New Mandai attractions hope to draw 10m visitors, boost job market

SIAU MING EN Today Online 17 Jan 17;

SINGAPORE — Come 2023, the ambitious mega-nature attraction in the works at Mandai, which includes a revamped Bird Park that will showcase birds from the Sub-Antarctic to Africa, is expected to draw 10 million visitors a year while creating more job opportunities.

This is more than double the 4.6 million visitors the four current wildlife parks operated by Wildlife Reserves Singapore — Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari and the Jurong Bird Park — draw each year.

Revealing this after a ground-seeding ceremony yesterday to mark the start of construction works, Mandai Park Holdings (MPH) group chief executive officer Mike Barclay added: “We’re pretty confident that we can double the visitation to the parks.”

In comparison, Sentosa drew 19.5 million visitors in 2015, according to its Financial Year 15/16 annual report. For the same year, Resorts World Sentosa, which includes attractions such as Universal Studios Sentosa and the S.E.A. Aquarium, saw nearly seven million visitors to its attractions.

Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran, who was the guest-of-honour at the ceremony yesterday, said that the redeveloped Mandai precinct will be able to attract tourists who are “interested in eco-friendly experiences that complement an urban lifestyle”. There will also be interesting career opportunities for those interested in conservation, research and hospitality, he added.

MPH did not say how many new jobs could be created, but Mr Barclay noted that as the scale of operations grows, staff will be able to rotate through different job functions.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore currently employs over a thousand full-time staff. By 2023, the area, which currently houses the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and River Safari, will be expanded to include the relocated Bird Park and a new Rainforest Park, as well as a nature-themed indoor attraction and eco-sensitive lodging.

Yesterday, MPH revealed more details of the attractions visitors can expect at the Bird Park and the new Rainforest Park, scheduled to open by 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Visitors will be able to enter the expanded attraction via the east and west arrival areas, while the place will be connected by more public spaces such as green landscaped decks, walking trails and boardwalks.

The west arrival area will lead to the 17ha Bird Park, which will have nine themed aviaries, such as the Papua New Guinean and African rainforests, a South-east Asian jungle and the Australian bushland, showcasing a wide variety of bird species.

MPH also unveiled plans for a “Crimson Wetlands” attraction that will showcase red and pink-hued species of plants and animals — such as flamingos — in a recreation of the flooded savannahs of South and Central America. Visitors can also observe Sub-Antarctic penguins in a re-creation of their natural habitat both above and under water.

The Rainforest Park, also accessible from the west arrival area, will house an underground cavern featuring various cave life-forms and geological formations.

Visitors can travel along the boardwalks to be built along the animals’ watering holes, and up aerial walkways to be built at tree-canopy-level to be closer to the langurs, gibbons and orangutans living in the tree-tops. Trekking and adventure activities will also be available at this park.

The Rainforest Forest Park will be completed by 2021 instead of 2023, due to changes in the scheduling of construction works, where the works in the western part of the Mandai precinct will be completed first.

Redevelopment plans for the Mandai precinct have been adjusted twice: During the Environmental Impact Assessment report commissioned by MPH, and after a month-long consultation that followed the release of the report last July.

While the majority of the opinions have been useful to the project, Mr Barclay noted that there have been some who felt that there should not be any developments at all.

“(But) the decision has now been made and we are starting work. We want to continue our very constructive discussion about how do we develop in the right way, and how do we do it in a sensitive way,” he said.


New Mandai eco-tourism hub to feature global wildlife, create jobs
Monica Kotwani Channel NewsAsia 16 Jan 17;

SINGAPORE: When completed, Mandai’s eco-tourism hub is expected to attract more than 10 million visitors each year, as well as generate a significant number of jobs in conservation research, tourism and hospitality, said developer Mandai Park Holdings as it launched the construction phase of the project on Monday (Jan 16).

The Mandai rejuvenation project will see the relocation of Jurong Bird Park and the development of a new Rainforest Park in the same area as the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and River Safari.

Currently, the four parks attract about 4.6 million visitors each year.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN CONSERVATION, HOSPITALITY

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran promised “a rejuvenated experience in Mandai” once the first phase of the project - the opening of the Bird Park - is completed by 2020.

Mr Iswaran said the project would enhance Singapore's identity as a "city in a garden" and provide career opportunities for Singaporeans interested in conservation research and hospitality.

"With a strong focus on conservation and sustainability, Mandai will be a hub for nature education and research as well as a leading nature destination in Asia."

Elaborating on the type of jobs available, Mandai Park Holdings’ chief executive officer, Mike Barclay, said the aim was to run the five parks as an integrated precinct that would allow staff to rotate and work in the different parks and in various functions.

“We currently employ about 1,000 people full-time and we have many part-timers working with us. Our scale of operations will grow. We’ll have two new zoological parks here to staff up here in Mandai. We’ll have a hotel product - an eco-lodge product - and also an indoor centre, so there will be a lot of job opportunities.”

SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST ENDANGERED SPECIES

Visitors to the new Bird Park will see some of the world’s most endangered bird species in their natural habitats, said the developer. For example, it will feature the flora and fauna found in the flooded savannahs of South and Central America. Bird species from Africa, Papua New Guinea and the Australian bushland will also be represented.

Its avian collection is also billed as being among the most significant to be assembled in the world, featuring birds of paradise and hornbills, many of them endangered species.

One of the key attractions at the new Bird Park will be an underwater and "overwater" habitat for sub-Antarctic penguins. The developer said it would provide visitors a "fly with the penguins" experience - one that creates the impression of penguins "flying" through the water.

