have both decided to curb lending to most coal-fired power projects, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is expected to drastically reduce its involvement.

Some institutional investors are also acting. The Church of Sweden, for instance, will not invest in firms that get more than 5 percent of their turnover from prospecting for or developing coal.

(Additional reporting by Nina Chestney, Michael Szabo, Agnieszka Barteczko and Stian Reklev; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

A glance at coal and its role in climate change
Karl Ritter Associated Press Yahoo News 18 Nov 13;

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Coal took center stage in the global warming debate on Monday as a high-profile coal industry event kicked off on the sidelines of a U.N. climate conference in Warsaw.

Environmental activists were outraged, saying coal is the problem, not the solution to climate change.

Poland, which is presiding over both conferences, says the coal industry needs to be part of the climate discourse because a lot of coal-reliant countries — Poland included — will depend on the fossil fuel for a long time.

Here are some quick facts about coal and the carbon pollution the world is releasing by burning it:

WHAT IS COAL?

Coal is a fossil fuel that formed over time from the remains of plants that died millions of years ago. It contains energy that those plants once absorbed from the sun.

WHY DO SOME PEOPLE CALL IT A "DIRTY" FUEL?

Apart from being a major contributor to emissions of CO2, the most important greenhouse gas, coal is a leading cause of smog, acid rain and air pollution. Governments have been trying to manage the environmental impact of coal burning ever since smoke pollution became a major problem in English cities in the 19th century.

HOW MUCH CO2 EMISSIONS COME FROM COAL?

Of all energy sources, coal is the dirtiest in terms of carbon pollution. In 2011, about 44 percent of total energy emissions came from coal, compared to 35 percent from oil and just over 20 percent from natural gas, according to the International Energy Agency.

HOW CAN YOU REDUCE EMISSIONS FROM COAL?

U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres offered one alternative Monday: leave the coal in the ground. But the reality is a lot of countries with coal resources are not ready to give it up as an energy source. Instead, they are looking for ways to reduce emissions by improving the efficiency of coal-fired plants or adopting technologies that trap the CO2 for storage underground. These technologies are expensive and have so far not been put to widespread use.

IF COAL IS SO DIRTY WHY ARE WE STILL BURNING IT?

Since the industrial revolution coal has been a double-edged sword for humanity, powering economic growth while polluting the environment. Even now that the climate impact is known, coal-reliant countries are reluctant to give it up, fearing it would hurt their economies. Even though China — the world's biggest carbon polluter — is investing in renewable energy, its coal use is also rising because of the huge demand for energy as its economy expands, lifting millions of people out of poverty.

WHO BURNS THE MOST COAL?

China is the world's biggest producer and consumer of coal. Coal accounted for 68 percent Chinese energy consumption in 2012, according to the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo. The U.S. also is a top coal producer, but domestic coal use is declining as some power plants have switched to lower-priced natural gas.

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Global carbon emissions rise to new record in 2013: report

Reuters Yahoo News 19 Nov 13;

LONDON (Reuters) - Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels will rise to a record 36 billion metric tons (39.683 billion tons) this year, a report by 49 researchers from 10 countries said, showing the failure of governments to rein in the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.

The report by the Global Carbon Project, which compiles data from research institutes worldwide each year, was published in the journal Earth Systems Data Discussions on Tuesday.

Its 2013 estimate represents a 2.1 percent gain versus 2012 and a 61 percent increase since 1990, the baseline year for the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol, the only global agreement that places binding limits on national CO2 emission levels.

The report was published as officials from almost 200 nations are gathered in Warsaw, Poland, tasked with advancing U.N. negotiations on a new pact to curb emissions from all nations due to take effect from 2020.

"Governments ... need to agree how to reverse this trend. Emissions must fall substantially and rapidly if we are to limit global climate change to below 2 degrees Celsius," said the report's lead author, Corinne Le Quere of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at Britain's University of East Anglia, in a statement.

She was referring to a rise in the average global temperature from levels prior to the Industrial Revolution. U.N.-backed scientists have warned that a gain above 2 degrees will trigger extreme floods, droughts and storms.

The report shows that the rate of growth in global CO2 emissions is down slightly on the previous year's 2.2 percent increase but is only slightly lower than the average growth of 2.7 percent a year in the last 10 years.

Emissions are increasing because strong growth in coal consumption has outweighed any reductions from the rapid growth in renewable energy in recent years, according to Glen Peters, an author of the report based at CICERO, a climate research institute in Norway.

