Indonesia: Harapan vows to protect indigenous groups, rights

Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post 7 Dec 15;

The management of Harapan rainforest in Sumatra has pledged to protect human rights and empower local communities while carrying out its operations.

PT Restorasi Ekosistem Indonesia (Reki) president director Effendy A. Sumardja, whose company is charged with the restoration of Harapan rainforest, said such a commitment would guide the company’s future operations.

“This commitment will ensure that the restoration of the forest’s ecosystem will improve of the life of local people,” Effendy said recently.

Harapan rainforest, spanning 101,000 hectares (ha) and located in the provinces of Jambi and South Sumatra, is part of the remaining low-plain forests in Sumatra.

It straddles the four regencies of Batanghari, Muaro Jambi and Sarolangun in Jambi and Musi Banyuasin in South Sumatra.

The area is currently being reforested to replenish damaged forest. The area was formerly a timber concession.

To implement the commitment, Effendy said his company would settle potential conflicts with local communities in an active and transparent manner by involving all relevant stakeholders, including local government and community leaders.

This approach, he continued, would help the company secure approval for its operations from local communities under the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) principle.

“The management of Harapan rainforest respects and recognizes the customary and individual rights of indigenous communities over land that they have maintained for a long time,” he said.

As many as 48.8 million people and 30,000 villages around and inside Indonesian forests do not have access to forest management, according to data from the Environment and Forestry Ministry.

The Indigenous People’s Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) reported that 143 customary land disputes were raised throughout the country last year.

Data from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), meanwhile, revealed that last year, the commission received some 1,400 complaints related to land disputes that involved police and corporations.

This year alone, the government plans to give 2.5 million ha of forest to local people. The government argues that the redistribution of forest will prevent conflict and create justice in forest management, which has long been dominated by large companies.

Separately, Hanni Hadiati, a staff member for the environment and forestry minister, applauded Reki’s commitment to upholding the rights of indigenous communities.

“This effort will help build dialogue to map out problems within the concession area,” Hanni said.

Jambi Forestry Agency official Wahyu Widodo also shared a similar view, saying that such an effort would help create social balance in the rainforest for the next few decades.

“Forest concessions, like natural production forest concessions [HPH] and industrial forest permits [HTI], are usually driven to produce economic [benefits]. Harapan rainforest, however, is managed differently. It exists in order to restore the ecosystem,” he said.

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Indonesia: Floods submerge hundreds of houses in Jambi, Aceh

Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post 7 Dec 15;

Torrential rains have poured down over many regions in Sumatra, causing floods and engulfing hundreds of houses in Jambi and Aceh.

Overnight heavy downpours in Sungai Penuh, Jambi, saw Batang Merao River overflow on Saturday, flooding the city’s two districts of Hamparan Rawang and Tanah Kampung.

In Hamparan Rawang district the flood affected Sri Menanti and Tanjung Bunga subdistricts while in Tanah Kampung it affected Tanjung subdistrict.

“We need the government to build an embankment for the river to prevent the water from overflowing into people’s houses,” Mahmud, a Tanjung resident, said on Sunday.

He also asked the government to provide emergency aid including food and a public kitchen for everyone affected as it was impossible to cook at their houses, which were 75 centimeters deep in floodwater.

“The government has to respond rapidly to prevent our kids from starving,” he said.

Meanwhile, Antara news agency reported that overflowing water from Woyla River had inundated at least nine subdistricts in East Woyla district, West Aceh regency, Aceh, on Friday.

West Aceh Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Saiful AB said in Meulaboh on Friday that affected residents had been evacuated.

“The flood comes from the regency up stream,” Saiful said.

Heavy rain over the mountainous region on Thursday afternoon was blamed for the flood in East Woyla. Floodwaters in homes rose to between 50 and 100 centimeters deep.

Water from the overflowing Kreung Mereubo River also started to inundate hectares of rice fields in Kaway XVI district, damaging new seedling areas that had been seeded just two days ago.

Farmer Abdul Manan of Pasir Jambu subdistrict, Kaway XVI, said that local farmers had just finished plowing their rice fields within the last few days, and some had started growing seedlings.

“I have just spread seeds for two days and now they are submerged in water,” Manan said.

The West Aceh regency administration has deployed heavy equipment to do emergency mending work on the Ulee Raket Bridge, both sides of which were eroded by floods that have now hit 12 districts in the region.

The regency has reportedly suffered hundreds of billions of rupiah in flood damage, to rice fields, crops, houses, infrastructure and public facilities.