NEW RAINFOREST PARK

Another highlight, the Rainforest Park, will take visitors through the biodiversity found in Southeast Asian foliage, and allow them to see the trees from recreated caverns, a boardwalk and an aerial walkway.

“You could be at the tree-top level with the orangutans climbing the trees around you. I think it’s a very exciting concept and that’s why we want the different layering of the parks,” said Mr Barclay.

The Rainforest Park is expected to be ready by the end of 2021, earlier than the 2023 completion date previously announced.

SUSTAINABILITY THE KEY GUIDELINE

Visitors to the new Bird Park and the Rainforest Park will arrive from the precinct's west entrance - one of the two "arrival nodes" to the precinct.

The other entrance - from the east - will provide access to nature-themed indoor attractions, as well as the zoo, the Night Safari and River Safari. It will also house accommodation options.

The entrances will be connected by walking trails and boardwalks along Upper Seletar Reservoir.

The separate entry points were created to reduce the impact of visitors passing through a single entrance next to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

Mr Barclay said a key guideline for the massive development is sustainability and the idea is to look at using the right materials and harvesting new energy sources.

“If you have a waterfall, it creates a lot of energy. Can we harvest that energy and put it back in to offset the energy being used to power the pumps? We have lots of opportunities for solar power as well within the parks,” he said.

Mr Barclay said Mandai Park Holdings will continue to work with nature groups to get their feedback on mitigating the impact of the project on the surrounding environment.

- CNA/mz/mo


Expect superb views, diverse wildlife
Audrey Tan, The New Paper AsiaOne 17 Jan 17;

In about three years, birdwatchers can enjoy watching feathered fowl from the rainforests of Africa, the flooded savannahs of South and Central America and the Australian bushland, all in Singapore.

They need only to pay a visit to the new Bird Park in Mandai, when the park, relocated from its current premises in Jurong, opens its doors to the public.

The new park will allow visitors to be immersed in multiple landscapes and vegetation so that they can see the birds just as they would in the wild. The birds will also be flying freely in large aviaries within the new park, a move that will heighten the experience for visitors.

Colourful birds of paradise, orange-beaked hornbills and vocal parrots are some of the birds that will be part of the avian collection, which is one of the most significant to date.

These details were given by developer Mandai Park Holdings yesterday during a ceremony to celebrate the start of the development work on the hub of the five wildlife parks it is building in leafy Mandai.

Mr S. Iswaran, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry), was the guest of honour.

The Bird Park, as well as a new Rainforest Park, will join the existing trio of attractions there - the Singapore Zoo, River Safari and Night Safari.

The hub, which will also include accommodation options, is expected to fully commence operations by 2023, with earlier phases, including the opening of the Bird Park, to be done by 2020.

The Bird Park, Singapore Zoo, River Safari and Night Safari offer visitors the experience of walking through habitats from all over the world. But at the Rainforest Park, the focus will be on South-east Asian biodiversity.

Animals that live in rainforests - from below the ground to the tree canopies - will have their time in the spotlight.

The park will take visitors on a journey from an underground cavern to boardwalks at the ground level and up ramps to aerial walkways that reach the tree canopies, where they can interact with arboreal apes.

There will also be trekking and adventure activities at the new park.

"We plan to offer highly differentiated experiences at each of our five wildlife parks, augmented by indoor displays and a variety of food and beverage offerings," said Mr Mike Barclay, chief executive of Mandai Park Holdings.

The massive Mandai makeover will include public spaces, such as green landscaped decks for picnics and boardwalks along the edge of Upper Seletar Reservoir, which can be used by the public free of charge.

These plans, as well as the results from an Environmental Impact Assessment, have been approved by the Government.

"Reviews and discussions on Mandai's rejuvenation have been going on for several years with various stakeholders. With the necessary government approvals now obtained, we are delighted to mark this milestones with our partners today," said Mandai Park Holdings chairman S. Dhanabalan.

The Mandai area sits right outside the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, and nature groups had voiced concerns that development works could negatively impact the wildlife.

But Mandai Park Holdings stressed that the development will be done sensitively. For one, the development will take place on degraded land.

It also voluntarily commissioned an Environment Impact Assessment, following which changes were made to development plans.

One of the most significant is the swopping of locations of the new Rainforest Park and Bird Park - this puts the bulk of the Rainforest Park to the north, instead of the south of Mandai Lake Road, where there are more mature trees that can be incorporated into the park.

It also agreed to have a vegetated buffer area between the park boundaries and the nature reserve, ensuring that the development will not go right up to the fringes of the reserve.

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Malaysia: Conservationists against second bridge over Segama River

RUBEN SARIO The Star 17 Jan 17;

KOTA KINABALU: Conservatio­nists fear that a second bridge over the Segama River in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary will cause further harm to the critically endangered animals there.

Indications of the pending construction of another bridge near Sukau include some privately-owned forested land being cleared, for what researchers believe is a site for the construction office and heavy equipment depot.

Kinabatangan was made Sabah’s Gift to the Earth 17 years ago and in 2005, the sanctuary was created to increase forest connectivity along the Kinabatangan River, said Danau Girang Field Centre director Dr Benoit Goossens.

“It was also to protect several charismatic species such as the orang utan, the elephant and the proboscis monkey, some of them becoming iconic species attracting eco-tourists to the state,” he said.

The Danau Girang Field Centre conducts research and training on tropical biodiversity. It is managed by Cardiff University and Sabah Wildlife Department.

