Malaysia: Maiden Call by VLCC at Pengerang Deepwater Terminal

Tank Terminals 16 Mar 15;

March 16, 2015 [Dialog Group Berhad] - Dialog Group Berhad is pleased to announce that Pengerang Deepwater Terminal, with a draft of up to 24 metres, located at Pengerang, southeastern tip of Johor, Peninsular Malaysia has today received its very first Very Large Crude Carrier – the Liberian-registered “MT Mesdar”.

The 333-metre long vessel weighing in 315,802 metric tonnes arrived from the Middle East to discharge its crude oil cargo at Phase 1 of the deepwater terminal.

“MT Mesdar” is the first VLCC to call at Pengerang and, the first to berth at Malaysian jetty, since the recent commissioning of the crude oil tanks in early March 2015. To date, more than 100 vessels have used the terminal which offers petroleum and crude storage facilities for trading purposes.

Phase 1 terminal of the Pengerang Deepwater Terminal which is owned by Pengerang Independent Terminals Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between DIALOG (46%), Royal Vopak (44%) and State Secretary, Johor (Incorporated) (“SSI, Johor”) (10%), had commenced operations in Q2 2014. Phase 1 has a storage capacity of approximately 1.3 million cubic metres together with six deepwater berths at a cost of RM2.0 billion with the capability to handle the storage, blending and distribution of crude oil, petroleum, chemical and petrochemical feedstock, products and by-products.

The Pengerang Deepwater Terminal, an Entry Point Project under the Economic Transformation Programme ("ETP"), is a deepwater terminal development on 500 acres of reclaimed sea-bed land with proposed storage capacity of 5 million cubic metres.

Strategically located at one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes with close proximity to the regional trading hub in Singapore, the Pengerang Deepwater Terminal project is built with deepwater jetty facilities, 24 metres deep, enabling it to handle VLCCs. The entire development may take another 10-15 years to be fully complete and will create huge impact to local communities through creation of many economic activities as it will also complement the RAPID project that was announced last year.

Upon completion, the Pengerang Deepwater Terminal will be able to handle the bulk breaking and bulk-building activities for crude oil, petroleum products and Liquefied Natural Gas (“LNG”). The Pengerang Deepwater Terminal has the potential to become a regional oil and gas hub owing to its strategic location close to one of the busiest international shipping lanes and close proximity to Singapore.

DIALOG is currently investing in the Pengerang Terminal Phase 2 Project at Pengerang Deepwater Terminal which involves the construction of the storage capacity of approximately 2.1 million cubic metres and a deepwater jetty with twelve berths at an approximate total project cost of RM6.3 billion.

DIALOG is also currently investing in the Pengerang LNG Project for the development of LNG regasification facilities comprising of a regasification unit and two (2) units of 200,000 cubic metres LNG storage tanks with an initial send out capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per annum (“MTPA”) (equivalent to approximately 490 million standard cubic feet per day (“MMscfd”) of natural gas at a total estimated project cost of approximately RM2.7 billion.

Phase 1 terminal together with the investments in Pengerang Terminal Phase 2 Project and Pengerang LNG Project at Pengerang Deepwater Terminal will synergise with DIALOG’s investments in tankage facilities in Kertih, Terengganu in eastern Peninsular Malaysia and Tanjung Langsat, Johor, in southern Peninsular Malaysia.

The development of Pengerang Deepwater Terminal is part of DIALOG’s business strategy to own terminals and tankage facilities which will result in an increase in its sources of sustainable and recurring income.

Dialog: Cheap crude driving up demand for storage facility
The Star 17 Mar 15;

KOTA TINGGI: Dialog Group Bhd, the lead joint-venture partner in a huge land-based crude oil storage facility in Pengerang, Johor, said that cheap crude oil prices on the international market are driving up demand for storage facility.

“We are seeing a surge in demand for storage since the price of crude oil started to decline late last year,” Dialog executive chairman Tan Sri Dr Ngau Boon Keat said.

Ngau was speaking to reporters after a ceremony to welcome the 333m-long vessel MT Mesdar, the first very large crude carrier (VLCC) to dock at the Pengerang jetty.

Ngau, who is also the chairman of Pengerang Independent Terminal Sdn Bhd (PITSB), said its terminals had received 128 vessels since April last year and expected 200 vessels by the year-end.

The Pengerang project is a deepwater terminal development on 500 acres of reclaimed seabed land.

Phase 1 of the Pengerang Deepwater Terminal project, a joint venture between Dialog (46%), Royal Vopak (44%) and State Secretary, Johor Inc (10%), commenced operations in the second quarter of 2014.

The first phase, costing RM2bil, has a storage capacity of about 1.3 million cu m together with six deepwater berths with the capability to handle the storage, blending and distribution of crude oil, petroleum, chemical and petrochemical feedstock, products and by-products.

“With Asia being a growing demand area for crude and crude travelling longer distances, we are glad to see our crude storage facility and VLCC berth at Pengerang are of value to our customers,” Vopak Asia division president Patrick van der Voort said in a statement yesterday.

As South-East Asia’s first independent land-based storage facility for crude, Pengerang Independent Terminal – with a depth of 24m – is equipped with deepwater facilities, capable of handling VLCCs.

The entire development will take another 10 to 15 years to be fully completed.

Dialog is currently investing in the second phase of the project, which involves the construction of storage capacity of about 2.1 million cu m and a deepwater jetty with 12 berths at an approximate total project cost of RM6.3bil.

Dialog is also currently investing in the Pengerang LNG project for the development of LNG regasification facilities comprising a regasification unit and two units of 200,000 cu m LNG storage tanks with an initial send-out capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per year (equivalent to about 490 million standard cu ft per day of natural gas) at a total estimated project cost of about RM2.7bil.

