Understanding the ocean's value

WWF 7 Jun 15;

The ocean is changing more rapidly than at any other point in millions of years – and not for the better.

The ocean feeds families, safeguards coasts, stores carbon and creates employment, yet we are allowing it to collapse before our eyes.

Two recent WWF reports detail the ocean's staggering wealth and undeniable role in supporting human and economic well-being. Those same reports highlight the threats facing this critical global resource as well as the solutions that can help support it.

Reviving the Ocean Economy shows that the ocean ranks seventh among the world’s top 10 economies. The report conservatively estimates the ocean's annual output of goods and services to be US$2.5 trillion and places its overall value at US$24 trillion.

“The ocean rivals the wealth of the world’s richest countries, but it is being allowed to sink to the depths of a failed economy,” said Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International, at the time of the report's release.

A separate analysis of the ocean focusing on marine protected areas concludes that every dollar invested in marine protection would be at least tripled in benefits from employment, coastal protection, and fisheries.

Further underscoring the ocean's enormous economic potential, the analysis demonstrated that increased protection of critical habitats could result in net benefits of up to US$920 billion between now and 2050.

Despite all of the benefits offered by the ocean, we are assaulting it through over-exploitation, habitat destruction, climate change and pollution. With most of the ocean's economic output reliant on its health, current conditions will only further erode the ocean's ability to provide essential services to humans and nature.

In coming months, governments will make critical decisions that will direct the fate of the ocean for generations. WWF argues that it is not too late to reverse the troubling trends and ensure a healthy ocean that benefits people, business and the environment.

“The ocean is collapsing before our eyes, but the good news is that we have the tools to fix it. We have serious work to do to protect the ocean, starting with real global commitments on climate and sustainable development,” added Lambertini describing the conclusions of WWF's research.

Among the most urgent solutions presented by WWF are embedding ocean recovery throughout the UN’s post-2015 agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals, taking global action on climate change and delivering strong commitments to protect coastal and marine areas.

As human reliance on the ocean increases so does the need for us to protect it. WWF’s global ocean campaign, Sustain Our Seas, recognizes this need and builds on decades of work by the organization and its partners on marine conservation. WWF is working with governments, businesses and communities to encourage leaders to take urgent measures to support the ocean and protect the lives and livelihoods of billions of people around the world.

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Best of our wild blogs: 7 Jun 15

Big stars on big Beting Bemban Besar
wild shores of singapore

Life at the edge at Terumbu Raya
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The marine trash on Tanah Merah beach is appaling!
News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore

“Marine Life and the Threat of Marine Trash” – ICCS talks for your organisation in Jun-Jul 2015!
News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore

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Singapore's green efforts get mixed report card

Feng Zengkun and Audrey Tan The Straits Times AsiaOne 6 Jun 15;

SINGAPORE received a mixed report card for its environmental efforts yesterday, even as global citizens marked the United Nations' World Environment Day.

While the Republic has made strides in protecting marine plants and animals, and in getting people to use less water and electricity, it still has some way to go in recycling and in getting people to throw away fewer gadgets and household appliances.

That was the view of experts at the Eco Action Day panel discussion yesterday. They also called for more organisations here to switch to buying greener products, for example, when sourcing office supplies.

The forum was organised by Ricoh Asia Pacific and website Eco-Business, with other partners such as the National Environment Agency (NEA), Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and Singapore Business Federation.

NEA chief executive Ronnie Tay, who was among the panellists yesterday, said Singapore has to minimise its use of natural resources and reduce waste and pollutant emissions for the sake of future generations.

"Considering our resource constraints, improving sustainability even as we grow economically is very important. Our efforts have paid off to a large extent, since Singapore is one of Asia's most globalised, investor-friendly and green cities," he said.

Eco-Business editor Jessica Cheam pointed out that Singapore had stepped up its green efforts in recent years.

"The government has come up with policies that tackle heavier issues such as recycling, energy efficiency and the green economy. The Sustainable Singapore Blueprint 2015 in particular has outlined the effort, and our aspirations to become a car-light, zero-waste nation are all very good ideals," she said.

However, she noted, there is still no legislation on electronic waste or household recycling.

"It is high time we did that, instead of waiting for multi-sector collaborations and people to become aware," she said. "Without government efforts to legislate, the progress will be very slow."

SEC executive director Edwin Seah said he, too, would like to see greater commitment by organisations and individuals to buying products from sustainable sources.

"The Government can come up with platforms and infrastructure, but the individual consumer must also want to take action," he said.

Ms Ria Tan, who runs website wildsingapore.com, told The Straits Times that more Singaporeans became aware of environmental issues after the 2013 haze crisis, and they are working more closely to tackle the problems.

"An example is the Ubin Project, which brought people together to work on the complex issues affecting Singapore's last unspoilt island," she said.