Dr Benoit said the Elephant and Orangutan State Action Plans 2012-16 clearly states that any process that will further fragment the habitat of elephant and orang utan po­pulation such as highways and bridges must be prevented.

“For the past 12 months, we have clearly demonstrated with scientific facts and data that the bridge and the road would have a direct impact on wildlife populations, especially elephants, orang utan and proboscis monkeys,” he said.

The new road that would subsequently follow the bridge will cut off the last remaining uninhabited route for elephants near Sukau, which will have catastrophic consequences for both the animals and the people, added Goossens.

He said the construction of the road and bridge would lead to major human-wildlife conflicts and deaths such as elephant attacks on people and elephants shot or poisoned.

“Moreover, it will be easier for poachers to enter protected forests in search of ivory,” he said.

Sukau State Assemblyman Datuk Saddi Abdul Rahman said the RM69mil bridge and road project would include the construction of a 1,000m wide viaduct to enable wildlife to move from one area to ano­ther under the structure.


Conservationists: New project will harm Sabah's protected animals
RUBEN SARIO The Star 16 Jan 17;

KOTA KINABALU: Conservationists fear that a second bridge over the Segama River in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary will cause further harm to critically endangered animals there.

Indications are that construction of another bridge and road is under way near Sukau with some privately owned forested land being cleared for what researchers believe are the construction office and heavy equipment depot site.

Danau Girang Field Centre director Dr Benoit Goossens said he is distraught over the latest development.

He said the Kinabatangan was declared Sabah’s “Gift to the Earth” 17 years ago and the sanctuary was created in 2005 to increase forest connectivity along the Kinabatangan River.

“It was also to protect several species, such as the orang utan, the elephant and the proboscis monkey, and some of them have become iconic for attracting eco-tourists to the state,” Dr Goossens said.

He said the 2012-2016 action plan supported by the state government clearly state that any process that will further fragment the habitat of elephant and orang utan populations such as highways and bridges must be prevented.

“Therefore, the proposed bridge and road in Sukau are directly conflicting with the content of those two policy documents,” Dr Goossens said.

“For the past 12 months, we have clearly demonstrated with scientific facts and data that the bridge and the road will have a direct impact on wildlife populations," he said.

“The new road and the bridge will cut off the last remaining uninhabited route for elephants near Sukau, which will have catastrophic consequences for both the animals and the people,” Dr Goossens said.

He also said that the road and bridge will make it easier for poachers to enter protected forests, especially those in search of ivory.

“We just lost three bull elephants to poachers. Can we decently increase the pressure on the elephant population in Sabah?” he said.

Sukau assemblyman Datuk Saddi Abdul Rahman said the RM69mil bridge and road project will include the construction of a 1km-wide viaduct to enable wildlife to move from one area to another under the structure.



Controversial project set to get EIA nod
The Star 19 Jan 17;

KOTA KINABALU: The construction of a bridge that conservationists fear will further harm endangered wildlife in Kinabatangan is set to receive the green light.

The terms of reference for the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been approved by the state Environmental Protection Department, said Sukau assemblyman Datuk Saddi Abdul Rahman.

“We expect the EIA to be approved in a few weeks,” he said recently, adding that the RM223mil project will be carried out over two phases.

The first portion comprises a 100m long bridge spanning Sungai Kinaba­tangan and the upgrading of existing roads near the Sukau township.

This was supposed to have begun last year but was delayed pending the outcome of the EIA report and for the authorities to hear concerns from conservationists, NGOs and other groups, added Saddi.

He said the Public Works Depart­ment (PWD) has allowed the contractor to occupy the construction site from Jan 23.

He added that the contractor has rented and cleared a privately-owned land in the area for the site office and heavy equipment depot.

He said as far as he is aware, the focus of concern among conservationists was the upgrading of an existing road cutting across Lot 1 or one of the segments making up the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (LKWS) located about 2km from the bridge.

Saddi said that as part of the mitigation measures, the Government has approved the state Wildlife Depart­ment’s proposal for the construction of a RM150mil viaduct within Lot 1.

“That will enable wildlife such as elephants to move unhindered along their migratory path,” he added.

He said the bridge will connect five coastal villages with Sukau township where there is a health clinic.

Saddi said there have been at least 10 deaths among villagers of Kam­pung Tundun Buhangin on an island near Sukau as the settlement is two hours away from the township or Sandakan.

Sickly and even pregnant women from the village experiencing complications have died on the way to Sandakan or to Sukau to seek treatment.

The bridge will cut travelling time to Sukau by about 20 to 25 minutes, he added.

“We are concerned about our wildlife but we also cannot ignore the needs of people there,” said Saddi.

Wildlife research NGO Danau Gi­­rang Field Centre director Dr Benoit Goossens said on Monday that the road that will subsequently be built will cut off the last remaining uninhabi­ted route for elephants near Sukau.

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Indonesia: Blossoming Rafflesias hoped to attract tourists to Bengkulu

The Jakarta Post 16 Jan 17;

Rare flower enthusiasts have urged tourists to visit Bengkulu National Park in Bengkulu province following the blossoming of the Rafflesia arnoldii and Rafflesia gadutensis flowers.

“January to March is the ideal time to see Rafflesia arnoldii and Rafflesia gadutensis in their habitat in Bengkulu forest,” said Rare Flower Concerned Community (KPPL) coordinator Sofian Ramadhan, after explaining that seven of the rare flowers started blossoming at four locations within the national park on Monday.