The regency administration calculated that it would need another Rp 1 trillion, at least, to solve the flood issue by building five kilometers of security embankment along the river (DAS).

“We hope the central government will help us,” West Aceh Development Planning Board (Bappeda) head T. Ahmad Dadek said.

Separately, Pematangsiantar BPBD in North Sumatra has estimated that losses from its flood and landslide on Tuesday amounted to at least Rp 1.3 billion.

“The total losses are still being calculated,” the city BPBD head Daniel Siregar said.

Tuesday’s flood affected the districts of West Siantar, North Siantar Utara and Siantar Martoba, killing two and damaging 23 houses.

The agency’s prevention and awareness sub-division head Anugerah Zendrato said that rain intensity would remain high in the region until the beginning of January.

He called on subdistrict heads in the regency to promote the need to improve caution especially for those living in flood-prone areas along riverbanks and landslide-prone areas in hilly regions.

These areas, Anugerah said, included West Siantar, Siantar Marihat, South Siantar, Siantar Martoba, Siantar Sitalasari and North Siantar districts.

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A hard sell? Companies struggle to promote green consumption

Emma Thomasson and Barbara Lewis PlanetArk 8 Dec 15;

Eat misshapen veg, wash clothes in cold water, drive more slowly and recycle? It is perhaps no surprise that companies say persuading consumers to go green is a big challenge.

As negotiators seek a deal to reduce global emissions at the U.N. talks in Paris, companies are under increasing pressure to account for all their carbon emissions, from manufacturing all the way through to packaging and a product's disposal.

Businesses have been lining up to announce they will power their factories by renewable energy or source raw materials from sustainably managed forests and farms, but many say it is up to consumers too to change the way they use their products.

Years after detergents were developed to wash clothes in cold water, many people still turn up the dial. Electric car sales have been as sluggish as their perceived performance on the road, and tonnes of food and clothing still choke landfills.

Unilever, maker of Dove soap, estimates that customers are responsible for 70 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its products, compared to just 21 percent for the raw materials used to make them. The consumer goods giant has been promoting shorter showers - admittedly with limited success.

"It is far easier to get a consumer to switch their purchase behavior from a less sustainable product to a more sustainable product than it is to influence how people use the products," said Sally Uren, head of Forum for the Future, a non-profit that works with business and government on sustainability issues.

Swedish-based fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz says the way clothes are cared for at home accounts for more than a quarter of the emissions during a garment's life. All H&M clothes now carry labels that recommend washing at lower temperatures.

Irit Tamir, senior advocacy adviser at campaign group Oxfam, however, says companies can't shift too much of the onus onto consumers. Businesses should focus on reducing their own emissions and those of their suppliers, while government should do more to encourage behaviors like recycling, she says.

"We need consumers to be engaged as well, but if we put too much of a focus on the consumer we are letting companies off the hook in terms of their own responsibility," she said.

ENTRENCHED HABITS

Chip Bergh, chief executive of Levi Strauss [LEVST.UL], tries to lead by example. He says he hardly ever washes his jeans, noting that consumers are responsible for 50 percent of the water used in the lifecycle of the average pair.

"I know that sounds totally disgusting but believe me, it can be done. You can spot clean it, you can air dry it. It's fine. I have yet to get a skin disease," he joked last year.

But Anna Walker, Levi Strauss's senior director of global policy, said few people are following Bergh's example:

"Consumer behavior is the toughest thing to change."

More people now expect global warming will negatively affect them during their lifetime, a global survey by the National Geographic Society and GlobeScan found. However, sustainable behavior in areas from housing to transport, food and consumer goods actually fell in Canada, China, Germany, Japan and the United States between 2012 and 2014, the same survey showed.

"Consumers need more encouragement from peers as well as enablement and better leadership from companies and governments to lighten their own impact," said GlobeScan's Eric Whan.

Younger consumers, particularly the 18-30 year-olds dubbed the millennials, are seen as more malleable, but also more likely to expect big brands to do the heavy lifting for them.

Whan noted that products like smartphones that become obsolete in a relatively short time was leading to more disposability.

Unilever, which has set itself the goal of halving the environmental footprint in the making and use of its products by 2020, tweaks formulations and promotes product innovations like dry shampoo. But it admits that greenhouse gas impact per consumer use has risen by around 4 percent since 2010, partly because it has struggled to change bathing and shower habits.

British retailer Marks & Spencer had to cut a target to get its customers to recycle millions of items of clothing after disappointing take-up for its initiative to collect garments for recycling.

