Better public infrastructure for a “liveable city”, Government promises

Caryn Yeo Channel NewsAsia 21 May 14;

SINGAPORE: Quality of life will be key areas of focus for policymakers in the second half of the Government’s term, in ways such as increasing public transport capacity, upgrading HDB flats and building more parks, according to a statement issued on Wednesday (May 21).

“We will build a liveable city and an endearing home for all Singaporeans,” the Government said in an addenda statement to President Tony Tan Keng Yam’s address at the reopening of Parliament last Friday.

One key priority for the Ministry of National Development is to step up the Home Improvement Programme to cover another one-third of flats in Singapore - about 100,000 in total - within the next three years.

The ministry will also implement initiatives such as encouraging couples to live near their parents, and making HDB homes and estates elder-friendly, the statement said.

Singaporeans can also expect more recreational facilities, with an expansion of the park connector network and the Round-Island Route, a 150km continuous recreational corridor connecting Singaporeans to parks and places of interest across the island.

The ultimate aim is for “nearly all Singaporeans to live within 400 metres of a park; to be within a 10-minute walk of a sports and recreational facility; and to have convenient access to an island-wide network of arts and culture nodes and heritage trails”, the statement said.

The Government also pledged in the statement to increase the capacity of the public transport system. The Ministry of Transport will undertake a restructuring of the public bus industry, with a new contracting model under which the Government will own all key assets such as bus depots and buses. (Full story here: http://cna.asia/TtlXsN)

The ministry also said it will expand, upgrade and optimise the rail system to ease crowding. There will be major upgrades to tracks and trains, as well as to signalling systems for the oldest lines to run more trains at higher frequencies, and an additional 83 trains to reduce waiting time and crowding.

Incentives to encourage commuters to travel during off-peak periods will also be enhanced, according to the statement.

The ministry will also look into alleviating the taxi shortage by ensuring that more taxis are on the roads, and facilitate better matching of taxi demand and supply.

Amid the infrastructure build-up, the Government will take steps to ensure Singapore remains green. The transport ministry will undertake a trial use of electric vehicles on a larger scale, and study a possible adoption of diesel hybrid public buses.

“Protecting our environment is a collective responsibility,” the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources said. To that end, it plans to step up efforts to work with companies to improve their resource efficiency and adopt best-in-class practices.

The ministry said it will also progressively tighten vehicle and industrial emission and fuel quality standards to ensure that Singaporeans can enjoy clean, fresh air.

- CNA/xy

New tech, greenery to raise quality of life
Charissa Yong The Straits Times AsiaOne 22 May 14;

A LACK of size has forced Singapore planners to get creative in the use of both space and technology, experts say, and that in turn has paved the way for the Smart Nation envisioned in the next phase of development.

Yesterday, seven ministries released their brief addenda on how to make Singapore a "liveable city and endearing home".

Their set of broad plans, the third of five to be released this week, added on to President Tony Tan Keng Yam's speech last Friday laying out the Government's priorities for the rest of its term.

A highlight is the plan to tap more new technology to raise the quality of life, and add parks and greenery wherever possible - whether within a 10-minute walk of one's home, or high up on Housing Board blocks. These are a large part of the Government's vision to make Singapore a Smart Nation with better public services and more engaged citizens.

"The problem is that Singapore is a very crowded city. Technology can help by moving people more efficiently from point A to point B," said Professor Bernard Tan of the National University of Singapore's (NUS) information systems department.

For example, traffic lights at junctions with sensors now change according to users' needs rather than at fixed intervals, which improves traffic flow.

This sort of efficiency is crucial as Singapore does not have much space to begin with, said experts.

"It is important for a small city state to adopt these technologies early and, ultimately, innovate," said NUS Institute of Systems Science's chief of research Virginia Cha. "A society with a growing population has more competition for finite resources, which leads to increased friction... When not properly moderated, individuals become more stressed and dissatisfied with living conditions."

But experts agreed that Singapore is off to a good start.

"We have made quite a few steps forward," said Professor Lim Ee Peng, director of the Singapore Management University's Living Analytics Research Centre.

The private sector, he added, already uses smartphone apps that match taxis with commuters.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority's latest draft masterplan released last year also promised that almost everyone in Singapore will live within 400m of a park.

Singapore Institute of Planners president William Lau acknowledged that Singapore already leads the global pack in terms of its parks and urban greenery.

"But from the viewpoint of citizens and urban planners, there's a lot more... that can be done," he said. He urged the Government to build more cycling tracks sooner.

Experts said the Government should keep an eye out for issues such as cyber security and privacy concerns. But NUS' Prof Tan said that citizens must also be aware of the trade-offs between the benefits of technology and privacy.