Five Rafflesia gadutensis blossomed at Bukit Daun National Park in northern Bengkulu, popular with tourists for its Palak Siring waterfall. While two blossoming Rafflesia arnoldii could be found at the same park in Central Bengkulu regency and Kapahiang regency.

Based on Bengkulu KPPL data collection since 2010, the blossoming period of the rare flowers was between December and March, Sofian said as quoted by Antara news agency.

The flowers blossom only for three days.

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Japan criticised after whale slaughtered in Australian waters

Australia’s environment minister says government ‘deeply disappointed’ after Sea Shepherd photos show minke whale killing in Antarctic sanctuary
Michael Slezak The Guardian 16 Jan 17;

Australia’s federal environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, has criticised Japan following the release of photographs allegedly showing the slaughtering of protected whales inside Australia’s Antarctic whale sanctuary.

Frydenberg’s statement came as conservationists called for tougher action from Australia.

“The Australian government is deeply disappointed that Japan has decided to return to the Southern Ocean this summer to undertake so-called ‘scientific’ whaling,” Frydenberg said.

“Australia is opposed to all forms of commercial and so-called ‘scientific’ whaling,” he said. “It is not necessary to kill whales in order to study them.”

The photographs, taken by Sea Shepherd activists from a helicopter, appear to show a dead minke on the deck of the Japanese whaler Nisshin Maru at 11.34am on Sunday.

After the Japanese crew saw the Sea Shepherd helicopter, they covered the harpoons and attempted to hide the whale carcass with a tarpaulin, according to Sea Shepherd.

The images emerged on Sunday afternoon while the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was in Australia on a state visit.

The slaughter was the first documented killing since the international court of justice ruled Japan’s Antarctic whaling illegal in 2014. So far the Australian government has resisted calls to send official vessels to patrol its waters and intervene in illegal whaling.

But Frydenberg said no country has done more than Australia to try to end whaling.

“We will continue our efforts in the International Whaling Commission to strongly oppose commercial whaling and so-called ‘scientific’ whaling, uphold the moratorium on commercial whaling, and to promote whale conservation.”

Jeff Hansen, the managing director of Sea Shepherd Australia, said a “lack of action by the Turnbull government” in response to the killing of whales in Australian waters on the tail of a state visit from Abe showed “the government has no spine when it comes to protecting the wishes of Australians to defend the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary”.

The Australian Marine Conservation Society director, Darren Kindleysides, said the government must hold Japan to account for its actions.

“Rather than rolling out the red carpet for Japanese prime minister Abe, our government must take every legal and diplomatic avenue available to stop his government’s continued whaling, for example through the United Nations convention on the law of the sea,” he said.

“This year the Japanese whaling fleet is intending to kill 333 Antarctic minke whales under the guise of ‘scientific research’. This is despite the 2014 International Court of Justice ruling that Japan’s Southern Ocean whaling program was illegal and must stop.

“Japan cannot be allowed to continue to thumb its nose at the international community and the international courts by killing hundreds of whales for the spurious purpose of ‘research’,” Kindleysides said.

Labor’s spokesperson for environment and water, Tony Burke, attacked the killing he said was done “under the guise of ‘scientific research”.

“Japanese whaling ships have been sighted with their harpoons uncovered in the Southern Ocean, where a moratorium on whaling in currently in effect,” he said.

“This is happening in areas Australia recognises as being protected.”

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Best of our wild blogs: 16 Jan 17

Oil spill at East Johor Strait: YOUR sightings part 2
wild shores of singapore

After the oil spill at Changi Creek, Changi Creek mangroves, Changi Beach, Changi seagrass meadows
wild shores of singapore

Pulau Hantu after chemical spill and other impacts
wild shores of singapore

Night Walk Along Punggol Road (13 Jan 2017)
Beetles@SG

Cuttlebone of Kisslip Cuttlefish (Sepia lycidas) @ Changi
Monday Morgue

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Indonesia: High fire potential predicted for West Kalimantan as rainfall drops

Severianus Endi The Jakarta Post 15 Jan 17;

A climatology station in Mempawah, West Kalimantan, has predicted high land and forest fire potential in the province as its climate analysis showed a decline in rainfall, especially in the western and northern coastal areas, in early January.

The lower rainfall was followed by a decline in humidity due to the disappearance of water vapor layers above the land surface. This situation can increase the potential for land and forest fires.

Mempawah Climatology Station head Wandayantolis said less rain, followed by a decline in humidity, had led to higher intensity sunlight reaching the land surface.

“It is predicted that the rainfall decline will continue. In the middle of January, the 10-day rainfall rate will be only around 21 to 100 millimeters, or in the low-to-middle category,” Wandayantolis said on Friday.

He said the higher potential for fires in plantations, forests and settlement areas must be anticipated because high temperatures and low humidity would make it easier for fires to spread.

The Supadio Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Pontianak said United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites detected seven hotspots in West Kalimantan on Jan. 12. They were located in four regencies and municipalities across the province, namely Pontianak city and Kubu Raya, Mempawah and Sintang regencies.

The West Kalimantan Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) said 1,575 hotspots were recorded in 2016, down from 2,721 in the previous year. The agency’s emergency division head Bosman Hutahaean revealed that 342 were detected in Sanggau last year, making it the regency with the most hotspots. (ebf)


Riau, Kalimantan get helicopters to prevent land, forest fires
Rizal Harahap The Jakarta Post 15 Jan 17;

The Environment and Forestry Ministry is set to dispatch helicopters to Riau and Kalimantan to help maximize ongoing efforts to prevent and control land and forest fires.

