Malaysia: Reclamation damaging Penang

AUDREY DERMAWAN New Straits Times 22 Aug 16;

GEORGE TOWN: Penang, the Pearl of the Orient, is sitting on a ticking time bomb.
Coastal reclamation will worsen the island state’s seascape, a marine environment expert has warned.

Dr Zulfigar Yasin, a Universiti Sains Malaysia marine biology professor, said the state’s environment was heading for uncharted waters.

He said coastal reclamation would come back to bite the island famed for its tourist spots.

Coastal reclamations are going full swing at Gurney Drive and the Queensbay area opposite Pulau Jerejak. A massive reclamation, which will see the creation of three man-made islands, has been proposed in the southern part of the island to fund the RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan.

Zulfigar said not only would Penang be more prone to disasters, such as flooding and tsunamis, they could also be worse.

“It is serious enough for the state authorities to know that they are jumping into the unknown. Worse still, Penang’s environment is like a volcano waiting to erupt. We are treading on a ticking time bomb,” he told the New Straits Times.

He said land reclamation in the past was centred on Teluk Bahang to stabilise the coastline, but reclamation these days was to cater for huge development.

“In the last 10 years, things have changed drastically. We see very rapid and huge reclamations for development, especially in the Free Trade Zone, Tanjung Tokong and the proposed southern area.

“Penang’s shape used to be rather jagged, but now, it is more rounded. This means that most of our coastlines, especially in shallow areas, have been reclaimed.

“If such reclamation continues unabated, there will be serious consequences, which will affect people’s livelihood.”

He said although Penang was in a relatively safe sea, the state authorities should not be complacent as it too was affected by the December 2004 tsunami.

He said it was clear that rampant coastal reclamation affected the state’s seawater quality, especially with respect to sedimentation.

He said it would also affect fishery, where fishermen would lose their fishing grounds.

“The impact may not be immediate, but the obvious index is the price of fish. Before, the common folk ate fish, and if you were rich, you ate chicken. These days, it’s the opposite. Everything from the sea is becoming expensive.”

Zulfigar said Penang’s coastal waters were important to the aquaculture industry.

He said the biggest cockle culture sites were in the shallow waters in Penang, Perak and Selangor and, incidentally, these areas were targeted for reclamation.

He said if the state relied on water tourism, it made sense to protect such areas.

“Penang focuses not only on water tourism, but also medical tourism. Hence, it is ironic that the state is promoting health and aesthetic but, at the same time, destroying the environment.”

He said reclamation and overdevelopment would have an impact on the sea habitat, particularly seagrass beds.

“Penang has lost many coral reefs over the last 10 to 20 years. We had beautiful reefs in Pulau Kendi, parts of Teluk Bahang, Pulau Rimau and Pulau Jerejak. Now, we have to go elsewhere to see them.”

He said the decreasing quality of seawater, caused by increased sedimentation and heavy metals due to reclamation, meant that it was not conducive to marine animals.

He said the authorities must come up with a study on the state’s coastline, and look at the impact of reclamation on the environment and related industries to mitigate this problem.

He said the state’s structural plan should be revisited.

“We need a master plan and new guidelines to ensure sustainable development. We don’t want a repeat of Batu Ferringhi. The tourist hotspot was pristine until development set in. We need to learn from mistakes.”

He said many of the existing plans were short term, unsustainable and did not consider long-term impacts.

He said reclamation should be put on hold pending the completion of the study and master plan.

Fishermen fear for their livelihoods, some may call it quits
AUDREY DERMAWAN New Straits Times 22 Aug 16;

GEORGE TOWN: Coastal reclamation off Gurney Drive and the Queensbay area opposite Pulau Jerejak is threatening the livelihood of hundreds of fishermen.

Many have lamented the loss of income, while others are thinking of calling it quits after decades of going to sea.

A visit by the New Straits Times to the site near Queensbay found that reclamation was in full swing with large dredging vessels parked in the sea.

At one spot, sand filled the once crystal-clear water.

Fisherman Mohd Rafie Md Said, 31, said they had been having a hard time putting food on the table since reclamation began two months ago.

“We used to get RM500 worth of catch daily. Now, we are thankful if we can get RM100.

“Life has been difficult. We are plagued with debts. What is going to become of us?”

Shahrul Nizal Md Daud, 30, said there were times when he came home empty-handed.

“I have a family to feed. I also need to pay for the house and car.

“We were given only RM5,000 as compensation. How long can that last us?”

Both fishermen said they had no clue as to the purpose of the reclamation, adding that more than 100 fishermen had been given until the end of the month to move out.

Shahrul said although they were given an alternative site at Seagate, not everyone was given an individual hut to operate from.

“We have protested against the coastal reclamation, but no one seems to hear us.”

He said the sea had turned murky and oily, making it no longer suitable for marine life.

Ismail Saahat, 38, took the developer to task, saying every negotiation was done through a middle man and not directly.
He claimed that the middle man “picked and chose” who would receive compensation.