Supertanker docks at Johor terminal
Reme Ahmad The Straits Times AsiaOne 18 Mar 15;

THE first supertanker to dock in Malaysia tied up at Johor's Pengerang Independent Terminals jetty yesterday - marking a big step in the country's efforts to grow its oil tanking business.

The 333-metre long MT Mesdar unloaded its one million barrels of Middle East crude cargo at a time when global oil trading is in a flux after steep price falls that have sent demand soaring for storage facilities for petroleum products.

"Oil prices have fallen sharply from US$100 so many people are looking for oil storage, to wait for higher prices," Tan Sri Ngau Boon Keat, executive chairman of oil and gas services firm Dialog Group, told The Straits Times.

Dialog is a shareholder in the Johor terminal.

The 1.9km-long jetty at the Pengerang terminal has a water depth of 24 metres - essential if a supertanker is to dock.

Previously, such ships could only unload in Malaysia by using the less efficient method of berthing at a single buoy located about 8km offshore while the oil was piped underwater to be stored on land.

Another key advantage for Pengerang, which is to the east of Changi airport, is that it is "right at the doorstep of the busiest shipping channel in the world", said Mr Ngau.

He was referring to the route taken by vessels from the Middle East, many laden with oil and gas, as they sail past Singapore and Pengerang towards fuel-hungry East Asian countries.

Other ships sail in the opposite direction with goods for India, the Middle East and Africa.

The Pengerang Oil Terminal also hopes to bank on the oil trading boom in Singapore by building up cheaper tank facilities next door.

"This is complementary to Singapore. When Singapore grows and the oil market keeps expanding, it can expand to this side," said Mr Ngau.

The completed RM2 billion (S$752 million) first phase of the terminal can store up to 1.3 million cubic metres of crude and petroleum products.

About three quarters of the capacity has been leased out.

The second phase, costing RM12 billion, will be ready from 2018 and can offer an additional 2.1 million cubic metres of storage as well as storage for petrochemicals and liquefied natural gas.

In comparison, Singapore can store about 11 million cubic metres of oil, petroleum products and petrochemicals in its tank farms. Singapore also has four berths for supertankers.

Dialog is a partner in the Pengerang project with Dutch firm Royal Vopak, the world's largest independent oil storage company, and a Johor state investment agency.

Pengerang's ambition to be a major oil hub for Malaysia has also been boosted by state energy giant Petronas, which is clearing 2,428 hectares to build a 300,000 barrel-a-day integrated refinery and petrochemical development called Rapid.

The refinery is expected to cost US$16 million (S$22 million) and start operations by around 2019.

"You can't go wrong with a location like this. We call this development 'Rotterdam of the East'," Mr Ngau said, referring to Europe's oil hub.

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Malaysia: Bukit Gambier set ablaze by irresponsible hill farmers

PREDEEP NAMBIAR New Straits Times 15 Mar 15;

GEORGE TOWN: There destruction on Bukit Gambier here appears to carry on unabated, with a staggering 4ha (10acres) of its hill slope set ablaze by irresponsible hill farmers earlier today.

At about 12.20noon, some 60 firemen charged up the hill range opposite the Universiti Sains Malaysia Bukit Gambier gate to put out billowing smoke from the hill, which is part of the Penang Hill range.

Billowing smoke from five spots on the hill were visible from the Penang Bridge and in many parts of the island.

Firemen took six hours to put out the fires, which they blame was caused by forest clearing activities by hill farmers.

Jalan Perak Fire and Rescue Department senior officer II Shahrolnizam Murad said firemen had initially thought it was caused by peat fires.

“Based on what we saw, this could be most likely started by hill farmers.

“We spotted two unoccupied huts in the vicinity. They are probably clearing the land for farming,” he said when contacted.

This incident comes at an untimely as large piece of the hill was cleared by developers last week, as part of a planned housing project.

Last Thursday, environment-interest group Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) spotted a large parcel of land being cleared at Bukit Gambier adjacent to Gambier Heights, fearing a repeat of another 2013 Bukit Relau (Bukit Botak) episode.

Pictures taken by SAM showed a temporary hill trek was opened at the hill range and a few tipper trucks and tractors were seen entering the path.

SAM has since urged the state government to investigate thoroughly and check if there was environmental impact assessments sent to the local authorities before given the all clear.

On Saturday, Local Government Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow warned errant developers to follow the law or risk having their projects put 'on hold'.

“Don’t jump the gun. Get the proper approval; wait for the approval to come then start work lah (sic).

“But this keeps happening you know. We do not welcome this kind of developer here,” he said.

Chow added submission of planning approvals was not akin to having permission to start work.

“There are various stages in obtaining planning permission. It (planning permission) does not give you the right to start work.

“Only the Commencement of Work certificate is the right document that allows you to start work. The others (approvals) do not allow you to start work,” he said.

Chow added that state government can put a hold on their plans if they wanted to.

“We can hold on to their plans, take them to court. As of now, I have not received any reports on the matter, so I will check and get back to you,” he said.

Over the past few years, rampant hill-clearing in Penang by landowners and developers have irked environment groups and nature loving Penangites.

In 2013, a football-field sized portion (0.8ha) of Bukit Relau facing the Penang Bridge was cleared. After a public outcry over the hilltop being cleared without the council's approval, the developers were fined. The hill has since earned the moniker Bukit Botak. Until today, the hill appears to be ‘bald’ despite works to replant trees at the area were underway.

Last June, Bukit Kukus, on the same range as Bukit Relau, was cleared. A land about the size of a football field was cleared close to the densely populated Taman Paya Terubong Jaya housing estate.

The area being cleared was 1,200 ft. above sea level, causing many to ask how anyone could have approved a development project at the site. The local authorities have since issued a stop-work order.

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Indonesia: Country Garden to launch Jakarta project this year

Lynette Khoo The Business Times AsiaOne 17 Mar 15;

Speculation was rife about how Country Garden's vast Forest City project on a man-made island in the Johor Straits near Tanjung Pelepas will proceed after the Malaysian government gave the go-ahead for the Chinese developer to build - but with conditions attached.