Riau Environment and Forestry Agency head Yulwiriati Moesa said the Riau administration’s request for the dispatch of helicopters to tackle land and forest fires had been fulfilled by the central government.

“We are waiting for the arrival of the helicopters they’ve promised us. Helicopters will also be sent to Kalimantan,” she said during a coordination meeting at the Riau gubernatorial office on Friday.

Yulwiriati hopes the helicopters arrive soon to aid in efforts to prevent land and forest fires in 12 regencies and municipalities.

“Forestry authorities have been handed over by regencies and cities to the provincial administration. That’s why we have more duties now. The helicopters will ease our agency’s task to prevent and control land and forest fires in locations difficult to reach via land routes,” she said.

“I observed fire locations in the Bukit Betabuh protected forests in Kuantan Singingi regency several days ago. Firefighting teams faced difficulties in reaching fire spots in hilly areas. That’s why we need helicopters.”

Yulwiriati said she planned to set up an integrated patrol team to anticipate fires in forest areas. The development of ditches and canals in peatland will also continue, for which the Riau administration has allocated Rp 984 million (US$73,873.89).

“A media center for hot spot monitoring will be set up to make it easier for us to detect and coordinate land and forest fire prevention,” she said, adding that the monitoring of the adherence of companies in managing the environment would also be heightened. (ebf)


Efforts ramped up to monitor fires in Riau, Kalimantan amid haze fears
Today Online 16 Jan 17;

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Ministry is set to dispatch helicopters to Riau and Kalimantan to help maximise ongoing efforts to prevent and control land and forest fires, amid growing concern that transboundary haze could soon return.

“We are waiting for the arrival of the helicopters they’ve promised us. Helicopters will also be sent to Kalimantan,” said Riau Environment and Forestry Agency head Yulwiriati Moesa during a coordination meeting at the Riau gubernatorial office on Friday (Jan 13).

Ms Moesa did not state the number of aircraft that they will soon receive.

Expressing hope that the aircraft will arrive soon, she said the helicopters will be used to help 12 regencies and municipalities to monitor and patrol areas that are prone to land and forest fires.

“The helicopters will ease our agency’s task to prevent and control land and forest fires in locations difficult to reach via land routes,” the Jakarta Post quoted her as saying. “I observed fire locations in the Bukit Betabuh protected forests in Kuantan Singingi regency several days ago. Firefighting teams faced difficulties in reaching fire spots in hilly areas. That’s why we need the helicopters,” she said, adding that plans are afoot to set up an integrated patrol team to anticipate fires in forest areas.

The Riau province is located in Sumatra, which is right across the Strait of Malacca from Singapore. The Kuantan Singingi regency is located in Riau. Last week, there were fears that the transboundary haze could return after up to seven hotspots were detected in several regencies in Riau.

Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency head Sugarin, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, had warned that forest and land fires could plague Riau again, noting that the dry season from next month until March in Riau could make the province’s forests more prone to fire.

According to the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre, the number of hotspots in Sumatra rose to four on Friday before registering zero on Saturday. It also detected a hotspot in Kalimantan on Saturday.

Haze caused by Indonesian farmers who burn forests to clear their land for agriculture is an annual occurrence that sends smog wafting northward to Singapore and Malaysia.

In late 2015, Singapore, as well as Malaysia and parts of Thailand suffered a severe haze that affected tens of millions of people, forcing schools to close and causing thousands to fall sick across the region. And in June 2013, fires in Riau caused a haze that was behind Singapore’s record Pollutant Standards 
Index of 401, which is 100 points above the hazardous threshold. AGENCIES

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Residents go green for eco challenge

TOH EE MING Today Online 15 Jan 17;

SINGAPORE — Instead of switching on air conditioning in two bedrooms at night, training manager Corrine Ong, her husband and her three children slept together in one bedroom of their five-room flat for three months, so that they would only use the air-conditioning in one room.

Ms Ong would also remind her children, aged 3, 9 and 11, to cut down on their energy usage such as by switching off the main power if they are not watching the television.

Steps like these helped the family shave off about 10 per cent of their utility bill. “After some time, it’s (become) a (habit) that is ingrained in us… But of course, for the children, you need the constant reminders for them to do it,” said the 39-year-old, who is also chairman of the Boon Lay Zone J Residents’ Committee.

Ms Ong’s family was among the 700 households who took part in an energy-saving challenge called Power Savers-for-Charity @ South West, a joint initiative by the South West Community Development Council (CDC) and Singapore Power (SP).

Spanning between July to September last year, the 17 participating blocks managed to save about 50,000 kilowatt hours of energy — enough to power more than 160 three-room Housing Development Board flats for a month.

South West CDC and SP matched the energy savings with a S$50,000 donation to Touch Home Care and vulnerable residents in the district.

To get residents involved, volunteers at Boon Lay division for instance, which achieved the highest energy savings, put up large posters at lift landings to remind residents to go green. They also went door-to-door to educate residents about the initiative, and conducted monthly visits to each household to check their progress.

Electricity meter readings of each household were monitored between July and September, and compared against their June readings of electricity consumption, said a SP spokesperson. Residents could also track their progress on the SP Services mobile app.

While the challenge has ended, Ms Ong said she plans to continue with her green efforts, and will look into which are the most energy-consuming areas in the household and cut the family’s usage from there.