“How can this be? It is true that some have no licence and are not members of our association, but they have been here much longer than any of us.

“How are they going to feed their family? What is the state government doing to help us? Will we be left to fend for ourselves? What will become of us when the proposed reclamation at the southern zone begin?

A fisherman in Gurney Drive, who wanted to be known only as Tan, said they used to go only 4km out to sea and there would be plenty of fish.

Now, he said, the reclamation projects had forced them to go out between 10km and 15km to sea.

“How can we do that when we have only small boats. What if there are big waves? We will be left for dead.

“We also risk getting caught by the authorities for encroachment.”

Tan said although they were paid between RM10,000 and RM15,000 as compensation, it was not enough as it would not even last them one year.

“We are not complaining for the sake of complaining. We just want adequate compensation.”

He said the developer should pay the fishermen a monthly compensation until the completion of its project.

Tan said his catch dropped from RM2,000 a day to less than RM1,000 since the reclamation started.

“With the situation we are in, there is no need to chase us away. We will be forced to leave eventually.”

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Indonesia: East Nusa Tenggara faces continuous water deficit, drought

Djemi Amnifu The Jakarta Post 22 Aug 16;

Despite a series of infrastructure projects to provide clean water to residents of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), the province continues to suffer from a lack of clean water due to low rainfall in recent years.

With the help of financial assistance from the central government, the province has seen the construction of artesian wells and water reservoirs to supply clean water.

However, the province is still suffering a water deficit of up to 1.5 billion cubic meters per year.

“We currently have artificial lakes, artesian wells and a dam, but they can only accommodate 58 million cubic meters of water. This is certainly not enough to deal with the existing water deficit,” NTT public works agency head Andre Koreh said on Friday.

He said there were periods when rainfall was high across the province, however the rainwater then flowed into the sea due to inefficient water catchment areas.

“This is what has led NTT to see water deficits of up to 1.5 billion cubic meters annually,” Andre said.

He said good water-resource management could help solve the problem, but due to infrastructure challenges, the province would need Rp 4 trillion to fund such initiatives.

Unfortunately, the provincial budget could only allocate Rp 4 billion per year. “This is most surely insufficient for what is needed,” he said.

The central government’s budget allocation for the province increased from Rp 1 trillion in 2014 to over
Rp 3 trillion last year.

“This is inseparable from the President’s Nawacita program of developing Indonesia from the fringes and strengthening border areas. NTT is very strategically positioned to receive larger budget allocations,” he said.

Andre said that to deal with the water problem, particular areas were engineered to become water reservoirs.

According to him, when the provincial administration plans to develop water catchment areas, social issues such as problems with land acquisition emerge because some people do not want dams built on their land.

Andre said that the neighboring province, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), was able to deal with water supply issues because it had 16 artificial lakes. Its eastern neighbor, on the other hand, only has one dam, with two others under construction. In fact, both started developing dams in 2000.

“The Kolhua and Lambo dams up to the present cannot be developed because of land problems. In fact, both should have been developed before the two that are currently under construction,” he said.

Despite the problems, Andre said, the plan to develop seven dams in NTT had been included in the Presidential decree including the Rotiklot and Raknamo dams currently under construction.

The five other dams to developed in the province include Maniking in Kupang regency, Temef in South Timor Tengah (TTS) regency, Napung Gete in Sikka regency, Lambo in Ngada regency and Kolhua in Kupang city.

The seven dams, according to Andre, were among 49 dams to be developed by the central government. He added that the Cipta Karya directorate general said that the number of dams to be developed in NTT could be increased from seven to 12. “But we are facing land problems. People still think that developing infrastructure is the same as eradicating ethnic groups,” he said.

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Indonesia: Special treatment to boost farming output

Arya Dipa The Jakarta Post 22 Aug 16;

Most of the nation’s rice fields require special treatment to boost productivity because the organic content of the soil is below ideal, an official from the Agriculture Ministry has said.

The ministry’s agriculture research and development agency head, Muhammad Syakir, said special treatment or therapy was needed to help increase rice production, as not all existing agriculture areas were fertile.

Speaking at a seminar at Padjadjaran University in Sumedang, West Java, on Friday, Syakir said half the country’s existing agriculture areas, amounting to 8.1 million hectares, was sub-optimal and needed organic fertilizer.

“The organic content is below 2.5 percent, therefore they need special treatment, especially because the production gap is still high,” Syakir said.

He said the fertility of soil could be measured from its organic C content. “Ideally the content should be above 5 percent,” said Syakir.

According to Syakir, the use of organic fertilizers is the most rational way to increase carbon (C organic) content or the content of elements determining soil fertility. Similarly, the ministry’s fertilizer and pesticide director Muhrizal Sarwani said carbon content of less than 2 percent in soil indicated that improvement was needed.

He said the contribution of fertilizers in the growth of crops was between 15 percent and 30 percent. “Our policy is to have balanced fertilizer use,” Muhrizal said.

Quoting ministry data, Muhrizal said most farmers in Indonesia used chemical fertilizers for rice, corn and soybean.