The ongoing project, by the Ministry of National Development, aims to maintain the island's rustic charm.

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900 HDB blocks, eight govt sites to be equipped with solar panels

SIAU MING EN Today Online 5 Jun 15;

SINGAPORE — Less than four years after it explored solar leasing as a power option, the Government has pushed on more aggressively to tap the sun’s energy with a first-ever tender for photovoltaic (PV) panels to be installed across multiple public-sector premises.

The tender put up today (June 5) for solar panels capable of collectively producing 40 megawatts-peak (MWp) — the largest to date in both the private and public sectors — will include 900 Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks as well as installations at eight Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Public Utilities Board (PUB) sites. The contracts for the housing blocks alone is nearly as large as all those awarded by the HDB from September 2011 until now.

Under this tender, solar PV systems will be installed at Tuas Checkpoint, Woodlands Checkpoint, Home Team Academy, Airport Police Division and MHA-HQ at Phoenix Park under the MHA. For the PUB, the installation will be at Changi Water Reclamation Plant, Bedok Waterworks and WaterHub. The solar energy generated will be used to power their facilities.

The systems will also be installed on the rooftops of about 900 HDB blocks managed by the Pasir Ris-Punggol, Holland-Bukit Panjang, Ang Mo Kio, Chua Chu Kang, Sembawang and Nee Soon town councils.

The solar energy will be used for common services, such as to power lifts, corridor and staircase lights. A capacity of 40MWp could potentially generate enough electricity to power about 10,000 four-room units for a year.

With the latest tender, close to 2,000 HDB blocks will be partially powered by solar energy. There are currently more than 9,000 HDB blocks in Singapore.

In a joint press release today, the HDB and the Economic Development Board (EDB) made clear that more tenders would be called in the next four to five years, as the Government goes for the target of having solar power contribute 350MWp to Singa­pore’s system by 2020.

More public agencies are primed to harness solar energy under the SolarNova programme spearheaded by the EDB, which encourages government bodies to hop on the bandwagon. With the Government driving the push, it will spur the growth of the solar industry in Singapore, said an EDB spokesperson, while agencies with a smaller solar PV demand will benefit from economies of scale and enjoy cheaper solar energy.

Last August, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the defence and education ministries had expressed interest in having solar panels installed on their premises. TODAY understands both ministries are keen on participating in future tenders.

In response to queries, executive director of Cleantech in EDB Goh Chee Kiong said the programme is open to all government agencies to participate in, and more than 10 agencies and ministries had expressed interest in the programme. Some examples of government buildings with solar panels include the National Environment Agency’s Upper Air Observatory building and Jurong Town Council’s Cleantech One.

An MHA spokesperson said the ministry would explore the feasibility of extending the use of solar technology to more of its facilities.

Unlike solar leasing tenders awarded before October last year, the HDB and the other agencies taking part in the latest bulk tender will not need to fund any portion of the upfront costs of such projects due to the economies of scales reaped from larger tenders.

The HDB also noted the development of the local solar industry, citing the growing participation from companies in the HDB’s past solar leasing tenders — there were three bidders in its first tender in 2011, while the latest one last year attracted seven firms. “As the scale of and capabilities in the local solar industry grow, the implementation of solar technology on a larger scale has become more cost-effective,” it added.

Experts whom TODAY spoke to welcomed the Government’s lead in calling for the bulk tender, noting that the industry would become more competitive and encourage more in the private sector to take up solar technology.

Installation works that fall under this bulk tender are expected to be finished by the end of 2017. The tender will close on Aug 14, and will likely be awarded in the fourth quarter of this year.

Bigger, more competitive solar market ‘possible with Govt push’
SIAU MING EN Today Online 6 Jun 15;

SINGAPORE — By ramping up its push for the adoption of solar leasing across public agencies, the Government would drive the emergence of a more competitive market and spur more widespread take-up in the private sector, said experts.

Mr Nilesh Jadhav, programme director (EcoCampus) at the Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N), said the Government’s first bulk tender consolidating demand across multiple agencies put out yesterday makes an impactful statement.

It will be a shot in the arm for the solar industry, and the winning bidder will be able to secure lower prices with the huge volume of orders, he said.

As a result, more parties would pay attention to the Singapore solar market, said Mr Nilesh. “This way, we can also attract solar companies from outside, which will bring in (better) quality of installations ... the really good quality engineering solutions ... will also be brought in,” he added.

Besides lowering the overall cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment, Dr Thomas Reindl, deputy chief executive officer of the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), said demand aggregation from the bulk tender would be effective in standardising, and therefore simplifying, the procurement process.

