Indonesia indigenous groups awarded for conservation

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post 14 Dec 15;

A local tribe from East Kalimantan and a green group from Belitung, Bangka-Belitung province, have won prestigious UN Development Program (UNDP) green awards for their efforts to protect the environment and advance sustainable development.

The Dayak Benuaq tribe from Muara Tae village in West Kutai, East Kalimantan, won the 2015 Equator Prize Award for protecting its forests from the encroachment of palm oil companies and coal mining firms.

The local green group Belitung Conservation Community, meanwhile, won the award for its work in rehabilitating, protecting and sustainably managing coastal resources in the province.

Representatives from the two groups joined members of 16 indigenous communities at a ceremony at the Mogador Theater in Paris last week to receive their awards. The ceremony was part of numerous sideline events at the COP21 climate conference in Paris.

Joining the winners to receive the awards were Hollywood superstar and environmental activist Alec Baldwin, UNDP administrator Helen Clark and Frances Seymour from the Center for Global Development.

The Dayak Benuaq tribe started its conservation efforts after losing 8,000 hectares of a total 12,000 ha of customary forests between 1993 and 2013 to mining and palm oil companies.

The local administration has deemed the tribe, which is now dealing with health problems and food and water shortages resulting from massive deforestation, as “antidevelopment” for rejecting a government request to give up its remaining 4,000 ha of forest to coal and palm oil companies.

The Belitung Conservation Community, meanwhile, was honored for its projects in the management of coral reefs, mangroves, fishing zones and tropical forests on the island.

The Equator Initiative, which is funded by the UNDP, said the group’s efforts had led to improved livelihoods and the restoration of a unique marine and coastal ecosystem.

Clark said that the two communities, along with 16 other winners, were true warriors in the fight against climate change.

“Our winners are not just sitting waiting for the new agreement. They are doing whatever they can to adapt to climate change and achieve sustainability for their community. They are thinking globally although they are acting locally. Their efforts are inspiring,” Clark said in her speech to honor the awardees.

Seymour, meanwhile, said indigenous people had played indispensable roles in protecting ecosystems.

“The evidence is clear that the presence of indigenous people is consistently associated with lower deforestation,” she said.

Baldwin said that the groups’ accomplishments could set an example for people around the world.

“I hope that you will each take the stories of the winners’ achievement and ingenuity with you to your respective sphere of influence,” he said.


Indonesia not dependent on international agenda: Environment minister
Antara 15 Dec 15;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia is not depending on international agenda when it comes to preserving its environment, Minister of Environment Siti Nurabaya said here on Monday.

"With or without international agenda, we must ensure preservation of environment in line with the mandate of the countrys 1945 Constitution," she said after attending a national meeting on "Adiwiyata," the environment education program, at her office.

She said Indonesias interest in the international world is linked with atmosphere integration with regard to physical environment problems such as river environment and tree felling.

International agreements like the recent Paris Agreement on climate change must serve to encourage the government in issuing even better policies, she said.

One hundred and ninety-five countries at the 21st UN Conference of Parties recently agreed to issue the Paris Agreement.

This agreement covers mitigation efforts to reduce emissions quickly to below 2 degrees Celsius, or 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible, implementing transparent carbon calculation and reduction of emissions.

The agreement also includes adaptation efforts by strengthening the capability of countries to overcome the impact of climate change, strengthening efforts to restore environmental damages or losses accrued due to climate change and extend assistance including funding countries to develop green and sustainable economies.

On the occasion, the environment ministry handed over Adiwiyata awards to 213 elementary, 176 junior high, 60 senior high and 40 senior high vocational schools.

Awards were also given to 11 schools which won in the green school competition and to 20 regions for implementation of climate change neighborhood program.(*)


Villages awarded for climate change mitigation
The Jakarta Post 15 Dec 15;

The Environment and Forestry Ministry has named 20 villages in the country winners of this year’s Climate Village Program (Proklim), awarding their initiatives to implement climate change mitigation and adaptation programs.

The ministry’s director general for climate change mitigation, Nur Masripatin, said on Monday that the villages had been awarded for concrete efforts on climate change mitigation, such as waste management techniques and recycling, energy conservation as well as forest fire prevention.

“They have shown us how to adapt to climate change and take concrete action to protect their environment from damage,” Nur said.

The ministry has been running the Proklim program since 2012 to encourage active participation of local communities at the neighborhood, hamlet or village level in dealing with climate change.

Nur also said that, in the long run, the program could contribute to reducing carbon emissions by 26 percent by 2020.

She said the ministry planned to award 2,000 villages by 2019.

“Until this year, we have awarded 38 villages. You can imagine that we really need to rush to reach the target in the next four years,” Nur said.

This year, 174 villages had joined the competition, and the winners were announced after several stages of selection.

One of the winners is the village of Bono Tapung in Riau’s Rokanhulu regency, which was awarded for its biogas program.

Mahdi, a leading public figure in the village who initiated the biogas production in 2009, said that he produced biogas from the fermentation of cow dung which he collected daily.

