934,000 hectares of forest in Jambi in critical condition

Antara 23 Dec 14;

Jambi (ANTARA News) - Around 44.31 percent or 934,000 hectares of forest lands in the province of Jambi are in critical condition, a research said.

Jambi has 2,107,745 hectares of forest, according to a survey by the Executive Board of REDD of the Republic of Indonesia, the Jambi provincial administration and the UNDP.

In addition, there were 883,000 hectares of forests which have been converted in status from primary to secondary forests.

Degradation of forests were recorded in locations which have been declared as wildlife reserve and protected forests.

Around 136,000 hectares of natural forests and 56,000 hectares of protected forests have been degraded in the province, the survey said.

Head of the Unit of Government Management System and Poverty Eradication of UNDP Indonesia, Nurina Widagdo, said the forest destruction is potential to slash the government income from the forestry sector.

"The government income is not proportional with the fund spent for the rehabilitation of forests," Nurina said after the launch on Monday of a book about Forest Management in regencies in Jambi.

The government income was Rp19 billion from the forestry sector in Jambi and Rp21.6 billion in reforestation fund as against Rp15.8 trillion spent for the rehabilitation of damaged forests in that province.

The spending was for the rehabilitation of 934,000 hectares of damaged forests . Around Rp17 million, therefore, are needed for the rehabilitation of 1 hectare of forest.

Damaged forests would take 752 years to full recovery, the survey said.

Rehabilitation of 883,000 hectares of forests from secondary to primary forests would cost Rp4.4 trillion or around Rp5 million per hectare.

Meanwhile, the government has only the capacity to rehabilitate 7,250 hectares of damaged forests a year which means 128 years would be needed to wrap up the process of rehabilitation of 934,000 hectares of damaged forests .

Nurina said the survey by the team of experts chaired by Prof Dr Hariadi and Dr Sunaryo from UNDP, showed the Forest Management System Index in Jambi was not yet adequate.

"The average index of forest management system in Jambi is far from being ideal. The index averaged only 33.37 percent in the 9 regencies in Jambi," she said.

The highest index was 39.87 percent recorded by the regency of Merangin , followed by the regency of Batanghari with index of 38.23 percent , regency of Kerinci 38.04 percent, she cited.

The policy acknowledging traditional and village forests in the three regencies was among the factors of evaluation in other regencies.

In the regency of Kerinci, there are nine nine traditional forests and three of them are in the process of seeking recognition by the district administration.

In the regency of Merangin , there are 17 village forests totaling 45,000 hectares.

In other regencies there are five village forests on the average.

Involvement of traditional institutions in settling conflicts between local people and forestry companies is an advantage in the evaluation for the regency of Batanghari. The traditional institution is considered effective in settling such conflict.

The lowest index of 23.35 percent was recorded by the regency of Tanjung Jabung Timur , followed by the regency of Muaro Jambi with index of 25.68 percent and Tanjung Jabung Barat 28.67 percent.

The survey said there has been no breakthrough in the forest management system in the three regencies. In addition, there was no attempt to improve transparency and integrity in in forest management.

It also said exploitation of forests are dominated by companies. Companies utilized 93 percent or 1,646,250 hectares of forests in Jambi including natural forests, borrowed forests by mining and oil and gas companies . The local people use only 116.66 hectares including 38,526 hectares of village forests , 49,703 hectares of community forests and 28,439 hectares of peoples plantation forests.

(AS/O001)

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Best of our wild blogs: 22 Dec 14

Banded Skimmer ovipositing
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Stripe-nosed Halfbeak (Zenarchopterus buffonis) @ Sungei Buloh
from Monday Morgue

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Malaysia: Experts to assess Forest City

SIM BAK HENG New Straits Times 22 Dec 14;

JOHOR BARU: THE Department of Environment is set to pass its verdict on the detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) report on the controversial Forest City project by this week.

Whether project developer Country Garden Pacific View Sdn Bhd will be permitted to continue with the project which was suspended since June 16 pending the compilation and approval of the report, will largely depend on the verdict.

It was learnt that a panel of experts from various departments, together with academicians serving as specialists in their fields, will discuss the project before coming to a verdict.

The project’s estimated gross development value is RM600 billion.

The project, an ambitious endeavour involving four reclaimed islands, generated controversy because of the massive reclamation work involved, environmental issues and concerns raised by Singapore.

The DEIA report had to be carried out following a diplomatic note from Singapore, which had asked for more details on the project and its impact on the Straits of Johor, as the project is near the Malaysia-Singapore boundary and involves coastal reclamation.

A copy of the DEIA report, made available to the New Straits Times, had revealed that the installation of a “silt curtain” around the
reclamation area was one of the measures proposed to mitigate sediment dispersion (into neighbouring waters, deemed as the
basis behind the diplomatic note).

However, despite the slew of mitigation measures to cushion the environmental impact, experts noted that more damage could be expected.