Both experts noted that the Housing and Development Board (HDB) is one of the biggest adopters of solar energy. “If we include HDB blocks, currently more than 50 per cent of the total solar capacity in Singapore is installed on government buildings,” said Dr Reindl. He added: “It wouldn’t make sense that every agency builds up and trains its own PV team on how to optimally call for a PV tender. The HDB has a long history in test bedding and rolling out solar PV systems, and therefore is naturally the (consolidating) agency.”

Mr Nilesh also noted that the solar leasing model seemed to be the only model working well here, where building owners do not have to fork out high upfront costs and yet pay for cheaper green electricity.

Despite the relatively high adoption rates, there is potential for even more buildings to be powered by solar energy, said Dr Reindl. Citing two major documents — the Solar PV Roadmap by SERIS and the White Paper on solar and biomass by the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore — he said both papers “expect a market in the Gigawatt range by 2020”.

Solar firms TODAY spoke to said they are keen to bid on the bulk tender. Having worked with the HDB on a handful of solar leasing contracts, Sunseap Leasing business development manager Shawn Tan said this particular bulk tender is attractive.

While Phoenix Solar said a tender of this size “merits close consideration”, REC Solar’s vice-president of sales and marketing in Asia-Pacific Jen Tan hopes the authorities would also focus on the quality and durability of the solar PV systems when evaluating the bids. SIAU MING EN

Big boost for solar power
Janice Heng The Straits Times AsiaOne 7 Jun 15;

THE Government's solar energy push is hotting up, with solar panels to be installed at places such as the Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints by the end of 2017.

Another 900 HDB blocks will also get solar panels, taking the total to almost 2,000, or about a fifth of all blocks here.

The energy generated at HDB blocks helps to power lifts and lighting in common areas.

The increase comes under a tender called by the HDB yesterday, the first to consolidate multiple government agencies' demand for solar-panel installation.

It is for a capacity of 40 megawatt-peak or MWp, making it the largest solar leasing tender in Singapore to date, the HDB and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) said in a joint statement yesterday.

The HDB will take up about four-fifths of the capacity.

The rest will be taken up by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and national water agency PUB, with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to be installed at eight sites.

The five MHA sites are Tuas Checkpoint, Woodlands Checkpoint, Home Team Academy, Airport Police Division and the MHA headquarters at New Phoenix Park.

For the PUB, solar PV systems will be installed at Changi Water Reclamation Plant, Bedok Waterworks and WaterHub.

The tender closes on Aug 14 and is estimated to be awarded in the fourth quarter of the year. Installation is expected to be finished at the end of 2017.

This is the first tender to be called under SolarNova, a programme spearheaded by the EDB to lead demand for solar energy.

The scheme encourages government agencies to come together to tap solar power. This government demand is then meant to spur the growth of the solar industry in Singapore.

The aim is for solar power to contribute 350 MWp to Singapore's energy system by 2020, or about 5 per cent of projected peak electricity demand.

Increased adoption of solar energy will create opportunities for innovation in smart energy grids and energy management, said EDB executive director for cleantech Goh Chee Kiong.

"This initiative will strengthen Singapore's position as the leading clean-energy hub in the region," he said.

More tenders will be called under SolarNova over the next four to five years.

With HDB acting as the Government's central procurement agency for solar panels, agencies with smaller demand can enjoy solar energy at a lower cost, thanks to economies of scale.

The HDB has procured about 55 MWp of solar power so far, excluding the latest tender.

By the end of this month, about 250 HDB blocks islandwide will have solar panels, with installation works in progress for another 772 blocks. With the latest tender covering another 900 blocks, almost 2,000 HDB blocks in total will be ready to harness solar energy by 2017.

By 2020, the goal is to have solar panels at 5,500 HDB blocks - more than half of all blocks here.

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Wildlife crime still thriving in Indonesia

Warief Djajanto Basorie, Jakarta Post 7 Jun 15;

Pangolins and cockatoos, two species native to Indonesia, command high value. They are, however, endangered wildlife. Trading in them is illegal. Two recent police busts, one in North Sumatra and the other in East Java, revealed the lengths smugglers go to in order to profit from wildlife crime. The two cases underscore the huge, shady business of illicit wildlife trafficking, which has been given a further boost by online technology.

In Medan in late April, authorities seized 5 tons of frozen pangolin, 77 kilograms of pangolin scales and 96 live pangolins. Meanwhile in Surabaya on May 4 officials found two dozen yellow-crested cockatoos stuffed in plastic bottles.

Pangolins, or trenggiling in Indonesian, are scaly anteaters. One place where they thrive is in West Kalimantan province. In the Gunung Bulat area in the district of Sambas, night poachers use trained dogs to track and sniff out pangolins, a nocturnal creature.

The anteaters are smuggled out to Sarawak ,north of the border with East Malaysia. They are then routed through Tawau in Sabah to China. The meat is a delicacy. The keratin-based scales are used to make (scientifically unproven) medicine.