“The biogas is now regularly used by most villagers for household needs, such as for cooking and lighting,” Mahdi said, adding that the village already had nine biogas production plants.

Another winner, Setya Negara village in Kuningan regency, West Java, was awarded for its Masyarakat Peduli Api (people who are careful with fire) group, which has been active since 2007.

The village’s economic and development division head, Kusri, said that the group was responsible to take care of a patch of forest in their village, which is located on the foot of the Ciremai volcanic mountain, the highest mountain in West Java.

“The group takes care of the forest, particularly during the dry season when the forest is prone to fire. They will do anything to preserve the source of water, because the forest is our source of life,”
Kusri said.

Nur stressed that the award winners could set an example for other communities.

“They could use social media, such as Facebook, through which they could post pictures of their activities, or by holding training coursing and consulting other villages. The point is, their initiatives should not cease,” she said. (foy)

Read more!

Millions without power, three dead as typhoon hits Philippines

AFP AsiaOne 15 Dec 15;

Typhoon Melor carved through the central Philippines on Tuesday bringing heavy rain and strong winds that left millions without power and at least three people dead, officials said.

One person died of hypothermia while two others drowned in floods in the poor fishing town of Catarman in Northern Samar province in the Visayas region south of Manila, municipal disaster officer Jonathan Baldo told DZMM radio.

The storm toppled trees and cut electricity to at least seven provinces, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

Christmas lanterns and lights, tin roofs and branches littered the streets of the city of Legazpi, which was battered by strong winds.

People who fled from their coastal homes spent a sleepless night in evacuation centres, sprawled on classroom tables and chairs as flying debris swirled around outside.

Melor whipped the vast Bicol peninsula, with a population of 5.4 million people, overnight before slamming into the Romblon islands on Tuesday morning.

Gusts had weakened somewhat by Tuesday morning but were still recorded at 170 kilometres per hour from 185 kilometres per hour on Monday. The storm was expected to weaken further as it heads to Mindoro island and out into the South China Sea later Tuesday, state weather forecaster Aldczar Aurelio said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the typhoon-prone Bicol region, where 720,000 people were evacuated as early as the weekend.

"We have zero floods, zero deaths, zero casualties," Albay Governor Joey Salceda told ABS-CBN television.

"What we are asking for is the early restoration of electricity," he said, adding the entire province of 1.2 million people was without power.

Authorities were assessing Melor's damage while bracing for another typhoon brewing east of Mindanao, the country's main southern island, said NDRRMC spokeswoman Mina Marasigan.

Bad weather forced the cancellation of 16 domestic flights on Tuesday, adding to the 56 flights cancelled on Monday, the NDRRMC said.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 typhoons a year, many of them deadly, with the strongest happening towards the end of the year.

The last deadly storm to hit the country this year, Koppu, killed 54 people and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes after it pummelled rice-growing northern provinces in October.

In November 2013, one of the strongest typhoons on record, Haiyan, flattened entire communities in the central region with tsunami-like waves, leaving 7,350 people dead or missing.

Read more!

War against wildlife crime in Southeast Asia gets power boost

ASEAN is boosting its efforts to put an end to the illegal trade by engaging wildlife non-government organisations and frontline officers in Thailand.
Arglit Boonyai Channel NewsAsia 15 Dec 15;

BANGKOK: The battle against wildlife crime has long been plagued by low public awareness, poor funding and weak laws.

Now the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) Inter-Parliamentary Assembly is boosting its efforts to put an end to the illegal trade by engaging wildlife non-government organisations (NGO) and frontline officers in Thailand.

Labelled a non-traditional security threat by ASEAN, wildlife crime does not draw the same attention or outrage as terrorism or drug smuggling. Yet it is an industry that generates up to US$20 billion in profit a year, according to conservative estimates by wildlife NGO Freeland Foundation.

“It’s extremely important that ASEAN gets on top of the illegal wildlife trade or it’s going to be too late,” said Steve Galster, Freeland’s founder and executive director.

Regional governments do not have the budgets or legal framework to stop wildlife crime. Ranger squads are generally undermanned and lacking the budgets and equipment to patrol vast areas of forest, and are also often outgunned by the very poachers that they are sent to catch.

To help solve the problem, several parties with a part to play in fighting this illicit industry, including NGOs, parliamentarians from ASEAN member states and rangers from several Southeast Asian countries, recently met in Thailand's Petchaburi province.

“Our main problems are we don’t have the support or equipment for us to face the problems we encounter each day. We don’t have the weaponry, food or even manpower that we need,” said park ranger Kasidis Chanpradub.

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) has sent delegates into the field to get a better understanding of these problems and to create a common regional mechanism that will allow for the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, a 1973 treaty for wildlife protection.

‘LONG PROCESS’

Wildlife crime is especially relevant in South East Asia.

Not only does the region contribute to the global trade, it also acts as a transit point between source countries in Africa and consumer countries in East Asia.