"If I want to enjoy location based services, like being alerted about nice eateries everywhere I walk, I must disclose my location," he said. "The role of the Government is to ensure that information people give up is not subject to abuse."

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World Bank and aid donors accused of enabling land grabs

Millions of smallholder farmers worldwide have been left homeless and hungry because of private investment promoted by policies such as tax breaks and cheap loans, says report
Ellie Violet Bramley theguardian.com 21 May 14;

Aid donors and international institutions including the World Bank and World Economic Forum (WEF) have been accused of promoting an environment that fuels land grabs through policies and initiatives that pave the way for large-scale private investment.

In a report published on Tuesday, the NGO ActionAid says public money and policy incentives such as tax breaks and cut-price loans are facilitating land deals that threaten the lives and livelihoods of small-scale farmers in poor countries.

ActionAid warns that the consequences of such deals, which are too often happening behind closed doors and with little or no consultation with local communities, include "forced evictions, human rights violations, lost livelihoods, divided communities … rising food insecurity and, ultimately, increased poverty".

A spokesman for the World Bank said it was also concerned about the risks of large-scale land deals and stressed that it did not support investments that took advantage of weak institutions in developing countries.

ActionAid's report says weak governance and regulation of land use and agricultural investments have left millions of smallholder farmers and indigenous people in vulnerable situations "lack[ing] recognition over their land rights, even if they have resided in or used the area for generations".

ActionAid's campaign manager, Antoine Bouhey, said a "nexus of different policies" at the global level, which encourage private investment as a route to development, were also to blame.

"Governments are turning to private capital to fill the massive shortfall in public spending but too often this blind rush for investment is leading to land grabs which are leaving communities landless, homeless and hungry. Growth cannot be achieved at the expense of the poorest and most vulnerable," he said.

The NGO's report points to the G8's New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition as one of the international initiatives "via which taxpayer money and public policies are fuelling land grabs" and failing to ensure strong safeguards to protect the poorest.

The New Alliance was condemned as a new form of colonialism this year, after African governments agreed to change seed, land and tax laws to encourage private investment.

Last month, World Development Movement, the anti-poverty group, said the New Alliance was in effect carving up Africa in the interests of big business.

ActionAid's report also looks at how governments of developing countries are facilitating large-scale land deals through direct intervention in sales and lease agreements, and by introducing public policy incentives such as tax holidays for agribusiness investors.

It says such deals, often justified on the basis of attracting increased investment into food and farming, have come at great human cost.

Public and private investment should be redirected towards supporting sustainable agricultural practices suited to the needs of smallholder farmers, particularly women, says ActionAid. A "zero-tolerance approach" must be taken by governments over land grabs and the incentives that fuel them.

Most of the 1.4 billion people worldwide who live on less than $1.25 a day reside in rural areas and depend largely on agriculture for their livelihoods. Globally, an estimated 2.5 billion people are involved in small-scale agriculture.

A World Bank spokesman said the organisation provided roughly a third of all aid to support countries in improving governance of land tenure. "Securing access to land is critical for millions of poor people. Modern, efficient, and transparent policies on land rights are vital to reducing poverty and promoting growth, agriculture production, better nutrition, and sustainable development," he said. "Our role is to be a leader in assisting countries to improve land governance and the behaviour of private investors."

Lisa Dreier, a senior director working on food security and development at the WEF, said its New Vision for Agriculture helped found the Grow Africa initiative, which created 33,000 jobs and gave 2.6 million small farmers in Africa access to technology, financing and new markets.

"Smallholder farmers are key to the future success of Africa's agriculture and governments can support them by implementing clear rules on land ownership that protect smallholder rights and encourage investment," she added.

What is a land grab?

"Many land deals are, in fact, land grabs carried out without proper consultation, consent and compensation," says ActionAid.

The NGO uses a definition of land grabs that draws on the Tirana declaration, agreed at a 2011 international conference. The declaration defines land grabs as deals that are "in violation of human rights, particularly the equal rights of women, not based on principles of free, prior and informed consent, or are in disregard or fail to thoroughly assess social, economic and environmental impacts, not based on transparent contracts … " or are not based on "effective democratic planning, independent oversight and meaningful participation".

Conclusive, independent data on the scale of land grabs worldwide is hard to come by. ActionAid's report looks at data from the international Land Matrix project, which suggests that the vast majority of large-scale deals have been struck in sub-Saharan Africa (41%), south-east Asia (32%), and the Americas and Caribbean (19%).

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Best of our wild blogs: 21 May 14

Conversations on Sustainable Singapore (Energy and Climate Change) from Green Future Solutions

24 May Sat’14: Heritage Walk @4PM
from a.t.Bukit Brown. Heritage. Habitat. History.

Help stop mass balloon release on 15 Jun at Marina Barrage
from wild shores of singapore

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Buy home-grown produce at Kranji farmers' market

Audrey Tan The Straits Times AsiaOne 21 May 14;

Stock up on fresh goat milk, quail eggs and tilapia fish - all "made in Singapore" and for sale at an upcoming fair featuring the island's very own farmers.

