Indonesia: Environmental Groups Question April Promises of Sustainable Pulp Practices

Ethan Harfenist Jakarta Globe 29 Jan 14;

Jakarta. Indonesia’s second-largest pulp and paper producer Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd. (April) announced a renewed pledge to sustainable practices this week, promising to stop expanding its plantation holdings by the end of this year and halt forest clearing entirely by 2019 in a move greeted with both cautious optimism and disbelief by environmental groups.

“This policy means that within five years April’s mill will be running entirely on renewable, sustainable plantation fiber,” April president Praveen Singhavi said at a press briefing in Jakarta. “We will reach the goal progressively over the next five years — and hopefully before the deadline.”

The Singapore-based April — which runs the region’s largest pulp mill under its Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) subsidiary — announced the move on Tuesday, detailing an ambitious sustainability plan after more than a decade of criticism from environmental and animal rights groups over the company’s activities in the heavily deforested province of Riau, Sumatra.

Under the sustainability plan, April has committed to halting any efforts to establish new plantations by the end of 2014. During this time the company will also double its forest restoration program to 40,000 hectares. Five years later, April has committed to only using plantation wood in its mill, putting to an end more than a decade of relying predominately on mixed tropical hardwood harvested from the province’s existing forests.

The pulp and paper company and its affiliates currently own some 817,000 hectares of land throughout the country, 51 percent of which is suitable for planting. Nearly half of the company’s concession areas lie in Sumatra’s Riau province, an area that witnessed one of fastest rates of deforestation in the world. More than 4 million hectares of forest have vanished in Riau since 1982 — laying waste to vast tracts of forest, destroying valuable carbon-rich peatland and pushing several indigenous species to the brink of extinction.

Much of the blame has been placed on Royal Golden Eagle Group (RGE) and Sinar Mas — two companies with deep ties to the Suharto regime and a host of affiliated companies operating in the pulp and paper and palm oil industry in Indonesia and abroad. Sinar Mas owns one of the largest pulp companies in the world, Asia Pacific Pulp and Paper, and has made a similar pledge to sustainable practices last year. The company’s announcement began with the immediate suspension of all land clearing activities and a promise to only expand on open land and scrubland in future operations.

April was criticized at the time for sticking to its existing policies which, despite corporate claims that they are in the “tree planting” business, resulted in annual clearing of existing forests. In 2012, the company planned to clear some 60,000 hectares of rainforest, according to confidential reports leaked to Greenpeace. RAPP’s massive 1,750 hectare manufacturing complex in Kerinci, Riau, produces some 2.8 million tons of pulp and 820,000 tons of paper per year. Historically more than half of the wood used came from existing forests, not acacia plantations, according to reports by the Center on International Forestry Research (Cifor).

Now, a little over a year later, April has made a similar pledge to ending destructive practices in Indonesia. The move was met with “cautious” optimism by the Wold Wildlife Fund, which applauded the company’s plan to establish an independent advisory board to oversee the progress of the sustainability pledge.

“Given WWF’s longstanding calls for an end to the environmental abuses associated with the pulp and paper industry, April’s Sustainable Forest Management Policy would seem to be demonstrating willingness on the part of the company to transforming its operations,” said Efransjah, CEO of WWF-Indonesia. “If April truly fulfills the entire commitment in the policy, it will lead to a positive contribution to Indonesia’s forests, biodiversity, emission reductions and people.”

But the details of the plan, and the reticence to immediately suspend all land clearing activities in Indonesia, left some wondering what the coming year holds for Riau’s forests. The privately held company declined to detail the status of the nearly 417,000 hectares of plantable land it owns. Environmental groups like Greenpeace worry that April will rapidly expand its land holdings in the coming year only to spend the next five years chewing through wood harvested from existing forests in an ironic preparation for its sustainability goals.

“April’s carefully orchestrated policy announcement is essentially a license to continue forest clearance,” Zulfahmi, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Forest Campaigner, said in a press release. “A glaring weakness is that it would allow its current suppliers to continue to destroy forest and peatlands for nearly a year, and give it another six more years until it would stop using rainforest fiber at its mill.”