AIPA delegate and Philippine MP Maria Lourdes Acosta-Alba said she believes that greater harmonisation of legislation across ASEAN is needed, but it will be a lengthy exercise.

“We are trying to update each other about our existing laws on wildlife protection and what proposed bills are pending, legislative measures and amendments that we want to propose. It’s a long process, but a good start,” she said.

This joint venture will be especially important, once the ASEAN Economic Community comes into effect in the new year, potentially making it easier for smugglers to transport goods across borders.

“There has been talk within AIPA to strengthen laws. Now, especially as they are going to breakdown their trade barriers and become one community, it’s extremely important that they hurry up, because it’s just going to make it easier to cross borders with wildlife,” Mr Galster said.

This meeting has renewed hope that there is high level support from politicians and people that hold the purse strings to make significant inroads in the war on wildlife crime.

- CNA/jb

Read more!

Unprecedented toxic algae lingers in Mississippi Sound

DMR Chief Scientific Officer Kelly Lucas said that in high concentration the algae can cause respiratory problems, especially in people that are already susceptible. She also said anglers can continue to fish in the Sound, but do not eat dead or distressed fish. Amanda McCoy amccoy@sunherald.com
BY WESLEY MULLER Sun Herald 14 Dec 15;

BILOXI -- Mississippi's worst toxic algae bloom in recorded history kept the Gulf Coast under siege Monday for the fourth consecutive day, leaving dead marine life scattered along the shoreline.

Monty Graham, director of USM's Gulf Coast Research Lab and chairman of the Marine Science Department at NASA's Stennis Space Center, said he doesn't see any signs of significant change regarding the algae moving.

The winds are forecast to come out of the South," he said. "We're probably in a bit of a pattern where we're not going to change too much."

The bloom, which scientists call red tide, is a rare phenomenon that appeared in Mississippi waters Friday, causing officials to close all beaches and oyster reefs indefinitely.

DMR Chief Scientific Officer Kelly Lucas gives an update on the algae bloom currently in the Mississippi on Monday, December 14, 2015. Lucas said that in high concentration the algae can cause respiratory problems, especially in people that are already susceptible. She also said anglers can continue to fish in the Sound, but do not eat dead or distressed fish.

The Department of Marine Resources collected more water samples Monday to test algal concentrations. The results will be released once the tests are complete, DMR Chief Scientific Officer Kelly Lucas said.

"I think all the cities and counties right now are working on beach cleanup." Lucas said.

Algal concentrations, measured in cells per liter of water, typically become problematic at 10,000 cells per liter and will shut down oyster reefs at just 5,000 cells per liter. Scientists, however, recorded unprecedented numbers of more than 1 million cells per liter in some areas of the Mississippi Sound on Saturday.

Graham said he's never seen readings at that level in the more than 20 years he's worked in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

"You start getting worried when you get into the 10,000s and 100,000s (of cells per liter)," Graham said Saturday. "At the million mark, people even onshore, especially people with asthma, may start feeling the negative effects of it."

Scientists are working to forecast the movements of the algae.

Inia Soto Ramos, a biological oceanographer at USM's Ocean Weather Laboratory at Stennis, said a weekend thunderstorm created cloud cover that prevented any satellite imaging.

An expert on marine algae, Soto Ramos said the species affecting Mississippi is Karenia brevis, a single-celled phyoplankton that typically lives in warmer, saltier waters of South Florida. She said the algae contains a neurotoxin that kills other marine life and gets into the air through breaking waves.

Officials are warning the public, especially those with respiratory problems, to stay away from the beaches and immediate coastal areas, and anglers should avoid harvesting dead or distressed sea life.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 15 Dec 15

Malaysian state issues ‘fatwa’ against wildlife poaching
Mongabay Environmental News

Inclusion of REDD+ in Paris climate agreement heralded as major step forward on deforestation
Mongabay Environmental News

Read more!

Singapore 'on track' with green initiatives

Audrey Tan, My Paper AsiaOne 15 Dec 15;

Under the Government's SolarNova programme, the Housing Board has also committed to a target of 220MW-peak of power, generated through solar panels at some 5,500 blocks.

The deal to steer the world away from catastrophic climate change has been struck and Singapore, with its existing suite of initiatives, is on the right track, experts here told The Straits Times.

But there are other areas that could be looked into to make Singapore greener in the long term, they said.

"Singapore has already phased out coal and oil in its electric power sector and is thus on track for the next 10 to 15 years with its current measures," said Armin Aberle, chief executive of the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

But beyond 2050, Singapore needs to phase out natural gas - which now makes up 95.5 per cent of the fuel mix - and replace it with cleaner alternative energy. Professor Aberle said: "The main pillar will be solar energy, whereby a significant part of these future solar power plants could be on off-shore platforms."

Singapore is already moving in this direction. Last month, national water agency PUB announced that it is embarking on a feasibility study to assess the possibility of installing solar panels at its reservoirs and other facilities.

Under the Government's SolarNova programme, the Housing Board has also committed to a target of 220MW-peak of power, generated through solar panels at some 5,500 blocks.