MAKING IT EASY

Procter & Gamble, behind brands like Tide and Ariel, sees some progress in encouraging the use of cold water detergent as it focuses its marketing on saving energy rather than saving the environment. It estimates that 53 percent of global machine loads were washed in cold water last year, up from 36 percent in 2010/11, but still far from the P&G target of 70 percent by 2020.

IKEA [IKEA.UL], the world's biggest furniture retailer, has managed to get its customers to switch from incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient LEDs by slashing prices.

"We went super slim on margin to create the scale," said Steve Howard, head of sustainability at IKEA. "It's about making things really convenient. We will not be able to push things that make it harder for people."

Companies are also realizing the need to bundle their resources to change entrenched consumer habits. Detergent makers and fashion retailers have worked together to promote washing clothes at lower temperatures, while top retailers and food companies have jointly pledged to help halve per capita food waste at the consumer level by 2030.

The commitment was made by members of the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), a network of 400 retailers and manufacturers, which said if food waste were a country, its carbon footprint would be third after China and the United States.

British retailer Tesco, a CGF member, said it will end multi-buy offers on larger packs of bagged salad after admitting that 68 percent goes to waste, and will instead introduce twin-pack 'eat me now, eat me later' offers.

Ignacio Gavilan, the forum's sustainability director, said food retailers and producers had made major progress in improving their own operations, which account for about a third of food wasted, and are now trying to influence consumers, which account for another third.

"It's about making sure they make the right choices, but it's easier said than done," he said.

(Editing by Susan Fenton)

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World must agree to disagree on hunting whales, Japan official says

Japan’s research fleet, which has cut the number of minke whales it takes by two-thirds, made every effort to meet the objections of both the court and the IWC committee, said Japan’s top whaling spokesperson.
Michiyo Ishida, Japan Bureau Chief, Channel NewsAsia 7 Dec 15;

TOKYO: Japan has done nothing wrong by sending its whaling fleet out on its annual Antarctic hunt and the world must agree to disagree on the issue, the country's top whaling official said on Monday (Dec 7).

The International Court of Justice said last year that Japan's whaling in the Southern Ocean should stop and an International Whaling Committee panel said in April that Tokyo had yet to demonstrate a need for killing whales. Tokyo took a one-year hiatus from Antarctic whaling.

Japan’s research fleet, which has cut the number of minke whales it takes by two-thirds to 333, made every effort to meet the objections of both the court and the IWC committee, said Joji Morishita, Japan's IWC Commissioner.

"We did our best to try to meet the criteria established by the International Court of Justice and we have decided to implement our research plan, because we are confident that we completed the scientific homework as well as ... meeting the ICJ requirement," Morishita told a news conference.

Mr Morishita said that past scientific research had found a shift in the Antarctic's eco-system. He believes the number of humpbacks, which were extensively hunted by many countries in the 1960s and '70s, are on the rise.

The Commissioner also stressed the importance of serving whale meat, arguing that it was the same situation as if India were to prohibit the consumption of beef.

"The picture in (my) mind is the same as the whale controversy," he said.

He added that the emotive issue may just be another one of many irreconcilable differences international society has to live with.

"The solution is that we have to agree to disagree," he said. "However, this does not mean that we will take all whales - exactly because we want to have sustainable whaling, we want to have a healthy whale population."

Mr Morishita did not specify the route the four Japanese whaling vessels will take to reach the Antarctic for fear of consequences by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Japan, which has long maintained most whale species are not endangered and eating whale is part of its culture, began what it calls scientific whaling in 1987, a year after an international whaling moratorium took effect. The meat ends up on store shelves.

Japan's current plan is to catch whales in southern waters until next March.

- CNA/Reuters/yt


World must agree to disagree on hunting whales, Japan official says
Elaine Lies PlanetArk 8 Dec 15;

Japan has done nothing wrong by sending its whaling fleet out on its annual Antarctic hunt and the world must agree to disagree on the issue, the country's top whaling official said on Monday.

The International Court of Justice said last year that Japan's whaling in the Southern Ocean should stop and an International Whaling Committee panel said in April that Tokyo had yet to demonstrate a need for killing whales. Tokyo took a one-year hiatus from Antarctic whaling.

But Tokyo's retooling of its hunt plan for the 2015/16 season, which cut the number of minke whales it takes by two-thirds to 333, made every effort to meet the objections of both the court and the IWC committee, said Joji Morishita, Japan's IWC Commissioner.