"While society is seeing many positive developments in renewable energy, this increased production capacity is not simply displacing coal consumption," Peters said in a separate statement. (www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget)

(Reporting by Ben Garside; editing by Jane Baird)

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Best of our wild blogs: 18 Nov 13

Green event: The Nature Society (Singapore) & Young NTUC Our Singapore Conversation (OSC) on Green Spaces from Green Drinks Singapore

Morning Walk At Pasir Ris Park (16 Nov 2013)
from Beetles@SG BLOG

Leucistic Javan Myna feeding on Xanthostemon chrysanthus flowers from Bird Ecology Study Group

Singapore's sea pencil helps solve fossil issue!
from wild shores of singapore

Bapak Usnan's Cicada
from Monday Morgue

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Macaque problem: Singapore needs to see nature beyond pragmatic purposes

Jacqueline Lim Today Online 18 Nov 13;

I refer to the letters, “People who feed macaques should be held accountable” (Nov 13) and “Separate areas for people, monkeys will help us co-exist” (Nov 15). I agree with the former, although the problem goes far deeper.

There would be issues not only with macaques, but also with other wildlife subsequently, if deeper thought is not given to the use of natural land.

Land scarcity is a major limitation here, which we have tried to resolve since the country started developing as an economic hub. One of the solutions has been deforestation to pave way for concrete and tar.

In Singapore, nature possesses more instrumental value than intrinsic value; land is regarded more for its economic value than its biotic community. Unsurprisingly, the macaques are reacting in the face of increasing human infringement of their territories.

The way nature is regarded here de-emphasises the importance of mutual dependency and cooperation, which are important elements of ecosystems.

For example, while Singapore has Tree Conservation Areas, these are selected and demarcated, interestingly, based on the “number of mature trees” within the areas that are “worth conserving” and, more importantly, trees that “enhance the beauty of the environment”. In other words, the subjective good of trees, and which types have more worth, is in relation to our standards and criteria. Singapore must start recognising the inherent worth and objective good of nature in the midst of urbanisation.

Current efforts in planning nature places considerately should be encouraged and even applauded. But we must be aware that there is more to nature than pragmatic purposes.

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New eco-trail launched in South West District

Sara Grosse Channel NewsAsia 17 Nov 13;

SINGAPORE: Residents in South West District were encouraged to become environment advocates, with the launch of a new eco-trail on Sunday.

"Discovering GEMs@South West" showcases selected sites recognised for their environmental achievements.

Among the GEMs or 'Green EnviroMiles' are a small wetland system to channel rainwater used to irrigate at Fuhua Primary School's aquaponics farm and the wormery at Siloso Beach Resort.

Senior Minister of State for Health, Dr Amy Khor, said: "Go and visit these projects. Talk and interact with the advocates for these projects, so they can be inspired and learn from the environmentally-friendly practices that have been put in place and then they can go back into the community or into the organisations or schools and implement similar green projects."

Dr Khor is also the Mayor for South West District.

The eco-trail was launched by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong at the annual South West Clean and Green carnival.

Mr Gan said Singapore is experiencing its worst outbreak of dengue fever since the 1980s, and he highlighted the district's initiatives to combat such public health issue.

He also encouraged residents to promote a better environment for their community.

The inaugural South West District eco-trail was embarked by a group of teachers, grassroots and youth leaders. It is the first of ten tours to be conducted over the next year.


- CNA/ir

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Hundreds of Rare Slow Lorises Seized in Indonesia

Agence France-Presse Jakarta Globe 17 Nov 13;

Tags: Asia illegal animal trade, Indonesia animal trafficking, slow loris
Hundreds of slow lorises have been seized on Indonesia’s Java island as animal smugglers were about to send the protected primates to markets to be sold as pets, officials said Friday.

Government officials last week discovered 238 of the nocturnal animals, one of the few mammals that has a toxic bite, packed into small plastic crates at the port of Merak in the north-west of Java.

They had been smuggled from Sumatra, a vast, jungle-covered, biodiverse island that is home to many rare animals, said protection group the International Animal Rescue Foundation Indonesia.

The group took them to their rescue centre but on the way “six of them died… because they were squeezed tight in the crates and lacked food and water,” the foundation’s Aris Hidayat told AFP.

The animals were about to be sent to markets in the capital Jakarta and surrounding cities when they were rescued, Aris said.

Vets at the rescue center believe the animals had only been captured recently and said hopefully they could be released back into the wild soon, he said.

The Natural Resources Conservation Agency, the government body that discovered the lorises, said a man had been named a suspect in the case and would face trial soon.

Under Indonesian law, someone caught selling protected animals faces a maximum of five years in jail and a 100 million rupiah ($8,700) fine.

The slow loris, which has big eyes, grey fur and is closely related to the lemur, is found across Southeast Asia.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature categorizes the lorises on Sumatra as vulnerable.

Agence France-Presse

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Daily life renewable energy: Creating a quieter, cleaner Ubin

Arti Mulchand The Straits Times AsiaOne 17 Nov 13;

Visit Pulau Ubin these days and you will notice something missing - the rumble of the diesel generators that used to power the island's homes and businesses.

Today, its residents are plugged into their very own 240 kilowatt micro-grid that is being test-bedded on the island by the Energy Market Authority (EMA).

Set up to assess the impact of intermittent energy sources on grid operations, it runs on biodiesel and solar photovoltaic technology and was launched last month.

Mr Markson Tang, the executive director of Daily Life Renewable Energy, is a part of a consortium powering the initiative.