Human fingernails are made from keratin. One kilo of the pangolin’s plate-like scales, similar in appearance to a pine cone or the skin of the salak fruit, can fetch Rp 3 million (US$230) for the trader.

“Certainly, if exploitation in the wild becomes intensive, extinction is within sight,” declared Albertus Tjiu, project leader for WWF Indonesia’s West Kalimantan program. The Bali tiger, the Javan tiger and the West Kalimantan rhino are believed to have already become extinct.

Kalimantan is a rich depository of biological diversity. Its land area mass is under 1 percent of the world’s land mass, yet it houses 6 percent of the world’s flora and fauna. One hectare of Kalimantan forest, for instance, holds more than 150 tree species. As for fauna, its lowland tropical forests are home to 30,000 kinds of beetle, 666 species of dragonfly and 122 species of swallowtail butterfly.

Online wildlife trafficking, especially of protected species, is becoming more widespread, according to Profauna, an environmental organization based in Malang, East Java, which tracks illicit wildlife trading. In 2014 the group counted no fewer that 3,640 online ads offering the Javan hawk-eagle, Siamang gibbon, Surili, Javan langur, palm cockatoo, black-capped lory, slow loris and eclectus parrot, Profauna stated in a January 2015 report.

The organization filed at least 78 cases of wildlife crime in Indonesia in 2014, including the attempted smuggling out on Aug. 23 from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta, of 28 helmeted hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil) beaks. These beaks are worth Rp 2 million per 100 grams. On Oct. 28, officers thwarted the shipment of 53 black-capped lories, four yellow-crested cockatoos, one eclectus parrot, three cassowaries, and a number of deer tusks on a ferry in Bitung, North Sulawesi.

Indonesia has at least 16 laws that relate to biodiversity. They include the 1999 Forestry Law, the 2007 Coastal and Small Islands Management Law, the 2009 Environment Protection and Management Law and the 2013 Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction Law, to name four. Against illegal wildlife trading, prosecutors tend to use the 1990 Living Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Law (UU KSDA).

Activities that “lead to a change in the integrity of a natural sanctuary” are classified as crimes. Such acts include poaching and setting forest fires. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison and a Rp 200 million fine.

“Without strong law enforcement, biodiversity will be devastated. When all is gone, there is no return,” declared Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists (SIEJ) director Maha Adi. Law enforcement officials confess to a common handicap. In trying biodiversity cases, they lack qualified prosecutors and judges knowledgeable of the environment and environmental law.

Weak law enforcement can be remedied by enhancing the capacity of judicial officials in environmental law. Chemonics, a USAID contractor in international development, has a “Changes for Justice” project. It supports the Supreme Court’s enhancement program in environment law for district court and high court judges.

Similar enhancement work must also be undertaken for prosecutors, police officers, environmental campaigners, investors in environment-related businesses and journalists. Officials at national and subnational levels must boost their awareness of environmental issues. The new Environment and Forestry Ministry must get involved in reinforcing the legal knowledge and capacity of biodiversity stakeholders.

A business-as-usual attitude to biodiversity would be tantamount to a license to let Indonesia’s biodiversity die.

The writer, who teaches at Dr. Soetomo Press Institute, Jakarta, is a senior environmental journalist.

- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/06/07/wildlife-crime-still-thriving-indonesia.html#sthash.fKaBSZuC.dpuf

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Best of our wild blogs: 6 Jun 15

Terumbu Raya with corals and giant clams
wild shores of singapore

Butterfly of the Month - June 2015
Butterflies of Singapore

Pellets from Tuas: 10. Black-shouldered Kite’s prey and bone fragments in the pellets
Bird Ecology Study Group

The Javan Myna – mixed fortunes of a familiar stranger
Singapore Bird Group

Article Alert! – Larval ecology of giant clams
Neo Mei Lin

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Common Rose crowned Singapore's national butterfly

Feng Zengkun The Straits Times AsiaOne 6 Jun 15;

THE Common Rose has emerged as Singapore's national butterfly, beating five other candidates in the contest held by the Nature Society Singapore (NSS).

Fittingly, this "uncommon rose" - which has declined to near extinction in Singapore - has red dots and white streaks on its wings, reminiscent of the five stars and crescent moon on the Singapore flag.

Also known by its scientific name of Pachliopta aristolochiae asteris, the Common Rose is found mainly in forests, although it occasionally feeds on the nectar of flowers found in parks and gardens on the forest edge.

Noting that the species is at risk of dying out here, the NSS said: "It relies on a single host plant - the Dutchman's Pipe - to feed it at the caterpillar stage, and the distribution of this plant in Singapore is very limited.

"It is important to encourage the growth of this plant in gardens and parks, and to preserve our forests where this vine can be found."