Japan, which has long maintained most whale species are not endangered and eating whale is part of its culture, began what it calls scientific whaling in 1987, a year after an international whaling moratorium took effect. The meat ends up on store shelves.

"We did our best to try to meet the criteria established by the International Court of Justice and we have decided to implement our research plan, because we are confident that we completed the scientific homework as well as ... meeting the ICJ judgment requirement," Morishita told a news conference.

Morishita added that the emotive issue may just be another one of many irreconcilable differences international society has to live with.

"The solution is that we have to agree to disagree," he said.

"However, this does not mean that we will take all whales - exactly because we'd like to have sustainable whaling, we'd like to have a healthy whale population."

(The story is refiled to tweak quotes in paragraphs 5, 8)

(Editing by Nick Macfie)

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Beijing's first ever red alert for pollution in place

China's capital issued its first ever red alert for pollution on Monday, as a new blanket of choking smog was projected to descend on the city.
Channel NewsAsia 8 Dec 15;

BEIJING: China's capital issued its first ever red alert for pollution on Monday, as a new blanket of choking smog was projected to descend on the city.

From Tuesday morning, half of Beijing's private cars were ordered off the road, with an odd-even number plate system in force, and 30 percent of government vehicles also garaged.

High-polluting factories and construction sites will also have to cease operations, Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau said on its verified social media account, with fireworks and barbecues also banned.

"People should to the best of their ability reduce outdoor activities," it said. "If you are engaging in outdoor activities you should wear a mask or take other protective measures."

Kindergartens, primary and middle schools were urged to close, it added, without explicitly making the measures mandatory.

The red alert came a week after a thick grey haze shrouded the capital with concentrations of PM2.5, harmful microscopic particles that penetrate deep into the lungs, as high as 634 micrograms per cubic metre.

The reading given by the US embassy dwarfed the maximum recommended by the World Health Organisation, which is just 25 micrograms per cubic metre.

It also coincided with global climate change talks in Paris, where Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed "action" on greenhouse emissions.

Most of China's greenhouse gas emissions come from the burning of coal for electricity and heating, which spikes when demand peaks in winter and is the main cause of smog.

The issue is a source of enduring public anger in China, which has seen breakneck economic growth in recent decades but at the cost of widespread environmental damage.

Pollution is blamed for causing hundreds of thousands of early deaths every year.

China is estimated to have emitted nearly twice as much carbon dioxide as the United States in 2013, and around two and a half times the European Union's total.

Beijing has pledged that emissions will peak "around 2030", without saying at what level and implying several years of further increases.

It has promised to reduce coal consumption by 100 million tonnes by 2020 -- a small fraction of the 4.2 billion tonnes it consumed in 2012 -- and cut 60 percent of "major pollutants" from coal-fired power plants, without specifying the chemicals in question.

On Monday evening PM2.5 levels were 206 micrograms per cubic metre according to the US embassy, and 187 according to local authorities. But visibility was significantly better than the previous week.

- AFP

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Best of our wild blogs: 7 Dec 15

A few dead fishes at East Johor Straits
wild shores of singapore

Wet and wild at Pasir Ris with the Naked Hermit Crabs
wild shores of singapore

Honey Buzz And A Sting In The Tale
Winging It

Publication Alert! – Giant clam commensals
Neo Mei Lin

Spotted Sicklefish (Drepane punctata) @ East Coast Park
Monday Morgue

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Dr Vivian more optimistic about prospects for global climate deal

Today Online 7 Dec 15;

SINGAPORE — In a Facebook post early today (Dec 6) while on the way to Paris for the final lap of negotiations on a global climate agreement, Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan expressed ­optimism that a deal could be reached but cautioned that failure would lead to worsening climate change and the need for Singapore to review its plans.

“Many of you have asked me about our chances of success in the negotiations. My answer would be that I cannot guarantee success but am more optimistic than before,” Dr Balakrishnan wrote, noting that more than 150 countries have submitted their post-2020 pledges to cut climate-changing emissions. If all these pledges — known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) — are fulfilled, more than 90 per cent of global emissions would be covered.

“It would probably still be inadequate to attain our ultimate long-term target, but it would represent the first time so many countries have committed collectively to lower emissions and achieve sustainable development,” he said, referring to negotiators’ aim to stop global temperatures from rising by more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.



Studies have suggested that all the pledges taken together would still lead to a 2.7°C increase.

In July, Singapore had pledged to reduce the amount of emissions per GDP dollar by 36 per cent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.