Singapore has pledged that its greenhouse gas emissions will peak around 2030 at the equivalent of about 65 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, even if the economy grows. It will also be greener economically, reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted to achieve each dollar of gross domestic product by more than a third.

Subodh Mhaisalkar, executive director of the Energy Research Institute at Nanyang Technological University, said the power generation switch from fuel oil to natural gas, as well as increasing solar energy generation, "addresses more or less the only opportunities available to Singapore".

This, he noted, was because Singapore is a "renewable energy disadvantaged nation", with limited access to other alternative energy options such as hydroelectric, wind or geothermal power.

Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's Foreign Affairs Minister, had said that the country will strive to curb its emissions in other ways.

This includes promoting greater energy efficiency in the domestic and industrial sectors; pushing for more green buildings; aiming for the petrochemical industry to continuously upgrade using the least pollutive and most efficient technologies available, as well as improving public transport.

But more importantly, Singaporeans need to change their consumption behaviour, like using less energy, buying less and wasting less, said Melissa Low, a research associate from the NUS Energy Studies Institute. "Without a mindset shift, efforts by the Government may not yield optimal results."

Read more!

Environment and sustainability a major focus this year: Experts

Companies and their partners are facing pressure to adopt sustainable practices or risk losing out in the eyes of consumers, especially after unprecedented levels of haze from forest fires in Indonesia choked the region.
Patrick John Lim Channel NewsAsia 14 Dec 15;

SINGAPORE: Tissue paper and other similar paper products are an integral part of our daily lives, but many people give no thought about how they are produced. However, this changed earlier this year, when unprecedented levels of haze from the forest fires in Indonesia choked the region.

Sustainability has taken a huge focus this year, with some experts describing 2015 as a watershed year when it comes to environment and sustainability.

Singaporeans are becoming more aware of where the products they buy come from, especially forest products related to the haze-causing forest fires. As a result, companies and their partners are facing pressure to adopt sustainable practices or risk losing out in the eyes of consumers.

People, now aware that purchasing even the most mundane item may perpetuate more forest fires, are now beginning to vote with their wallets. This culminated in supermarkets across Singapore pulling products associated with the forest fires, from their shelves.

Global personal care company Kimberly-Clark is one company which hopes to lead by example when it comes to sustainable practices.

In sourcing for materials for its paper products, Kimberly-Clark said it looks only at forests certified by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) as sustainable. It said credible third-party authorities can help companies identify areas where they can be sustainable.

Said Kimberly-Clark’s director of communications & government affairs (Asia Pacific), Shweta Shukla: “Kimberly-Clark is sourcing its wood pulp or the raw material for its brands like Kleenex from FSC-certified sources or forests. Which essentially means that it is really the gold standard when it comes to picking and choosing suppliers that we source from.

"The FSC is a credible third party and most rigorous standard of responsible forestry and that's why we rely on them for certifying our suppliers and forests.”

Not all companies have direct control of where materials are sourced and how products are produced. Many work with other smaller firms as part of a larger supply chain.

COMPANIES LOOKING AT ENTIRE SUPPLY CHAIN TO ENSURE SUSTAINABILITY

However, increasing consumer pressure on sustainability is forcing corporates to not only look at their own processes but down the entire supply chain.

Said Mr K Sadashiv, partner, climate change and sustainability services at EY: "Supply chain participants intimately impact the way companies operate or its results. So companies have now realised that engaging in their supply chain or at least the material members of their supply chain is truly important for themselves in making sure that they are seen to be responsible not only for their own operations, but also for the operations of those supply chain participants.

"As such, supply chains have become intrinsically a key participating member in the whole sustainability movement.”

Going forward, analysts said this sustainability movement will only gather momentum.

World leaders met in Paris this month for a UN climate change conference to discuss a binding, universal agreement on climate.

"Sustainability is not just all about corporate social responsibility, which was the buzzword a few years ago. It's the lens by which businesses will be judged by consumers, by shareholders and general stakeholders at large. Companies cannot afford to ignore sustainability and need to embed it in their operations to make themselves successful in the longer run,” said Ms Monica Hira, sustainability and climate change partner at PwC Singapore.

Singapore regulators are doing their part to ensure companies are aligned to the environmental trends. Earlier this year, the Singapore Exchange announced that it will require listed companies to publish sustainability reports starting from Financial Year 2017.

- CNA/dl

2015: When NEA, supermarket chains cracked the whip on haze-causing suppliers
This year saw authories using the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act to go after companies that burn land in Indonesia. Other organisations also did their bit to send an unequivocal signal to firms that there will be commercial penalties if they risk the health of citizens.
Channel NewsAsia 14 Dec 15;

SINGAPORE: 2015 was a year which saw the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act being wielded for the first time. The haze episode this year was the longest recorded since 2013, blanketing the Singapore skyline for about three months. The Pollutant Standards Index hit hazardous levels, forcing schools to shut for the first time since the SARS outbreak in 2003.