Twelve percent do not use fertilizers at all. Sixty-eight percent of rice farmers use non-organic fertilizers,” he said.

Food science and field resource professor Hidayat Salim of Padjadjaran University said the use of organic fertilizers was important to fix soil, as organic fertilizers improved the soil’s chemical, physical and biological characteristics.

Meanwhile, PT Petrokimia Gresik’s human resources and general affairs director, Rahmat Pribadi, said his side had implemented the use of balanced fertilizers on 650,000 hectares of fields.

“There has been a 15 to 20 percent increase. That equals to between a 1 ton and 1.5 ton per hectare increase,” Rahmat said.

On organic fertilizer production, Rahmat said his company had a production capacity of 2.2 million tons, but until now it had been producing below capacity at 700,000 tons.

House of Representatives lawmaker Herman Khaeron of Commission IV, which is overseeing the matter, said intensification was a strategy for food security, self-sufficiency and sovereignty.

“I believe that [soil] has its limits. This seminar will offer input for us going forward to issue policies,” Khaeron said.

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Indonesian fishermen implicate Australia in Montara oil spill

Djemi Amnifu The Jakarta Post 23 Aug 16;

Indonesian fishermen from East Nusa Tenggara kicked off their legal battle on Monday at an Australian court, demanding justice for an oil spill in the Montara oil field that has destroyed their livelihoods for the past seven years.

The head of Care for West Timor Foundation’s (YPTB) legal team, Ferdi Tanoni, who represents more than 13,000 fishermen in the class action lawsuit filed at the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney, said that other than Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) Australasia, the Australian government should also be held accountable for the accident.

“Australia can’t wash their hands of this case because some eyewitnesses saw an Australian aircraft flying low above the Timor Sea while spraying liquid on top of the oil spill,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

A fisherman, Muhammad Hatta, said he witnessed a red aircraft flying a week after the incident, during which the Montara oil rig, owned by oil and gas exploration firm PTTEP Australasia, exploded some 690 kilometers west of Darwin and 250 kilometers southeast of Rote Island, East Nusa Tenggara.

“We were around Kolbano waters in Timor Tengah Selatan regency, East Nusa Tenggara. We saw the Australian airplane spray liquid on top of the oil spill in Kolbano waters,” he said.

Ferdi said the liquid was used to disperse the oil spill to the bottom of the ocean based on a laboratory analysis done by experts from Australia, the US and Indonesia.

The dispersant is highly toxic and thus could destroy the marine ecosystem, Ferdi said.

It was alleged that the aircraft, caught by satellite photos, was operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

After the horrific explosion in 2009, gas and oil from the rig gushed into the Timor Sea for more than 70 days.

It is estimated that in excess of 300,000 liters of oil per day contaminated the sea, equivalent to pouring 10 Olympic swimming pools of toxic sludge into the ocean over the months the spill continued.

The oil spill has had a devastating effect on the livelihood of fishermen and coastal communities in East Nusa Tenggara, with fish catches and seaweed harvests continuing to decline in the heavily polluted waters.

Timor Sea Traditional Fishermen Alliance (Antralamor) chairman Mustafa said the fishermen in East Nusa Tenggara earned 70 percent less than what they got before the incident.

“Before the pollution, we could get Rp 20 million [US$1,510]; now it is Rp 5 million,” he said.

More than 13,000 seaweed farmers sued PTTEP for potentially more than A$200 million ($152 million) to cover damages.

Reuters reported that a Darwin-based lawyer, Greg Phelps, has pushed for compensation for Indonesian seaweed farmers whose livelihoods he believes were affected by the oil spill. Funding for the case will come from UK-based Harbour Litigation Funding.

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Australia: Reef tourism operators find less than five per cent of coral dead under ‘extreme’ bleaching

PETER MICHAEL, The Courier-Mail 22 Aug 16;

REEF tourism operators have found less than five per cent of coral has died off — compared to the 50 to 60 per cent estimated by scientists — under “extreme” mass coral bleaching on the northern Great Barrier Reef.

Latest findings exclusively obtained by The Courier-Mail show coral mortality in the outer shelf reefs north of Lizard Island was between one and five per cent with “spectacular” fish life and coral coverage.

Teams of divers in a joint two-week expedition sponsored by Mike Ball Dive and Spirit of Freedom surveyed 28 sites on 24 outer shelf reefs along a 300km section of the hardest-hit part of the reef from Bathurst Head to Raine Island.

Spirit of Freedom owner Chris Eade said reports of 93 per cent bleaching on the 2300km long Great Barrier Reef had made global headlines and damaged the reputation of the $5 billion reef tourism industry.

“Scientists had written off that entire northern section as a complete white-out,’’ Mr Eade said.

“We expected the worst. But it is tremendous condition, most of it is pristine, the rest is in full recovery.

“It shows the resilience of the reef.’’

Mike Ball Dive Expeditions operations manager Craig Stephen, who conducted a similar survey on the remote reefs 20 years ago, said there had been almost no change in two decades despite the latest coral bleaching event.

