Indonesia: Land and forest fires rarely stop in Riau’s unique climate

Rizal Harahap The Jakarta Post 7 May 16;

Hot spots are still present in a number of regencies in Riau province despite it being the rainy season.

The province — which is prone to disruptive, haze-producing land and forest fires — hopes to reduce its number of hot spots this year, especially in the fire-prone areas of Bengkalis, Rokan Hulu, Indragiri Hilir, Pelalawan and Meranti Islands.

“This is what the provincial and local administrations have been doing, controlling the growing number of hotspots,” acting Riau Governor Arsyadjuliandi “Andi” Rachman said on Tuesday.

A number of efforts have been made to reach the target, he said, including issuing a gubernatorial decree on land and forest fire prevention. There are 16 action plans that need to be executed by the government and the administrations, especially those related to preparing equipment and personnel at companies with concession areas located on peatland.

“Firms with fires on their concession areas will be evaluated,” Andi said.

The Riau administration will involve not only the military, the National Police and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency ( BNPB ), but also ask locals to be more aware of potential fires in their areas.

The Riau administration has allocated Rp 123 billion ( US$9.4 million ) to preventing and dealing with the fires.

It also coordinates with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency ( BMKG ) to detect fires.

“The experience of dealing with haze disasters since 2014 has left Riau better prepared to face dry seasons,” Andi said.

Riau has been made a pilot project in the prevention of land and forest fires, he said.

Head of Riau BMKG, Sugarin, said the province’s coastal areas of Bengkalis, Rokan Hilir, Pelalawan, Siak, Indragiri Hilir, Meranti Islands and Dumai were prone to fires because they rarely received rain.

He suggested the provincial and local administrations continue to be cautious of the emergence of hotspots in the eastern coastal regions, which are also home to a lot of fire-prone peatland.

Riau’s eastern coast has a unique climate, Sugarin said, as the areas did not follow rainy or dry seasons. He said there was such a difference in climate there that hotspots continued to emerge in Riau even during rainy season.

In many cases, companies have been deemed responsible for land and forest fires. In 2015 alone, from 8,399 hotspots detected by NASA satellites, 3,355 were inside the concession areas of industrial forestry companies and another 458 in oil palm plantation areas.

Many of the companies denied accusations made against them, arguing that lighting fires in their own concession areas would, in the end, cause huge financial losses for them.

They mostly blamed the fires on flames leaping from neighboring lands.

Law enforcement agencies has been frequently mentioned as an effective way to help control land and forest fires in the region.

This year alone, Riau Police have named 65 suspects of causing land fires. All of them were landowners and farm workers.

Riau Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Guntur Aryo Tejo said that some of the suspects were caught red-handed while carrying out slash-and-burn methods. Others were arrested following a series of investigations.

“We have warned people not to clear land by burning it, but such practices still continue,” he said.

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Indonesia: Authorities Begin Water Bombing After Fast-Spreading Fires Detected in Riau

Jakarta Globe 7 May 16;

Jakarta. Authorities have dispatched helicopters to assist efforts to extinguish land and forest fires across Riau province after at least 13 hot spots have been detected, officials said on Friday (06/05).

The spots were detected on Friday in five districts throughout the coastal area of Riau, with five hot spots in Pelawan, four in Siak, two in Indragiri Hilir, as well as one apiece in Meranti and Indragiri Hulu.

Of the 13, four were confirmed to be fire spots — indicating land and forest fires with a level of credibility at over 70 percent — Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) head Sugarin said.

"They were detected in the Siak subdistrict of Sungai Apit," Sugarin said on Friday, as quoted by state-run news agency Antara.

An MI-8 helicopter was dispatched on the same day to begin water bombing fire spots which can't be accessed through land, Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Edward Sanger said.

While the approximate size of the affected areas is not yet known, he said they are peatlands which have faced dry conditions, causing the fire to spread faster.

"We have to take prompt action in response," Edward added.

Land and forest fires are an annual environment disaster in Indonesia for the last decade. Some observers have described last year's fires as the worst on record.

The fires destroyed vegetation on millions of hectares of land, afflicting more than half a million people with health problems and resulted in billions of dollars in economic losses.

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Illegal wildlife trade campaign enlists tourists

Mark Kinver, BBC News 8 May 16;

Conservationists have launched a global campaign asking the public to help tackle the illegal trade in wildlife.