The NSS launched the competition in March to raise awareness of how butterflies enhance the environment, and of the need to protect them and their natural forest habitat. The Painted Jezebel butterfly, for example, feeds on the leaves of the Malayan Mistletoe - a parasitic plant of mature trees - when it is a caterpillar.

Singaporeans, permanent and working residents could visit a website to vote for one of six butterfly species which were shortlisted by experts based on beauty, size, uniqueness to Singapore and other factors.

The other five candidates were the Painted Jezebel, Common Birdwing, Common Tiger, Common Tree Nymph and Knight.

All in, 7,603 votes were cast, with the Common Rose garnering 37 per cent of them. The Painted Jezebel was the first runner-up with 27 per cent of the votes, and the Common Tiger was third with 21 per cent.

Mr Gan Cheong Weei, vice-chairman of the NSS butterfly and insect group, said the Common Rose likely won because of its "Singapore colour". He said: "That is probably what attracted a lot of people to it - they can identify with its colours."

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Best of our wild blogs: 5 Jun 15

Kusu Island: Marine garden in the city
wonder creation

Coral overdose on Kusu Island
wild shores of singapore

New LKCNHM eBook: Minnan (Hokkien) Animal Names Used in Singapore
News from Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Delightful echinoderms at Changi
wonderful creation

Predawn at Changi shore
wonderful creation

Seagrassy Changi with festive Pulau Ubin
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Dawn Chorus in an urban garden
Bird Ecology Study Group

An old record of the Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo
Singapore Bird Group

My Long Horned Beetle Collection (05 Jun 2015)
Beetles@SG BLOG

Work towards systemic changes this World Environment Day
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More visiting Lazarus Island's 'unspoilt' beach

Look Woon Wei, Miranda Yeo; My Paper AsiaOne 5 Jun 15;

Former national sailor Thomas Leow wanted the photo shoot for his son's upcoming wedding to be especially memorable.

So, two Sundays ago, the 60-year-old managing director took his son Norvin, a 28-year-old civil servant, and his future daughter-in-law to the Southern Islands on his personal yacht.

The party docked at Lazarus Island - an uninhabited islet linked to St John's Island by a narrow causeway - for a photo shoot.

"Not many Singaporeans know about this place because it is so far out, but Lazarus Island has a very lovely beach," said Mr Leow.

"There's really no need to go out of the country to take beautiful photos when you have clear waters so close to Singapore," he said.

Mr Leow is not alone in his discovery. Touted as one of Singapore's last unspoilt beach frontiers, Lazarus Island has grown in popularity with Singaporeans eager for a quiet beach hideout far from the madding crowd.

The Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), which manages the Southern Islands, estimates that visits to St John's Island and Lazarus Island have almost doubled from 26,000 in 2010 to nearly 40,000 last year.

The 47ha isle, which is about a fifth of Toa Payoh's size, was originally known as Pulau Sakijang Pelepah, literally translated as "Island of One Barking Deer and Palms". It is not clear why or when it was renamed Lazarus Island.

In the late 19th century, Lazarus Island housed several convict prison confinement sheds, only to be abandoned after a prisoner made an escape. The sheds were destroyed in a fire in 1902.

In the 1960s, the island was used as a radar base for civil aviation. However, by the 1970s, management of the Southern Islands was taken over by SDC, and Lazarus Island was earmarked for recreation development.

Although proposals to develop Lazarus Island as a beach resort were called for in 1988, these plans never materialised.

The island is listed for sports and recreation use in the Urban Redevelopment Authority Master Plan 2008. It is also listed as "Park/Open Space" in the Parks and Waterbodies Plan.

As if to accentuate its isolation from the buzz of city life, there is no direct way to get to the island.

The easiest way is to hop onto a ferry at Marina South Pier and get off at St John's Island. From there, one has to walk about 10 minutes and cross the causeway to get to Lazarus Island.

The only other way is to rent a yacht. Yacht rentals start from $590 for four hours on weekdays.

For Glenda Tan, 21, a sociology undergraduate, a trip to Lazarus Island with her boyfriend was their idea of a quiet date.

"The beach is unspoilt and the waters here are cleaner," she said.

Kalyani Basu, a 21-year-old business development analyst, also finds Lazarus a good place to unwind.

"I came here to wind down from a stressful week. It is very quiet here and I find it easy to relax."

For Shannon Lai, a 19-year-old polytechnic student, the increasing online coverage was what drew her and her friends to the island. "I read about it on the Internet, and it's really what it is; a nice, quiet beach," she said.

Theatre undergraduate Debbie Yew recently rented a yacht for her 22nd birthday and stopped over at Lazarus Island.

"Lazarus Island is a good stopover if you want to chill and get off for a while," she said.