Dr Balakrishnan said today Singapore’s submission of the INDC prior to this week’s meeting demonstrated the Republic’s commitment to an anticipated agreement in Paris, where the meeting is formally called the 21st Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“Singapore’s INDC is not conditional on external support, unlike the INDCs submitted by many non-­Annex I parties,” he said, in reference to how countries are divided in the UNFCCC as Annex One developed countries and Non-Annex One developing countries.

Dr Balakrishnan said last week that one of the key issues that could hamper a deal in Paris was over the intense debate on differentiation, or the responsibility of the two groups.

Developed countries hold the view that as the world is changing, developing countries are now producing more emissions and should take on more ­responsibilities. But developing countries argue that developed countries have historic responsibility for global warming. Today, Dr Balakrishnan also cautioned that if the negotiations fail, “not only will the INDCs submitted by countries be nullified, but climate change would worsen”.

“As a city state on a low-lying island, Singapore would have to review our plans at that point. While we would still proceed with measures to improve energy efficiency and economic resilience, we would have to reallocate our limited resources to deal with increased threats, including sea level rise, floods and droughts. That is why we must all do our best in good faith to achieve success in Paris.”

Dr Balakrishnan is leading the Singapore delegation at the Paris talks, while Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli will deliver Singapore’s National Statement.


S'pore to cut carbon footprint by 36 per cent by 2030
Judith Tan, New Paper AsiaOne 6 Dec 15;

A day before heading to Paris for the COP21 World Climate Change Conference, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan talks green issues with the media. JUDITH TAN (juditht@sph.com.sg) reports on his main points.

SINGAPORE'S STAND & INPUT

We are a small island and we will be at risk.

We have, in a sense, been able to sail through this because of extensive preparation, investment in our infrastructure, improvement of our drainage systems, further investments in water recycling plants and desalination.

All these have put us in good stead. But there's still much more work to be done in the decades to come.

If you look at our global impact, Singapore generates only about 0.11 per cent of global emissions.

If you contrast this figure with the fact that about 2.2 per cent of global trade flows through us, you will see we're a very efficient economy.

Nevertheless, as a responsible and vulnerable member of the global community, we will do our part.

That is why we put forward our own INDC (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) of achieving a reduction of our own emissions by 36 per cent by 2030.

HOW TO ACHIEVE THIS

We need to be far more energy-efficient. I believe all of us can reduce 10, 20, 35 per cent. In other words, I'm not asking you to make sacrifices. I'm asking you to save money.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry is looking at introducing smart home meters, so you will know how much electricity you are wasting when you leave your set-top box on standby.

Did you remember to switch off your computer, your fan, your air-conditioning? What about the setting of your air-conditioning?

The point I'm making is focusing on energy efficiency and saving money for ourselves will make a difference.

Another big area we need to improve on is energy efficiency within industry.

There's a whole system of grants, incentives and technology transfers, so that companies will know what are the most efficient motors, engines, equipment which allow us to achieve our economic output while saving money by saving energy.

You will notice that BCA (Building & Construction Authority) under the Ministry of National Development has been encouraging the construction of green buildings.

Another sector undergoing transformation is our transport sector, in particular public transport.

The Ministry of Transport is embarking on a massive rail building programme in the next 20 years.

The bus network is also being supplemented with additional buses.

So we expect to see, by 2030 or so, 75 per cent of all trips we take should be on public transport because it is more efficient, and it becomes the first choice for anybody thinking of moving around, from home to work and within the city.

THE HAZE

In the last three months, the burning of the forest and the peat land in our neighbour, by their own estimates, put out more than 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.

That last three months will represent 20 per cent of all that savings that we have been trying to achieve.

It's a very big number, so the burning of forest and peat lands is terrible from a greenhouse gas emission perspective, and it's also terrible from its impact on pollution and human health, and that's why I had previously said it is a crime.

It is a tragedy that it is man-made and citizens in Indonesia and in Singapore have a right to demand that everybody does what he is supposed to do - comply with the law, enforce the law, share information, prosecute the culprits and these are really commercial interests that ought to be prosecuted.

From a foreign policy perspective, what we need is more effective collaboration, greater trust between authorities in the countries so that we can do the right thing for our citizens.

This is about authorities in the region dealing with errant companies that are releasing unconscionable amounts of greenhouse gases into the environment and are putting the health of millions of people at risk and, in fact, are damaging the regional economies by many billion of dollars.

The rains have come, the blue skies have returned, but we must not allow things to go back to "business as usual" and we have to keep up the pressure.