For instance, the elongated strip of shallow water, 200m in width and 11.9km in length, between one of the four Forest City islands and the Tanjung Kupang coastline will be dredged and deepened to prevent sedimentation.

“Based on the hydrographic survey, most of the dredging will be done in areas with shallow water of less than 2m during low tide,” said the report.

Dr Nik & Associates Sdn Bhd, the company that prepared the DEIA report, had proposed the use of a cutter suction dredger with hopper barges for the dredging, and the dredged materials, comprising mainly a mixture of sand, shale and clay, is set to be disposed of at Tanjung Balau in southeast Johor near Desaru, about 80 nautical miles away.

The dredged materials are expected to amount to 7.5 million cubic metres.

Because of the enormous amount of dredged material, its environmental impact is not immediately known after it is dumped in Tanjang Balau.

An EIA expert, who declined to be named, noted that the dredging would most likely “disturb or destroy” the flora and fauna on the seabed.

The report further revealed that the environmentally sensitive seagrass beds at Merambong and Tanjung Adang Shoals, which are the most important in Peninsular Malaysia, are expected to be heavily impacted by the project as both seagrass beds are in the project site.

“The close proximity and very little buffer between the beds and the project site will render mitigation measures to be less effective,” stressed the report.

The DEIA also highlighted the need to remove a temporary access road, which spans 1.5km, connecting the partially reclaimed island and the mainland.

This is to avoid further impact on the seagrass bed of Merambong Shoal, as well as to allow for better flow within the western Straits of Johor.

Forest City is a cluster of four reclaimed islands, the biggest measuring 1,005ha, while the smallest is 58ha.

It comprises four islands instead of a single one following a hydrology study which saw the need to have more water channels to allow for water flow in the Johor Straits.

The islands need 166 million cubic metres of fill material, essentially sand sourced from Ramunia Shoal off Telok Ramunia, for reclamation.

Reclamation for the biggest island alone needs about 115 million cubic metres of fill material.

The fill material will be carried by barges to the Forest City site through the southern part of Singapore.

Malaysia to decide on fate of Forest City project by this week: Report
Channel NewsAsia 22 Dec 14;

JOHOR BAHRU: Malaysia’s Department of Environment will decide on the fate of the Forest City development project by this week, reported the New Straits Times on Monday (Dec 22).

The project, a development featuring residential and commercial lots on four reclaimed islands, had generated controversy due to the large amount of reclamation work required and environmental issues.

Experts had noted that the development could “disturb or destroy” flora and fauna on the seabed, despite mitigation measures to cushion the environmental impact, reported the newspaper.

Singapore had also asked for more details on the project and its impact on the Straits of Johor, as Forest City is located near the Malaysia-Singapore boundary and the project requires coastal reclamation.

Forest City has been suspended since Jun 16 pending the compilation and approval of the report on its environmental impact. The project’s estimated gross development value is RM600 billion (S$228 billion), reported the New Straits Times.

- CNA/xq

Controversial Forest City project to know fate this week
Today Online 22 Dec 14;

KUALA LUMPUR — The developer of the controversial Forest City project in Johor will know the fate of its RM600 billion (S$226 billion) development by this week pending the decision of the Department of Environment (DEA) on the detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) report.

The New Straits Times reported that a panel of experts from various departments and academics who served as specialists in their respective fields, would discuss the impact of the project before making a decision.

Developed by Country Garden View Sdn Bhd, the biggest land reclamation project in the southern state had been suspended since June 16 following controversy over its massive reclamation works, environmental issues as well as concerns raised by nearby residents and neighbouring Singapore.

The Forest City project will see four man-made islands built in the waters in Tanjung Kupang between south-west Johor and north-west Singapore. It was reported that the islands would feature both residential and commercial lots.

The New Straits Times reported that following a diplomatic note from the republic, the DEIA was carried because the project was located near the Malaysia-Singapore borders and involved coastal reclamation.

The English daily said it was able to get hold of a copy of the DEIA report and revealed that installation of a “silt curtain” around the reclamation area was one of the measures proposed to mitigate sediment dispersion into neighbouring waters.

“However, despite the slew of mitigation measures to cushion the environmental impact, experts noted that more damage could be expected,” said the New Straits Times.

For example, the newspaper said the elongated strip of shallow water measuring 200m in width and 11.9km in length, between one of the four Forest City islands and the Tanjung Kupang coastline would be dredged and deepened to prevent sedimentation.

“Based on the hydrographic survey, most of the dredging will be done in areas with shallow water of less than 2m during low tide,” it said quoting the DEIA report.

It said Dr Nik & Associates Sdn Bhd, the company that prepared the DEIA report, had proposed the use of a cutter suction dredger with hopper barges for the dredging, and that the dredged materials, comprising mainly a mixture of sand, shale and clay, would be disposed of at Tanjung Balau in southeast Johor near Desaru, about 80 nautical miles (148km) away.