The Kranji Countryside Farmers' Market next month is the first to focus on the produce of farmers who till the soil here.

Other fairs like Pasarbella - touted as Singapore's first permanent farmers' market - and the fortnightly Loewen Gardens Market in Dempsey are known more for gourmet products including cheese, meat and olive oil that may have been imported from abroad.

But the Kranji event, to be held on June 28 and 29, will have 30 stalls all selling produce grown, reared or made locally.

Visitors can buy quail eggs laid by the birds at Lian Wah Hang farm, fresh goat's milk from Hay Dairies, leafy greens such as chye sim and xiao bai cai from Quan Fa farm, as well as artisan and locally made products ranging from granola to chilli and herbal skincare products.

About half the stalls will be set up by farms under the Kranji Countryside Association, a coalition of 40 farms that is hosting the fair.

Its president Kenny Eng told The Straits Times that the farmers' market would help make Singaporeans more aware of locally produced food. "Singaporeans can come to the farmers' market to purchase local products at one go."

Nearly three in 10 eggs consumed here last year are home- grown. The same goes for 12 per cent of leafy vegetables and 8 per cent of fish, going by figures from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority. The figures are similar to those in 2012 and 2011.

The fair will also feature small Singaporean food businesses including GSH Conserves, which sells jam, tea-seller Amuse Projects, and Hunter's Kitchenette - a firm that makes butter from nuts such as pistachio, hazelnut and almond.

The farmers' market is the association's latest activity to promote local agriculture and food production, eco-tourism, education and conservation.

Since it was established in 2005, the group has rolled out activities such as farm tours and even a run last August, to promote the countryside as a lifestyle destination.

Sales manager Amy Quek, 56, said the farmers' market was too "out of the way", though the idea was novel. "It's an innovative idea to sell fresh produce from the farmers here, but if I don't drive, I might not go."

Visitors who do not drive can take a shuttle service that departs from Kranji MRT station at roughly 11/2-hour intervals. A round trip to the countryside, including stops at farms along the route, costs $3 for an adult and $2 for a child and senior citizen.

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Countries need to cooperate for anti-haze laws to work: Balakrishnan

Singapore’s proposed Bill cannot be implemented in isolation, says minister
Neo Chai Chin Today Online 21 May 14;

SINGAPORE — It would be simplistic to think Singapore’s proposed anti-haze laws alone can solve the region’s haze problem, said Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday, as he issued a call for cooperation among the authorities from various countries.

Without inter-governmental cooperation, Singapore’s proposed law — which provides for fines up to S$300,000 on companies carrying out activities outside the Republic that result in unhealthy levels of haze on the island — would not work, he said at a dialogue on sustainable world resources organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) yesterday.

“Otherwise, there will be difficulties adducing enough evidence that could stand the test of the court of law,” Dr Balakrishnan told an audience consisting of key commodities and finance players, as well as non-governmental organisations from the region, at the Grand Hyatt.

“So, this call for cooperation among the authorities is a sincere one; this is not something we can embark on unilaterally,” he said, adding that amendments would be made to the proposed Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill before it is likely tabled in Parliament later this year.

Singapore would also encourage other countries to consider formulating or revising their laws to prevent companies from exploiting resources unsustainably or harming their people, he said, without referring to any specific country.

Dr Balakrishnan’s comments came as a senior Indonesian official cited fragmented authority and bad governance as key challenges in sustainable resource management. The splitting of tasks and activities — such as control over spatial plans and land use conversions — has hampered the search for long-term solutions, said Mr Agus Purnomo, special staff to the President for Climate Change in Indonesia.

Dr Balakrishnan, who had previously expressed frustration over the lack of sharing of concession maps among countries affected by the haze, noted several major moves towards transparency, such as the World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch monitoring system and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s (RSPO) recent resolution for its members to make concession boundaries publicly available on the RSPO website.

Asked by SIIA chairman SimonTay about evidence reaching the threshold demanded by the court, Dr Balakrishnan said it was up to a judge to decide but, “in the court of public opinion, that may be good enough”.

Meanwhile, captains of industry and experts also noted that more businesses were moving towards sustainability, but at different speeds.

With the world population rising — throwing up issues of food, water and energy security — commodities giant Olam International’s chief executive Sunny Verghese highlighted the tension between private profits and public losses, as well as the need to account for externalities.

A study in 2011 estimated that environmental damage amounted to nearly 40 per cent of the profit of the world’s 3,000 largest corporations.

Mr Verghese said his calculation of Olam’s footprint, in terms of water extraction, carbon dioxide and bio-waste emissions, was about half of the firm’s profits last year.