But while Country Garden will not be launching the Forest City project anytime soon, it is accelerating its pace elsewhere, said Liu Zhenyu, Country Garden's group deputy general manager of marketing centre and general manager of overseas strategy. The Hong Kong-listed developer is gunning for its first residential project in Indonesia this year. It is exploring some land sites in Jakarta where "the market is flourishing, unlike Singapore".

"We are already bidding for a site and given the shorter time-to-market there, we could launch a residential project this year," said Mr Liu in Mandarin. The site it is eyeing can yield some 1,000 units targeting the local population.

Country Garden is also interested to acquire a site in Surabaya, in East Java, as well as in Thailand, where it has set up a representative office to scour for opportunities.

It was reported in the Malaysian media in January that Country Garden's application to the Department of Environment to reclaim land for the Forest City project had been approved - but only for 405 hectares first instead of the original 1,600 ha. But Mr Liu told the Singapore media last Thursday that the group is still working out its plans for Forest City and can only release the details in the second half of the year. Neither would he confirm if part of the plan involves setting up a new CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine) complex with direct connection to the Second Link to Singapore.

"There is no announced figure on the actual land size yet," he said. "It will all depend on the environmental requirements. I hope the market will be patient to wait for the official announcement rather than speculate."

But Mr Liu stressed that the key point is not the delay of the Forest City project but rather the group's fulfilment of strict requirements laid down by the government before launching the project.

CGPV, the master developer of Forest City, is a 60-40 joint venture between Country Garden Holdings and Esplanade Danga 88, an associate company of the Johor state investment arm, Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor.

The mixed-development project, to be built on reclaimed land near the Second Link off Tuas in Singapore, has drawn some flak from both sides of the border for its potential environmental impact.

On its website, however, CGPV said it is "studying the requirements of setting up the new CIQ" and disclosed that the Department of Environment on Jan 9 approved its Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) for the Forest City project of 1,386.05 ha. The original land title area, which is currently under development, measures 1,978 ha.

Country Garden caught the market by surprise when it launched 9,000 condo units at its Danga Bay project in one go in 2013 - a scale not seen there before. It sold over 6,000 units as at end-2014 and a further 400 units so far this year at an average price of RM800 (S$300) per square foot. Mr Liu noted that there will be a minor upward price adjustment and hopes to sell another 1,000 units this year.

"If you expect Johor to enjoy strong infrastructural enhancements, greater connectivity with Singapore and having its Iskandar special economic zone more deeply entrenched, it will enjoy growth multiplication," Mr Liu said. "If there is growth multiplication, there is no problem for Johor to absorb the upcoming supply of homes."

He felt that while the mega-scale of its projects is uncommon in this part of the world, the market will come to understand over time that "the company is one that has thrived on large scale and efficiency".

Some 20-30 per cent of its buyers for Country Garden Danga Bay are Singaporeans, another 20-30 per cent are Chinese nationals, with the rest being Malaysians and Indonesians. Noting that sales have slowed, Mr Liu said the group is planning to start chartering daily coach trips between its Singapore sales gallery at Cecil Street and Danga Bay in two months' time.

The group will continue to participate actively in land tenders in Johor, he added. It is also exploring Kuala Lumpur after launching a project in Selangor called Diamond City, a 100-acre township of semi-detached houses and terraces styled in contemporary Spanish design. Some 90 per cent of the sales at Diamond City were sold to locals in phase one when it released 415 units. It will soon launch phase two with around 100 units.

Country Garden is the third-largest developer in China by floor area sold, according to Bloomberg. It is controlled by China's richest woman, Yang Huiyan, 33, after her father Yang Guoqiang transferred 70 per cent of his holdings in Country Garden to her in 2007 just before taking his firm public in Hong Kong.

Last year, Country Garden achieved a 20.1 per cent rise in net profit to 10.2 billion yuan (S$2.27 billion) on the back of a 34.8 per cent jump in revenue to 84.6 billion yuan. It contracted property sales of 128.8 billion yuan, a 21.5 per cent jump from a year ago.

- See more at: http://business.asiaone.com/news/country-garden-launch-jakarta-project-year#sthash.zJkKnkUz.dpuf

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Vietnam: Forests disappear, seas depleted -- MONRE report

VietNamNet Bridge 16 Mar 15;

Vietnam’s economic development has heavily relied on natural resources, adversely affecting biodiversity due to unsustainable exploitation, according to a report from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE).

Disappearing species

Vietnam ranks 16th in the world in terms of biodiversity. It is one of 10 of the world's most diversified biodiversity centers with many different types of ecosystems and genetic sources. However, diversity is in danger because of unsustainable and poorly managed exploitation, an increase in population and rapid urbanization.

In 2007, Vietnam had 880 plant and animal species listed in the Red Book as endangered species. To date, 10 animal species have been recognized as extinct in the wild. Vietnam’s Java rhino, one of the two populations of rhinos left in the world, has been considered extinct since 2010.

Meanwhile, other rare and precious species are in danger due to illegal hunting and changes of habitat. Cement plants, which destroy lime stone mountains to get materials, have pushed Trachypithecus delacouri and Rhinopithecus out of their natural habitat.

The number of tigers, which live in natural sanctuaries, in Vietnam has fallen to 30. In the past, there were thousands of tigers in the country.

The underwater ecosystems have also suffered from human exploitation. Vietnam once took pride in its coral reefs in Co To, Quang Ninh province.

However, the reefs there have died since 2007. The coral reef area nationwide has decreased by 10 percent to 14,000 hectares, of which only 3 percent is still developing.

Hydropower plants

According to MONRE, more than 100,000 hectares of dipterocarp, an endemic ecosystem which exists in the Central Highlands, have been devastated to clear land for rubber plantations.