They have developed a smartphone app that allows people to submit images and data of suspicious items on sale, possibly helping enforcement agencies.

The United Nations estimates the illegal trade is worth billions of pounds each year.

Despite efforts to crack down on the slaughter, it continues to grow, say campaigners.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence in the poaching of threatened species, raising concern about the long-term survival of iconic animals such as tigers and rhinos.

Growing demand for protected animal body parts and products on the Chinese black market is widely viewed as one of the main drivers for the growth in the trade.

A recent report by UK think-tank Chatham House said demand was rising at an "alarming rate".

The authors said that activity in the illegal ivory trade had more than doubled since 2007, with ivory reaching a price of US $2,205 (£1,526) per kilogram in Beijing.

Rhino horn was reaching mind-blowing prices of US $66,000 per kilogram - more than the price of gold or platinum.

Crime prevention agencies recognise the threat posed by criminal targeting wildlife - listing the global trade alongside drugs, arms and human trafficking.

The app - Wildlife Witness - was developed by Taronga Conservation Society Australia in partnership with Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

Its focus was the South East Asia region, which has been identified has a hub in the global illegal wildlife trade.

In this expansion of the scheme, Chester Zoo will look to raise awareness of the project across Europe while San Diego Zoo will do the same in the US.

"The reason why it is important for zoos to get involved is because we have access to really large audiences, and zoos have an important role to try and get these messages out," said Scott Wilson, head of field programmes at Chester Zoo.

"Rather than us just saying 'Look at this, isn't it terrible?' this campaign allows people to download the app and actually be involved and take action."

Mr Wilson told BBC News how people could submit data: "If people are travelling or are on holiday and if they see something as they are walking through the markets and they see something - say a baby sun bear that should not be there, or ivory on sale that they suspect is illegal, they can record it with this app and the data goes straight to Traffic.

"This will really boost the amount of information that is coming through to them, and this helps them to identify trends in wildlife trade and - more importantly - they can use that data to try and influence the enforcement policies and the really big changes that need to take place."

However, Mr Wilson was quick to point out that people should not take unnecessary risks.

He urged: "We do not want people putting themselves at risk and we certainly do not want them confronting people in a marketplace. If they can take a picture, great, if not then just put the data in the app afterwards."

Chris Shepherd, South-East Asia regional director of Traffic, said there had been an "unparalleled spike in illegal wildlife trade".

He observed: "Sadly, animals are being illegally killed or taken from the wild around the world to be sold for traditional medicines, luxury food, horns or other parts, restaurant dishes, fashion items or pets."

Dr Shepherd explained how people could help using the app: "We want people to be the eyes and ears in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade."

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Haze may be less severe due to La Nina rains

Audrey Tan, My Paper AsiaOne 5 May 16;

This year, Singapore may not experience haze as severe as last year.

This is because the El Nino weather phenomenon, which last year caused forest and peatland fires in Indonesia to burn harder and for longer, is expected to subside by the time the traditional dry season rolls in about next month.

Five ministers from countries in the region, who yesterday attended a haze meeting in Singapore, also noted that La Nina - a weather phenomenon associated with more rain this region - is also expected to kick in by the third quarter of this year.

While this could bring more rain to the fire-prone landscape in Indonesia during the dry season, meeting chair Masagos Zulkifli - Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources - told reporters at a press conference that there could still be dry spells in between bouts of rain.

"Whether the fires restart within this dry spell, and be put out quickly by the timely coming of rain, is something only God knows.

"But with more rain coming during that period, hopefully, the fires will abate," he said.

International climate expert Peter Hoeppe, who heads the Geo Risk Research division at German reinsurance firm Munich Re, said after a strong El Nino like the one experienced last year, there is a high probability that La Nina would kick in immediately.

In comparison, for El Nino years that are less strong, there would be a neutral phase for about a year or two before La Nina conditions set in, Dr Hoeppe noted.

The assumption of a La Nina following right after a strong El Nino is based on statistical analyses of events in the past 45 years.

Dr Hoeppe added: "This could mean relief for Singapore; I expect that the air quality would be better this year than last year as it is likely that there will be more rain in Indonesia, and less fires."

After the last major El Nino event in 1997, there was a strong La Nina event that followed in July 1998, pointed out Assistant Professor Winston Chow of the National University of Singapore's geography department.

He said: "The irony was that fires weren't the concern as the larger-than-average rainfall across Indonesia resulted in floods across the country.