“It wasn’t until we got underwater that we could get a true picture of what percentage of reef was bleached,’’ Mr Stephen said.

“The discrepancy is phenomenal. It is so wrong. Everywhere we have been we have found healthy reefs.

“There has been a great disservice to the Great Barrier Reef and tourism and it has not been good for our industry.”

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority estimated a mass coral white-out of between 50 to 60 per cent, on average, for reefs off Cape York under the world’s biggest-ever mass coral bleaching event.

Scientists with the Townsville-based ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies reported about 35 per cent mortality but warned “the final death toll” on some reefs may exceed 90 per cent.

In April, aerial and underwater surveys of 522 reefs in the northern sector showed 81 per cent had been severely bleached and one per cent not bleached.

Professor Terry Hughes, convener of the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce, at the time said “it’s like 10 cyclones have come ashore all at once.”

Professor Hughes yesterday welcomed the positive news but had not yet seen the latest survey findings.

“We won’t know the true coral mortality until we can get back up there in October and compare before and after impacts from our March survey,’’ Prof Hughes said.

“Those coral will either survive or more will die.’’

A GBRMPA spokeswoman said they would closely examine the findings of the first independent expedition into the isolated region.

“Obviously if they’ve found reefs with a lower than expected mortality rate that is fabulous news,’’ she said.

“Our initial findings noted that the level of bleaching and mortality was expected to be very variable across the entire reef system.’’

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Vietnam: Formosa's toxic disaster -- are fish safe to eat now in central Vietnam?

VnExpress 22 Aug 16;

A long-awaited government report fails to answer the most important question.

The Vietnamese government has remained non-committal about whether it is now safe to catch and eat fish along the country's central coast that bore the brunt of the toxic disaster caused by the Vietnam unit of Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group last April.

Instead the authorities concerned have just said broadly that the coast is safe for swimming and aquaculture.

The government has completed its assessment of the environmental damage caused by Formosa Ha Tinh Steel along a 200 kilometer stretch of the country's central coastline.

It called a press conference on Monday, chaired by Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Tran Hong Ha and attended by foreign and local scientists and leaders of affected provinces, to announce the results of the investigation into what Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc described as “the worst environment disaster the country has faced”.

On June 30, Vietnam made an official announcement that Formosa Ha Tinh Steel was to blame for discharging toxins into the ocean in the central province of Ha Tinh, home to Formosa's $10.6 billion plant.

It confirmed that the chemical spill, containing harmful chemicals such as phenol, cyanide and iron hydroxide, was responsible for killing marine life and poisoning fish in the central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien – Hue.

However, it remains unclear whether the quality of water is safe to fish in within 20 nautical miles of the coast.

At the conference, Mai Trong Nhuan, who headed the study on the disaster commissioned by the environment ministry, presented an extensive report on how the marine environment in the disaster zone has recovered from the toxic pollution.

Firstly, according to the report, marine life, including sea water and sea-bed sediment, is generally within Vietnamese safety standards for aquaculture farming, fishing, and tourism activities.

Secondly, the toxic chemicals the steel factory dumped into the sea, including cyanide, phenol and iron hydroxide, have shown signs of diluting.

Thirdly, the marine ecosystem, coral reefs, sea grass and other marine resources, which were seriously damaged in terms of scale and species, has started to make a recovery.

In addition, levels of chemical residue found in seafood caught along the coastline of the four affected provinces have gradually fallen, according to the Health Ministry.

Harmful chemicals in the sea water seem to have dissipated, but some pollutants such as phenol remain at relatively high concentrations, said Trinh Van Tuyen, the director of the Institute of Environment Technology.

But it remains unclear whether the fish in the area are now safe to eat. Friedhelm Schroeder, a German scientist hired to study the consequences of the toxic disaster, said at the conference that fishermen should not go back to work yet. He said the Health Ministry needs to keep a close eye on the situation and give concrete advice about the safety of the fish there.

Environment authorities have set up tracking stations to monitor discharges of harmful waste into the sea.

In early April, local people in Ha Tinh Province, about 400 kilometers south of Hanoi, began noticing an abnormally high number of dead fish washing up on shore. A month later, roughly 100 tons of dead fish had been collected along a 200 kilometer stretch of coastline.

Three months after the fish deaths, the government officially blamed Formosa for the disaster.

Vietnam's government said toxic industrial waste from the Taiwanese-owned steel plant was responsible for the mass fish deaths that have ravaged local fisheries, disrupted people’s lives and hit tourism in the area, destroying the livelihoods of thousands of people in the region.

Formosa took responsibility and promised to pay VND11.5 trillion or $500 million in compensation to treat the pollution and mitigate the consequences.

Vietnamese authorities said the compensation will go towards helping local fishermen in the area find new jobs.

The toxic pollution caused by Formosa has hit at least 200,000 people where it hurts the most: their pockets, the government said last month.

In a report sent to the National Assembly, Vietnam's legislature, the government said that around 41,000 fishermen and over 176,000 people dependent on them have been affected by the incident.