The company’s announcement also left out any mention of RGE-owned subsidiaries like Asian Agri and Toba Pulp Lestari — two companies also implicated in destructive practices like the kind of slash-and-burn land clearing that left Singapore choking on haze last year. Under the Ministry of Forestry’s regulations, companies that own both palm oil and pulp divisions can use wood cleared from new palm plantations to feed their pulp mills in an effort to reduce pulp deficits at the nation’s mills. Environmental groups have called for similar sustainability promises to be made by April’s sister companies.

Greenpeace called the move an eleventh-hour effort to retain its membership in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. The company’s membership was on the line unless it demonstrated a serious commitment to ending deforestation following a complaint by Greenpeace. But the environmental group criticized April’s response for not going far enough, explaining that a serious commitment to ending deforestation would be the immediate suspension of forest clearing.

“If April were serious about cutting forest destruction from their supply chains then it would look to more progressive players in the forestry sector that have put an immediate moratorium on all forest clearance and peatland development,” Zulfahmi said.

The Pekanbaru-based Forest Rescue Network Riau (Jikalahari) said the company had made and broken similar promises in the past.

“I don’t buy the pledge,” Muslim Rasyid, of Jikalahari, said on Wednesday. “They commit to ceasing using raw materials from nature by 2019 and lower their production so it can match the normal capacity, but I think they’ll break their promise again. They made similar pledges back in 2009 and 2012, but still, nothing’s changed. The pledge is only an act of green washing. The company just wants to create a good image of themselves and save their place in the network of sustainable companies.”

Previous efforts to establish a “greener” image by April have been met with similar criticism. Environmental groups accused the company of using a $17 million peatland restoration project in Riau’s heavily degraded Kampar Peninsula to “greenwash” the continued cutting of old-growth forests. The project, which aimed to restore more than 20,000 hectares of damaged peatland, was drafted in association with Fauna & Flora International (FFI). But April’s continued cutting of forests at the time, as well as the company’s seemingly cozy relationship with the forest ministry, left environmental groups doubting the true impact of the project.

The Ministry of Forestry claims that demand for Indonesian pulp remains strong. The success of April’s sustainability pledge depends on its ability meet demand, ministry spokesman Sumarto explained.

“The market demand for wood is still huge, so Indonesia has the potential to improve,” he said.

The ministry announced plans in 2012 to significantly expand the nation’s pulp capacity in the next decade. The expansion would include the construction of seven new pulp mills and the awarding of concessions in previously untouched forests in eastern Indonesia, according to the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). When asked about the status of this plan, Sumarto instead spoke on the importance of involving local residents in the cultivation of pulp plantations.

Some 70 percent of the nation’s pulp production comes from small farmers, not multinational companies, Sumarto said.

“The forest [ministry] will establish a wood industry with a focus on planted forests,” he said. “This included forests planted by the people. The conditions now show that forests planted by the people have a role [in the nation's pulp industry].”

Nationwide some 40 percent of Indonesia’s forest cover has been converted into plantations that feed a $26 billion a year industry. On average, 6.2 million acres — an area roughly the size of Vermont — of tropical forests disappear annually.

— Additional reporting by Muhamad Al Azhari and Josua Gantan

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Palm oil: WWF name and shame top global buyers

With certified palm oil so easy to source, why are many large companies still failing to hit their own targets for sustainability?
Oliver Balch Guardian Professional 28 Jan 14;

Industry's main players were to protect rainforests and threatened species, but large buyers still buying unsustainable palm oil. Photograph: Anup Shah/Getty Images

It wasn't supposed to be this way. With commercial palm plantations running rampant, the industry's main players would group together and usher in a more sustainable form of palm oil production. Destruction of the rainforests would then slow, threatened species such as the orangutan would be protected, and consumers could shop with a clear conscience.