Another Boon Lay resident Nyeow Ai Hui, 40, reduced her electricity consumption by setting her air-con on a timer mode so it would switch off automatically after three or four hours. When the weather became too warm, they would turn on the fans. The payoffs from changing her habits were worth the 30 per cent of savings off her utility bill, she felt.

Speaking at the Eco Day Out 2017 @ South West event on Sunday (Jan 15), Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources and Health Amy Khor shared other ways through which residents could adopt “environmentally conscious” habits, like increasing the air-con’s temperature to 25 degrees, switching off lights and mains of all electrical appliances when they are not in use and using energy-efficient lights.

“Saving the environment is not some airy-fairy ideology… By conserving the environment, we are creating a better environment for ourselves and future generations and saving costs as well,” she said.

The pilot initiative will now be expanded to involve some 750,000 residents in the South West District, said Ms Low Yen Ling, mayor of the South West District. It will start on Earth Day in April.

To ramp up on education and outreach to encourage eco habits, the initiative will have community roadshows and residents are encouraged to pledge to save on resources, such as conserving water, minimising wastage and recycling more.

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Malaysia: After tapir sighting, Wildlife Dept says more signboards needed on LPT2 to warn motorists

ZARINA ABDULLAH New Straits Times 15 Jan 17;

KUALA TERENGGANU: Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) has been urged to set up more signboards along the East Coast Highway 2 (LPT2) to alert motorists about the presence of the protected animals on the highway.

State Wildlife and National Parks Department director Mohd Hasdi Husin said the signboards are important to ensure safety of both motorists and the protected animals.

Hasdi said moreover, the department also discovered there are some parts of the fencing along the highway that were damaged by unknown parties.

"The fencing is in dire need of repairs. This is to avoid wild animals in encroaching into the LPT2 area," he said.

Hasdi was commenting on the sighting of a tapir at KM321 of the LPT2 yesterday evening.

"We have been informed about the sighting of the animal by LLM around 7pm and our team arrived at the location one hour later," he said.

"Our officers were only able to stumble upon the animal's tracks leading into the jungle nearby," he said, adding that five officers went to the area again today to monitor the situation.

"We hope that the public will inform us immediately, if they spot any protected animal such as tiger, elephant, bear, or tapir along the LPT2." he said.

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E-waste rising dangerously in Asia: UN study

JOHANNES EISELE AFP 15 Jan 17;

Electronic waste is rising sharply across Asia as higher incomes allow hundreds of millions of people to buy smartphones and other gadgets, with serious consequences for human health and the environment, according to a UN study released Sunday.

So-called e-waste in Asia has jumped 63 percent in five years, the report by the United Nations University said, as it warned of a need for most nations across the region to improve recycling and disposal methods.

"For many countries that already lack infrastructure for environmentally sound e-waste management, the increasing volumes are a cause for concern," said Ruediger Kuehr, the report's co-author and head of the UN University's Sustainable Cycles Programme.

For many years, China and some other parts of Asia have been a dumping ground for discarded electronics from the developed world, recycling the waste in often unsafe but ultracheap backyard factories.

But the report said that in recent years, Asia has rapidly emerged as a major source of electronic waste, due to increasingly affluent consumers buying items such as phones, tablets, refrigerators, personal computers and televisions.

China more than doubled its own generation of e-waste between 2010 and 2015, the period of the study, according to the report.

Per capita the worst-offending economy in the region was Hong Kong, with each person in the Chinese territory generating an average of 21.7 kilograms (47.8 pounds) of e-waste in 2015.

Singapore and Taiwan were also big e-waste dumpers, with just over 19 kilograms per person generated in 2015, according to the study.

Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines were among the lowest e-waste generators with an average of about one kilogram for each person.

Meanwhile, improper and illegal e-waste dumping means increased exposure to extremely toxic chemicals, leading to severe health and environment consequences.

Acids that are used to separate the metals in the electronic products are a particular concern, with inhalation or exposure to them causing serious health problems.

In the Chinese town of Guiyu, which built its economy on recycling waste from overseas, heavy metal contamination has turned the air and water toxic, according to a 2014 study by researchers at Shantou University Medical College.

Children in the town also had high lead levels in their blood, the university study found.

When an AFP team visited Guiyu in 2014, electronic remnants were strewn in a nearby stream, and the air was acrid from the burning of plastic, chemicals and circuitboards.

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Corals adapting to warming seas

Last year's bleaching was longest but death rate on a par with those of shorter incidents
Audrey Tan, The Straits Times AsiaOne 14 Jan 17;

Warming seas caused Singapore's corals to suffer the longest bleaching incident on record last year, but the good news is that the casualties from the six-month episode may be lower than expected.

Fifteen to 20 per cent of the corals here died because of the bleaching, the National Parks Board (NParks) estimates.

This is comparable to and lower than the mortality rates for two other major bleaching episodes in 2010 and 1998, even though last year's event was the longest.

Corals depend on symbiotic algae, called zooxanthellae, to make food. Bleaching occurs when abnormally high sea temperatures cause the zooxanthellae living in the corals to leave, turning them white.

Last year, scientists observed that the corals fringing Singapore's southern coast started bleaching in early June. The bleaching incident was considered over only last month, when sea surface temperatures went back to the normal 29.6 deg C.

Surface sea-water temperatures in Singapore reached a high of 31.56 deg C on May 9, according to data from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In 2010, bleaching started in June and ended in September. Mortality associated with bleaching then was between 5 and 10 per cent, said NParks.