"Likewise, my concern is that areas throughout the region that are currently experiencing drought due to El Nino will be subject to potential flood risk if La Nina occurs."

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Indonesia: Satellites detect 13 hotspots in Riau

Antara 6 May 16;

Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - The Terra and Aqua satellites detected 13 hotspots in five districts in Riau Province, on Friday at 5 a.m. local time.

"Based on a monitoring by the Terra and Aqua satellites at 5 a.m. Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB) today, 13 hotsptos are detected in five districts in Riau," Sugarin, head of the Pekanbaru meteorology station, said.

Pelalawan District has five hotspots, Siak four, Indragiri Hilir two, Meranti and Indragiri Hulu one each.

Riau is predicted to experience summer again from May to August this year.

To anticipate forest fires, military and police officers have built thousands of canals to maintain humidity of peatland.

The Peatland Restoration Agency has planned to make artesian wells as water resources needed in case of forest fires.

The Riau Forest Fire Task Force has also deployed two MI-8 helicopters to carry out water bombings to extinguish fires.

The Russian helicopters are staying in Riau until June 2016, as part of the governments efforts to prevent forest fires.

On March 7 this year, the Riau provincial government declared an emergency alert status.

The status effective for three months, is aimed at expediting the measures to handle and prevent forest and land fires.

Riaus district administrations of Meranti, Bengkalis, Dumai, Rokan Hilir, Siak, and Pelalawan had earlier also declared the emergency alert status.
(Uu.F001)

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Solomon Islands: Rising sea levels blamed for the disappearance of five reef islands

* New evidence first time anecdotal accounts of sea level rising impacts confirmed
* Nuatambu Island lost more than half of its habitable area, 11 houses washed into the sea since 2011
* 21 islands exposed to high wave energy, five disappeared, six eroded substantially
* Sea level rise, erosion and coastal flooding are some of the greatest challenges facing humanity from climate change.

Simon Albert, Alistair Grinham, Badin Gibbes, Javier Leon and John Church, The Conversation ABC News 7 May 16;

At least five reef islands in the remote Solomon Islands have been lost completely to sea level rise and coastal erosion, and a further six islands have been severely eroded.

The islands lost to the sea range in size from one to five hectares and supported dense tropical vegetation that was at least 300 years old.

Nuatambu Island — home to 25 families — has lost more than half of its habitable area, with 11 houses washed into the sea since 2011.

This is the first scientific evidence, published in Environmental Research Letters, that confirms the numerous anecdotal accounts from across the Pacific of the dramatic impacts of climate change on coastlines and people.

Previous studies examining the risk of coastal inundation in the Pacific region have found islands can actually keep pace with sea level rise and sometimes even expand.

However, these studies have been conducted in areas of the Pacific with rates of sea level rise of 3-5 millimetres per year — broadly in line with the global average of 3 millimetres per year.

Solomon Islands sea levels rising at three times the average

For the past 20 years, the Solomon Islands have been a hotspot for sea level rise.

Its seas have risen at almost three-times the global average — about 7-10 millimetres per year since 1993. This higher local rate is partly the result of natural climate variability.

These higher rates were in line with what is expected across much of the Pacific in the second half of this century as a result of human-induced sea level rise.

Many areas will experience long-term rates of sea level rise similar to that already experienced in Solomon Islands, but the very lowest emission scenarios.

Natural variations and geological movements will be superimposed on these higher rates of global average sea level rise, resulting in periods when local rates of rise will be substantially larger than that recently observed in Solomon Islands.

The current conditions in Solomon Islands are an insight into the future impacts of accelerated sea level rise.

The coastlines of 33 reef islands were studied using aerial and satellite imagery from 1947 to 2015.

This information was integrated with local traditional knowledge, radiocarbon dating of trees, sea level records, and wave models.

Wave energy appears to play an important role in the dramatic coastal erosion observed in Solomon Islands.

Islands exposed to higher wave energy in addition to sea level rise experienced greatly accelerated loss compared with more sheltered islands.

Twelve islands we studied in a low wave energy area of Solomon Islands experienced little noticeable change in shorelines despite being exposed to similar sea level rise.

But of the 21 islands exposed to higher wave energy, five completely disappeared and a further six islands eroded substantially.

The human story behind rising sea levels

These rapid changes to shorelines observed in Solomon Islands have led to the relocation of several coastal communities that have inhabited these areas for generations.