As in previous years, the culprits were farmers who burned large swaths of land to make way for palm oil, pulp and paper plantations.

Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who tabled the Bill in 2014 when he was the Environment and Water Resources Minister observed that there has overall been a concerted effort to stamp out the haze.

Said Dr Balakrishnan, who is now the Minister for Foreign Affairs: "In fact, there's been another level which I've been very pleased with, and that is the way the civil society organisations like the Environment Council, CASE, supermarkets on their own volition have taken action to send this very clear unequivocal signal to companies, that if they continue to risk our health and the welfare of ordinary citizens, there will be commercial penalties."

The National Environment Agency has served notices to six companies, asking them to take steps to put out the fires. Asia Pulp and Paper Group, one of the companies believed to be behind the land burning, saw its products taken off the shelves in several supermarkets.

Action is also being taken on another part of the supply chain. In an unprecedented move, banks were issued guidelines to ensure the companies they lend to behave responsibly.

MAKING THE ENVIRONMENT A GLOBAL PRIORITY

But while Singapore has toughened its stance, Dr Balakrishnan stressed that other countries in the region must play their part to prevent the haze from recurring.

"This is not a national or transnational argument," he said. "This really ought to be 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 billions of dollars by our own estimates. So that's really the context in which this recurrent haze episodes should be viewed. And we must not tolerate business as usual."

The haze aside, there appears to be greater environmental awareness among consumers. Increasingly, they are looking at how companies' activities impact the environment, so it comes as little surprise that the Singapore Exchange has asked all listed companies to publish sustainability reports from 2017.

"Companies now will be beginning to take a look at the impact of their activities and not only their own activities, but interestingly also the impact of their entire supply chain, because an organisation is as good as its supply chain," said Mr K Sadashiv, Southeast Asian leader for Climate Change and Sustainability Services at Ernst and Young.

He added: "Those who have not embarked on some of these performance improvements would have to see this as a fillip to get going and I would dare say that if they ignore this, they will actually fall back compared to their peers, and the markets are shrewd enough and astute enough to recognise this, and potentially such companies who do not carry out the activities and therefore report them might actually be punished by the markets, through impact on share value, through impact on reputation, through being seen as to be behind by their peers and competitors

Globally, countries have woken up to the reality that the planet could warm to dangerous levels unless urgent action is taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions. World leaders recently convened in Paris for COP21 and emerged with a hard-won accord to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures.

The Paris agreement - which Dr Balakrishnan said, "strikes the right balance" between means of implementation and ambition - is formed based on voluntary action plans from all nations, rich or poor. Singapore, for example, aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 36 per cent by 2030.

It plans to achieve this by using energy more efficiently. Some measures include harvesting more solar energy, constructing more green buildings, promoting public transport and becoming more energy efficient, both in the industrial sector and at home.

- CNA/hs

Read more!

Global arbiter of animal names gets steady funds

Audrey Tan, The Straits Times AsiaOne 15 Dec 15;

A global commission that helps to standardise the scientific names of animals was saved from extinction two years ago, when the National University of Singapore (NUS) agreed to fund it to the tune of $100,000 a year for three years.

Now the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) has found steadier footing in the form of a $1.35 million ICZN Secretariat Endowment Fund, almost all funded by the Lee Foundation.

The commission had been struggling financially previously, after the British-based charitable trust that was funding it ran out of cash.

The fund will be announced today at the general meeting of ICZN held in conjunction with the 32nd International Union of Biological Sciences Conference in Berlin, Germany. Other donors and supporters include the American Association for Zoological Nomenclature, the Ichthyological Society of Japan and several private individuals.

The endowment fund will not only ensure the long-term sustainability of the commission, but also help it set up a secretariat to coordinate cases involving conflicts over an animal's scientific name.

"By building up an endowment comprising gifts from the public and private benefactors around the world - an approach similar to the funding model of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum - it will allow ICZN to enjoy long-term operational sustainability," said ICZN commissioner Peter Ng, who also heads the museum.

Only the interest generated from the ICZN Secretariat Endowment Fund can be spent.

In the past, the commission lived largely on a hand-to-mouth basis, spending donations when they came in. The fund will also support the operations of the ICZN Secretariat, which will now be based at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in NUS. It was previously based at the Natural History Museum in London, before moving to NUS after the university agreed to fund it in 2013.

The secretariat is responsible for coordinating the commission's activities worldwide.

This is important, as the organisation's 25 commissioners are volunteers who hail from around the world and are senior scientists and professionals in universities, museums or institutions.

"This is why it is important to have a secretariat, without which things would be extremely chaotic," said Prof Ng. "Singapore is, in many ways, the perfect place for the secretariat as we are so well connected - technologically as well as scientifically, and NUS is the perfect nexus as we are a global university centred here."

Prof Ng added that it was appropriate that the secretariat be based in Singapore, "especially as this is a part of the world where science is growing at a rapid pace and the challenges associated with biodiversity discovery conservation are especially acute".