The dredged materials are expected to amount to 7.5 million cubic metres. The paper said because of the enormous amount of dredged material, the environmental impact could not be immediately known.

An EIA expert who declined to be named told the New Straits Times that the dredging would most likely “disturb or destroy” the flora and fauna on the seabed.

This tallied with the DEIA report, which noted that environmentally sensitive seagrass beds at Merambong and Tanjung Adang Shoals, considered very important in Peninsular Malaysia, are expected to be heavily impacted by the project as both seagrass beds are in the project site.

“The close proximity and very little buffer between the beds and the project site will render mitigation measures less effective,” the daily quoted the report as saying.

It also said the DEIA highlighted the need to remove a temporary 1.5km access road which connects the partially reclaimed island and the mainland to avoid further impact on the seagrass bed and allow better flow within the western Straits of Johor.

The project had initially been approved by the Johor Department of Environment in January but work at the project’s site was halted in June after the developer was instructed to submit a DEIA.

The project is being done off the coast of the Tanjung Kupang area where communities of fishermen and villagers make a living from sea produce and agriculture.

Fishermen and fish farm operators have said that mass fish deaths in the area had been caused by the land reclamation works. The developer has denied the reports. THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER

Mitigation measures pointless, says NGO
New Straits Times 22 Dec 14;

JOHOR BARU: A Johor-based environmental organisation has raised questions over the mitigation measures proposed in the detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) report on the Forest City project, claiming that it would do little to save the surrounding area’s flora and fauna.

Non-governmental organisation Green Earth Society Johor, which aimed to promote education and create environmental awareness, said the report failed to address
the issue of how to rejuvenate
the fish population, saying it had been chased off their breeding ground.

Its chairman, P. Sivakumar, said the organisation had received reports from local fishermen of an 80 per cent drop in their catch.

“It is hard to understand the basis of harming the ecology, only to come up with mitigation measures later.

“A clear example is the seagrass in the area, which is being destroyed despite the fact that the success rate of seagrass replanting is as low as 10 per cent.”

He said the destruction of seagrass would have a knock-on effect, as it was the breeding ground of marine creatures, such as dugong and seahorses, which were unique to the Johor waterway.

Sivakumar questioned the amount of compensation to fishermen, saying it was unlikely that the money could sustain them for long.

He claimed that some fishermen, especially those from the Orang Asli community, might have lost their livelihood as many were not skilled to secure jobs.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Nature Society said the project developer should have undertaken the DEIA before going ahead with the reclamation.

Its president, Henry Goh, said it was crucial that those behind the project took into consideration the feelings of locals, as it was an integral part of corporate social responsibility.

“I am concerned about the wanton destruction of the flora and fauna along the waterway as a result of the reclamation.”

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Fish, vegetables in short supply amid Malaysia wet season

Janice Lim Channel NewsAsia 21 Dec 14;

SINGAPORE: The monsoon season in Malaysia has led to a shortage of fish and vegetables, and the repercussions are being felt in Singapore.

Vendors in local markets said that the shortage of fish from Malaysia has led to an increase in prices - from an average of S$4 per kilogramme to S$7 per kilogramme.

Fish seller Leung Teng Foo said: "The supply has decreased by 30 per cent in the past few days. Fewer fishermen are heading out to fish due to strong winds and heavy rain. So there are fewer fish."

The vendors believe that the Malaysian government is worried that it might not be able to meet the domestic demand for fish and is cutting down on fish exports.

Vegetables are also affected. Said vegetables seller Annie Woo: "Heavy rains would cause vegetables to rot. We don't sell rotten vegetables in Singapore. Nobody wants to buy them." To meet the shortage, vegetable sellers are selling more produce from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

However, vegetables from Malaysia seem to have greater appeal among consumers. "Vegetables from Malaysia are cheaper," said a consumer. "I am used to eating vegetables from Malaysia. So I tend to buy vegetables from Malaysia," said another.

But the impact of the shortage has been softened by a drop in demand, due to the holiday season when many Singaporeans travel overseas. This has helped to dampen the rise in food prices.

- CNA/ir

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Malaysia: High tide phenomenon and wetter weather expected over next few days

NURBAITI HAMDAN The Star 22 Dec 13;

PETALING JAYA: The floods which have ravaged the east coast and displaced tens of thousands of people are set to worsen with wetter weather predicted over the next few days.

The Meteorological Department expects the high tide phenomenon due to the new moon and perigee to exacerbate the situation.

A perigee is when the moon is positioned closest to the earth, resulting in stronger gravitational force than normal, generating higher tides.

The department has for now issued a yellow stage alert for rainfall over Kelantan (Tumpat, Pasir Mas, Kota Baru, Bachok, Pasir Puteh, Machang, Tanah Merah, Jeli and Kuala Krai), Terengganu (all districts), Pahang (Kuantan, Pekan, Rompin and Jerantut) and Johor (Mersing, Kota Tinggi, Kluang and Segamat).

The yellow stage advisory is the lowest of the three-tier warnings.