“So 50 per cent of the profit I’ve generated, I’ve actually taken from Mother Nature and depleted natural capital,” he said. “And, because its back office is not set up as yet, it’s not showing me those invoices.”

Govt has to balance environmental laws right: Balakrishnan
Monica Kotwani Channel NewsAsia 20 May 14;

SINGAPORE: The Singapore government has to get its balance right in implementing environmental legislation, said Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan at a dialogue session on sustainable world resources on Tuesday.

He added that Singapore's draft bill on transboundary haze pollution does not interfere with the laws of other regions, but has been crafted to illustrate a global challenge.

Panellists and speakers engaged the crowd of almost 300 people at the first Sustainable World Resources dialogue, which was organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

The theme may have been on world resources, but much of the discussion centred on sustainable palm oil production.

It was a chance for all stakeholders -- from the large palm oil corporations to non-government organisations and to the banks that finance such investments -- to clear the air on an issue that's dogged the region for decades.

At the heart of the haze issue is environmental degradation -- drying peat and using it as fuel to clear land with fires, which produce thick smoke and release carbon that has been stored for years.

Experts say enforcement to prevent illegal clearing of land is fraught with challenges.

"You can have all the good intentions in Jakarta or at local level, but no one will really be able to implement because the authorities have been fragmented: different authorities, different agencies, and different levels of governments,” said Agus Purnomo, Special Staff to the President on Climate Change.

Mr Agus said tackling the issue involves collaborating with the private sector, many of whom have pledged a policy against deforestation, peat and exploitation.

The answer could lie with Singapore's draft bill on transboundary haze pollution, but by striking a balance.

"A lot more can still be done on the ground by NGOs, by sharing, by transparency without getting heavy-handed about it,” said Dr Balakrishnan.

“It would be counter-productive for Singapore to take an overly legalistic, burdensome regime that makes it in fact more difficult for responsible companies to do business here. So we've got to get the balance right."

For companies on the right path, Dr Balakrishnan said there is also the need to tilt the playing field in their favour, so that others follow suit.

- CNA/ec

Transboundary haze Bill 'not shrouded in secrecy'
Feng Zengkun The Straits Times AsiaOne 21 May 14;

SINGAPORE'S proposed transboundary haze law is not an attempt to interfere with other countries, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said yesterday.

The Republic has been transparent and answered its neighbours' questions about the Bill, he said at the inaugural Singapore Dialogue on Sustainable World Resources.

Responding to a question on whether the Bill went beyond ASEAN's principle of non-interference, Dr Balakrishnan said: "The Bill has not been hatched in secret, and there are no surprises.

"We've done it in an open manner because I know that, ultimately, we need to work together if it is going to have any effect."

The minister also gave the keynote address on Singapore's vision on sustainability and the haze.

Under the proposed law, companies and other entities that have fires on their land leading to transboundary haze in Singapore will be deemed to have committed an offence.

The law will also allow those affected by haze to bring civil suits against such companies. For instance, a construction firm that has to stop work could theoretically sue for damages.

The Bill is expected be tabled in Parliament later this year.

A sticking point in ASEAN discussions about the haze has been some governments' reluctance to share concession maps, needed to show firms burning land illegally.

Yesterday, Dr Balakrishnan said there are reliable maps compiled by non-government groups such as the World Resources Institute (WRI).

"The question is, will the evidence reach the level demanded by the court?" he said. "Can I take a WRI map and go to court and say, this is enough to convict a company? That's something only a judge in court can answer."

The dialogue, held at the Grand Hyatt Singapore Hotel, was organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

It brought together policymakers, business leaders and non-government organisations to address the issues of climate change, and the connections between trade, the environment, investment and corporate social responsibility.

Topics during panel discussions included how to balance sustainability with the need for resources, encourage businesses to be environmentally friendly and use financing methods to boost green behaviour.

Mr Bustar Maitar, global head of non-government group Greenpeace's Indonesia Forest Campaign, said laws were not enough to prevent, say, illegal fires.

"There is a need for enforcement. Corporations should help to enforce the law and not make a profit out of the lack of enforcement," he said.

Other participants suggested that financial agreements should allow investors to exit contracts if the firms are found to have engaged in anti-environmental practices.

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Singapore-headquartered pulp company disputes charge that supplier cleared high-value forest

Neo Chai Chin Today Online 21 May 14;

SINGAPORE — Environment groups in Kalimantan yesterday (May 20) accused Singapore-headquartered pulp company Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) of violating its sustainability policy — a charge that APRIL said was based on incorrect information.