Things get tricky when countries cry 'it's not fair'

Sometimes countries bicker like children. And like five-year-olds arguing, their most common phrase is "it's not fair".

In a funny but painful way, that same style of argument goes on in international affairs, says Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in highlighting one of the factors that could derail the climate change talks.

Referring to common but differentiated responsibility, he said that a group of developed countries has a historical responsibility for putting out excessive carbon dioxide over the past 2½ centuries.

But these countries are saying, "Ah, but the world has changed and the developing countries are now putting out a greater share of the carbon dioxide to date."

The immediate counter-argument is, "Yes, the world may be changing but you cannot wish away historical facts."

"This fight of differentiation is really a fight about fairness," said Dr Balakrishnan.

"If you use your experience as a parent, trying to resolve fights on fairness is not trivial, so don't underestimate the ability for this issue to derail the process."

But he remains optimistic a universal agreement can be achieved at the Paris talks, noting that "never before" have so many nations committed carbon pledges towards tackling climate change.

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Recent GBS outbreak 'biggest in the world'

It is also the first time food-borne transmission of the bacteria to people has been proven, says NUH consultant
Jasmine Osada, Straits Times AsiaOne 6 Dec 15;

The recent Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria outbreak is unique on several fronts.

Not only is the outbreak, caused by the Type III GBS ST283 strain, the largest of its kind in the world, but it is also the first time that food-borne transmission of GBS to people has been proven, said Dr Hsu Li Yang of the National University Hospital.

"This particular strain of GBS is also seen to cause very severe infections in healthy people, while most strains of GBS that affect humans tend to only cause infection in newborns or people with very weak immune systems," said Dr Hsu, a consultant at the hospital's Division of Infectious Diseases.

But he added that cases of GBS infection are expected to decrease, after the National Environment Agency (NEA) banned the use of all freshwater fish in raw fish dishes.

There have been about 360 cases of GBS infections since the start of this year, with about 150 cases linked to the consumption of Chinese-style raw fish dishes that use freshwater fish.

Dr Hsu said: "The recent outbreak of GBS infections has been linked to the consumption of raw freshwater fish. Now that the major source of infections has been closed off with NEA's ban, we should see only sporadic cases from now on. It is also very unlikely that this infection can be spread from person to person.

"At worst, we will see a few cases of infections caused by this particular strain of GBS every year."

Dr Hsu said consumers should be mindful that eating raw saltwater fish such as that used for sushi and sashimi also comes with risks.

The major concern is parasites. The two most common parasites caused by the consumption of raw saltwater fish are the fish tapeworm and anisakis, he said.

The fish tapeworm can grow to several metres long in a person's intestines. As the tapeworm spends part of its life cycle living inside saltwater fish, eating raw fish means there is a chance of an infection.

The other worm, anisakis, is one of the most common parasites among sashimi eaters in Japan. People infected tend to experience symptoms akin to having a gastric ulcer.

Dr Hsu said the parasites can be killed by freezing the fish. It is thus important to keep fish chilled or frozen until it is cooked or served. At home, food should be handled properly to avoid cross-contamination and minimise the risk of infection.

Advice on eating raw fish
* Do not consume freshwater fish raw.

* If you wish to eat raw fish, consume only saltwater fish intended for raw consumption.

* Fish intended for raw consumption must always be kept frozen or chilled until they are served. It must also be handled hygienically throughout the supply chain and kept separate from other fish intended for cooking, to avoid cross contamination.

* Most fish sold at wet markets, fresh-produce sections of supermarkets and fishery ports do not meet these conditions, and should not be eaten raw.

* Vulnerable groups of people, such as young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, should avoid eating all varieties of raw fish.

* Members of the public are reminded that cooking is still the most effective way to kill bacteria.

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Food establishments make adjustments to menu after raw fish restriction

Foodpanda has taken yusheng off its menu, while Purple Sage says they will replace the raw fish in the dish with cooked fish instead.
Liyana Othman Channel NewsAsia 6 Dec 15;

SINGAPORE: Food establishments are making adjustments to their menus following the ban on ready-to-eat raw freshwater fish. The restriction comes after a series of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infections, which saw several people fall ill after eating raw fish porridge.

The ban also kicks in ahead of the Chinese New Year season, when yusheng, a popular dish featuring raw fish, is traditionally served.

Food delivery company foodpanda, for example, is taking yusheng completely off its menu until it gets the green light from authorities. Foodpanda said this move will cause very minimal impact, as it is not a popular dish enjoyed year-round like pizza and Thai food.

It also reached out on Sunday (Dec 6) to its vendors who serve sushi and sashimi. There are around 20 of them.