More than a decade on and the picture is a lot less rosy. Palm oil continues to proliferate in everything from ice cream to shampoo but sustainable palm oil has failed to catch on, as a punchy short film by the environment group, WWF, demonstrates.

The film comes on the back of a recent report by WWF that finds "disappointing" levels of uptake of certified palm oil by the world's largest retailers, food companies and consumer goods producers. "Palm oil buyers have increased their use of sustainable palm oil," says WWF's 2013 Scorecard, "but are still not doing enough to support responsible growers and reduce the effects of growing this popular oil in some of the world's most vulnerable tropical habitats."

Of the 130 companies surveyed, fewer than half purchase palm oil that meets the social and environmental standards set by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a voluntary scheme that now covers about 40% of palm oil production.

The result is an inexcusable supply glut. Collective demand among the surveyed companies comes to almost 7m tonnes of palm oil per year – a volume that could "easily" be met by current certified stocks, according to WWF. On average, certified producers collect a sustainability premium for only about half their production. The remainder gets thrown in with non-certified palm oil and is priced accordingly.

When WWF carried out its previous survey two years ago, it concluded that there was "absolutely no reason" why palm oil buyers should not be purchasing 100% certified palm oil. That's even truer today. "Since then [2011] supply has almost doubled, but still overall less than half the palm oil the companies we looked at were using was certified," says WWF.

Some buyers have already joined the 100% club. Unilever, for instance, one of the largest palm oil buyers in the world and a founding member of RSPO, buys all its palm oil from certified providers. Two dozen of the 78 manufacturers in the study do likewise, including the cleaning brand Ecover and beauty products firm L'Oréal. UK supermarket brands Sainsbury, Tesco, Waitrose, M&S, Asda and the Co-operative group feature in a similar leading list of 21 retailers that buy 100% certified.

WWF identifies a second tier of companies that are travelling at a far slower pace. Procter & Gamble and McDonald's buy just 13% of their palm oil from certified sources. At 17%, PepsiCo is another big name on the laggard list. This sluggishness comes despite a pledge by many large buyers to go 100% certified by the end of next year – a target for which there is "no certainty" that many will reach, says WWF.

Switching to fully certified purchasing is relatively painless, so why aren't more companies doing it? According to WWF, it all comes down to simple foot-dragging by large buyers.

Almost one third (31%) of the companies surveyed have made only vague commitments to buying sustainable palm oil or none whatsoever. WWF's report subsequently concludes with a schoolmasterly "must work harder" message for the world's big palm oil buyers, an argument echoed by RSPO's secretary general Darrel Webber.

That's all well and good, but will remonstrating with the buyers work? Naming and shaming, as the Scorecard does, will certainly chivvy some reputation-conscious companies along. But there are more fundamental issues at play. One is the question of price: some buyers are clearly reluctant to pay the small premium that comes with certification. Other might claim to be confused. The Indonesian government, for instance, now runs its own rival certification scheme.

The thorniest issue of all revolves around integrity. Under the current RSPO structure, buyers can purchase certificates from sustainable producers under what's known as the GreenPalm scheme or Book and Claim. This avoids the more costly option of segregating certified palm oil in the distribution chain, but it means that the physical palm oil that certificate buyers receive is very possibly unsustainable. That raises questions in consumers' minds about the true sustainability of the product in their hand with a RSPO label.

Over the years, environment groups have also called into question the strictness of the RSPO criteria and the exactitude with which they are monitored and enforced. Greenpeace, for instance, maintains that forest destruction has continued apace despite the RSPO's introduction 12 years ago. The campaign group is pushing for a moratorium on converting forest and peatland into oil palm plantations.

WWF has a lot is riding on the "multi-stakeholder" roundtable model as an exemplar of a market-based solution to a sustainability challenge. As co-founder of RSPO, it has helped establish similar solutions in other global commodity chains, from beef and soya beans to sugar and biofuels.

WWF would like to see certified growers rewarded. But certification is a free-market game and, unlike in the movies, the good guys don't always win.