The non-governmental organisations, including WWF-Indonesia East Kalimantan, said a company called PT Adindo Hutani Lestari supplying pulpwood to APRIL cleared natural forest on protected peatland in Tana Tidung, North Kalimantan. This took place after APRIL issued its Sustainable Forest Management Policy in January, which forbids operations in forests with high conservation value at its concessions and that of its suppliers, the NGOs said in a report.

Deforestation and drainage of peat leaves the wetlands — a rich carbon store — prone to fires.

In response, an APRIL spokesman said it has conducted a two-week investigation into the report, and found that the supplier did not violate its policy. The report was incorrectly based on an earlier draft map, whereas the supplier has honoured the forest area to be protected on the final map of its concession.

The spokesman said APRIL welcomed the report’s authors to join in a field survey at the site to confirm that the identified area remains intact.

APRIL director of group corporate and external affairs Goh Lin Piao told TODAY that PT Adindo Hutani Lestari is a short-term supplier from which APRIL began sourcing last year.

APRIL said it will continue to vigorously enforce its sustainability commitments including an end to the establishment of new plantations by the end of this year, and a doubling of its forest restoration programmes to 40,000 hectares.

At a Singapore Institute of International Affairs dialogue on sustainable world resources yesterday, Greenpeace’s global head of its Indonesia Forest Campaign Bustar Maitar called for APRIL to stop using natural-forest timber for its mills.

But APRIL chairman Bey Soo Khiang replied that unmanaged land is susceptible to illegal encroachment, and said the firm is contributing to peatland management. Providing jobs to people also improves their quality of life and lifts the pressure to do illegal logging, he added.

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Malaysia: Coalition confident East Klang Valley Expressway project will be scrapped

Nor Ain Mohamed Radhi New Straits Times 20 May 14;

AMPANG JAYA: The Coalition for the Protection of the Selangor State Park members are not giving up hope that the approved East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) will be scrapped.

The coalition, which comprises Malaysian Nature Society, Save Our Sungai (SOS) Selangor, Treat Every Environment Special Sdn Bhd (TrEES) and WWF Malaysia said it would continue to ensure that part of the Selangor State Park (SSP) will not be degazetted to make way for the highway project.

TrEES director Leela Panikkar, said the proposed de-gazettement which involves 106.55ha of land from four forest reserves in Ampang, Bukit Seputeh, Ulu Gombak and Ulu Langat would only create environmental problems in the area.

"As for the Ampang and Ulu Gombak Forest Reserves, both are important water catchment areas. Recently, we were hit by a water crisis and it is supposed to be an eye-opener to many on how precious water is and how important it is to keep the water catchment areas in pristine condition," said Leela.

"Sadly, water resources are still being taken for granted. The current alignment of EKVE compromises the crucial ecosystem function of these forests as water catchments forests," she said after a visit to the Ampang Forest Reserve on Saturday.

Both the Ulu Gombak and Ampang Forest Reserves were gazetted as water catchment forests under the National Forestry Act Selangor Enactment 2005 as well as the Lembaga Urus Air Selangor Enactment 1999.

The Ampang Intake plant supplies 19 million litres of water to 9,225 accounts in Ampang.

As for Ulu Gombak, the water from its catchment will be channeled to Klang Gates Dam, and the dam reportedly supplies water to 80,000 households and business premises in Klang Valley.

She added, both forest reserves were part of Selangor State Park that has been classified as an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) Rank 1 under the National Physical Plan-2 (NPP-2).

Under the gazettement, no development, agriculture or logging shall be permitted except for low-impact nature tourism, research and education.

She said the project had been given the green light despite objections from NGOs and residents.

"It is regrettable that neither government has acted upon the concerns despite years of protest. We have given them some options like building an elevated highway on MRR2 or to extend the MRT line, but to no avail.

"Hence, we are calling for realignment of the proposed highway and both governments to act in accordance with the NPP-2. They have a responsibility to protect the park and the water catchments within," added Leela.

"We are now waiting for the outcome of the public inquiry that was carried out from Feb 14 to March 31 and we hope to get a positive feedback from it," she said.

Upon completion, the proposed EKVE will complete the final section of the KL Outer Ring Road (KLORR) that comprises SILK Expressway, South Klang Valley Expressway, Guthrie Corridor Expressway, Latar Highway and ELITE Highway.

The current phase, which has already been approved is 21.16km from the Sungai Long to Ukay Perdana interchanges, while the proposed second phase will link the Ukay Perdana interchange with the International Islamic University Malaysia.

Read more: Coalition confident project will be scrapped - Central - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/streets/central/coalition-confident-project-will-be-scrapped-1.600995#ixzz32JsqLcUv

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Best of our wild blogs: 20 May 14

Exploring a new stretch of Serapong at Sentosa
from wonderful creation and wild shores of singapore

I'm a human climbing crab at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal
from Peiyan.Photography

New signs of life on Changi Beach
from Peiyan.Photography

Jane’s Walk Singapore feat. Love MacRitchie
from Toddycats!