It is issued for intermittent moderate rain expected over the next 24 to 48 hours.

When the rainfall changes from intermittent to continuous, the yellow stage advisory would be changed to orange and then to red if heavy rain is incessant.

The department’s spokesperson Dr Hisham Mohd Anip said heavy rainfall was usually expected in places such as southern Terengganu, eastern Pahang and eastern Johor during the end of the year.

“We are expecting rain in these places to persist until Christmas,” he said yesterday.

The department has also issued a warning over strong winds and rough seas in the coastal areas of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor, Sarawak and Sabah until Wednesday.

Strong northeasterly winds with speeds of up to 60kph have been forecast along with rough seas (category three) with waves as high as 5.5m.

Rises in sea levels are also expected at coastal areas of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and east Johor.

The department has warned that the strong winds and rough seas were dangerous to all coastal and shipping activities and posed danger to workers on oil platforms.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported a slight drop in the number of flood victims at evacuation centres in Kelantan and Terengganu as of yesterday evening.

The number of evacuees in 73 relief centres in seven Kelantan districts dropped from 20,524 to 20,227.

In Tumpat, however, there were 5,320 evacuees in eight relief centres, 50 more than the 5,270 people who had sought shelter earlier.

The water level in Sungai Golok in Rantau Panjang exceeded the 9m danger level with a reading of 10.34m.

In Terengganu, 4,780 flood victims were in 53 evacuation centres spread throughout seven districts in the state.

Dungun was the worst hit district, with 2,102 people from 554 families evacuated to 16 relief centres.

Strong winds, rough seas until Wednesday for coastal areas
The Star 21 Dec 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: Several coastal areas in the country have been forecasted to experience strong winds and rough seas for three days from Sunday until Dec 24.

According to a statement from the Malaysian Meteorological Department, strong northeastly winds and rough seas (category three) with a speed of 60kph and waves as high as 5.5m were expected to hit the coastal areas of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, east Johor, Sarawak, Sabah (interior, west coast and Kudat) as well as Labuan.

Also affected were waters of Samui, Tioman, Condore, Bunguran, Reef North, Reef South, Kuching, Layang-Layang, Labuan and Palawan.

The coastal areas of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and east Johor will also experience a rise in sea water levels.

The strong winds and rough seas are dangerous to coastal activities, ships and workers on oil rigs, as well as fishing activities. - Bernama

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Going, going, gone: Malaysia's wildlife loses battle against extinction

JEROME KUGAN The Star 22 Dec 14;

From 'microjewel' snails to the magnificent Tok Belang, the past year marks another sad chapter in the tale of our country’s vanishing biodiversity.

Among the many subplots of humanity’s great symphonic rise to power and domination here on Earth is the pathetic wheeze that represents the depletion of the planet’s biodiversity. While extinction of species is more or less expected in the grand narrative of evolution, there’s something truly disturbing about the natural world’s recent decline.

As revealed in Elizabeth Kolbert’s latest book, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, humanity has become the biggest driver of what some scientists are calling the biggest mass extinction since the dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid. It’s the first time in Earth’s history that a single organism has managed to overwhelm the ecology to such a degree that we’re not just making it hostile to other creatures but also ourselves.

'Microjewels'

This mass extinction was brought close to home when the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List – a list that tracks threatened species across the planet – was updated this year. In its evaluation of 76,199 species, which represents only about 4% of 1.8 million species known to science, it's deemed that 2,413 are under threat. Meanwhile, 28 were added to the list of extinct species.

Sadly, a tiny, rare snail named Plectostoma sciaphilum that was endemic to Malaysia was among the 28.

Part of a family of snails that scientists have called “microjewels” for their delicately formed shells and minute size, Plectosoma sciaphilum used to live on the side of Bukit Pancing, a 300m limestone hill in Pahang. The snail apparently found its ecological niche on the hill, living and evolving there in relative isolation for millennia.

Then, between 2003 and 2007, YTL Cement arrived with TNT and excavators and levelled the entire hill. Since the snail can be found nowhere else but on Bukit Pancing – the hill is now a lake – it’s assumed that, like the dodo and the West African black rhino, Plectostoma sciaphilum is gone forever.

The fight is now on to save fellow snail Charopa lafargei, which can be found only on Gunung Kanthan in Perak, currently being quarried by Lafarge. Despite pleas from environmental groups to save the limestone hill – it’s also home to a trapdoor spider, Liphistius kanthan, also found nowhere else – half of it is already gone.

The snails’ plight brings up an important point about our knowledge of species under threat. Most of the time we don’t even know that they’re there. A lot of animals look alike at first glance, but DNA testing reveals them to be distinct species or sub-species unique to a specific area. And they’re also not easy to count.

Tok Belang and Sang Kancil

Ask any Malaysian what the national animal is and most will tell you – correctly – that it’s the Malayan tiger, the smallest of the six remaining sub-species of one of the world’s most beautiful cats and completely endemic to the Malay Peninsula.