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AVA: Why items were marked

Shaffiq Alkhatib The New Paper 26 Jan 14;

SINGAPORE- The mark was to identify loose items on the fish farms that may prove to be a safety hazard or end up as floating debris.

The figure is part of a unique identification number each farm has. That was what the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said when we contacted it to find out why its officers had spray-painted items on the fish farm.

An AVA spokesman said on Wednesday that in July last year, it conducted a briefing for offshore fish farmers to inform them that as part of its inspection, its officers will be visiting the farms to conduct inventory checks of loose or moveable items and structures. These included container drums, sofas, television sets and refrigerators.

Its spokesman added that any loose items or structures on farms would be marked for identification purposes and to ensure traceability.

These items tend to fall in the sea, forming unsightly floating debris. The marking will help the AVA know where they came from. The AVA recently changed the method of marking loose material.

UNIQUE FARM NUMBER

Now, the unique farm number will be stencilled on the loose items or structures.

It also said that under licensing conditions, farmers are required to ensure farms are clean, tidy and safe. It had received public complaints that items from coastal fish farms had been drifting in the sea or washed up ashore as litter.

The AVA also said it revoked the men's farming licence in October last year.

To date, the licences of six coastal fish farms have been revoked for very low to zero production.

Five of them, including the men's farm, were in a dilapidated condition and their partially collapsed and loose structures were a safety hazard to neighbouring farms and seafarers.

PRODUCTIVITY TARGET

The men's farm did not meet the productivity target of 17 tonnes of fish a year. There was "barely any fish farming activities" during its inspections, said the AVA.

It pointed out that the farm produced below its target between 2008 and last year.

The AVA's group director of its agri establishment regulation group, Dr Wong Hon Mun, said the minimum production of 17 tonnes per annum per 5,000 sq m of sea area has been a condition of licensing for more than 30 years.

The AVA added that for the past years, it has sent "numerous reminders" to the men to seek their compliance with licensing conditions.

Last year, it issued three reminder letters to them to take immediate action to rectify the situation.

The farm was given an ultimatum in June last year to produce at least 2.5 tonnes of fish in three months to show that the farm was seriously committed to active production.

The AVA said: "As there was no indication of active or improved production by the given deadline and the farm was continued to be left in a dilapidated condition, the AVA was left with no option other than to revoke (the farm's) licence."

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Malaysia: Trapped air pollutants cause of haze says Environment Ministry

The Star 28 Jan 14;

PETALING JAYA: The haze that has been hovering over Klang Valley is actually fine particles from air pollutants that are unable to disperse due to dry weather conditions, said the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

It said in a statement yesterday that the air pollutants were released into the atmosphere from various human activities, including vehicle fumes, land development and construction activities.

“There have been no cases of open burning that could jeopardise the air quality in the Klang Valley. The current haze is a weather phenomenon and will not affect the public’s health,” it said.

The ministry said based on a report by the Meteorological Depart-ment, wind flow in Peninsular Malaysia over the past few days had been slow at around 10kph.

The department also reported that several areas in the Klang Valley, including Hulu Selangor, Klang, Kuala Selangor, Petaling Jaya and Sepang had not received rainfall for five consecutive days since Jan 22.

“Weather factors and Klang Valley’s topography caused the fine particles to be caught in the air space and were unable to disperse quickly,” it said.

The ministry also assured the public that the Department of Environment (DOE) was keeping a close eye on the air quality readings throughout the country, and had activated its plan to prevent open burning in all states.

It said DOE was also increasing its efforts to prevent peat fires, so it could ensure that no local sources were causing the worsening air quality and haze.

The Star had reported that visibility readings worsened in various parts of the country on Sunday, with Petaling Jaya and Kuala Pilah in Negri Sembilan recording visibility readings of up to 4km.

Normal visibility levels are from a range of 10km and further.

Members of the public have also been reminded not to carry out open burning because of the current dry weather and northeasterly winds and to put out any small fires besides reporting any cases of open burning.