These are not planned relocations led by governments or supported by international climate funds, but are ad hoc relocations using their own limited resources.

The customary land tenure (native title) system in Solomon Islands has provided a safety net for these displaced communities.

In fact, in some cases entire communities have left coastal villages that were established in the early 1900s by missionaries, and retraced their ancestral movements to resettle old inland village sites used by their forefathers.

In other cases, relocations have been more ad hoc, with individual families resettling small inland hamlets over which they have customary ownership.

In these cases, communities of 100-200 people have fragmented into handfuls of tiny family hamlets. Sirilo Sutaroti, the 94-year-old chief of the Paurata tribe, recently abandoned his village.

"The sea has started to come inland, it forced us to move up to the hilltop and rebuild our village there away from the sea," he said.

In addition to these village relocations, Taro, the capital of Choiseul Province, is set to become the first provincial capital in the world to relocate residents and services in response to the impact of sea level rise.

The global effort to protect the Pacific

Interactions between sea level rise, waves and the large range of responses observed in Solomon Islands — from total island loss to relative stability — shows the importance of integrating local assessments with traditional knowledge when planning for sea level rise and climate change.

Linking this rich knowledge and inherent resilience in the people with technical assessments and climate funding is critical to guiding adaptation efforts.

Solomon Islands National Disaster Council chair Melchior Mataki this "ultimately called for support from development partners and international financial mechanisms"

"This support should include nationally driven scientific studies to inform adaptation planning to address the impacts of climate change in Solomon Islands," he said.

Last month the Solomon Islands government joined 11 other small Pacific Island nations in signing the Paris climate agreement in New York. There was a sense of optimism it would signify a turning point in global efforts.

However, it remains to be seen how the hundreds of billions of dollars promised through global funding models such as the Green Climate Fund can support those most at need in remote communities, like those in Solomon Islands.

Simon Albert is a senior research fellow a the University of Queensland School of Civil Engineering, Alistair Grinham is senior research fellow at the University of Queensland, Badin Gibbes is a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland School of Civil Engineering, Javier Leon is a lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast, John Church is a CSIRO fellow.

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Best of our wild blogs: 6 May 16

Singapore Raptor Report – March 2016
Singapore Bird Group

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Royston Tan's 'Homecoming' - film about people of Pulau Ubin

Royston Tan: 'I must rebel for the right reason'
Despite a string of govt-commissioned works, film-maker Roystan Tan says he has not 'sold out'
Joanne Soh The New Paper 6 May 16;

Do not call him the reformed bad boy of local cinema.

Even though Royston Tan has effectively become the go-to guy for government-endorsed projects - he has done more than 20 in the past decade, including 10 in the last year alone - there is still a rebel in him.

It is just manifested a little differently now.

The local film-maker still wants his work, be it short or feature-length films, to raise eyebrows.

"I don't think my story-telling style has changed over the years. The objective is still the same," Tan told The New Paper over the phone.

"There are certain messages I want to get across. I'm still telling stories close to my heart."

And that would be uniquely Singaporean human interest stories or tales about the community.

Sixteen years in the industry have certainly changed people's minds and opinions, as well as his own "enfant terrible" reputation.

For a director whose seminal 2002 feature film 15 struck a nerve in Singapore - particularly that of the Government's - due to its unsavoury depiction of teenage delinquency, gangs and illegal activities, Tan appears to be going in the opposite direction.

This year, the 39-year-old has already completed three commissioned projects by various ministries and agencies.

The first was a video installation called A Moment Of Unity for the National Museum of Singapore to mark the first anniversary of the passing of Singapore's first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew.

That was followed by Shoelaces, a heartwarming commercial commissioned by the Workplace Safety and Health Council to create awareness that all injuries and ill health at work can be prevented. It is now showing on TV and in cinemas.

HOMECOMING

Then there is Homecoming, a one-hour documentary film commissioned by the National Heritage Board (NHB) for Singapore HeritageFest 2016.

It features personal stories of former Pulau Ubin residents who still return to the village and others who have left their homes on the mainland to settle down on Ubin.

Its premiere will be at the Pulau Ubin Wayang Stage on May 14, alongside another local film, Dahdi, by Kirsten Tan.

When asked if he is "selling out" for what may be perceived as propaganda projects, Tan brushed off the criticism, saying that "the culture has changed".