And yet when news came out in September that the Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) had drastically dropped in numbers – from an estimated 500 in 2007, to current estimates of between 250 and 340 individuals, down from an estimated 3,000 in the 1950s – hardly anyone seem surprised.

Despite having pride of place on the nation’s coat of arms, featuring prominently in traditional folklore and even lending its symbolic stripes to various national athletes over the years, the Malayan tiger’s fate seems destined to stalk the jungle trail towards its own oblivion – to our apparent indifference, not to mention apathy.

Joining the tiger on the sushi train to extinction paradise is a host of other species. In fact, Malaysia ranks among the top 12 countries in the world with the most number of endangered mammal species on the IUCN Red List, with 71 species about to vanish forever.

To give you a depressing picture of what we’re on the brink of losing, below is only a list of 12 Malaysian mammals whose existence is currently under threat. (EN = endangered; CR = critical)

Borneo pygmy elephant Elephas maximus borneensis EN
Borneo water shrew Chimarrogale phaeura EN
Proboscis monkey Nasalis larvatus EN
Mountain spiny rat Maxomys alticola EN
False serotine bat Hesperoptenus doriae EN
Malayan roundleaf bat Hipposideros nequam CR
Bay cat Catopuma badia EN
Otter civet Cynogale bennettii EN
Dhole Cuon alpinus EN
Malayan tapir Tapirus indicus EN
Sumatran rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis CR
Banteng Bos javanicus EN

Through it all, it seems rather apt that the lesser mouse deer (Tragulus kanchil), the wisest of the folk tale heroes of Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals), has managed to evade the Red List's danger zone. But before you celebrate, it’s only because data regarding its numbers in the wild hasn’t been updated for a few years. The truth is, for the kancil and many species in Malaysia, we just don’t know how safe they really are.

Pangolin soup

While destruction of habitat is the deadliest weapon we’ve deployed in our systematic killing of non-human animals, poaching has also done much to speed up the process. Deriving its name from the Malay word pengguling (“something that rolls up”), the pangolin is now under threat from China’s insatiable appetite for exotic animal products.

The Chinese folk belief that eating pangolins energises a mother’s health after she gives birth has driven up demand for the ant-eating mammal. As a result, all eight species of the pangolin – including the locally found species, the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) – face extinction from systematic poaching.

Still, pangolins are only one of a cast of thousands being sent to the stoves stoking humanity’s appetite for destruction. After years of over-exploitation by sashimi connoisseurs, the Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) and Chinese pufferfish (Takifugu chinensis) finally join the critically endangered list.

Across the Pacific, the American eel has finally failed to slip through fishermen’s nets – they too are now an endangered species. Coral reefs, sea grass meadows, mangrove swamps – all important marine habitats – are under siege by pollution, invasive species, ocean acidification and global warming. Hardly any habitat is safe from human disturbance.

Australia shocked the world when it requested for the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef in the world, to be taken off the list of UNESCO's World Heritage sites. In Malaysia, unscrupulous

Not all is hopeless – new species found in Malaysia!

Bits of hope

While the story of Earth's biodiversity seem headed for a bleak ending, there has been good news from the Malaysian wilderness in 2014. A new species of frog, Hylarana centropeninsularis, was discovered by University of Malaya herpetologist Juliana Senawi. The frog was already known to scientists but was mistaken to belong to a similar-looking species found in Indonesia.

With the help of Chan Kin Onn, a Malaysian doctoral candidate at the University of Kansas, the two researchers managed to prove that the local amphibian was a genetically different frog, thus earning its own entry in the big book of life.

To go with the new frog is a new flower. Discovered by Dr Ruth Kiew, Meiogyne kanthanensis can only be found on Gunung Kanthan. It's said to only flower during certain months of the year and when it does, its blooms exude a citrus-like aroma. And that's not all. Two more new species, Gymnostachyum kanthanense and Vatica kanthanensis, were also found on the same hill.

But, as you may have read earlier in this article, Gunung Kanthan is currently being quarried. If we're not careful, these plants will most probably join IUCN's extinct list in 2015. But while there's still time, .

Sources: www.iucnredlist.org, worldwildlife.org, wwf.org.my, malayantiger.net, nature.com, cavingnews.com, mongabay.com, wikipedia.com

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Best of our wild blogs: 21 Dec 14

Night Walk At Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (19 Dec 2014)
from Beetles@SG BLOG

Butterfly of the Month - December 2014
from Butterflies of Singapore

Return to Mandai mangroves
from wild shores of singapore

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Extreme weather, rising sea levels among future environmental challenges

Channel NewsAsia 20 Dec 14;

SINGAPORE: After the prolonged dry spell in 2014, a water-rationing exercise could be on the cards in 2015 to educate the public on how to save water, said Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in an exclusive interview with Channel NewsAsia.

He said the dry spell and rising sea levels serve as a warning of extreme weather in the future, which Singapore needs to be prepared for.