Authorities estimate that seafood catches have fallen 1,600 tons per month, according to the report. 140 tons of fish, 67 tons of oysters and 16 tons of shrimp died as a result of the disaster, it said.


Questions over water safety in central Vietnam
Vietnam Net 23 Aug 16;

While the northern-central coastal region has been described as now being safe for tourism activities since the Formosa environmental disaster, further research will be necessary before seafood from the area are safe, Tran Hong Ha, minister of Natural Resources and Environment said at a press meeting on Monday.

The meeting announced the results of the investigations on the environmental situation in the four central coastal provinces which have been affected by the waste water discharge of the Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Company.

"Although the reports have not met the expectations from the public, they have also shown us positive signs in the quality of the seawater," Ha told the meeting, which was attended by foreign and local scientists and leaders of affected provinces.

At the conference, Mai Trong Nhuan, who headed the study on the disaster carried out by the ministry, presented an extensive report on how the marine environment in the disaster zone has recovered from the toxic pollution.

The report said that marine life, including sea water and sea-bed sediment, was generally within Vietnamese safety standards for aquaculture farming, fishing, and tourism activities.

"The toxic chemicals the steel factory dumped into the sea, including cyanide, phenol and iron hydroxide, have shown signs of diluting," the report said. "The marine ecosystem, coral reefs, sea grass and other marine resources, which were seriously damaged in terms of scale and species, has started to make a recovery."

A representative from the Health Ministry said that levels of chemical residue found in seafood caught along the coastline of the four affected provinces have gradually fallen.

Harmful chemicals in the sea water seem to have dissipated, but some pollutants such as phenol remain at relatively high concentrations, said Trinh Van Tuyen, the director of the Institute of Environment Technology.

But it remains unclear whether the fish in the area are now safe to eat.

Many fishing boats are still lying idle in the four central coastal provinces.

Friedhelm Schroeder, a German scientist hired to study the consequences of the toxic disaster, said at the conference that fishermen should not return to work yet.

"The Ministry of Health needs to keep a close eye on the situation and give concrete advice about the safety of the fish there," he said.

Environment minister swims at Quang Tri beach

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Tran Hong Ha, representatives of agencies and leaders of the central Quang Tri Province yesterday went swimming at the province's Cua Viet Resort.

The minister decided to go for a swim after attending the meeting to announce the results of the investigations into the environment in the four central coastal provinces following the Formosa disaster.

"Scientists have announced that sea in the four central coasts are now safe for swimming, why not go for a swim?" Ha said

Ha was joined by his deputy Vo Tuan Nhan, Quang Tri Province Party Secretary, Nguyen Van Hung, and some of the province's vice chairmen.

At the meeting yesterday, Ha said that although the reports have not met public expectations, they have also shown positive changes in terms of the quality of the seawater.

A report by the ministry based on analysis of 1,080 seawater samples in the area taken in May, 331 samples in June and 68 samples in August, showed that marine life, including sea water and seabed sediment, was generally within Vietnamese safety standards for aquaculture farming, fishing, and tourism activities.

Authorities shirk responsibilities over mass fish deaths

Officials in Ha Tinh Province are trying to avoid punishments after the mass fish deaths in coastal provinces with only one official receiving a reprimand.

Ha Tinh People's Committee has asked the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, environmental police and the management board of provincial economic zones along with the Department of Industry and Trade to review and submit the results about the incident by August 15.

However, only the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, which must take the most responsibility, carried out a review of their employees and only Dang Ba Luc, head of the Environmental Protection Agency was reprimanded.

Even though many people suggest that Vo Ta Dinh, the department's director, must be the first to be blamed, he said he would “learn from the experience”.

Pham Quang De, inspector at the provincial Department of Internal Affairs said, "I said that Dinh should be at least reprimanded. But he said his two vice directors hadn't taken responsibility so he must think about it first. This was a serious disaster and the leaders only promised to learn from experiences is just wrong and a reprimand is too light. We have demanded them to review their responsibilities again."

After receiving all reports about individual responsibilities, the Department of Internal Affairs will report to the provincial people's committee and decide on the punishments.

"Depending on positions and regulations, we'll see if the suggested punishments are good enough and may demand they rethink their punishments," De said.

On June 30, the Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Limited Company admitted responsibility for the mass fish deaths in four central coastal provinces. The government also asked local authorities to review individual responsibilities but the process has been slow.

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South Korea: Red tide threatens fish farms in southern seas

Damage will add to losses already caused by ongoing heat wave
Korea Joongang Daily 23 Aug 16;

Seon Chang-bo cannot sleep at night.

The 42-year-old owns a 1.1-hectare (2.7-acre) fish farm near Tongyeong in South Gyeongsang where he used to have about 800,000 rockfish, but earlier this month his fish began to die off due to high water temperatures.

Making matters worse, there is a warning that a red tide is coming to the sea in Tongyeong.

“Sixty percent of my rockfish died due to high water temperatures,” said Seon. “Seeing that there’s a red tide coming, I’m really worried that the other 40 percent of my fish will die out.”