As a child, he used to cycle on the island and attend adventure camps. So when the project came up for tender in 2009, he seized the opportunity.

"I am keen on developing the clean energy industry in Singapore because we are lagging behind our neighbouring countries," the 36-year-old explained, adding that part of the problem is that most Singaporeans are spoilt by Singapore's "excellent national grid system".

Many are unaware about micro-grids and the economic impact that clean energy can have, he said.

"A lot of people think putting in place a micro-grid is the same as rural electrification. It isn't. In the United States, which has the most number of micro-grids, they are everywhere from buildings and industrial estates to military installations."

His father, a retired electrical engineer who would talk about new technologies at the dinner table, sparked Mr Tang's interest in clean energy.

In 2003, he started his company to trade solar panels and wind turbines. It eventually evolved to provide turnkey solutions for the energy sector, and Mr Tang has helped developed renewable energy projects like wind farms and micro-grids all over the world.

The Pulau Ubin micro-grid is the company's 67th. Yet, it proved to be one of the most challenging to put in place.

For one thing, the project took 2-1/2 years to execute.

"It was tough. There were no precedents so all the agencies were not familiar with what was needed, and had their own requirements and inputs. We all had a steep learning curve," he said, adding that EMA helped pushed things along.

The company had to engage contractors familiar with Pulau Ubin and its limitations, he said. "We had to bring everything over, from basic construction material like sand to every nut, bolt and screw," he explained.

The project also had to be adapted to the local needs and the environment.

Resident and citizen consultative committees were consulted. At least two townhall meetings were held. And while large and bulky equipment was brought in on barges, local bumboat operators were engaged to cart over the smaller items. To preserve the island's rustic feel, all the cables, which cover an area of about 1 sq km, were run underground.

But now that the micro-grid is in place, residents are able to tap into a more reliable and cheaper power source at 80 cents per kilowatt hour compared with $1.20 per kilowatt hour when using a diesel generator, and use more high-power appliances. More than 30 of the island's residents and businesses have signed up.

Pulau Ubin's micro-grid also boasts an "invisible" world's first - a type of technology more commonly used in large wind turbines has been applied to a biodiesel generator for the first time. It allows the generator to run at variable speeds while maintaining power quality, which means that it only generates as much electricity as is needed at any one time.

There are six generators in total on three interconnected grids, and additional generators kick in to cope with mounting demand.

"Generators generally run at a constant speed, which is a waste of diesel and bad for the generator. Imagine if you tried to drive your car only on first gear - it would be less efficient," he explained.

Right now, it takes a team of five to keep the system going, with most things done remotely. Just one person is stationed on the island during working hours to monitor the system and take care of technical issues.

There is also a 24/7 response team with a licensed electrical engineer and a certified engine specialist on stand by, and two Pulau Ubin residents will be trained by next month to function as "first responders", so they can deal with any outages immediately.

Mr Tang, who studied engineering at the Nanyang Technological University, insists that he is less of an engineer than an entrepreneur "who loves to travel".

"Almost my entire skill set was learnt along the way. I had mentors who gave me invaluable lessons. My work involves the marriage of needs, technology, government policies and financing," he said.

He hopes his story will prompt more Singaporean companies to seize opportunities presented by the power business - and in more ingenious ways.

"It is not that we are lacking in engineering or systems innovation skills, but simply the entrepreneurial spirit. There are opportunities in clean energy, micro-grids and energy efficiency projects. Companies just have to break out of their comfort zones."

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Best of our wild blogs: 17 Nov 13

Touched by a butterfly!
from Life is a colorful canvas

Night Walk At Venus Drive (15 Nov 2013)
from Beetles@SG BLOG

Butterfly of the Month - November 2013
from Butterflies of Singapore

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Golf clubs will be told in advance if leases can be extended or not

S Ramesh Channel NewsAsia 15 Nov 13;

SINGAPORE: Law Minister K Shanmugam has said his ministry will let golf clubs, whose leases will expire within the next 10 years, know whether their leases can be extended.

He added that the ministry plans to make an announcement early next year on the government's approach to lease extension for golf courses.

Writing on his Facebook, Mr Shanmugam explained that there is a place for golf courses in Singapore. "There are Singaporeans who golf, and those who gather at golf clubs for recreation and for business. Having golf facilities also makes us a better location for business investment as well," he wrote.

Mr Shanmugam noted that in the past, many golf courses were built on land which could not be developed for high-intensity use. But Singapore is now able to make better use of some of these land.

"In the coming years, some golf course land will be redeveloped, to put to higher intensity uses, to meet Singapore's land use needs," he wrote.

Mr Shanmugam explained that golf clubs are on leasehold land. Many of them are on 30-year leases that expire in 2021.

He said the government's approach is to let the leases expire if the land is needed for another purpose.

He noted that unlike in the past, Singapore will not be able to find large tracts of land for new golf courses. So over time, the land allocated to golf courses will be reduced.

- CNA/ms

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