In February 2014, Singapore faced the its driest month in 145 years, which led to blistering weather, parched landscapes as well as an increase in the demand for water.

Dr Balakrishnan said Singapore saw through the period thanks to decades of investment in infrastructure, such as desalination plants, and in technology such as NEWater. Going forward, the Ministry is reviewing its current infrastructure of reservoirs and storage capacities, and could roll out more desalination plants.

But water demand needs to be managed. "I'm still contemplating when or how we should embark on a public education campaign, perhaps with a water rationing exercise - not because we are desperately short but because we have to make the point that we do need to be prepared and if we do need to reduce water consumption, how does it affect our daily lives,” said Dr Balakrishnan.

“So that's something we may need to think about next year and perhaps the best time to do that is precisely at the time when there isn't a dry spell."

From June 2015, large commercial water users will have to submit to PUB their plans to use water more efficiently. Dr Balakrishnan said once the companies and the authorities can get a sense of "what works and what does not", the plan could be rolled out to smaller non-domestic consumers.

The dry spell also brought haze to the region earlier. Dr Balakrishnan said Singapore was spared the brunt of it because of several factors - from favourable wind direction to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act. Under the Act, errant companies could be fined up to S$2 million should the haze hit "unhealthy levels".

Turning to another perennial problem - dengue - Dr Balakrishnan warned that the virus could take on a new form. “After having two years of predominantly dengue type 1, we know from past experience, when there is a subsequent serotype switch in a year or two or even three years from now, there is the danger of another rebound epidemic, so dengue will keep us occupied,” he said.

“We are also studying the possibility of using a special strain of mosquitoes with Wolbachia infection in order to try to reduce the population of mosquitoes. If we are convinced that it is safe, then it is possible that sometime next year, we can embark on field trials."

In late 2014, the government released the second Sustainable Singapore Blueprint, which charts the environmental vision for the next five years. It includes reducing the reliance on private transportation as well as improving Singapore's recycling rate. Dr Balakrishnan said food recycling is a key focus going forward, as it currently stands at a lowly 13 per cent.

Globally, the international community is grappling with climate change. Sea levels are projected to rise between about 28 and 98 centimetres by 2100, which could prove to be catastrophic for countries with coastal, low-lying areas if they are not prepared. To guard against this, reclaimed land in Singapore has to be 2.25 metres above the highest recorded tide level. Previously, the minimum requirement was 1.25 metres.

This will affect the land where Changi Airport's new Terminal 5 will be located. The terminal will be built on an existing plot of reclaimed land measuring some 1,000 hectares. Channel NewsAsia understands parts of the land do not meet the 2.25-metre criteria. The Ministry of Transport says they will have to be topped up.

"The airport will be safe enough from future sea level rise, but this doesn't take into account other factors,” said Dr Wong Poh Poh, coordinating lead author of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “What if there were to be an extreme high tide that coincides with storm surges? Anything can happen. You must always remember that tsunamis can happen in this part of the world."

Dr Wong said solutions can be found in the eco-system. Coral reefs have been found to reduce energy produced by waves by up to 80 per cent and mangroves can be grown to protect shorelines. Dr Wong said ideal locations for mangroves can be in the waters around Pulau Ubin, Pulau Tekong and Singapore's southern islands.

- CNA/ec

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Malaysia: Cage farming trend is in

The Star 21 Dec 14;

LANGKAWI: The demand for seafood is expected to rise in tandem with the increase in world population.

World Fish Centre, an international research organisation, re­­ported that the world fisheries output amounted to 160 million metric tonnes per annum and the demand was expected to reach 238 million metric tonnes per annum in the next 15 years.

However, it may not be possible to meet the demand as marine resources are increasingly being depleted due to large-scale fishing using technology and giant nets. Fishermen worldwide are already seeing their catch decreasing.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) anticipates that if the large-scale fishing continues, the world’s fishery resources will be depleted by 2030.

However, many nations are trying to reverse this trend. And one country in the forefront is Norway, which boasts a successful salmon cage farming industry.

Norway is today the biggest salmon exporter and has proven to the world that high technology marine fish culture is the best way forward in reversing the depletion of fishery resources.

And Malaysia is not far behind in addressing the problem. The marine fish culture using the open sea cage farming method at Pulau Simpang Tiga in Langkawi is a pri­vate undertaking led by Aquagrow Corporation.

Its CEO Mohamed Razali Moha­med (pic) said the company applied the same techniques used in Norway in its operation which started three years ago.

LANGKAWI, 19 Dis -- Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Aquagrow Corporation Sdn Bhd, Mohamed Razali Mohamed.--fotoBERNAMA (2014) HAKCIPTA TERPELIHARA.

Under the cooperation between the Fisheries Department and the Norway government, fish cages made from high-density polyethy­lene (HDPE), are brought in from Norway. So far, there are 18 HDPE cages being used to breed Crimson Snapper (Ikan Merah), Barramundi (Siakap), and two types of groupers – Tiger Grouper (Kerapu Hari­mau) and Grouper Spp (Kerapu Kertang).