The Fire and Rescue Department’s hotline is 999 while DOE’s hotline is 1-800-88-2727.

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China: Inside the world's biggest shark abattoir: shocking pictures show scale of slaughter

Zhejiang plant 'processing hundreds of endangered specimens a year'
Darren Wee South China Morning Post 27 Jan 14;

A Hong Kong-based conservation group claims a Zhejiang company is running the world's largest shark abattoir, processing hundreds of endangered specimens a year to produce health supplements and meat for restaurants.

The factory on the southeastern coast of the province processes more than 600 endangered whale sharks a year, as well as dealing in two other threatened species of shark, according to a four-year investigation by the marine conservation group WildLifeRisk.

"We went there three times in the past three years and each time the scale of the slaughter was truly staggering," directors Paul Hilton and Alex Hofford wrote in a report. "It's even more incredible that this carnage is all for the sake of non-essential lifestyle props, such as lipsticks, face creams, health supplements and shark's fin soup."

Hilton said WildLifeRisk was tipped off about the factory by a local wildlife conservation group in 2010.

"We went undercover, posing as an international seafood trading company looking for new products," he said. "The general manager of the plant was filmed saying more than 600 whale sharks were processed there each year."

DNA testing of oil samples given by the manager, who also owns a wholesaler of shark products, confirmed traces of basking and great white sharks, which he said were processed in lesser quantities.

The investigation found that whale shark skin was sold as leather to the bag trade, the meat went to Chinese restaurants in France and Italy, and dried fins were sold to restaurants in Guangzhou.

But the real money-maker is shark's liver oil, according to WildLifeRisk. It is used in skincare products, lipstick and Omega-3 health supplements.

Hilton said the oil was taken to a factory in Hainan where it was blended, turned into capsules and exported to the United States and Canada as fish oil.

The investigation found the sharks were caught, either targeted or as by-catch, in the South China Sea, the Pacific Ocean and in waters off the Philippines, Indonesia and Mexico.

Hilton said there were probably other factories along the mainland coast.

Mainland media have reported that a whale shark can sell for up to 200,000 yuan (HK$254,000).

"There's nothing like this on this scale," said Hilton. "The amount of fins on the floor in the courtyard was phenomenal."

He said when he first visited the plant, there were at least 30 fins on the floor and more hidden under tarpaulins.

"It is legal to have a shark-processing plant, but the species they are actually processing are protected internationally and in China," Hilton said.

Whale sharks are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. China is a signatory and bans the export of products that come from endangered species.

WildLifeRisk is calling on mainland authorities to close the factory and investigate the company.

Hilton said it was a positive time for conservation on the mainland, citing as examples the crushing of six tonnes of ivory earlier this month and a ban on shark fin soup at official banquets.

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India: Hundreds of dead turtles washed ashore

T. Appala Naidu The Hindu 28 Jan 14;

115 kilometre coast of the Krishna district is an ideal nesting ground for turtles

Hundreds of dead Olive Ridley Turtles are getting washed ashore along the Krishna district coastline of Bay of Bengal after getting trapped in the nets of fishermen.

The 115-km coast of the district serves as an ideal nesting ground for turtles. The dead turtles can be found in large numbers between Gilakaladindi Harbour and Manginapudi.

Unsafe practices

Unfriendly fishing practices are posing a major threat to Olive Ridley Turtles, which are classified as ‘vulnerable’ according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Around 250 boats, including 150 small engine boats, are operating from Gilakaladindi harbour and not even 10 per cent of them are equipped with Turtle Excluder Device (TED), despite repeated appeals by the authorities.

The TED allows the turtle that get trapped in the fishing net to escape safely.

Appeals to use the TED is falling on deaf ears of boat operators, leading to sharp rise in death toll of turtles.

No data

The Fisheries Department officials are not bothered about turtles and never insisted on use of TED by the boat operators, operating from Gilakaladindi harbour.