The 1998 incident was the most severe in terms of coral mortality, with 25 per cent of corals dying due to the bleaching. That year, it lasted from June to August.

All three years during which coral bleaching was observed were El Nino years. This refers to the weather phenomenon associated with warm weather.

Marine biologist Huang Danwei, from the National University of Singapore's Reef Ecology Lab, believes the mortality rate for last year's bleaching episode was lower as corals may have adapted to deal with thermal stress.

"This is encouraging since they may be able to withstand the increased frequency and intensity of thermal stress, though this is on the assumption that other impacts on coral reefs, such as sedimentation, do not worsen," said Assistant Professor Huang.

Mr Stephen Beng, chairman of the Nature Society (Singapore)'s marine conservation group, said the health of Singapore's coral reefs should not be taken for granted, even though they appear to be able to recover from thermal stress.

"Other than warming seas, coral reefs face other stressors, such as pollution and coastal development that can affect salinity and water quality. It is important to monitor these other factors to ensure they do not impact our marine life," he said.

Coral reefs help protect Singapore's coastlines and wetlands from the increasingly extreme weather as the climate changes, said Mr Beng.

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Central reserve soil works postponed

Audrey Tan, The Straits Times AsiaOne 14 Jan 17;

Works to see if a train tunnel for the Cross Island Line can be built under Singapore's largest nature reserve have been postponed again.

The investigation works to determine the soil and rock profile under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve were supposed to start last month, after an initial postponement from the third quarter of last year.

However, they have not commenced to date.

A check by The Straits Times last Thursday showed that the Sime Track and Terentang Trail - on which 10 boreholes were supposed to be drilled - were still open to the public.

There was also no sign of any works within the reserve.

In response to queries, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) would only say that work within the reserve is "expected to commence within these two months".

The LTA did not provide reasons for the delay, but The Straits Times understands that preparatory work ahead of the soil investigation works is still ongoing.

But site investigation works for the alternative route have commenced and are expected to be completed at end-2018, the LTA said.

At the central reserve, other than the drilling of the boreholes - each about 10cm wide to extract soil samples - the works also involve geophysical surveys, which will see surveyors going off-trail into the forest to collect data using handheld equipment.

It is less intrusive than the drilling, but nature groups have aired concerns that surveyors may trample on the sensitive vegetation in the reserve.

The latest delay is the second one so far. The works were initially supposed to start in the third quarter of last year, but were pushed back due to extensive talks between the LTA and nature groups.

Discussions then had resulted in the authorities agreeing to put in place 10 extra measures to reduce any negative impact on plants and animals there, on top of an earlier nine.

These include mandating that contractors use enclosures to reduce engine noise and tanks to collect discharge, scheduling at least one rest day in between surveys, and engaging a tree expert to ensure trees are not damaged.

The LTA said it would continue to work closely with the appointed contractors, the National Parks Board (NParks) and key representatives from the nature groups during the works to ensure compliance with the mitigation measures.

The LTA has also engaged an environmental adviser to monitor the process and conduct audits of an environmental management and monitoring plan, which was developed to ensure proper implementation, management and compliance with the mitigation measures.

Green groups, such as the Nature Society (Singapore) and the Love Our MacRitchie Forest volunteer group, are pushing for the 50km Cross Island Line to go around instead of through the reserve, where rare animals, such as the critically endangered Sunda pangolin, can be found.

Biologist David Tan, from the Love Our MacRitchie Forest group, said: "In a sense, it's good that LTA is taking things slowly rather than barrelling through at full speed.

"Mistakes are much more likely to occur when works are rushed, and we know from past incidents that the risk of environmental damage is not insignificant."

Last year, for example, Mr Tan said there were at least two cases at MacRitchie where mitigation measures were either not implemented or had failed entirely, resulting in siltation and damage to two separate streams in the forest.

- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/central-reserve-soil-works-postponed#sthash.NnHaXjlM.dpuf

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Singapore: Throw-away nation

Judith Tan, The Business Times AsiaOne 14 Jan 17;

Since domestic helper Cherryann-Lynn Santos, 36, started working for a family in Singapore nine years ago, she has been "shopping" at the dumpster at her condominium in the east for gifts to send home for Christmas.

"We find clothes and shoes that are still brand-new because they still have price tags. Even the toys are in the boxes and untouched," the Filipino maid says.

Ms Santos, a mother of a four-year-old girl, says that she and her friends, mostly domestic helpers, would help themselves to the "treasure" and send them home.

"Singaporeans and ang-mos (Hokkien for Caucasians) throw out things that are practically new. Even the furniture are better than the ones in our homes back in the Philippines so we dismantle (them) and send them back," she says.

In 2015, Singapore generated 7.67 million tonnes of waste - enough to fill 3,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

This figure is just a little under the record 7.85 million tonnes discarded in 2013.

Granted, of the waste generated in 2015, more than half - almost 4.65 million tonnes - was recycled.

Even so, the amount of refuse sent for disposal has climbed over the years. It is the physical fallout from the country's preoccupation with shopping and relentless consumption.

When we are not throwing out items that still bear their price tags, we are marching to the beat of planned obsolescence that has been drummed into our fast-fashion wardrobes, smartphones and electrical appliances.

And even when something is genuinely damaged or broken, our first instinct is to replace it.

Victor Chang, deputy director of the Residues and Resource Reclamation Centre at the Nanyang Technological University, says this is due to the increasing cost of labour and higher income levels.

"Take washing machines, for example. The cost of repairing one can be rather high. Along with new technologies that claim to save water and better cleaning capability, many people would rather choose to buy new instead of repairing the old models," he says.