Meanwhile, mangrove forests have dropped from 400,000 hectares in 1943 to 130,000 hectares. People needing land for shrimp hatchery and aquaculture have cut down the trees.

The total forest area and forest coverage in the country has begun to increase, but the majority of the forests are planted ones, while the areas of forests rich in biodiversity have been decreasing rapidly and primitive forests have nearly disappeared.

Hydropower plants have been described as “evil geniuses” that threaten the country’s biodiversity. More than 800 hydropower plants have been and will be built as planned.

The actual number of hydropower plants could be even higher because many plants have been built though they are not listed in the national hydropower development program. The thirst for energy has been damaging ecosystems.

NLD

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UN report: Agriculture bears brunt of natural disasters

Mark Kinver BBC News 17 Mar 15;

Farmers in developing nations bear the "major brunt" of natural disasters yet only receive a small percentage of post-disaster aid, says a UN report.

The Food and Agriculture Organization assessment said the sector experienced almost a quarter of the cost of damage caused by natural disasters.

However, despite being vital for food security and livelihoods, it received less than 5% of post-disaster aid.

The study was published at the UN World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Delegates from the FAO also announced the launch of a facility that will focus on bringing together technical expertise and financial resources with the aim of building greater resilience within the agriculture sector to natural extreme weather events.

"Agriculture and all it encompasses is not only critical for our food supply, it also remains a main source of livelihoods across the planet," said FAO director-general Jose Graziano da Silva.

"While it is a sector at risk, agriculture also can be the foundation upon which we can build societies that are more resilient and better equipped to deal with disasters."

He added that building resilience among the global farming community was one of the FAO's top priorities.

'Information gap'

The FAO assessment said between 2003 and 2013, natural disasters and hazards in developing nations affected more than 1.9 billion people and the cost of the damage was estimated to be in excess of US $494bn.

However, the exact impact on the agricultural sector was unreported and "therefore unknown".

It observed: "There is a critical information gap in terms of the quantitative economic impact of disasters on agriculture and on the livelihoods and food security of the populations affected.

"FAO has undertaken a study to fill this information gap and to quantify - where possible - the impact of natural hazards on the agriculture sector in developing countries over the past decade."

Researchers based their assessment on 78 "post-disaster needs assessments" from 46 nations between 2003 and 2013.

The team's preliminary findings include:

=When droughts occur, the agriculture sector absorbs up to "84% of all economic impacts"
=Within the sector, 42% of assessed losses were to crops (flooding was responsible for 60% of the damage; storms were responsible for 23%)
=Livestock was the second worst-affected activity, accounting for 36% of the damage total
=Asia was the most affected region, with estimated losses in the region of US $28bn
=Africa was a close second, with losses of US $26bn

Mr Graziano de Silva said that he hoped the launch of the FAO's facility would help curb future losses.

"With this new effort, we are aiming to limit people's exposure to risk, avoid or reduce impacts where possible, and enhance preparedness to respond quickly when disasters occur," he explained.

Studies have suggested that for every dollar spent on disaster risk reduction, two to four dollars are returned in terms of avoided or diminished impacts, he added.

The findings of the assessment and details of the FAO's new agriculture resilience facility were presented at the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, currently being held in Sendai, Japan.

Speaking at the conference, Baldwin Lonsdale, president of Vanuatu, told delegates that the damage on the Pacific island nation caused by category five Cyclone Pam was "unprecedented".

"This is a major calamity for our country," he said. "Every year, we lose 6% of our GDP to disasters."

He described the disaster as a "major setback for the country's development".

"It will have severe impacts for all sectors of economic activity, including tourism, agriculture and manufacturing.

"The country is already threatened by coastal erosion and rising sea levels, in addition to five active volcanoes and earthquakes."

The conference is due to close on Wednesday with the expected adoption of an agreement on ways to reduce mortality and economic losses from disasters.

Agriculture bears major brunt of disaster impacts, new report says
FAO launches facility aimed at channeling technical expertise, financial resources towards resilience building
FAO 17 Mar 15;

17 March 2015, Sendai, Japan - Nearly a quarter of damages wrought by natural disasters on the developing world are borne by the agricultural sector according to initial results from a new FAO study released here today at the UN World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The Organization also announced the launch of a special facility aimed at helping countries better equip their food production sectors to reduce risk exposure, limit impacts, and be better prepared to cope with disasters.

Twenty-two percent of all damages inflicted by natural hazards such as drought, floods storms or tsunamis are registered within the agriculture sector, FAO's analysis of 78 post-disaster needs assessments in 48 developing countries spanning the 2003-2013 period shows.

These damages and losses are often incurred by poor rural and semi-rural communities without insurance and lacking the financial resources needed to regain lost livelihoods. Yet only 4.5 percent of post-disaster humanitarian aid in the 2003-2013 period targeted agriculture.

FAO's 22 percent figure represents only damages reported via post-disaster risk assessments, so while indicative of scale, the actual impact is likely even higher. To arrive at a closer estimate of the true financial cost of disasters to developing world agriculture FAO compared decreases in yields during and after disasters with yield trends in 67 countries affected by (at least one) medium- to larger-scale events between 2003 and 2013.

The final tally: $70 billion in damages to crops and livestock over that 10 year period.

Asia was the most affected region, with estimated losses adding up to $28 billion, followed by Africa at $26 billion.

"Agriculture and all that it encompasses is not only critical for our food supply, it also remains a main source of livelihoods across the planet. While it is a sector at risk, agriculture also can be the foundation upon which we build societies that are more resilient and better equipped to deal with disasters," said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.

"This is why building resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises is one of FAO's top priorities," he added.

New facility for disaster risk reduction in agriculture

To help countries better prepare for and respond to disasters affecting agriculture, FAO today launched a new facility aimed at channeling technical support to where it is most needed. The facility will work to mainstream disaster risk reduction in agriculture at all levels through diverse activities.