According to governments of different regions, including South Gyeongsang, about 1.5 million fish from 38 fish farms on both land and sea died this month due to high temperatures. This amounts to about 1.9 billion won ($1.6 million) in losses.

For the first time this year, a red tide appeared Aug. 16 in seas near South Jeolla. A red tide warning was subsequently issued within 24 hours in various shores surrounding the region. When a red tide appeared in South Jeolla last year, it only took about a week for it to expand to other waters near South Gyeongsang. This means that this year’s red tide could reach the waters of South Gyeongsang soon.

Currently, the South Gyeongsang provincial government is monitoring 33 places that are likely to be affected by the red tide. As of Monday, the algal bloom did not exceed 10 individual protists per milliliter, which is the level required for issuing a red tide warning. But fishermen and fish farmers are on edge after a report of a red tide sighted in the sea near Yeosu, South Jeolla.

“After an inspection, there were no signs of red tide yet,” said an official from the South Gyeongsang provincial government. “However, there is still a high possibility of red tide coming to this area, so we are going to monitor the waters more closely.”

The South Gyeongsang government plans to combat the red tide early when it is detected in Namhae County to prevent its spread to other waters in the region. The government has prepared 360,000 tons of red clay, 18 pieces of equipment used for scattering the clay and 1,300 water purification boats along the channel where the red tide is likely to flow.

Fishermen are on an alert, as well.

“We can’t stop the damage from the red tide,” said an official from a federation that manages Tongyeong’s fish farms, “but we are doing everything we can to prepare for and minimize the damage that it normally causes.”

BY WE SUNG-WOOK [lee.soowhan@joongang.co.kr]

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Best of our wild blogs: 22 Aug 16

Corals weeping at Raffles Lighthouse
wild shores of singapore

Blue Nawab (Polyura schreiber tisamenus) @ Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Monday Morgue

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Not all wild over sightings of wild boar in Punggol

Rachel Oh and Chew Hui Min MyPaper AsiaOne 22 Aug 16;

People have been seen feeding wild boars in the Lorong Halus area, raising concerns.

Some Punggol residents are squealing in delight at the prospect of more wild boars seen in the area while others are mortified.

Sightings in Punggol have doubled from last year, according to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

Across the island, from January to July this year, it received 58 instances of wild-boar-related feedback compared with 77 for the whole of last year, it told The Straits Times.

But some 24 sightings have been reported in Punggol for the first seven months of the year alone, double the figure from 12 last year.

The numbers tripled in Lorong Halus in Pasir Ris, with 12 incidents from January to July, versus four last year.

However, sightings in other areas of Singapore have gone down, according to the AVA.

Five were sighted in Upper Thomson from January to July, down from 12 last year, and 17 in other parts of Singapore, down from 49 last year.

Housewife Chu Wei Ping encountered a wild boar a few months ago in Punggol East Park where she jogs.

"I was afraid it would charge at me so I just moved away quickly," she said.

But her fears are unfounded, said wildlife consultant Subaraj Rajathurai, 53, adding that the idea of wild boars charging at people is a misconception.

"As long as you don't get between mums and babies or provoke them, there is no problem," he added.

He explained that the rise of wild boar sightings in Punggol is not necessarily linked to their population growth.

"There is an increase in areas where their habitats have been cleared, making the wild boars more visible. Once they get used to people, they'll wander out into the open and will get seen more easily," he said.

Anbarasi Boopal, deputy chief executive at Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, said the recent spike in sightings could be linked to residents who feed the boars.

"(The rise in sightings) is quite recent so it could be the developments in the area that cause more people to use the place which may, in turn, lead to people feeding the boars," she noted.

As for why boar sightings reported to AVA fell in Thomson, Mr Subaraj said it could be that the recent clearing of palm and rubber trees there led to the animals wandering away.

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Malaysia: More reasons to protect Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary forests

STEPHANIE LEE The Star 22 Aug 16;

KOTA KINABALU: Researchers have found more reasons for the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary forests, where a proposal for a road and bridge has met with protests, to be preserved.

Meaghan Evans, a PhD student at Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) and lead author of the paper Small Carnivore Conservation, said the finding that there were 16 different mammalian carnivore species existing within the fragmented forests of the sanctuary was incredible.

“It also demonstrates the importance of even small forests in the persistence of rich biodiversity.

“We are especially excited to see the presence of a breeding population of otter civets - this represents a new locality for the species and suggests that the sanctuary may act as a species reservoir,” she said.

“We suspect that despite the large amount of industrial oil palm plantations within the floodplains, these blocks of protected forests might actually offset the immediate danger those landscapes represent to sensitive species such as the flat-headed cat or the otter civet,” added Evans.

DGFC director Dr Benoit Goosens said the study clearly showed that the lower Kinabatangan was a critical area for biodiversity.

The proposed project for a road and bridge in nearby Sukau, he added, would surely disturb this already precarious environment and increase the isolation of animal populations, which could ultimately lead to the extinction of some species.