"The water is pretty clear and it wasn't too crowded even on a Saturday," she added.

While most people agreed that the serene, unspoilt nature of the island was cause for celebration, a few hoped for more facilities on the island, which has shelters but no toilets.

"There is no showering point on the island. We have to walk over to St John's Island to use one," said Ms Basu.

"It would also be great if we could get food here," she added.

Said Ms Lai: "It's not absolutely necessary as it's not a long walk, but it will be nice to have a showering point nearby at least."

Dustbins are also few and far between. Although signs were put up around the island encouraging visitors to throw their rubbish in the bins, litter was abundant when The Straits Times visited on a Sunday last month.

Goh Soon Huat, manager of the Southern Islands at SDC, said a cleaning team cleans the beaches daily from Monday to Saturday, but the increased visitors might have caused the litter problem.

"We strongly urge visitors to hold on to their rubbish until they reach the mainland, or dispose of them at the available rubbish bins on the island," said Mr Goh.

Mr Norvin Leow said the island that provided the backdrop for his wedding photos is actually not looking its best these days.

He said: "Lazarus Island wasn't always like this. It has become dirtier and there's a lot of litter. I hope it will get better soon."

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HDB calls for largest public solar tender to date

The tender consolidates demand across multiple Government agencies and will see photovoltaic systems installed at eight Ministry of Home Affairs and PUB sites, as well as about 900 HDB blocks.
Channel NewsAsia 5 Jun 15;

SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Friday (Jun 5) announced it is calling the largest solar tender to date, which consolidates demand across multiple Government agencies.

This is the first solar leasing tender that cuts across the different agencies, and the capacity requested - 40 MWp - is the largest in both public and private sector, the HDB and Economic Development Board (EDB) said in its joint press release.

The photovoltaic (PV) systems will be installed at eight Ministry of Home Affairs and PUB sites, as well as an estimated 900 HDB blocks.

Specifically, the solar PV systems will be installed at Tuas Checkpoint, Woodlands Checkpoint, Home Team Academy, Airport Police Division and MHA HQ at Phoenix Park, they said.

For PUB, the installation will be at Changi Water Reclamation Plant, Bedok Waterworks and WaterHub, the press release added.

The solar leasing tender will close on Aug 14, and it is expected to be awarded in the fourth quarter of this year, with installation expected to be completed in end-2017.

The tender is called under the government-led solar lead demand programme, called
SolarNova, which is spearheaded by the EDB. This is the first tender to be launched under the programme, which aims to have solar power contribute 350 MWp to Singapore’s system by 2020. More tenders under SolarNova will be called over the next four to five years.

- CNA/kk

More buildings in public, private sectors using renewable energy
SIAU MING EN Today Online 6 Jun 15;

Since the Housing and Development Board (HDB) called for the first solar leasing tender less than four years ago, building owners in both the public and private sectors have increasingly tapped on this renewable energy source.

After 45 residential blocks in Punggol had solar photovoltaic (PV) systems installed on their roofs in 2011, Sakae Holdings became one of the first companies here to hop onto the solar leasing bandwagon, installing 1,400 solar panels at its Upper Paya Lebar headquarters.

Schools such as Raffles Institution have also installed 625 panels on two of the school’s blocks, while the Singapore American School in Woodlands has installed a 1MWp solar panel system that will meet 10 per cent of the school’s energy needs.

Other prominent solar-leasing projects include the one at the Sports Hub, where solar company Phoenix Solar Singapore leases 707 kilowatt-peak. Sheng Siong supermarket’s distribution centre in Mandai and the Ulu Pandan NEWater plant are also examples of buildings with PV systems on their large rooftops.

Last year, the Land Transport Authority called for a tender to place solar panels on the roofs of the Tuas and Gali Batu rail depots, which will begin operations next year.

At the start of the year, Jurong Port also announced that it would soon have the largest port-based solar panel facility in the world with its S$30 million installation that is expected to generate 10MWp of electricity at its peak capacity. SIAU MING EN

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A sustainable city needs sustainable finance

Jessica Cheam Today Online 5 Jun 15;

The world of banking and finance rarely looks to the conservation sector for advice on the direction of its industry, but a new report issued by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on the finance industry in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia may prove to be the exception to the rule.

Launched at an event organised by the Singapore International Institute of Affairs (SIIA) last month, WWF’s report Sustainable Finance In Singapore, Indonesia And Malaysia is a groundbreaking piece of research that shines the spotlight on financiers, investors and regulators in these three countries and benchmarks them against their global peers.

The report is both a much-needed critique on the sustainability of the current financial system and a constructive document on how it can be improved.

It is the first systematic review of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards of financial institutions in these three countries, which were chosen because of their role in the haze pollution and deforestation problems that has plagued South-east Asia for years.