"With this new effort, we are aiming to limit peoples' exposure to risks, avoid or reduce impacts where possible, and enhance preparedness to respond quickly when disasters occur," said Graziano da Silva.

Studies have shown that for every one dollar spent on disaster risk reduction, as much as four dollars are returned in terms of avoided or diminished impacts, he noted.

The work of the new facility will be guided by FAO's Framework Programme on Disaster Risk Reduction for Food and Nutrition Security.

Agriculture remains a key sector

Worldwide, the livelihoods of 2.5 billion people depend on agriculture. These small-scale farmers, herders, fishers and forest-dependent communities generate more than half of global agricultural production and are particularly at risk from disasters that destroy or damage harvests, equipment, supplies, livestock, seeds, crops and stored food.

Beyond the obvious consequences on peoples' food security, the economies and development trajectories of entire regions and nations can be altered when disasters hit agriculture. The sector accounts for as much as 30 percent of national GDP in countries like Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, the Niger, among others.

There are also spill-over losses in agriculture-dependent subsectors, and significant consequences for trade flows. Countries surveyed experienced an increase in agriculture imports to the tune of $18.9 billion and a decrease in agriculture exports of $14.9 billion following natural disasters, between 2003 and 2013.

Key facts

From FAO's analysis of damages reported via needs assessments

Based only on reported damages in 78 post-disaster risk assessments, total damages of $140 billion reported (2003-2013) for all economic sectors - $30 billion of this were to agriculture (crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries).
When droughts occur, agriculture absorbs up to 84 percent of all economic impacts.
Within the agricultural sector, 42 percent of assessed losses were to crops ($13 billion) - with floods the main culprit responsible for 60 percent of crop damages followed by storms (23 percent of crop damages).
Livestock is the second most affected subsector after crops, accounting for 36 percent of all damage and losses, for a total of $11 billion during the 2003-2013 period.
Out of the 78 disasters assessed, 45 involved impacts to the fisheries subsector ($1.7 billion, or 6 percent all damages born by the agricultural sector). The lion's share - 70 percent - was caused by tsunamis, typically infrequent events. Storms such as hurricanes and typhoons account for roughly 16 percent of the economic impact on fisheries, followed by floods (10 percent).
The forestry sector incurred $737 million in damages and losses, representing 2.4 percent of the total for the agricultural sector.
From FAO's expanded analysis

FAO compared decreases in yields during and after disasters with yield trends in 67 different countries affected by at least one medium- to larger-scale event between 2003 and 2013.
Based on this expanded analysis, losses and damages to crops and livestock over that period are estimated to total $70 billion. Data gaps mean the total is likely higher still.
82% of production losses were caused by drought (44 percent) and floods (39 percent).
Asia was the most affected region, with estimated losses adding up to $28 billion, followed by Africa at $26 billion.
In Africa, between 2003 and 2013 there were 61 drought years in Sub-Saharan Africa affecting 27 countries and 150 million people. FAO estimates that 77 percent of all agricultural production losses suffered worldwide due to drought occurred in those 27 Sub-Saharan countries, with losses adding up to $23.5 billion.

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Best of our wild blogs: 16 Mar 15

Update on mass fish deaths: West Johor Strait
from wild shores of singapore

Update on mass fish deaths: East Johor Strait
from wild shores of singapore

Mass Fish Death Pub Quiz – Sat 21 March, 9pm @ The Hangar
from biodiversityconnections

Naked again at Chek Jawa!
from wild shores of singapore

Crested Goshawk feasting on a Common Palm Civet
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Singapore Bird Report – February 2015
from Singapore Bird Group

Indian Mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) @ Pasir Ris
from Monday Morgue

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Using ash from burnt trash to reclaim land

Audrey Tan The Straits Times AsiaOne 16 Mar 15;

Your trash could one day be used to reclaim land.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has embarked on a project to study if ash left over from burnt rubbish can be used as land reclamation material.

This is part of its efforts to conserve landfill space and prolong the lifespan of Singapore's only landfill on Pulau Semakau, which is situated about 8km south of the mainland.

"If incineration bottom ash can be used as reclamation material, it would conserve the space available on Semakau Landfill for disposal of other non-incinerable waste," an NEA spokesman said.

The Semakau landfill contains non-incinerable waste as well as the ash from incinerable waste.

A combination of sand and approved fill material - such as excavated earth and material from construction - can be used for land reclamation.

With Singapore producing more waste, the landfill could be filled up by as early as 2035, a decade earlier than the projection of 2045 made in 1993.

In 2013, Singapore generated 7.85 million tonnes of waste, up from 7.27 million tonnes the year before. About 60 per cent of this is recycled, but the amount of waste going into the landfill is also going up.

NEA figures showed that 1,700 tonnes of incineration bottom ash was generated daily last year, up from the 1,600 tonnes in 2013 and 1,500 tonnes in 2012.

As part of the study, which began in 2013, the agency is looking at how the ash - which contains metals such as iron and aluminium - can affect the marine ecosystem.

The NEA has engaged researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to do a risk-assessment study, which will include the development of guidelines on how to use such ash as land reclamation material.

NTU is working with the Tropical Marine Science Institute as part of the project.

The research project is expected to end next year. It is the latest measure undertaken by the Government to recycle incineration ash to make Singapore's only landfill last longer.

Last year, the NEA awarded a tender to build a $15 million recovery facility to salvage metals from incineration bottom ash.
And in 2009, the Land Transport Authority carried out a trial using processed incineration bottom ash in the sub-base layer of two 50m sections of Tampines Road.

The trial showed that, in terms of performance, incineration bottom ash can be used for road construction, although it has not been used in any other roads here since.

This is due to the additional processing cost and uncertainty in projected demand for the material in road construction.

Asked if the NEA will face similar challenges in using the ash for land reclamation, its spokesman said the ongoing research will enable it to see if additional processing is needed to make the ash suitable as land reclamation material.