“Kinabatangan is one of the last nature jewels of the state and the only hope of a corridor of forests to link the mangroves of the east coast to central forest reserves such as Segaliud Lokan, Deramakot, Tang­kulap, Malua, Ulu Segama and Kuamut,” he said.

A bridge, warned Dr Goosens, would certainly put into danger this corridor of life, which would instead become a “corridor of death”.

Conservationists have campaigned against the bridge and road project over the Kinabatangan river near Kampung Sukau.

Sabah Wildlife Department senior officer Soffian Abu Bakar said the sanctuary comprised 10 forest lots, most of which were degraded and isolated from other forest tracts.

Using camera traps, researchers had collected nearly 420,000 photos of wildlife throughout the study, representing the most extensive and longest running effort in the region, he said.

Some of the species found in the area were the Sunda clouded leopard, the Malayan sun bear and a host of incredibly understudied small carnivore species, he said.

The study, which also documented the endangered otter civet – a species considered to be sensitive to habitat quality – is supported by the Sime Darby Foundation and Houston Zoo.

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Malaysia: Wildlife no longer safe in Sabah, laments state Wildlife Dept chief

KRISTY INUS New Straits Times 21 AUg 16;

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) arrested two local men in possession of four bear paws and one gall bladder, suspected to be from at least one poached sun bear, yesterday.

This came less than two weeks after two locals were found to be in possession of eight bear paws and two bear gall bladders.

“The duo from the interior region of Sabah were arrested in Asia City downtown at 11.45am while trying to sell these illegal wildlife products to the public.

"The suspects, aged 28 and 41, are being remanded for four days to assist investigation. They will soon be charged under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, Section 41(1) which carries a jail term of up to five years or a fine of up to RM50,000, or both," said department director William Baya.

William said the two latest incidents showed that wildlife poaching in Sabah has reached epic proportions and if not curbed, will spell total extinction of not only sun bears but also most other wildlife in Sabah.

"Having new roads traversing protected forest reserves and wildlife sanctuaries have severely increased these illegal hunting activities throughout Sabah. "There is no safe place for wildlife anymore in Sabah," added William in a statement.

He noted that illegal wildlife trade is also seeing a resurgence in Sabah with the rampant use of social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp.

"We are monitoring these developments closely.

We see that this illegal trade are not just confined to people living near forest reserves but also government officers and professionals in urban areas.

"Rest assured my department will work harder and tirelessly to apprehend these criminals who are destroying Sabah’s natural resources due to their greed," he said.


Online ads lead to arrest of illegal wildlife trader in Sabah
STEPHANIE LEE The Star 21 Aug 16;

KOTA KINABALU: An illegal wildlife trader's online marketing strategy led to his arrest when wildlife rangers came upon his advertisements.

The suspect, together with a partner who was found in possession of four sun bear paws and gall bladder believed sourced from at least one poached animal, were nabbed at about 11.45am Saturday.

Sabah Wildlife Department director William Baya said the duo from an interior region in the state were trying to sell the illegal products at the Asia City commercial compound near here.

"They are now being remanded four days to facilitate investigations under Section 41 of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 for possession of protected species, which carries a sentence of a jail term of up to five years or a fine of up to RM50,000 or both," he said.

This is the second case involving sun bears in two weeks, after the arrest of two men for possession of eight sun bear paws and two gall bladders recently.

“In just a matter of less than two weeks we have arrested four men trying to sell suspected body parts of at least three poached sun bears," Baya said.

"This shows that wildlife poaching in Sabah has reached epic proportions and it will spell extinction of not only sun bears but also most of our other wildlife animals if such activities are not curbed," he said.

He added that new roads traversing protected forest reserves and wildlife sanctuaries have severely increased illegal hunting activities throughout Sabah.

"It seems that there is no safe place for wildlife anymore in Sabah" Baya said.

He said the illegal wildlife trade is also seeing a resurgence with the rampant use of social media such as Facebook and Whatsapp.

"We are monitoring these portals closely and we see that the illegal trade is not just confined to people living near forest reserves but also government officers and professionals in urban areas," he said.

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Indonesia: The Hardships for Bornean Orangutans in Central Kalimantan

Ratri M. Siniwi & Megan Herndon Jakarta Globe 21 Aug 16;

Palangka Raya. Endemic to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo, orangutans have become the symbol for the archipelago’s tropical jungles nurturer, as the animal’s name itself translates to "the people of the jungle."

Well known for their similarity to human DNA, the great ape species are currently under high threat, with both Sumatran and Bornean orangutans listed under the red list of critically endangered animals released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Their habitats' degradation due to commodity concessions, as well as illegal hunting and trade, have been the two main causes of the slump of population across the two islands.

With growing demand for palm oil around the globe, concessions around Kalimantan have crossed the border lines of conservation areas and shrunk the habitats of the primates, leaving them to scour for food in settlements and at risk of human conflict.

Despite being protected by the Indonesian government, many still keep orangutans as pets, hunt them for tribal necessities, or sell them in the wildlife trade black market.