Dr Jan van Tol, president of the ICZN, said: "The establishment of the secretariat at NUS is also an implementation of my vision that ICZN has to evolve into a truly international organisation, with a strong representation in the mega- diverse regions of the world."

Read more!

A single name for 4 species of swimming crabs

Swimming crabs were all thought to be part of one species until a 2010 study by researchers here showed otherwise.
Audrey Tan, The Straits Times AsiaOne 15 Dec 15;

The swimming crab is famous in Singapore and the region for being delicious when cooked in chilli or black pepper sauce, but it has also made a name for itself among the scientific community.

It was thought to be one species, Portunus pelagicus, until a 2010 study by local researcher Joelle Lai and crab expert Peter Ng found there were actually four species.

Because fisheries lump the species together, it is hard to tell if some are being over-harvested.

Data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations shows that 203,843 tonnes were fished from the wild in 2013.

The number is a collective figure for all four species, and does not indicate whether one species or another is at risk of over-harvesting.

Professor Ng, one of the scientists behind the discovery, said it takes time for new scientific names to be accepted by the community, used widely and then translated into policies.

Still, the scientific names for the four species seem to be gaining traction. In Australia, the name Portunus armatus is slowly coming into steady use, said Prof Ng, who heads the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.

"The names tell us there are discrete genetic populations - these have different life cycles, growth rates, requirements and habits, so we need to manage them differently... A wrong name is not a good start to good management."

The four species are differentiated based on form and structure (such as colour patterns and the shape of the shell), genetic characteristics and location.

Portunus pelagicus is widely found throughout the Indo-West Pacific Ocean in South-east Asia and East Asia. Portunus segnis is native to the western Indian Ocean and extends to the east coast of South Africa. Portunus reticulatus can be found in the eastern Indian Ocean, while Portunus armatus has been found around most of Australia.

Read more!

NTU scientists find way to help firms cut energy bills

FRANCIS LAW Today Online 14 Dec 15;

SINGAPORE — Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have designed an algorithm that can help companies and factories save as much as 10 per cent in energy bills by letting them know exactly how much power is being used throughout the day.

By analysing detailed power usage patterns over time, the algorithm predicts energy consumption needs and recommends ways to save energy.

The algorithm’s developer Assistant Professor Wen Yonggang from NTU’s School of Computer Engineering likens the principle to estimating the amount of food needed for a family, based on the number of diners and their preference for specific food.

“If we know how much food is expected to be consumed tomorrow night, we can save the cost by reducing the food wastage. In data centres’ context, if we know that only 100 servers are needed to run some services for the customers, we can turn off the rest of servers to save a lot of energy,” he said.

Power usage data is collected by sensors in existing computer chips in equipment such as servers, air-conditioning systems and industrial machinery, as well as external sensors.

Asst Prof Wen’s algorithm has been licensed by Evercomm, a two-year-old start-up, which is working with several semi-conductor manufacturers, including GlobalFoundries — the second largest foundry in the world — and several datacentre companies to help them cut energy consumption.

The average semi-conductor factory typically spends about S$50 million per year on electricity bills. Through the algorithm, a large factory can save up to S$1 million, according to Evercomm Singapore’s co-founder and product architect Ted Chen.

Evercomm has also developed a computer chip that can be integrated into existing sensors to allow data to be collected wirelessly and fed to a central server. These chips have been installed into street lamps around Taiwan’s National Dong Hwa University’s campus and analysis of the richer data is expected to save S$4.6 million in energy costs over seven years.

Mr Chen said: “Instead of collecting just power data from the machines, we actually go one step further and collect all the fundamental data like temperature, weather, etcetera, so we can tell you exactly why the power goes up and down, and what to change, so you can save energy.”

The company is working on another chip that would connect up to 2,000 sensor nodes, allowing the technology to be used by cities to monitor and manage energy consumption. Evercomm is exploring deploying this technology into HDB flats and housing estates.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelt the name of manufacturer GlobalFoundries. We are sorry for the error.

Read more!

Powerful Typhoon Melor slams Philippines, major disruptions

More than 700,000 people in the central Philippines fled to safer areas for fear of giant waves, floods or landslides as Typhoon Melor slammed into the archipelago nation.
Channel NewsAsia 15 Dec 15;

MANILA: More than 700,000 people in the central Philippines fled to safer areas for fear of giant waves, floods or landslides as Typhoon Melor slammed into the archipelago nation Monday, officials said.

Melor crossed the central Burias Island late Monday, with authorities warning that traditional thatched homes were unlikely to withstand the strong winds and that crops may suffer heavy losses. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The typhoon brushed the northern tip of Samar, a farming island of 1.5 million people, early Monday with winds gusting up to 185 kilometres (115 miles) per hour, the state weather bureau said.

Samar was among areas devastated in 2013 by Typhoon Haiyan, when giant waves wiped out entire communities and left 7,350 people dead or missing.

Authorities warned that Melor's powerful winds might whip up four-metre-high (13-feet) waves, blow off tin roofs and uproot trees. They said heavy rain within its 300-kilometre diameter could trigger floods and landslides.