"I've not lost my edginess. It's just that the environment is more open, and that presented more opportunities for creativity," he insisted.

"The (agencies) don't interfere much nowadays... they just let me do what I want."

He said the agencies gave him free rein on the stories and direction.

"I guess they like my narrative and atmospheric style."

It is clear that there is no longer any bad blood between Tan and the censorship board, and all those 15-related fiascos are water under the bridge.

"I never thought of myself as a rebel against the authorities. When I rebel, I must rebel for the right reason."

He added, laughing: "I'm still very much against censorship, though!"

For Homecoming, Tan was approached by NHB because of a Pulau Ubin segment in his short film 50 First Kisses, which was part of the SG Heart Map campaign last year.

"(NHB) asked if I have any more footage on Pulau Ubin. After much discussion and brainstorming, we realised that the island has a lot of interesting people, and they should be featured.

"They have so many wonderful memories and those should be shared."

CAPTURING THE PAST

Capturing the past has long been a hobby for Tan, who is passionate about archiving and documenting Singapore's lost heritage, forgotten places and even old architecture.

Doing commercials such as Shoelaces pays the bills for him to indulge in such pet projects, Tan joked.

However, Tan insists he still pushes the envelope.

"I have a big 'naughty' project coming up," he teased, hinting that it may have something to do with the anti-dialect campaign.

"We used to have those Speak Mandarin campaigns and were forbidden to use dialect.

"But dialect is beautiful and it should not be lost. It's how we communicate with our elderly folks.

"If Singaporeans can speak Korean by watching the TV shows, why can't they pick up Mandarin so easily too?

"So don't blame dialect and make it the scapegoat for us not being able to speak Mandarin properly.

"Wait for my next project. It will be out in a few months' time and it is going to be historic," he said, laughing.

Royston's fond memories of the island from his younger days and his passion for documenting Singapore's heritage can be seen from his recent work, 7 Letters, and his other short film 50 First Kisses. We are confident that he will be able to tell the story of Pulau Ubin beautifully.

- Mr Warren Sin, film programmer, Singapore HeritageFest 2016

Royston was part of a group of three local film-makers shortlisted by our advertising agency to produce the commercial Shoelaces. We appointed him because we felt that his creative style and proposed execution of the (commercial) was best suited to achieve our objectives in getting the general public to take action to prevent injuries and ill health at work. The WSH Council had also previously worked with Royston (for) its 2012 television commercial Guilt Kid.

- Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council spokesman

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Heritage in the heartlands -- Bedok's lost shoreline

Today Online 6 May 16;

SINGAPORE — Before the massive land reclamation project in the 1960s permanently extended the eastern coastline of Singapore, the former coastal settlement of Bedok was the very scene of tropical idyll, with beach mansions of the local rich melding with traditional Malay kampungs and fishing villages set to a backdrop of swaying palm trees and the South China Sea.

Although such a scene is no longer available, this is what people can get a sense of when they sign up for a guided bus tour around the Bedok area. This new heritage trail was officially launched yesterday by the National Heritage Board (NHB) as part of the activities for this year’s Singapore HeritageFest (SHF).

Other activities offered this weekend (the second of three on the SHF calendar), which sees focus move from the city centre to the heartlands, include gastronomic tours of areas known for their food offerings, such as Balestier, Joo Chiat, Kampong Glam and Changi.

But of the myriad activities available for heritage buffs, the guided Bedok Heritage Trail stands out as a firm highlight. The bus tour will travel through history-rich sites such as the Frankel and Opera Estates, where Albert Einstein once visited as a guest of the prominent Frankel family; an intact piece of the old sea wall at Upper East Coast Road opposite Laguna Park condominium; and Bedok Corner, the former site of raucous sea regattas featuring koleks (small wooden Malay boats) and seafront kampungs that dotted the shoreline of Singapore’s east coast.

It is NHB’s 15th heritage trail, spanning over 15km and featuring 10 heritage markers installed at various sites around the area.

“We hope that the trail will raise the awareness of residents and visitors about Bedok’s heritage, pique their interest to re-discover key landmarks in the estate, and instil a sense of pride in them when they learn about Bedok’s role in Singapore’s progress as a nation,” said Alvin Tan, NHB’s assistant chief executive (Policy & Community).