Foodpanda said it will continue to deliver these delicacies, as the restaurants have been allowed by the National Environment Agency to operate as usual.

Restaurant operators can sell dishes featuring raw saltwater fish, as they generally observe proper food handling, said NEA. Saltwater fish also have significantly lower bacterial contamination than freshwater ones.

Foodpanda said it will work closely with vendors to ensure the safety of customers.

“We found out about this new regulation on Saturday, and for us it's very important to act very fast to those things, but also be a strong partner to our restaurants and inform them about those regulative changes, and support them in complying to Singaporean law," said Mr Jakob Angele, CEO of foodpanda. “They (the restaurants) got informed by NEA that there will be very detailed investigations and ensuring that all the processes that those restaurants have in their outlets are compliant and fulfil the highest standards when it comes to freshness of food and freshness, in particular of those raw fish options."

Food catering company Purple Sage has also made adjustments to its yusheng recipe.

It typically sells more than 100 yusheng platters nearly every day during the Chinese New Year season. However, the company will now use cooked fish instead.

It is proposing abalone as a replacement, so customers can still enjoy yusheng.

"Based on the current situation we have immediately about almost 10 to 15 per cent of our orders that are being affected," said Mr Alan Tan, managing director of Purple Sage. "So we will have to zoom in immediately to replace all these menus that are already in the customers' proposal.

"I've already discussed with my chef, and we will go into using abalone to replace raw fish for the time being. But of course, using abalone will increase our price by about 15 per cent minimum, because abalone is still more expensive than raw fish. On the other hand, I think it's really a no-choice situation so the company will basically absorb the difference in the cost."

- CNA/ek

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Malaysia: 24 elephants return home

The Star 7 Dec 15;

KOTA KINABALU: Wildlife rangers can finally breathe easier after completing a month-long translocation operation getting 24 elephants back into their habitat in the Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

The herd of elephants, which was first sighted crossing a two-way road along an oil palm estate and village in Lahad Datu in October, had initially been left to wander on its own but under the observation of wildlife rangers.

The authorities had hoped that the animals would return to the Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

However, Sabah Wildlife Depart­ment’s rescue unit and rangers decided to translocate the jumbos when the elephants were not heading to the wildlife reserve.

“Whenever we face such pro­blems, we will first try to have the elephants back to the reserve without the need for translocation,” state Wildlife Department director William Baya said.

“Unfortunately, after more than a month of trying, we failed to herd them back to Tabin. Not only that, more damage were caused especially to smallholders,” he said.

Baya said this was the biggest translocation ever conducted at any one time by the department.

The translocation team, which was headed by Sabah Wildlife Department officials Jibius Dausip and Dr Laura Benedict, managed to capture all 24 elephants and translocated them back to the reserve.

Baya said two of the elephants had been fixed with satellite collars, sponsored by Danau Girang Field Centre, so that their movements could be monitored and also to better understand human-elephant conflicts.

“Like any other elephant habitat areas in Sabah, Lahad Datu is facing similar human-elephant conflicts.”

Department assistant director Dr Sen Nathan, who is also the mana­ger of Wildlife Rescue Unit, said they hoped to do an elephant population survey next year.

The department had been translocating elephants increasingly the past years.

For example, 10 Borneo elephants were sent back into Tabin Wildlife Reserve in 2013.

“Elephant translocation is a very expensive process, estimated to cost between RM20,000 and RM30,000 per elephant,” Dr Sen said.

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Malaysia: Rampant thefts plaguing cockle business in Selangor

WANI MUTHIAH The Star 7 Dec 15;

KUALA SELANGOR: Cockle far­ming in Malaysia seems to be getting rancid with thefts plaguing the business in Selangor, just five months after news emerged about ammonia contamination in Perak affecting the largest cockle breeding ground there.

The theft of spats (young cockles) had caused a drastic drop in Selangor’s production of the mussels, with its harvest of 40,000 tonnes annually dropping to 20,000 tonnes in recent years, said Selangor Fisheries Department director Azlisha Ab Aziz.

“What these people do is to install marker poles claiming ownership of the place and harvest the spats from the area,” he said.

This reduces the supply for registered farmers to collect and harvest them for the markets in Selangor.

A source said a syndicate could be involved by selling the spats to a neighbouring country for cultivation.

“There is a demand for Selangor cockles because many people find it better among all those harvested in Malaysian waters,” he said.