Each cage could accommodate 40,000 fishes weighing up to a kilogramme each, he told Bernama during a visit to the marine culture site recently.

“This big scale venture involves a minimum capital of RM20mil. A huge investment means lesser production cost and higher efficiency.

“This is important in keeping up with countries like Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia that are far ahead in marine fish culture,” Mohamed Razali said.

Before the fish are released into cages placed in the open sea, the fish eggs are hatched at the incubator nursery centre in Bukit Malut.

The Integrated Aquaculture Intelligent Solution (IAIS) currently being applied in Norway and Scotland is applied here. The IAIS technology measures multiple parameters – oxygen content in the water, sea current strength, pH value and temperature.

“Maintaining the correct para­meters during the initial stages is crucial to allow the fish fry to grow fast,” he said.

When the fries are one month old, they will be transferred to a nursery and fed with food pellets for two months until they reach 4cm.

They will then be transferred to the HDPE cages and fed with pellets until they reach the re­­quired size to be marketed locally and overseas.

The fishes are now exported to Singapore, Hong Kong and China while the processed fish fillet are exported to Australia, Europe and the United States.

“We produced 150 tonnes this year and we plan to produce 500 tonnes next year. We have set the target that by 2017, Langkawi will be able to produce 1,500 tonnes of fish,” he said.

Apart from Langkawi, Aqua­grow also introduced the cage system in Tok Bali, Kelantan, last year and the next location will be Pulau Perhentian off Terengganu.

“We are producing good quality fish that meet the taste of foreign markets. Local entrepreneurs should capitalise on cage farming so that the industry worth billions of ringgit keeps expanding.

“If more entrepreneurs venture into this cage farming, we could create more local experts in the fisheries industry that is now de­­pendent on foreign expertise,” said Mohamed Razali whose em­­ployees come from Australia, the Philippines, France, and Vietnam.

“Apart from that, if the industry expands, the cages will become cheaper, the fish processing centres will increase and more people will be able to afford fish bred through this method.”

To generate more entrepreneurs in the fishing industry, Aquagrow has made training new entrepreneurs as its corporate social responsibility.

The entrepreneur training programme is expected to start early next year with six local entrepreneurs from Langkawi.

They will be trained on the cage farming method in open sea. When the fry grow to the required size, Aquagrow will buy and market the fish.

“We will train them until they acquire all the skills,” Mohamed Razali said.

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Malaysia: Kelantan floods worst in a decade, say authorities

SYED AZHAR The Star 21 Dec 14;

KOTA BARU: Authorities said the floods in Kelantan are the worst of the past decade after rain fell continuously for more than 12 hours Saturday, swelling the number of flood victims at relief centres state-wide to almost 20,000.

"I was told this is the worst flood season over a ten year period. Luckily the authorities are ready to serve the 20,000 people seeking refuge at the relief centers" said Local Government, Housing, Health and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Fattah Mahmood.

Heavy rain that started at 3am on Saturday worsened the flood situation.

The official Kelantan flood portal at ebanjir.kelantan.gov.my reported that Pasir Mas, especially Rantau Panjang town, had been crippled by floods since Wednesday.

A total of 11,184 people from 3,831 families have taken refuge at 37 relief centres as at 3pm on Saturday, up by more than 3,000 people from the day before.

Abdul Fattah said although there were 4,336 people from the various agencies on the ground assisting flood victims, there were a few grouses regarding the supply of food and other amenities.

He added that the authorities were doing their best to help the victims.

"There is enough food for flood victims but there have been complaints where food was slow to reach the victims.

"I have not seen so many evacuees at centres before, and food had to be airlifted to and dropped off at inaccessible areas.

"This situation is far from over as there will be continuous rain next week," he said.

Floods in Kelantan reach critical level, government clinics affected
PHUAH KEN LIN New Straits Times 20 Dec 14;

GEORGE TOWN: Two government clinics in Kelantan were submerged in waters up to chest level today as the flood crisis reaches a critical level in the state.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said the two clinics were located in the Rantau Panjang area.

He said the flood situation worsened and raised his concern about deteriorating hygiene in flood-hit suburbs.

"No one, especially children, should be allowed to play in the murky flood water as chances are the water is contaminated with harmful bacteria that pose a threat to human.

"Health officers will visit the two clinics next Monday and I will be there.

"We will deploy more doctors and nurses to attend to displaced people if more of them are found to have fallen sick," Dr Hilmi said after handing over school uniform to some 400 recipients at SMK Seri Balik Pulau.

It was reported that the flood situation in Kelantan had worsened with the number of people displaced increased to 19,715 as at noon today.

Four people have died due to floods in Kelantan, with one each in Tanah Merah, Tumpat, Kuala Krai and Kota Baru since the second wave of floods inundated the state on Dec 16.