Added Tan Teng Teng, researcher for the Bedok Heritage Trail: “Bedok was one of the most photographed areas of Singapore (in the earlier part of last century), as its coastal scenery inspired a lot of photographers and film-makers. The first open-air cinema was in Siglap. Bedok has managed to retain a lot of its character despite being one of the first resettlement zones in Singapore.”

Tan added that the discussions with the Housing & Development Board (HDB) and preliminary research for the Bedok Heritage Trail started in 2011, and was developed as part of the HDB’s Remaking Our Heartland plans for the East Coast area.

Yesterday also saw the unveiling of a brand-new mobile application titled Singapore Heritage Trails, which was developed by the NHB in collaboration with the Keio-NUS CUTE Center. The latter is a joint collaboration between National University of Singapore and Keio University in Japan to further research in digital interactive media.

The mobile app is a compilation of 80 heritage trails in Singapore developed by community and public agency partners, in addition to those by NHB, such as food-themed and paranormal trails. It also allows users to curate their own trails, and contribute pictures and accounts of their experiences through interactive and geo-tracking features.

“This project is the first attempt to consolidate all of Singapore’s heritage trails, and (it) is great for people who are after spontaneity as they are able to locate trails and heritage sites nearby,” said Dr Kelvin Cheng, research fellow at the Keio-NUS CUTE Center. Aside from heritage and historical information, the app also features food recommendations. “We wanted to build a platform that is more social and encourage contributions from the public to build on their memories with user-generated content,” said Cheng.

Two more heritage trails will be unveiled in the second half of this year; a refreshed trail of Bukit Timah and a brand-new one for Little India.

Added Tan: “We (at the NHB) don’t believe in just putting the infrastructure out there; we hope to encourage and foster community engagement and partnership with all of our heritage trails.”

The Singapore HeritageFest runs from now until May 15. To register for ticketed events, visit http://www.heritagefest.sg

Heritage in the Heartlands: Get to know the rich history of Bedok’s coastline

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Indonesia Limboto Lake: A migration stopover and a permanent habitat

Syamsul Huda M.Suhari Jakarta Post 5 May 16;

Despite alarming ecological concerns, Limboto Lake in Gorontalo remains either a stopover point or a permanent home for at least 85 bird species. Some of the birds are endemic to the region and many pass through Gorontalo when migrating.

The migratory birds, which rest at Limboto Lake, are water birds from Alaska, Siberia, Russia and Europe. Forty nine of the 85 species recorded at the lake are migratory birds.

They include the oriental pratincole, the whimbrel, the glossy ibis, the greater painted-snipe, the sharp-tailed sandpiper, the common sandpiper, the greater sand plover, the wood sandpiper, the oriental plover, the whiskered tern and the common sandpiper. Most of the birds rest at Limboto Lake before continuing their migration to various destinations.

“We can enjoy the migration phenomenon of the migrant birds during from October to December every year,” bird conservation group Burung Indonesia biodiversity officer Panji Ahmad Fauzan told thejakartapost.com on Wednesday.

From 2014 to 2016, Burung Indonesia, supported by photographers and journalists, has carried out a number of surveys to uncover the number and types of birds people can find in Limboto Lake.

Panji said the surveys were important because there was no comprehensive data on the birds at the lake, where the water level has continued to fall.

The presence of water birds at Limboto Lake had not been recorded by anyone else when conservation group Wetlands International carried out water bird surveys between 1987 and 2007.

According to Burung Indonesia, Limboto Lake is a natural habitat for 14 protected bird species and four Sulawesi endemic bird species. Those protected species are often still hunted people, for fun.

Debby Hariyanti Mano, a Gorontalo journalist and blogger who has documented birds at Limboto Lake, said wildlife hunting occurred there almost every day. When she goes to the lake to document bird species, Debby says she often meets hunters carrying air rifles and dead birds.

“Some of them proudly showed me pictures on social media of birds they hit while hunting,” said Debby.

The lake’s shallow and muddy nature has made it an ideal habitat for various water birds.

Unfortunately, the water at Limboto Lake has continued to recede and it will soon be dry. In the 1970s, the historical lake covered 5,600 hectares, and witnessed a peace agreement between two conflicting Gorontalo kingdoms.