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A Palm Oil King Develops a Green Conscience

Wilmar International’s chairman is cleaning up the industry that made him a billionaire
Yuriy HumberRanjeetha Pakiam Bloomberg 13 Mar 15;

The sprawling palm oil industry has long been a destroyer of rain forests and tormentor of endangered species across Southeast Asia, to hear environmental groups tell it. And if one executive embodied this $50 billion business, it was Kuok Khoon Hong, a 65-year-old Singaporean commodities magnate.

Known as the palm oil king, Kuok is a member of one of Asia’s most powerful business clans and co-founder and chairman of Wilmar International. These days he is no longer portrayed as a villain by activists and nongovernmental organizations. He’s become central to their campaign to prod the palm oil industry to adopt eco-friendly business practices that may start to slow the environmental damage in the region. “I would consider myself an environmentalist today,” he says. “I changed a few years ago when I saw the damage climate change had on the environment in some countries.”

Extracted from the orange pulp of a palm fruit, palm oil is the most used edible oil in the world. You use it every time you brush your teeth, wash your hair, eat ice cream, or put on lipstick. As commodities go, it’s cheap, versatile, and plentiful—palm fruit yields more oil than any other agricultural commodity. Cultivation of palm oil ties up more than 42 million acres worldwide, an area four times the size of Switzerland.

The business has made Kuok a billionaire and lifted many communities in Southeast Asia and Africa out of poverty. It’s also led to mass deforestation and a big air pollution problem. Some palm growers still take a slash-and-burn approach to clearing forests, although the practice is banned in Indonesia and Malaysia. That sends massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the air. In parts of Southeast Asia, only 5 percent of primary, or virgin, forest cover remains, according to Global Witness, an environmental group.

Kuok’s change in thinking has been gradual and owes much to pressure from shareholders and environmental activists. About two years ago, Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, dumped shares in Wilmar and 22 palm companies, citing environmentally harmful industry practices.

Greenpeace videos alleging that palm oil buyers including Unilever and Procter & Gamble contribute to deforestation scored millions of YouTube hits. On an investor call, environmentalists heckled the chief executive officer of Kellogg about buying palm oil from Wilmar. In 2013, Singapore, where Wilmar is based and Kuok lives, was covered in ash from plantation fires tied to the industry.

A Chinese immigrant family in British-controlled Malaya, the Kuoks started with a rice and flour shop before patriarch Robert Kuok rose to be one of the world’s top sugar traders. Robert’s nephew Khoon Hong set up Wilmar with a partner in 1991. Operating largely in Malaysia and Indonesia, the company grew to be one of Singapore’s biggest, with $43 billion in revenue in 2014, and it’s the Kuoks’ premier agribusiness.

Wilmar had argued that it was primarily a trading company and didn’t play a direct role in the environmental abuses—and thus couldn’t be expected to police the industry. Nevertheless, it was an attractive target for critics. One activist went on TV to blame Singapore’s ash on Wilmar. “I asked myself what we did wrong for us to be so wrongly accused,” Kuok Khoon Hong says.

Because of Wilmar’s industry position, “we were made to look like the biggest villain.” The activist on TV was Glenn Hurowitz, an executive director of the environmental consulting group Catapult, in Washington, and one of the strategists behind a yearlong attack by NGOs on the palm industry, with Wilmar as the No. 1 target.

Kuok tracked down Hurowitz. Within weeks the former tormentor was in Kuok’s office laying out a plan to change the palm oil industry and eradicate its links to deforestation. Face to face with Kuok, Hurowitz says he found the businessman interested in what he had to say. “He had not been focused on the environmental issues until we started talking,” Hurowitz says. “He deserves enormous credit for being open-minded.”

“He had not been focused on the environmental issues until we started talking. He deserves enormous credit for being open-minded.”
By late 2013 the sustainability momentum brought in Unilever CEO Paul Polman, whose company is the world’s biggest buyer of palm oil. Polman joined the talks as Unilever had been under pressure from activists. Wilmar, Unilever, and environmental groups wanted all palm oil companies to sign off on new industry standards, but most resisted. When Unilever agreed to join with Wilmar, Kuok broke industry ranks and made the environmental pledge in late 2013.

Wilmar and Unilever announced that not only would they abide by sustainable principles but they would also force their suppliers to do the same. They effectively promised that no trees of any kind, peat land, or orangutans were damaged or hurt in the making of the products. More companies jumped on board with zero-deforestation pledges. McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, and Starbucks are among more than 30 companies with commitments to buy palm oil that’s certified as sustainable by the end of 2015.

Wilmar and Unilever are backing a database system that asks companies involved in the sale and purchase of palm oil to detail their transactions. If it works, industry players will be able to check the original source of their palm oil and determine whether the supplier is compliant with environmentally friendly practices. Yet another tool, an online map built by the World Resources Institute environmental group, uses satellite imagery to identify forest fires and tree clearing. In January, Wilmar set up a website that catalogs its supplier mills and plantations and lets visitors to the site check whether these are in an area that’s been deforested.

The push to clean up palm oil production faces big challenges. It’s a fragmented industry, and not every company has joined the sustainability push. Nor are the initiatives Wilmar and others have signed on to legally binding. Restoring the lost rain forests and animal habitats will take decades.

Still, the campaign is more than a public-relations gesture, says Dave McLaughlin, vice president for agriculture at the World Wildlife Fund: “They’re putting their credibility on the line.” These global companies, he says, “really are exposed on the palm oil issue. It’s difficult. The circumstances and the issues are not easy, but they’re doing it.”

The bottom line: Wilmar’s and Unilever’s push to stop deforestation in the palm oil industry has moved other big companies to follow suit.