Butterflies Galore! : Cruiser
from Butterflies of Singapore

Lime Butterfly and its host tree Clausena excavata
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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Farmed fish consumption at record high, UN report reveals

High hopes for fishing hitting sustainable levels as rise in aquaculture decreases over-exploitation of wild stocks
John Vidal theguardian.com 19 May 14;

Humans have never eaten so much fish and other seafood, but nearly half of it is no longer caught wild but is grown in farms, says the United Nations.

New figures from the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) suggest while around 80m tonnes of fish were caught "wild" in 2011-12, global aquaculture production set another all-time high at more than 90 million tonnes, including nearly 24 million tonnes of edible plants like seaweeds.

In total, the world harvested an extra 10m tonnes of aquatic food in 2012 compared to the previous year, says the report.

"Fish farming holds tremendous promise in responding to surging demand for food which is taking place due to global population growth," the report says.

But the UN was upbeat on global fish stocks, identifying a marginal decrease from 30% to 28.8% in the over-exploitation of the stocks which it assessed.

"71.2% of the fish stocks are being fished within biologically sustainable levels. Of these, fully-fished stocks – meaning those at or very close to their maximum sustainable production – account for over 60% and underfished stocks about 10%", said a spokesman. "This is a reversal in [the] trend observed during the past few years, a positive sign in the right direction."

But the authors warned that the burgeoning fish farming industry needs to become far less dependent on wild fish for feed and should rear many different species to avoid wastage. Small-sized species, they say, "can be an excellent source of essential minerals when consumed whole. However, consumer preferences have seen a switch towards larger farmed species whose bones and heads are often discarded."

The rapid growth in the number of people living near coasts and fish farming's ability to keep up with population growth has seen per capita fish consumption soar from 10kg per person in the 1960s to more than 19kg in 2012. It has also led to nearly 10-12% of the world's population, or over 700m people, now depending on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods, say the authors.

The UN estimates thare are now about 4.7m fishing vessels in the world ranging from vast industrtial trawlers to the small boats used by most people in developing countries.

The human diet continues to be limited to just a few fish species, says the report, with 10 species now accounting for about 24% of world marine capture fisheries in 2011. These include the Peruvian anchovy, the Alaskan pollock, the skipjack tuna and the Atlantic herring.

Most of these species, says the UN, are now fully-fished and increases in their production may be possible only if effective restocking plans are put in place.

A record 43% fall was recorded in catches of Peruvian anchovy, which is the world's most popular fish. This species thrives in the cold, plankton-saturated Humboldt current along the coast of Peru and Chile and is essential to global fish farming. According to the report, nearly a third of the catch, of 4.69m tonnes in 2012 goes to the fishmeal industry and is used to fatten farmed seafood. Much of the rest of the anchovy catch is ground up into feed and rendered into oil for livestock.

Report highlights growing role of fish in feeding the world
New edition of FAO's “State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture” released
Fish now accounts for almost 17 percent of the global population’s intake of protein.
FAO 19 May 14;

19 May 2014, Rome – More people than ever before rely on fisheries and aquaculture for food and as a source of income, but harmful practices and poor management threaten the sector’s sustainability, says a new FAO report published today.

According to the latest edition of FAO’s The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, global fisheries and aquaculture production totalled 158 million tonnes in 2012 - around 10 million tonnes more than 2010.

The rapid expansion of aquaculture, including the activities of small-scale farmers, is driving this growth in production.

Fish farming holds tremendous promise in responding to surging demand for food which is taking place due to global population growth, the report says.

At the same time, the planet's oceans – if sustainably managed – have an important role to play in providing jobs and feeding the world, according to FAO's report.

“The health of our planet as well as our own health and future food security all hinge on how we treat the blue world,” FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said. “We need to ensure that environmental well-being is compatible with human well-being in order to make long-term sustainable prosperity a reality for all. For this reason, FAO is committed to promoting 'Blue Growth,' which is based on the sustainable and responsible management of our aquatic resources.”

The renewed focus on the so-called “blue world” comes as the share of fisheries production used by humans for food has increased from about 70 percent in the 1980s to a record high of more than 85 percent (136 million tonnes) in 2012.

At the same time per capita fish consumption has soared from 10 kg in the 1960s to more than 19 kg in 2012.

The new report also says fish now accounts for almost 17 percent of the global population’s intake of protein -- in some coastal and island countries it can top 70 percent.

FAO estimates that fisheries and aquaculture support the livelihoods of 10–12 percent of the world’s population.

Since 1990 employment in the sector has grown at a faster rate than the world’s population and in 2012 provided jobs for some 60 million people engaged in capture fisheries and aquaculture. Of these, 84 percent were employed in Asia, followed by Africa with about 10 percent.