In Albay province in the southeast of Luzon island, almost 600,000 people were evacuated due to fears that heavy rain could cause mudslides on the slopes of nearby Mayon Volcano, according to the national disaster monitoring office.

Residents carrying bags of clothes and water jugs clambered onto army trucks in Albay's Legazpi City as authorities sounded an evacuation alarm, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.

Huge waves crashed into the city's deserted boulevard as palm trees swayed from the wind.

"The whole province is now a ghost town. We shut all establishments. No school, no work," Albay governor Joey Salceda said on ABS-CBN television.

PROMPT EVACUATIONS

Albay, a province of 1.2 million people, has become a model for disaster preparedness. It recorded zero casualties from Typhoon Hagupit last December due to prompt evacuations.

An additional 130,000 people were evacuated in Sorsogon province south of Albay.

The typhoon had moved over the Sibuyan Sea by late Monday and was next expected to hit Mindoro Island Tuesday afternoon, bringing with it winds of up to 170 kilometres per hour.

The storm's outer rain bands could hit the capital Manila, state weather forecaster Robert Badrina told AFP, but the risk of severe wind damage or flooding was unlikely.

Stormy weather has forced the cancellation of 40 domestic flights and halted 625 passenger and cargo ferry trips, the disaster monitoring agency said.

The government had prepared more than 200,000 food packs and other emergency items before the storm's landfall, social welfare secretary Corazon Soliman told DZMM radio.

The Philippines is battered by an average of 20 typhoons annually. Two of these usually hit in December, Badrina said, and are often among the strongest.

Last year Typhoon Hagupit brought floods and landslides to the central region, killing 53 people.

A low-pressure area, which could either strengthen into a typhoon or dissipate because of cold winds blowing from the north, was spotted east of the main southern island of Mindanao, Badrina said.

The weather bureau is studying the link between the increasing strength of year-end storms and climate change, he said.

Typhoon Koppu, the last deadly storm to hit the country this year, killed 54 people and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes after it pummelled the north in October.

- AFP/jb


Central Philippines in darkness as typhoon Melor hits
Wide areas of the central Philippines were plunged into darkness on Tuesday as powerful typhoon Melor barrelled into the coconut-growing region, causing flooding, storm surges and forcing almost 800,000 people to evacuate their homes, officials said.
Channel NewsAsia 15 Dec 15;

MANILA: Wide areas of the central Philippines were plunged into darkness on Tuesday as powerful typhoon Melor barrelled into the coconut-growing region, causing flooding, storm surges and forcing almost 800,000 people to evacuate their homes, officials said.

Known locally as Nona, the storm packing winds of 140 kph (87 mph) was about 40 km (25 mile) north-northeast of Romblon island early on Tuesday, moving west and weakening.

"Melor will continue to weaken as it crosses the central Philippines into Tuesday," weather provider Accuweather said. "However, damaging wind gusts higher than 130 kph will target the rest of southern Luzon to Mindoro."

Romblon residents reported heavy rain and strong winds from midnight. Power was cut as transmission lines and electric posts came down.

Alexander Pama, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said nearly 800,000 people had been evacuated to shelter areas.

"So far, we have not received any report of typhoon-related casualties," he said.

Media reported that three people had been killed on Samar island, where Melor first made landfall on Monday, although this could not immediately be confirmed.

Power services in six central provinces were disrupted and emergency teams were assessing damage to agriculture and infrastructure, Pama said.

Schools and some offices were closed. Dozens of domestic flights and ferry services were cancelled, and the fishing fleet took shelter due to waves as high as 14 metres (46 ft).

Another potential tropical system will hit the southern Philippines later this week, Accuweather said.

An average of 20 typhoons pass through the country every year. In 2013, typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines, killing more than 6,300 people and leaving 1.4 million homeless.

(Reporting by Manuel Mogato and Jerome Neil Morales; Editing by Stephen Coates)

- Reuters

Read more!

Malaysia: Typhoon fallout, heavy monsoon rains set to lash the country within days

R.S.N. MURALI, JOASH EE DE SILVA, STEPHANIE LEE, CAVINA LIM, and IVAN LOH The Star 15 Dec 15;

KOTA KINABALU: Even with hundreds of families already displaced by floods in various parts of the country, the Meteorological Depart­ment has warned of more nasty weather.

Its Sabah director Abdul Malek Tusin said the state was most likely to be hit by the tail end of Typhoon Melor, which is now in central Philippines.

The typhoon is expected to bring strong winds between 64kph and 80kph and heavy rains to Sabah’s interiors, west coast areas and Kudat on Thursday and Friday. Waves of up to 3.5m at the Sulu and South China Sea are also expected.

Abdul Malek said the affected areas should brace for flash floods while all sea activities should be halted until the weather improved.

In Kuala Lumpur, the department’s deputy director-general Alui Bahari said heavy monsoon rains accompanied by thunderstorms were expected in Terengganu, Pahang, Johor and west Sarawak.