Currently, Limboto Lake covers only 2,500 hectares. High sedimentation, forest clearing upstream and land conversion are among the major causes of silting in the lake. ( ebf )

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Coral bleaching in Seychelles' waters escalating, local groups say

Sharon Meriton Jean and Betymie Bonnelame Seychelles News Agency 5 May 16;

Bleaching of coral in the Seychelles archipelago has escalated the past two years, say officials from two non-governmental organisations.

In surveyed sites around Mahe, the most populated island, Global Vision International’s country director, Chris Mason-Parker, says as much as 90 percent of corals in shallow waters are now bleached significantly with signs of mortality.

Another organisation, Nature Seychelles, says extensive bleaching has been observed around Praslin, the second-most populated island, with over 17 percent of coral having died within the special reserve of Cousin, a neighbouring island.

Coral bleaching is a phenomenon where coral turns white or colours fade. It is caused by an increase in sea temperature. An El Niño similar to the one in 1998 has occurred this year, bringing above-average temperatures to the region.

The local media made a report last month on coral bleaching around Curieuse’ protected marine area, located 15 minutes from Praslin.

“Bleached corals continue to live, but growth is limited until they can regain the algae which give them their colour and food. This usually occurs when the temperature returns to normal,” said the chief executive of Nature Seychelles.

Given that it takes years for reefs to recover from such a phenomenon, Mason-Parker said this was an opportunity to identify resilient pockets of reef that may be critical for replenishing coral reefs in the Indian Ocean islands.

After the coral bleaching of 1998, coral transplantation is a well-established technique in Seychelles with several sites including Cousin and Curieuse being used as underwater coral nurseries.

Nature Seychelles implemented the largest coral reef restoration program in the region using more than 41,000 coral fragments which were grown in underwater nurseries for more than a year, off Praslin Island.

Over 34 species of corals were then transplanted to the Cousin Island Special Reserve in an area of 5,300 square meters, which was degraded by the 1998 bleaching incidence.

“We hope our transplanted corals exhibit the resilience needed to survive this episode,” said Shah, adding that this will establish proof of concept regarding the feasibility, and desirability of coral gardening.

Mason-Parker, on the other hand, highlighted the need to reduce stressors on local reefs such as avoiding overfishing, minimising nutrient loading and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. He said that protection should be provided for those reefs that are exhibiting resilience and extending this protection to adjacent seagrass and mangrove ecosystems.

“These will maximise our chances of protecting coral reefs and build their resilience to climate change,” Mason-Parker added.

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Drought takes toll at Palau's famed Jellyfish Lake

AFP Yahoo News 4 May 16;

Koror (Palau) (AFP) - A severe drought in Palau is killing marine life at the island nation's popular Jellyfish Lake, researchers say, forcing tourism operators to cancel trips to the unique Pacific destination.

The lake near the capital Koror normally provides a tranquil, otherworldly experience for tourists, mostly from China, who snorkel and float among throngs of non-stinging, golden jellyfish.

But with the tiny nation of 18,000 in the grip of its worst drought on record, scientists last month estimated the jellyfish population had plummeted from eight million to under 600,000.

Boat operators such as Sam's Tours say even that figure is optimistic, putting the numbers at 300,000 and falling.

Sam's no longer runs tours to the lake, normally one of Palau's main attractions, and four out of five operators contacted by AFP last week had adopted a similar policy.

"Many tour companies including ours that have been taking guests to the lake have not seen any jellyfish," Sam's said in a statement to customers.

"We at Sam's Tours have therefore decided to suspend our tours to Jellyfish Lake with immediate effect until further notice."

Palau had 160,000 foreign visitors last year, more than half of them from mainland China, and tourism is the economy's largest earner.

The drought, fuelled by an El Nino weather pattern, has depleted rivers and dams, forcing the government to declare a state of emergency and appeal for overseas aid.

The Coral Reef Research Foundation said the lack of rainwater had increased salinity in the lake, killing off the plankton that sustain the jellyfish.

"The golden jelly population could be on the verge of crashing, to the point where there are no more medusae (adults) swimming around the lake," the foundation said.

It said juvenile polyps could usually go dormant and repopulate when conditions improved but current conditions on the lake were unprecedented.

"This time around the situation is uncertain, as no one knows how this El Nino/La Nina scenario is going to play out," it added.

The Koror state government said it was confident that eventually Jellyfish Lake would once again live up to its name.

"This is a phase in the natural cycle of events in the overall realm of the ecosystem," it said.

"Similar events in the past show evidence of the resilience of our natural environment to recover to normal conditions."

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