Capture fisheries stable, aquaculture boom continues

Global marine capture fishery production was stable at about 80 million tonnes in 2012, the new report indicates.

Currently, under 30 percent of the wild fish stocks regularly monitored by FAO are overfished – a reversal in trend observed during the past few years, a positive sign in the right direction.

Just over 70 percent are being fished within biologically sustainable levels. Of these, fully fished stocks – meaning those at or very close to their maximum sustainable production – account for over 60 percent and underfished stocks about 10 percent.

Global aquaculture production marked a record high of more than 90 million tonnes in 2012, including almost 24 million tonnes of aquatic plants. China accounted for over 60 percent of the total share.

Aquaculture’s expansion helps improve the diets of many people, especially in poor rural areas where the presence of essential nutrients in food is often scarce.

However, the report warns that to continue to grow sustainably, aquaculture needs to become less dependent on wild fish for feeds and introduce greater diversity in farmed culture species and practices.

For example, small-sized species can be an excellent source of essential minerals when consumed whole. However, consumer preferences and other factors have seen a switch towards larger farmed species whose bones and heads are often discarded.

The role of fish is set to feature prominently at the Second International Conference on Nutrition jointly organized by FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) for 19–21 November 2014 in Rome.

Greater market share for developing countries, more attention to small-scale fishers

Fish remains among the most traded food commodities worldwide, worth almost $130 billion in 2012 – a figure which likely will continue to increase.

An important trend sees developing countries boosting their share in the fishery trade – 54 percent of total fishery exports by value in 2012 and more than 60 percent by quantity (live weight).

This means fisheries and fish farming are playing an increasingly critical role for many local economies. Some 90 percent of fishers are small scale and it is estimated that, overall, 15 percent are women. In secondary activities such as processing, this figure can be as high as 90 percent.

FAO, through the 2014 International Year of Family Farming, is raising the profile of smallholder activities – including fisheries and aquaculture – with an emphasis on improving access to finance and markets, securing tenure rights and protecting the environment.

Reducing wastage, curbing harmful practices, improving traceability

An estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food are lost per year -- to about one-third of all food produced. This figure includes post-harvest fish losses, which tend to be greater in small-scale fisheries.

In small-scale fisheries, quality losses are often far more significant than physical losses. Improved handling, processing and value-addition methods could address the technical aspects of this issue, but it is also vital to extend good practices, build partnerships, raise awareness, and develop capacity and relevant policies and strategies.

The report also notes that illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing remains a major threat to marine ecosystems and also impacts negatively on livelihoods, local economies and food supplies.

Food chain traceability is increasingly a requirement in major fish markets, especially in the wake of recent scandals involving the mislabelling of food products. FAO provides technical guidelines on certification and ecolabelling which can help producers demonstrate that fish has been caught legally from a sustainably managed fishery or produced in properly run aquaculture facility.

In particular, the report stresses the importance of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries which, since its adoption almost two decades ago, remains key to achieving sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. The Code promotes the responsible use of aquatic resources and habitat conservation to help boost the sector’s contribution to food security, poverty alleviation and human well-being.

FAO is also promoting “Blue Growth” as a framework for ensuring sustainable and socioeconomically-sensitive management of oceans and wetlands.

At the Global Oceans Action Summit on Food Security and Blue Growth held last month in The Hague, Netherlands, governments and other participants committed to actions focused on tackling climate change, overfishing, habitat loss and pollution in a bid to restore productive, resilient oceans.

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South Africa loses first elephant to poachers in a decade

Zandi Shabalala PlanetArk 19 May 14;

An elephant bull was "purposefully shot for its tusks" by four suspected poachers at the Kruger National Park in the eastern Mpumalanga province, SANParks said in a statement.

Elephant poaching has been a problem in the rest of Africa while poaching in South Africa has been largely confined to rhinos, with more than 1,000 rhinos killed for their horns last year.

"If we compare the situation in Africa our concentration has been on rhinos. We need to now refocus our attention," SANParks spokesman Reynold Thakuli said.

Evidence suggested the tusks were headed for neighboring Mozambique as the incident took place on the northern part of the vast national park, he added.

The demand for ivory and rhino horn in East Asia is thought to be fueling the poaching. Rhino horn can fetch as much as $65,000 a kilogram on the black market, making it more expensive than gold, platinum and cocaine.

(Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)

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Floods affect over 1 million in Balkans, destruction "terrifying"

Daria Sito-Sucic and Marko Djurica PlanetArk 20 May 14

Bosnia said on Monday that more than a quarter of its 4 million people had been affected by the worst floods to hit the Balkans in living memory, comparing the "terrifying" destruction to that of the country's 1992-95 war.