Selangor Fisheries Department officer Saufi Affandi Talib, when met during an exercise to pull out the illegal poles at Bagan Sungai Dorani recently, said cockle price in Selangor had shot up to about RM8 a kilogramme from about RM2 to RM4 a kilogramme within the last two to three months.

“Selangor used to be the top cockle producing state in the country but now we are No. 3 after Perak and Penang because of the decrease in spats for the licensed farmers to cultivate,” said Saufi Affandi.

He said it would take at least five to 10 years for the state’s cockle harvest to return to 40,000 tonnes annually.

“In Selangor, we have built many cultivation lots. Each lot, measuring 50ha, is managed by a group of six to 10 fishermen who are registered with us,” he said.

Licensed breeders pay an annual fee of RM20 to collect the spats manually from the mud flats or RM100 for the usage of mechanical aid.

Those wanting to collect cockle spats for cultivation must obtain a yearly permit of RM200.

He said the thieves installed markers just outside the lots to claim ownership of the area.

“Because of this, there is insufficient spats to be transferred to the lots managed by the fishermen,” said Saufi Affandi.

He said the spats were removed before reaching the permissible size of four millimetres.

These illegal stakes were made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyfibre and iron as opposed to the wooden ones used by licensed cultivators of cockles.

According to him, the Fisheries Department has been conducting exercises annually to pull out the illegal stakes.

“Our first raid this year was at Kampung Banting in Sabak Bernam where we removed 253 illegal marker stakes,” he said.

The second raid was at Bagan Nakhoda Omar, also in Sabak Bernam, where 1,115 stakes were taken away.

About 2,600 illegal stakes were pulled out in the raid at the Bagan Sungai Dorani.

Locals caught for cockle spat theft are fined RM500 while foreigners are fined RM2,500.

In Selangor, only traditional fishermen who are Malaysian citizens are qualified to obtain permits to harvest cockle spats and cultivate them.

The Fisheries Department has started a research to find out the factors which had reduced the state’s cockle supply.

The state government has also ordered a probe.

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Indonesia: Paris forum raises forest fires in Indonesia

Antara 6 Dec 15;

Paris (ANTARA News) - The Global Forum Landscape held at the Palais de Congres, Paris, France, on Saturday raised the issue of the fires which burnt two million hectares of forests and created haze in Indonesia.

The forum which was organized by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) was attended by thousands of bureaucrats, researchers, environment activists, students and media representatives.

"The participants raised the forest and land fires which created poisonous smoke and wanted to know the efforts made by the Indonesian government to cope with the issue," Director for Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) Indonesia, Fitrian Ardiansyah said here on Saturday evening.

Fitrian said the Indonesian government needed to use a landscape approache to overcome forest fires that had taken place since the past years.

He said that various countries turned out be successful in using a landscape approach. This could be seen in the The Little Sustainable Landscape Book launched by CIFOR and various environment organizations in the forum.

Fitrian said the landscape approach outlined an area management in an integrated way and involved concerned parties from the government, the private sector to the people.

"Because river basin areas and fires are not confined to the

boundaries, landscape approaches are important to tackle this issue," Fitrian said.

In the meantime, has been striving for the management of forests as the nations productive assets without ignoring environmental conservation at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21) being held in Paris from November 30 to December 11.

The Adviser of the Indonesian delegation at COP 21, Christianto Wibisono said in a written statement released on Thursday (Dec 3) that as the lungs of the world, Indonesias forests must be preserved.

But as the owner of the worlds third largest forest cover, Indonesia should also not be banned from exploiting and managing its forests for the sake of its peoples prosperity, he added.

"In principle, we will strive for the management of forests as the nations productive assets by always conserving them," Christianto said.

To that end, there must be explanations about the importance of synergy between ecology and economy to become an issue that Indonesia will raise at the COP 21, he said.

"By doing so, Indonesia will no longer be dictated to by developed nations and non-governmental organizations to use forests under the pretext of environmental conservation," said Christianto, who is also the founder of the Indonesian Business Data Center (PDBI).

He said PDBI is one of the parties proposing the merger of the Forestry Ministry and the Environment Ministry into the Environment and Forestry Ministry with the aim of synergizing ecological and economical dimensions.

Therefore, he added that Indonesia must be able to explain the synergy between the two seemingly contrasting dimensions at COP 21.

"We must not be dictated by any developed nations and NGOs in empowering economic assets. However, Indonesia must be able to serve as a policy maker," he pointed out.

Indonesia has the chance to become the worlds largest palm oil and wood producer and all parties, including domestic NGOs must support the vision.(*)

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