When asked about the number of boats equipped with TED, Harbour Fisheries Development Officer B. Raj Kumar told The Hindu that the department had no data and did not moot the issue with fishermen till date. Many boat operators said that they were releasing the turtles into sea when they were found in their nets .

Rookeries

The Wildlife Management Division, Eluru, in support of Yanadi tribal people set up four rookeries for the conservation of the turtles at Jinakapalem, Sangameswaram, Lighthouse area and Eelachetladibba, which is heart of the Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary, in Krishna district.

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Biologists investigate deaths of 25 whales off Florida's coast

Kevin Gray and Zachary Fagenson PlanetArk 28 Jan 14;

Biologists on Friday examined the carcasses of 25 dead pilot whales found off the coast of southwest Florida, collecting samples from the animals to try to determine the cause of a recent spike in whale deaths.

Wildlife officials completed necropsies on six whales among the group of 16 females and 9 males a day after they were spotted by boaters near Kice Island, Florida, said Kim Amendola, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The whales were part of a pod originally seen swimming in shallow waters near the city of Naples on Sunday, prompting a team of wildlife officials concerned about a spate of stranded whales, to mark the animals to better identify them.

Earlier this week, eight other whales were found dead after they swam into shallow waters near Fort Myers, Florida.

The group of 25 whales were found to be thin and showed no signs of having interacted with humans, Amendola said.

Biologists have said the whales' close-knit social structure may be playing a role in the deaths. Pilot whales are a social, deep-water species. They live in pods of 20 to 90 whales and typically will not leave ailing or dead members behind.

The bonds are so strong that dead whales have to be cleared from beaches before others swimming in shallow waters can be guided out to sea.

(Editing by Toni Reinhold)

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Many things unchanged on quiet St John's

Janice Tai And Melody Zaccheus The Straits Times AsiaOne 26 Jan 14

BORN, bred and wed on St John's Island, 67-year-old Mohamed Sulih and his wife make up half the villagers left on this haven south of Singapore.

And over the years, he has seen the island transform from a kampung of 150 villagers, to a holding area for political detainees and later, a rehabilitation centre for opium addicts.

"I feel lucky to be able to see all these changes up front," said Mr Sulih, the island's former caretaker who has stayed on even though most other villagers had left for the mainland by 1975.

The other two villagers are the current caretaker and his spouse.

There was also a reclamation project started in 2000 to build a causeway to the neighbouring Lazarus Island, and then a $120 million effort to bring water, electricity, gas and phone services from Sentosa to the Southern Islands.

More change is coming for the 39ha island with the only marine station for academic research, located in the south-eastern corner of St John's, possibly slashing operations by March next year.

The National University of Singapore's Tropical Marine Science Institute's (TMSI) coastal facilities, which opened in 2002, has been beset by high operating costs - driven by the diesel needed for generators, the boats to transport employees and security.

Its impending closure has drawn several visitors, including writer Alex Yang, to the island.

"I wanted to see the work they do as it is one of a kind," he said of his trip on Wednesday.

But plenty of things on the island have not changed, and that is why it continues to reel in a small but steady stream of nature lovers.

They include tourists, picnicking migrant workers from the Philippines and Bangladesh, Indian and Myanmar expatriates, and fishing enthusiasts.

Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), which manages the island, said it averages 28,000 visitors every year.

Kusu Island, in comparison, gets 104,000 visitors annually.

Visitors have the option of chartering their own boats or taking a public ferry from Marina South Pier.

The service, run by operator Singapore Island Cruise, costs $18 for a two-way trip (for adults, and $12 for children), including a stopover at nearby Kusu Island.

On weekdays, the island can get as few as two visitors, said SDC's executive officer on the island, Mr Eddy Ali. But it wakes up during weekends, the island's busiest period.

More than 170 people, for instance, made a trip down to the island last Sunday.

The allure of the hilly island lies in its pristine swimming lagoons, pockets of mangroves and stretches of natural rocky shores ringed by coral reefs.