The term ESG — often used interchangeably with sustainability — was first coined in 2004 by the United Nations Global Compact and refers to the three main indicators used by analysts to assess companies and their investments.

The report’s co-author Jeanne Stampe explains that ESG has become important to financiers and investors mainly because environmental and social issues are increasingly posing risks to economic growth and social stability across Asia.

Global banks and institutional investors are looking at their lending and investment decision-making process through an ESG lens to mitigate these risks and bolster their investments.

WWF’s report, which draws on publicly available information, finds that 18 domestic banks in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia perform poorly when it comes to ESG standards.

They significantly lag behind global players such as Westpac, HSBC, Standard Chartered and ANZ, which were selected for comparison in the report as they similarly have a significant presence in Asia-Pacific markets.

Only four out of the 18 banks analysed disclosed the use of ESG as a tool in their credit processes — three were Indonesian and one was Malaysian.

It may come as a surprise to many that Singapore banks fared the worst.

And of the 12 sovereign wealth and pension funds in the three countries, only two — Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund and pension fund Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen (KWAP) — disclosed the corporate governance and voting policies that they apply to their portfolio firms.

Temasek and GIC were lacking on the disclosure of these practices.

Regulators in these countries, similarly, are trailing their counterparts in Brazil, China, South Africa and Hong Kong on responsible lending and corporate sustainability disclosure. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Bank Negara Malaysia, for example, do not have banking regulations relating to ESG standards.

Indonesia last year launched a Sustainable Finance Roadmap and is due to announce regulations next year.

LACK OF LEADERSHIP

The report’s findings sit uncomfortably with Singapore’s efforts to be Asia’s leading banking hub and not least, a global sustainable city.

First, for a country that professes to be a premium financial services provider, its lack of leadership in this area is somewhat embarrassing.

Ms Stampe said one reason for this is perhaps the misperception that considering ESG is bad for business. However, other banks in the report have demonstrated that it is possible to finance responsible and clean businesses and still remain competitive.

There is also well-documented evidence that sustainable investing is not a financial sacrifice.

A Morgan Stanley report in March titled Sustainable Reality, for instance, showed that investing in sustainability has usually met, and often exceeded, the performance of comparable traditional investments – both on an absolute and a risk-adjusted basis, across asset classes and over time.

Second, Singapore has articulated an ambition to be a sustainable city with a flourishing green economy by 2030, as unveiled in the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint last year.

A sustainable city requires a sustainable capital market that enables policymakers to plan for the long term and tackle a range of environmental and social issues such as climate change and social equity. Current financial regulations do not seem to reflect this vision.

Finally, Singapore has tried for decades to resolve the haze pollution issue, but is not looking at a possible solution in its own backyard.

It has for years tried to lobby the Malaysian and Indonesian governments to do more to tackle the rampant forest burning and deforestation involving companies that deal in forest commodities such as palm oil and pulp and paper.

It even introduced last year the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, which punishes errant companies that cause haze pollution in Singapore with fines of up to S$2 million. But as Mr Darrel Webber, chief of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) — an industry association that certifies and advocates sustainable palm oil — has pointed out publicly, Singapore has the potential to exert more influence.

It is a major palm oil trading hub and many of its banks are major financiers of agricultural companies in the region. Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia bourses account for 90 per cent of the total market capitalisation of grower or plantation companies listed in the world.

Despite this, not a single Singaporean bank is an RSPO member today. The finance industry is an “obvious lever” for Singapore that has largely been untouched, Ms Stampe noted.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

To be fair, Singapore is cognisant of this. At the SIIA event, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said that there is increasing expectation of banks and investors to be responsible.

“We expect banks and financial institutions to do a hygiene check. It is not only a matter of interest rate, but also about how the company is deriving its source of funds, and what its methods of production are … This has to become part and parcel of your standard due diligence,” he said.

Ms Stampe pointed out that perhaps local banks do follow some ESG guidelines, but just do not disclose it publicly. If this is the case, it is more constructive for them to disclose it, as it allows for external monitoring of progress and increased transparency.

She said WWF is now working with the banking sector in all three countries, including the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), to conduct ESG workshops for local banks, and that ABS might look into setting up a taskforce on ESG. This is encouraging and more than overdue.

The MAS should also step up and introduce voluntary stewardship codes to promote responsible investment practices. Its current stance that the industry should regulate itself just does not cut it.

It will only perpetuate a waiting game in which the regulator awaits the industry to get their act together, while the industry waits for the regulator to take leadership.

Beyond engagement with the industry, WWF also points to shareholders as playing a key role in accelerating change within the industry.

Investors and consumers can play a part in speaking up on their expectations of behaviour by companies and financial institutions. And this is not simply about employee tree-planting or sending e-statements — it is about ensuring that banks are changing their investment behaviour and putting money in the right places at the very start.