The extent of the devastation became apparent in Serbia too, as waters receded in some of the worst-hit areas to reveal homes toppled or submerged in mud, trees felled and villages strewn with the rotting corpses of livestock.

The regional death toll reached more than 40, after the heaviest rainfall since records began 120 years ago caused rivers to burst their banks and triggered hundreds of landslides.

"The consequences ... are terrifying," Bosnian Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija told a news conference. "The physical destruction is not less than the destruction caused by the war."

Lagumdzija said more than 100,000 houses and other buildings in Bosnia were no longer fit to use and that over a million people had been cut off from clean water supplies.

"During the war, many people lost everything," he said. "Today, again they have nothing."

His remarks threw into sharp relief the extent of the challenge now facing the cash-strapped governments of both Bosnia and Serbia.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said the cost in Serbia would run to hundreds of millions of euros. President Tomislav Nikolic appealed for outside aid.

"We expect huge support, because not many countries have experienced such a catastrophe," he said.

Even as the crisis eased in some areas, a new flood wave from the swollen River Sava threatened others, notably Serbia's largest power plant, the Nikola Tesla complex, 30 km (18 miles) southwest of the capital Belgrade.

In Bosnia, Assistant Security Minister Samir Agic told Reuters that up to 35,000 people had been evacuated by helicopter, boat and truck. As many as 500,000 had left their homes of their own accord, he said, in the kind of human displacement not seen since more than a million were driven out by ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian war two decades ago.

POWER PLANT

At least 25,000 people have been evacuated in Serbia, but many more are believed to have fled the flooding.

Hundreds of volunteers in the Serbian capital filled sandbags and stacked them along the banks of the Sava. Police issued an appeal for more bags.

Soldiers and energy workers toiled through the night to build barriers of sandbags to keep the water back from the Nikola Tesla complex and from the coal-fired Kostolac power plant, east of Belgrade.

Djina Trisovic, a union spokeswoman at Serbia's EPS power utility, said some workers at the Nikola Tesla plant had worked three days with barely a break because relief teams could not reach the plant.

"The plant should be safe now," she told Reuters. "We've done all we could. Now it's in the hands of God."

The plant provides roughly half of Serbia's electricity. Parts of it had already been shut down as a precaution, but it would have to be powered down completely if the waters breached the defences.

Flooding had already caused considerable damage, estimated by the government at over 100 million euros ($140 million), to the Kolubara coal mine that supplies the plant.

Authorities in Bosnia issued a fresh warning about the danger of landmines left over from the war and now dislodged by the flooding.

In the north Bosnian region of Maglaj, barely a single house was left untouched by the waters, which receded to leave a tide of mud and debris.

In the village of Donja Polja, where Muslim Bosniaks returned in 1995 to homes burned or shelled during the war, Hatidza Muhic swept the mud from the hallway of her house. Dark lines on the walls indicated the water had reached some 3 metres high.

"I thought the war was as bad as it can get, but it can get worse," Muhic said. "I just pray to God that we can save our minds, because first we were hit by the war, and now this."

(Additional reporting by Ivana Sekularac and Matt Robinson in Belgrade, Maja Zuvela in Sarajevo, Igor Ilic and Zoran Radosavljevic in Zagreb; Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Climate change will hit nations' creditworthiness: S&P

Ben Garside PlanetArk 19 May 14;

S&P said climate change will be the 21st Century's second global "mega-trend", after aging populations, to put downward pressure on sovereign ratings, which could harm economic growth and government coffers.

The report said extreme weather events such as typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 5,000 people in the Philippines late last year, seem to have been on the rise since the early 1980s but none have so far caused S&P to revise its rating of any country.

"We have taken a view that the size of devastation, while large in absolute terms, has not been sufficient to impact a rating overall," S&P said in a statement to the report published Thursday.

"However, assuming that extreme weather events are on the rise in terms of frequency and destruction, how this trend could feed through to our ratings on sovereign states bears consideration," S&P said.

S&P ranked the 116 countries it rates for climate vulnerability, with all of the 20 most vulnerable in emerging markets. Cambodia, Vietnam and Bangladesh occupied the bottom three spots.

"Their vulnerability is in part due to their reliance on agricultural production and employment, which can be vulnerable to shifting climate patterns and extreme weather events, but also due to their weaker capacity to absorb the financial cost," it said.

The 20 least-vulnerable nations were all advanced economies, led by Luxembourg, Switzerland and Austria.

Nearly 200 governments agree that deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are needed by mid-century to ensure global temperature rises are kept below the 2-degree Celsius level.

U.N.-backed scientists say that is needed to prevent a huge increase in droughts, flooding and rising sea levels.

Under the U.N., countries are aiming to sign a binding global climate pact next year to oblige all nations to curb emissions from 2020.

(Editing by Jason Neely)

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