Shoals of dolphins are sometimes spotted off the island's jetty in June and August, while bird watchers go to observe the majestic dives of birds of prey such as Brahminy kites.

Said TMSI director Peter Ng: "Jumping in the water, chasing after crabs, is something you can do here, unlike a more manicured place, and you can see a lot of different animals that used to be there along mainland shorelines such as Changi."

It is also a popular camping ground for students and church groups, as well as cyclists or joggers willing to rough it out on the island's rugged slopes.

"The landscape is less organised and quite raw, and I really enjoyed the breeze and blue waters," said undergraduate Timothy Ng, 23, who cycled around the island for the first time on Wednesday.

Anglers Keano Chua, 34, and Raymond Chua, 27, went home with a haul of 13 squid after five hours of fishing on Wednesday.

"The catch is much better than on the mainland," said Mr Keano Chua, who goes to St John's to fish every week.

Other anglers such as Mr Ng Teck Seng even stay overnight by pitching makeshift tents along the coastline.

"You don't have to rush for the last ferry, which leaves at 2.45pm, and the groupers are more active at night," said the music researcher, 54.

History buffs are also enamoured by the island's past.

Naval architect and heritage enthusiast Jerome Lim, 49, who enjoyed exploring a now-exhumed graveyard there as a young boy, said: "There was always that air of mystery about the place, and as a schoolboy, it always felt like an adventure."

TMSI's Professor Ng hopes the place will retain its rustic vibe in years to come.

The authorities said there are no immediate plans for St John's Island, and it will remain accessible to the public for recreational use.

It is the quiet life there that keeps Mr Sulih, who retired in 2010, on the island - mending nets in the day, catching squid along the jetty at night, and surrounded by a clutch of free-roaming chickens and cats.

"It is peaceful and not busy like on the mainland," said Mr Sulih, whose three grown-up sons live on the mainland.

"It is like my own secret place."

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Malaysia: Cold weather may not cause rain

New Straits Times 27 Jan 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: The ongoing cold weather that has caused shivers among Malaysians in some parts of the country may not result in heavy rains.

Malaysian Meteorological Department director-general Che Gayah Ismail said there was no indication of heavy rain in the next few days.

"The department is closely monitoring the weather changes and if there is an indicator, we will issue an advisory," she told The New Straits Times.

She said the standard operating procedure was to issue an advisory between 24 and 48 hours before such an event.

"We are still in the northeast monsoon period and it is normal to experience a few episodes of heavy rain."

On the possibility of heavy rains causing floods, she said it depended on the monsoon surge.
On the changes in temperature, she said Kuala Krai in Kelantan broke the record with its temperature dropping significantly from the 32oC on Jan 7 to 17.2oC on Jan 22.

Several countries in the region were also experiencing colder weather, with northern Vietnam snowing last month and Thailand's capital, Bangkok, hitting 15oC.

A local daily reported an oceanographer had advised Malaysians to watch out for heavy rain that could cause floods in the next few days following the cooler weather.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's Institute of Geospatial Science and Technology Associate Professor Dr Maged Mahmoud Marghany said the cold monsoon wind could get trapped in the warm atmospheric front once it hit the land mass in the east coast, Sabah and Sarawak.

He said in June 2006 forest fires in Indonesia resulted in increased humidity and heat in the atmosphere and due to the slow, weak wind above Johor, the heat hovered in the area during the monsoon season.

When the cold northeast monsoon wind converged with the heat, it resulted in heavy rain and floods in Johor, the state nearest to the forest fire, he said.

According to a statement in the Meteorological Department's website, January and February are when the minimum temperatures are relatively low compared with that of the other months.

The cooler than normal temperature in most areas, especially in the eastern and northern areas of the peninsula, was due to the strong north-easterly winds from mainland China, which was currently experiencing winter.

In addition, less cloud coverage throughout the peninsula this week also helped to lower the temperature at night and in the early morning.

Based on the weather conditions and wind direction for the next few days, the cooler weather was expected to continue until early this week.

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