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Malaysia: Prolonged dry spell hits northern Sabah districts

The Star 16 Mar 15;

KOTA KINABALU: A prolonged dry spell in Sabah with low river levels has prompted fears of water supply shortfall, especially in the drought-prone northern districts of Matung­gong, Kudat and Pitas.

Worried that the situation could worsen if the dry spell persists for another month or so, many rural folk have started digging wells for their water supply.

“The situation is not that serious as there is still water from the wells. But if the rain doesn’t come next month, things could get worse,” said Jailani Hamdan, the state assemblyman for Matunggong, which was one of the worst-hit districts during the 1998 drought.

He said that despite the dry spell since February, most rural folk in Matunggong were still able to cultivate their crops.

Sabah Meteorological Services Department director Abdul Malek Tussin said wetter weather was expected by May with the onset of the inter-monsoon season.

“The current dry spell is characteristic of the ending of the current north-east monsoon,” he added.

A Sabah Water Department official said the water supply situation in the state was still under control.

However, he urged consumers to conserve water and avoid wastage.

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Global dependence on food imports leaves countries vulnerable

Chris Arsenault PlanetArk 16 Mar 15;

ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Global grain imports have increased more than fivefold over the past half century, stoking fears that countries have become too dependent on the vagaries of international markets for their food, an environmental researcher said.

If prices rise, or wild weather prompts countries to impose grain export bans, as Russia did in 2010, nations heavily dependent on imports could face crisis.

More than a third of countries import at least 25 percent of their grains, an increase of 57 percent since 1961, said Gary Gardner, a researcher at the Worldwatch Institute in Washington.

Thirteen countries were 100 percent dependent on imports for their grain supply by 2013, an 18 percent increase from 1961, said Gardner, author of the report "Food Trade and Self-Sufficiency" published this week.

World grain imports rose from just over 50 million tonnes in 1961 to more than 300 million tonnes in 2013, the report said.

"More and more countries depend on global markets for their food - that creates vulnerability," Gardner told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Friday.

Russia's 2010 ban was partially responsible for triggering social unrest and a revolution in Egypt as more than 500,000 tonnes were not supplied and global prices rose damaging Egypt's state bread subsidy program, a farm lobby group said.

Global food prices are currently at their lowest levels in more than four-and-a-half years, the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture organisation (FAO) reported this month.

But population growth, expanding appetites for meat in developing countries - which requires grain for feed - and environmental pressures mean this trend won't last forever.

Governments should do their best to protect farmland and water resources, Gardner said, to nurture homegrown production and not just leave food supplies to the mercy of global markets.

The number of hungry people worldwide has dropped by nearly 200 million since 1990 to 805 million in 2014, according to the FAO.

However population pressures and economic growth are leading countries to convert farmland into urban or suburban areas. In the United States alone, agricultural lands the size of Indiana were "paved-over" between 1982 and 2007, Gardner said.

"National agricultural endowments need to be protected," he said. "The market has an important role to play but it shouldn't be the final arbiter of who gets food and where it comes from."

(Reporting By Chris Arsenault; Editing by Ros Russell)

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UK could double its fish catch if quotas allowed stocks to recover, says study

Following scientific advice on rebuilding overfished species would double British catches within a decade creating thousands more jobs, study suggests
Fiona Harvey The Guardian 13 Mar 15;

Fishermen in the UK could benefit from doubled fish catches within a decade and an expanded industry, if European Union fishing quotas were in line with scientific advice, a new study has found.

British fleets would be able to land 1.1bn tonnes of fish a year – up from about 560m at present – within a decade if scientific advice on re-stocking overfished species were heeded, according to estimates from the New Economics Foundation.

Larger catches, with the revenue that would accrue to them – an extra €500m (£356m) a year in the UK alone, based on current prices – and thousands of extra jobs could become available if stocks were allowed to recover, because this would bring about higher yields.

Larger catches will only come at the cost of short-term gain, however: if the UK’s quota were to be re-balanced immediately, more than a tenth of current levels would have to be sacrificed. This could be much higher for other member states.

This is one of the major reasons why quota negotiations are strongly tilted towards a short-term view.

Griffin Carpenter, of the New Economics Foundation, said: “Our analysis shows that rebuilding fish stocks can result in more jobs, more profits and higher wages. Ministers are squandering significant economic potential through their failure to sustainably manage a vital environmental resource.”

Fishing quotas are set using historical quotas and records, and the size of the fleet in each EU member state. Ministers meet in Brussels each December to wrangle over quotas, but are not under an obligation to manage fish stocks without overfishing.

Under recent reforms to the EU’s common fisheries policy quotas should be moved to a “maximum sustainable yield”, bringing scientific advice to the fore in setting quotas. However, the obligation to work towards a maximum sustainable yield will be phased in gradually over the next five years.

There is dispute over what a maximum sustainable yield is, as scientists and fishermen disagree about the size of fish stocks in European waters.

Last December ministers set quotas above scientifically advised limits for nearly two-thirds of the EU’s fish stocks, according to the New Economics Foundation report.

Cod and whiting, which are the main species in most of the UK’s fishing areas, have good potential for recovery, the report found, and if they were well-managed the stock may rise to levels at which better catches are possible, while the UK would keep its share of the quota. British fleets would benefit from taking the same share of a larger pie.

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Global emissions stall in 2014 following slowdown in China's economy

Carbon dioxide emissions stayed the same last year compared to 2013, data shows, but falling oil prices may cause them to rise again
Fiona Harvey The Guardian 13 Mar 15;

A slowdown in China’s economic growth helped the world to a pause in the upward rise in greenhouse gas emissions last year, according to data released on Friday.

China burnt less coal last year than expected, as the projected rise in its energy demand faltered along with the rise in its economic growth, and as the expansion of its renewable energy generation continued.

Emissions of carbon dioxide related to energy use were flat in 2014, compared with the previous year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday. Previous pauses or falls in the upward march of global emissions, such as that experienced in 2009, were closely related to economic shocks.