The department has issued a yellow alert, signalling imminent downpours in these areas within one to three days.

He called on the people to prepare for bad weather.

Alui said that they were constantly monitoring the situation and if it were to get worse, the department would issue an orange or red alert.

Orange signifies rain that lasts for more than a day, with an average rainfall of 0.5mm to 4mm per hour.

Red is the highest warning and signifies heavy rain lasting for a day or more, with an average of 20mm of rainfall per hour.

Alui said heavy rains were expected from a cold surge forming over the South China Sea due to north-east winds.

In Malacca, among those reeling from heavy downpours were 150 families in Alor Gajah.

Sunday’s heavy rain left several areas in waist-high flood after Sungai Pengkalan burst its banks.

The flood-hit areas include Kampung Gadek, Kampung Pengkalan, Taman Seri Bayu and Kampung Panchor.

In Bukit Mertajam, a freak thunderstorm wreaked havoc on at least 17 village houses in Permatang Janggus, Permatang Pauh.

The roofs were blown away in the 5.20pm storm on Sunday while some ceilings and walls were torn apart, causing residents to suffer damage to their homes amounting to tens of thousands of ringgit.

Homemaker Hazmiza Abu Hassan, whose family was among those affected, said she was taking a nap with her three children when her husband shouted for them to get up upon seeing the twister-like winds moving towards their wooden double-storey house.

“Everything happened so fast and before we knew it, all of us were running out of our house because we feared for our safety,” said the 36-year-old mother of four.

In Ipoh, at least 19 families were displaced following a flash flood that hit their village in Parit, Perak Tengah.

A Perak Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said that about 85 people were currently taking shelter at the Nurul Jannah Surau in Parit 6, Layang-Layang Kiri.

“The floodwater was about 0.6m high. Villagers moved to the temporary shelter on Saturday at about 3am,” he said.

Meanwhile, a state National Disaster Council secretariat spokesman said four families with 22 peo­ple, were relocated to SK Changkat Jong following a flood at Kampung Lorong Mesra in Chang­kat Jong, Teluk Intan at 6pm yesterday.


‘No cause for alarm despite incessant rain warnings’
The Star 15 Dec 15;

PETALING JAYA: There is no cause for the people to be alarmed despite warnings of incessant rain over the next two weeks especially in the Klang Valley, says Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim.

He said the department saw a high probability that the higher amount of rainfall would lead to flash floods in many areas.

“Rest assured, we are ready to face any possibility (of floods). However, the public must remain calm in facing such a disaster and contact the authorities for assistance,” he told The Star yesterday.

On the preparations, Wan Mohd Nor said the department had set up a national control room to brace for the floods.

“We have set up operation centres to monitor the flood situation in the country since Nov 20,” he added.

He reminded the public to be wary of flash floods and landslides.

“Be vigilant for any impending danger due to the rain and floods. Listen to public announcements and be ready if the order to move out is issued,” he said.

It was reported that some 14,000 department personnel nationwide are on standby and prepared to be deployed for rescue operations.

The department is also equipped with equipment, including 600 rescue boats and 100 trucks.


Typhoon Melor effect likely to cause flash floods in Sabah
STEPHANIE LEE The Star 14 Dec 15;

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is most likely to be hit by the tail effects of Typhoon Melor as it slammed central Philippines.

The typhoon, which will bring strong winds between 40 and 50 mph and heavy rains in Sabah's interiors, west coast areas and Kudat is expected to hit on Thursday and Friday.

On Monday, state Meteorological Department director Abdul Malek Tusin said that the affected areas should brace for flash floods during these two days.

All sea activities are also advised to be halted until the weather improves as the tail effects of Typhoon Melor is able to cause waves of up to 3.5m at the Sulu and South China Sea.

"We are monitoring the situation," Malek said.

It was reported that more than 700,000 people in the central Philippines fled to safer areas for fear of giant waves, floods or landslides as Typhoon Melor slammed into the archipelago nation Monday.


Over 400 flood victims in Selangor
The Star 14 Dec 15;

SHAH ALAM: The number of flood evacuees in Selangor has increased to 443.

State Fire and Rescue Department assistant director Mohd Sani Harul said 108 families were affected so far, compared with 309 people from 77 families earlier.

In a statement Monday, he said a new relief centre was also opened at Sekolah Kebangsaan Abdul Samad, Kapar in Klang to house 33 victims from seven families.

Currently, eight relief centres were opened in Selangor.

"The relief centre at Surau Kampung Lembah Paya, Sepang recorded the highest number of flood victims with 172 from 42 families followed by Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Meru, Klang Hall (111).

"Other relief centres opened were Surau Ladang Tuan Mee, Kuala Selangor (37 victims), Taman Gemilang in Dengkil (23), Salak Lama Community Centre, Kampung Salak Tengah in Sepang (29), Kampung Baru Salak Tinggi Community Centre in Sepang (21) and the Klang Municipal Council Hall Kampung Kuantan in Klang (17)," he said.

Read more!