The benefits are manifold: Banks that have ESG strategies can strengthen credit risk management, reduce reputational risks, and create new financial products. For investors, sound ESG management at the company level is linked to better operational practices and share price performance. Furthermore, as the performance of financiers is linked to the economy, it is in their interest to address risks such as climate change that can impact entire portfolios.

Deforestation and forest degradation are important contributors to climate change, which should put these issues high on the agenda of financiers, says the report.

Dr Balakrishnan, in his speech, was right to observe that because of increased global scrutiny, “banks have also become part of the watch list”.

All eyes will now be on how well and quickly Singapore’s financial institutions respond.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jessica Cheam is an editor of Eco-Business, an Asia-Pacific sustainable business publication.

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Crops in a concrete jungle: Singapore's rooftop farms

In Singapore, several groups hope to transform the urban jungle into productive farm land by growig crops on rooftops. USA Today's Elizabeth Weise visited one.
Elizabeth Weise, USATODAY 4 Jun 15;

SINGAPORE — Urban farmers in this island nation are hoping to transform the city's forest of buildings into food-production powerhouses by nurturing rooftop crops.

The goal is to make Singapore a little less dependent on imported produce and transform its relationship with local food.

A dense landscape of skyscrapers and apartment buildings, Singapore is home to 5.3 million people. At half the size of Los Angeles, it is a finance and tech powerhouse with little land devoted to agriculture.

Fully 90% of all Singapore's food is imported and only 8% of its vegetables are locally grown, according to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore.

Now, several groups are working to turn that around using rooftop farms, which have been popping up on dozens of buildings worldwide in recent years.

"The idea is basically using a very confined piece of land that could grow a lot of food and at the same time build a community," said Allan Lim, 42, CEO and one of the co-founders of Comcrop, an urban farming collective.

The farm is located on a 6,000-square-foot rooftop in a building on Orchard Road, a high-end shopping district sometimes called Singapore's Rodeo Drive.

"Our object is to testbed and see how much food we can seriously grow on marginalized land," Lim said.

Comcrop launched in 2011. The setup process was arduous, both to build the farm's infrastructure and to get official approval. It took nearly two years of bouncing around to "every agency in Singapore," most of which viewed the idea as alien, Lim said.

When they went to the fire department for a permit, they were asked whether the farm was flammable and how they would contain the flames if it caught fire.

"So we told them, 'You know what? We have about 200 tons of water on the rooftop at any one time,'" Lim said. The fire department relented and signed off on the project.

Plants there grow from vertical racks 15-feet high filled with rows of pipes with holes drilled in them. Water is run through a growth medium inside the pipes to minimize evaporation.

Temperatures on the roof can easily reach over 100 degrees on a hot day, common in the tropics. "It's instant suntan territory up here," Lim said.

The water comes from the tap but is first cycled through large tanks of tilapia, a heat-adapted fish. Their wastes provide nutrients for the plants. As they mature, the fish are harvested and sold, giving the farm additional income.

Comcrop produces herbs and vegetables, including basil, peppermint, spearmint, tomatoes, eggplants, lemons and tomatillos.

It is overseen by staff and a host of volunteers, including the elderly, Lim said. About 20% of the food is donated to charity. The rest is sold to bars and restaurants that clamor for fresh produce, or at a local farmers market.

Farming isn't a trade most Singapore parents dream their children will embrace, said Yuen Kang, one of Comcrop's farmers.

A Singapore native, he graduated from Vermont's Middlebury College with a degree in environmental studies before coming home and working in a government job with the elderly.

When he quit to work at Comcrop his parents were "shocked," Kang, 28, said. "Farming's not really an industry that young people go into here," he said.

Today, his parents have come to terms with his choice. "They said, 'As long as you don't ask me for money, you can go do what you want,'" he said.

Comcrop's vertical farming is part of an international trend. Last year hundreds of agronomists gathered at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom for the International Conference on Vertical Farming and Urban Agriculture.

One of the speakers was Jack Ng, director of SkyGreens, a Singapore start-up that has created a hydroponic growing system that can be used on rooftops and in greenhouses.

Launched in 2012 with a demonstration farm that now grows 10 varieties of greens, Ng and his partners hope to make it easy to turn Singapore's skyscrapers into food production centers.

Another popular spot is Nong, a 30,000-foot rooftop farm created by Edible Gardens, which produces vegetables and greens on top of the city's People's Park Complex parking garage. Nong means "farmer" in Chinese.

Making Singapore's roofs productive would be a huge win, Lim said.

As he looked around at the neighboring buildings he pointed out spots of green here and there, then dismissed them as gardens full of expensive plantings that no one appreciates or visits.

"They're really a waste of time and resources. They don't grow anything anyone can use," he said.

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