Global carbon dioxide output was 32.3bn tonnes in 2014, which the IEA said was unchanged from the previous year, while global GDP rose by 3%. However, the data is still preliminary and will not be confirmed until mid-June. It is not possible at present to say how much of the pause in the growth of emissions was down to policy and how much to economic forces, nor whether this pause is likely to continue.

The dramatic fall in the price of oil over the last few months will also be an important factor in whether emissions rise again next year, as cheaper oil is associated with increasing greenhouse gas levels.

Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the IEA, warned that the apparent one-year pause in the growth of emissions was too soon to regard policies as successful. She said: “The latest data on emissions are indeed encouraging, but this is no time for complacency, and certainly not the time to use this positive news as an excuse to stall further action.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned in 2007 that global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by around 2020 for the world to stay on track to hold global temperature rises to no more than 2C on average, the level regarded as the limit of safety beyond which the effects of climate change are likely to become irreversible and catastrophic.

Global governments will meet in Paris this December to discuss a possible new agreement on climate change to include commitments on curbing emissions after 2020, when current commitments end.

Ed Davey, the UK energy and climate secretary, said: “These figures show that green growth is achievable not just for Britain but for the world. However we cannot be complacent – we need to dramatically cut emissions, not just stop their growth. Getting a new global climate deal is absolutely vital, and the year ahead is going to be of critical importance.”

Ahead of the Paris conference, governments of major economies, both developed and developing, are expected to come up with proposals to cut or curb their emissions in the 2020s. The United Nations (UN) has set a deadline of the end of March for submitting such proposals, but this may not be met in all cases.

Last November, the world’s two biggest emitters - the US and China - jointly announced their commitments under the UN process. The US has pledged a cut of 25% to 28% by 2025, compared with 2005 levels. China has pledged that its emissions will peak by 2030, a goal that the European Union’s former climate chief told the Guardian was “very late” compared with what China is capable of.

Future data from the IEA, scheduled to be published in June, is likely to give an indication of whether China’s emissions could be expected to peak sooner than the 2030 deadline, on business-as-usual expectations.

Developed countries in the past decade have experienced a “decoupling” of carbon emissions from economic growth, with rising GDP alongside lower emissions. However, some observers have said this was only possible because the manufacturing and contingent energy use needed to fuel economic growth were taken on by developing countries such as China.

The pledges made by countries under the UN climate change negotiating process, including a commitment by the EU to cut emissions relative to 1990 levels by 40% by 2030, will be examined by the UN in the months leading up to the Paris talks.

'Long struggle' warning on climate
Roger Harrabin BBC 13 Mar 15;

America’s chief climate negotiator has warned of the long battle ahead to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Todd Stern told BBC News that by the end of the month, he expects the US to make a “quite ambitious” declaration on climate change.

He praised China’s projected offer to the December climate summit in Paris.

But he said the conference would not itself solve the climate problem. That, he argued, would need ongoing effort over decades.

Nations are desperate for the Paris meeting to avoid a repeat of the shambolic gathering in Copenhagen in 2009 that failed in its billing as the summit to save the planet.

This time, rich nations have agreed to make their offers well in advance to reduce the chance of last-minute chaos.

Long view

The EU has already offered a 40% cut on 1990 levels by 2030. The US will soon offer – probably a 26-28% reduction below 2005 levels by 2025. Comparison is hard because of different baselines, but some experts say the two appear roughly comparable in terms of effort.

China is expected to offer to peak emissions by 2030 at the latest, and to produce 20% of its energy from nuclear and renewables by the same date.

Mr Stern said: “You can look at the US, the EU, China - you could say I wish they did a little more than that, but that is a significant target the Chinese have announced. It’s not perfect - but then nobody’s is.”

He warned against expectations that the Paris summit would produce an agreement to keep global temperature rise within 2C.

“The two-degree goal will be reached if countries execute a deep decarbonisation of their economies over a significant period of time," he said.

“So what will we see from this agreement, if we get what I would like? We’ll get strong initial targets. They are not going to be everything everybody wants but I want to caution people against looking at this agreement from a 2015 snapshot.”

China’s commitment to add 800 gigawatts of renewables or nuclear was “really impressive,” he said. “This is an enormous amount – more than all the coal used in China now. To put it in perspective, the entire US energy system is about 1,100 gigawatts.”

I first met Mr Stern when he was advising President Clinton on climate policy. I asked if he felt positive about progress since then. He replied: “I think we have come quite far but there is quite far to go. In the US, more has happened to developing technologies and putting in place regulations that will drive the energy transformation. That has never happened before.

“On the international agreement, there has been a lot of movement and we have a historic opportunity to deliver an important agreement in which all countries are genuinely part of the regime and taking action that’s ambitious and rules-based, fair and durable. If we do this right, it will send a message to markets that we are on a path to action and there’s no going back.”

The US has recently begun to turn the screw on the other great power, India, which has declined to offer climate targets because it says India is too under-developed to make promises to cut emissions.

Pressure from the other powers is unwelcome in Delhi. “This is the pot calling the kettle black”, Kirit Parikh, a former member of India’s planning commission, told BBC News.

“China is saying it will peak in 2030 but not what level it will peak, and not when it will reduce emissions away from that peak,” he said. They could hit a peak and stay there. This is just an illusion of progress.”

His comments sound an alarm bell for Paris. The great economic blocs may be back-patting at their mutual efforts – but the summit is supposed to embrace all nations.

Mohamed Adow, a Kenyan working for Christian Aid, said: “The initial commitments from the big polluters are inadequate – they won’t put the world on the path to two degrees. Anyway, two degrees is too much for Africa – we are already seeing terrifying impacts after only 0.8 degree level of warming; that means adapt or die for parts of Africa and we can’t accept that.”

The great powers are likely to keep their promise to put their targets up for scrutiny this month - but when that happens it's them who will become the targets.

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