“Orangutans are still being eaten by tribal communities as their skulls are used as ornaments of pride, while some are taken to circuses in Thailand and displayed in zoos of exotic wildlife collectors,” Putu, former WWF Indonesia conservation officer for orangutans in Central Kalimantan, said.

Putu, who has been studying orangutans for over seven years, explained that orangutan babies are worth millions in the market, making their mothers more vulnerable to hunters.

“Orangutan babies are very attached to their mothers, so hunters would have to kill the mother to get the baby,” Putu said. “If you kill one mother, you kill five orangutans at once, as an orangutan mother can only give birth to four babies.”

A visit to Palas Island

Palas Island, managed and owned by the Bornean Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) founded in 1991, is the center of operation for the non-government organization that focuses on the conservation and rehabilitation of orangutans around Borneo. The only way to visit it is by a boat ride on Central Kalimantan's Rungun River.

One of the islands inhabited by orangutans in Central Kalimantan is Palas, which is only accessible by boat. (JG Photo/Megan Herndon) One of the islands inhabited by orangutans in Central Kalimantan is Palas, which is only accessible by boat. (JG Photo/Megan Herndon)
The organization also owns Kaja and Bengamat islands, which are used for rehabilitation process of orangutans, located around Central Kalimantan. The two islands are for more "advanced" orangutan, with Bengamat as the island with a mixture of relocated orang-utans and the rehabilitated ones.

The reintroduction program center is located at Nyarung Menteng, which houses 478 orangutans – 23 of which are babies.

“Many of the orangutans here have been seized [from perpetrators], while some are found by villages near palm oil plantations,” Kinantiti Alif, BOSF Central Kalimantan fundraising officer, said.

When the team arrived at BOSF, they shared an educational video of Rimba, a young orphan orangutan whose mother was shot to be sold as an exotic pet in Jakarta.

After over a decade spent in confinement, Rimba was then confiscated from her owners by Jakarta’s natural resource agency in 1999, and was sent to BOSF for rehabilitation.

Around the pre-release island of Palas, rangers are scattered around in various parts of the island in post guard shelters. (JG Photo/Megan Herndon) Around the pre-release island of Palas, rangers are scattered around in various parts of the island in post guard shelters. (JG Photo/Megan Herndon)
At BOSF, she was taken to forest school to learn about basic survival skills, such as building nests and finding food. After 'graduating', she was placed in an enclosure to socialize with other orangutans, to prepare them for the prerelease island.

It took Rimba 13 years to finally get back into the wild.

The orangutan is now in her twenties and has three babies of her own at the Bukit Betikap Conservation Area in the Muller Schwaner mountain range.

“Since 2012, we have released 177 orangutans in Central Kalimantan from our sanctuary,” said Kinanti.

Long period of rehabilitation and increasing problems

However, Kinanti was not happy with the increasing number of orangutans coming into the rehabilitation center, as it is an indicator of more trouble in the rainforests.

“This means that their habitat is getting destroyed. With no more orangutans, there will be no more forests,” Kinanti stated.

“Our biggest dream at BOSF is that one day, the enclosure will close permanently, because that’s a good sign.”

Kinanti explained that aside from the long period of rehabilitation for orangutans, especially for traumatized babies, the hardest part is getting the government to go along with the idea of orangutan conservation.

“We need to get a license from the government to release orangutans in the wild, and it’s hard work too. We need to cooperate with the local natural resource agency to conduct an area survey to ensure that there is food available on the area, and the release area must be a primary forest,” Kinanti added.

It takes an average of 15 years for orangutans to return to the wild, with BOSF carefully choosing and monitoring each orangutans in their pre-release stages for four years or so, to ensure that they are ready to get back to their natural habitat.

“They have to be quarantined after pre-release, to ensure that they are free from any illness that might be contracted during their time at the island,” Kinanti said.

She took an example of Kessie, a one-handed 15 year old orangutan at her pre-release stage, currently roaming around Palas island.

Kessie tends to shy away from the other orangutans in the island and often hides behind trees due to her disability. (JG Photo/Megan Herndon) Kessie tends to shy away from the other orangutans in the island and often hides behind trees due to her disability. (JG Photo/Megan Herndon)
Kessie has won the hearts of many of BOSF rangers, after losing her left hand to an infected wound from being chained at a palm oil plantation. The villagers rescued her and was immediately sent to the rehab center at Nyaru Menteng.

Putu, the former WWF Indonesia conservation officer said: “She has been at the rehab center for many years, and it was a huge debate on whether Kessie should be sent to Palas.”

Kessie continues to defy the expectations of many, being the only one who survived with just one hand in the wild for seven years. In three years, BOSF will decide whether Kessie should stay in the island or be relocated to Kaja, a high school for rehabilitated orangutans.

So far, BOSF has released their orangutans at Bukit Betikap Conservation Area, but are currently looking into releasing them to Bukit Raya National Park. This would be a collaborated effort with the district’s tourism agency to push for the national park as one of Indonesia’s seven summits.

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