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Best of our wild blogs: 20 Dec 14

Trekking From USR Park to Bukit Panjang
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature

Morning Walk At Upper Pierce Reservoir (18 Dec 2014)
from Beetles@SG BLOG

Pedal Ubin on Ubin day (30 November 2014)
from Toddycats!

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Malaysia: Johor latest to be hit by flood

SIM BAK HENG New Straits Times 19 Dec 14;

JOHOR BARU: Flood has worsened at the east coast of Johor in the afternoon, with 355 villagers from three villages relocated to three relief centres in Endau, an east coast town of Johor, as of 8pm.

The villagers are 18 from three families in Kampung Air Tawar, 84 from 18 families in Kampung Tenglu and 253 from 74 families in Kamping Sri Pantai.

They have been evacuated to the flood relief centres in SK Air Tawar, SK Tenglu and SK Sri Pantai respectively.

Information from the Johor police revealed that the number of flood victims are 355 at present.

This morning, only six villagers from three families in Kampung Air Tawar and 11 villagers from Kampung Tenglu in Endau near the Johor/Pahang border were affected after their homes were hit with flood waters measuring 1.5 metre deep.

Johor Environment and Health Executive Committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said the affected villagers are those staying at low-lying areas which are prone to flooding.

Non-stop rain forces 300 to evacuate villages in Johor
The Star 20 Dec 14;

MERSING: Continuous rainfall in several villages here since yesterday has forced more than 300 villagers out of their homes and raised concerns that the evacuation exercise will take longer than expected.

The affected villagers are from Kampung Che Wook (250 victims), Kampung Tenglu (49) and Kampung Air Tawar (six).

They are currently seeking shelter at relief centres set up at three schools – SK Sri Pantai, SK Tenglu and SK Air Tawar.

Heavy rain started to fall at 9am and caused water levels to rise quickly with many villagers moving out to relief centres on their own.

Mersing OCPD Deputy Supt Mohamed Shahar Abdul Aziz said all the flood victims were in good shape at the relief centres.

“The authorities have taken several precautionary measures in anticipation of the floods,” he said.

A Johor Fire and Rescue Depart­ment spokesman said the Mersing and Endau fire stations were on standby if conditions got worse.

“The department has instructed both stations to be on alert,” he said.

He added that assets from other districts may be deployed if the situation did not improve.

Heavy rain hits Pahang, Johor
New Straits Times 20 Dec 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: THE floods in three east coast states are heading for the southern part of the country as heavy rains begin to lash southeastern Pahang and Johor.

The Meteorological Department forecasted intense downpours for Pekan and Rompin in Pahang towards the end of the month.

The same situation was expected to occur in Kluang and Kota Tinggi in Johor next month.

One or two continuous rain cycles in these areas could last up to five days.

The flood in Kelantan, which has seen four lives lost up until yesterday, had the highest number of evacuees with 14,508 people evacuated, despite the flood easing in several districts. A total of 17,185 people from 4,724 families were evacuated in the east coast.

National Security Council (NSC) secretary Datuk Mohd Tajuddin Abdul Wahab said residents in
Tumpat were told to prepare themselves as the district was expected to experience a longer duration of flood.

The border town of Rantau Panjang, which is usually bustling this time of year, came to a standstill after traders packed up their wares to place them on higher ground.

Residents said the flood was the worst in 40 years as Sungai Golok overflowed and inundated the town in 4m-deep waters.

Meteorological Department commercial and corporate services division director Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said Kelantan and Terengganu were at the peak of the monsoon season.

He said last year, the two states received an average of 300 millimetres of rain per hour (mm/h) but this year it surged to 600mm/h.

“Residents in flood-prone areas should be extra cautious as heavy rain is expected to continue until the end of this month,” he told the New Straits Times.

Hisham confirmed that Pahang was expected to experience heavy rain starting in the next few weeks while Johor would experience the same early next month.

He said the rainfall intensity in Pahang and Johor was expected to reach 600mm/h, which was less than last year’s figure of 1,000mm/h.

He said the monsoon season that began in November may end in early March with Sarawak expected to be the last state hit by heavy rain.

Johor Environment and Health Committee chairman, Datuk Ayub Rahmat said the state government had learnt from the floods in 2006 and 2007 in Kota Tinggi, and was prepared.

He said agencies had mobilised its resources since September in light of deteriorating weather.

He said Johor’s flood control mechanism had improved in preparation for unexpected weather over the years.

In Pahang, there was a decrease in the number of flood victims from 1,586 to 1,556 people at noon.

In Terengganu, there were
evacuees in Hulu Terengganu (3,066), Besut (2,232), Setiu (1,904) and in Kemaman (946) and Dungun (950). In Johor, 355 people from
two villages in Endau were evacuated.

Tajuddin said the NSC was seeking help from Pahang, Selangor, Malacca and Perak to prepare truck, boats and helicopters to
send goods to villages affected by flood.

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