Compounding matters, today, something does not have to be broken for it to be deemed unusable.

Old couches, for example, are more often replaced than reupholstered.

This shift in attitudes could help to explain why the total amount of waste created here rose by 159,000 tonnes in 2015 to 7.67 million tonnes, according to the latest figures on the National Environment Agency (NEA) website.

That 7.67 million tonnes works out to 1,400 kilograms (kg) per person - the weight of a pick-up truck or an adult giraffe.

According to the NEA, the increase in total waste produced is "in tandem" with the growing population and its affluence.

Dr Chang says that in general, the richer countries or cities will "generate more municipal waste per capita".

"Compared to many European countries, Singapore is not too bad. It is comparable to Hong Kong," he notes.

As the Chinese New Year season gets underway this month, the number of things being chucked out is set to increase as people spring-clean their homes.

This is the annual ritual of throwing out what does not work or is no longer needed and the urge to abandon big-item junk willy-nilly is strong.

During this time, used furniture, clothes, toys and household appliances are jettisoned at the doors of non-profit organisations like The Salvation Army, as the charities are the first port of call for Singaporeans looking to clear out their bursting homes.

The amount of "donated" stuff left at The Salvation Army goes up three times during peak periods like the month leading up to Christmas or Chinese New Year.

Cast-off clothes tend to form the bulk of the unwanted. The Salvation Army, for instance, receives an average of about 10 tonnes of donated items a day, three in five of which are clothing.

The racks that line the aisles at the organisation's five thrift stores are packed tightly with clothes of varying patterns, sizes and brands, some evidently brand-new with tags still attached.

According to NEA statistics, Singapore generated 156,700 tonnes of textile and leather waste in 2015.

This category includes used clothing, linen and bags.

Unfortunately, only 12,500 tonnes or 8 per cent were recycled and those that are not separated at source for recycling or reuse are incinerated.

Singapore is not the only country with a low recycling rate for textiles.

According to a report from the Environmental Protection Agency, only 16 per cent of textile waste in the United States was recycled in 2014.

In Britain, that figure stands at 14 per cent, according to 2011 figures published by the Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs.

Experts say Singaporeans have some of the highest disposable incomes in South-east Asia and this greater spending power naturally fuels the consumption rate of goods, leading to consumers buying more than they need.

Dr Chang also points out that the ubiquitous rubbish chute makes it convenient for Singaporeans to get rid of their trash.

"We can just put everything into plastic bags and throw down the chute without worrying. Once this practice became a daily routine, it made it convenient; but it is not very efficient in terms of recycling," he adds.

The problem is exacerbated by how Singaporeans use too many plastic bags.

A 2013 study by non-governmental organisation Singapore Environment Council (SEC) found that Singapore used nearly three billion plastic bags in 2011.

In 2015, 824,600 tonnes of plastic waste was generated but just 7 per cent was recycled - a proportion roughly unchanged since 2001.

The remainder was burnt in waste-to-energy plants.

The ease of disposal using plastic bags has had an outsized effect on how we waste food.

Food wastage is created every day, in many ways. There is food that spoils faster than it should because it is not handled or stored properly.

There is edible food that is thrown away simply because it does not look nice or has passed the use-by date on the wrapping or can.

And there is also food that you leave on your plate.

Food wastage accounts for a tenth of total waste in Singapore and has increased by almost 50 per cent in the past 10 years - growing from 542,700 tonnes in 2006 to 785,500 in 2015.

This is the equivalent of each person throwing away two rice bowls' worth of food every day, and the growing amount is putting pressure on Singapore's waste disposal facilities.

From farm to fork to landfill

Singapore's four waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration plants are already handling up to 7.6 million kg of waste a day and Singapore's only landfill will run out of space at an even quicker pace if people continue to generate waste at the current rate.

The Semakau Landfill is expected to be filled up by 2035 - a decade sooner than the original 2045 projection.

In a survey of more than 1,000 people that was commissioned by the NEA and Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) in 2015, one in four people admitted to buying more food than was needed.

They did that to be sure that their household members had "more than enough" to eat.

Outside the home, food gets wasted in two ways. The first is cosmetic filtering, which happens in farms, wholesale and wet markets and supermarkets.

This is when ugly or damaged foods are discarded even though they are still edible.

There are no official figures on the breakdown of food waste in Singapore, and how throwing away blemished or oddly-shaped food may contribute to the problem.

But there have been studies which have shown that globally, almost half the fruits and vegetables never make it from farm to fork.

In their final-year project from 2009-2010 titled Food Waste Republic, three journalism students from the Nanyang Technological University revealed that vegetable sellers at the Pasir Panjang wholesale market market trim and discard about one-third or up to 30,000 kg of all vegetables every day for not meeting the mark.

The other way food is wasted is when it is cooked badly or burnt in food stalls and restaurants, or when chefs don't see the need to cook less and save money.

Improper inventory management where chefs order more instead of less food just to be on the safe side of things, also results in wasted food.

Waste not, want not

Even so, where some see dross, others see opportunity. Food From The Heart, a voluntary welfare organisation that channels unwanted bread from hotels and bakeries to needy families and individuals, collects more than 28,000kg of bread every month, which adds up to an astounding 336 tonnes of bread a year that would otherwise have been discarded.

Its executive director Anson Quek says: "When we first started, we had totally zero knowledge of how a charity should be run or what charity is all about. We just knew that on the one hand, bakeries were discarding huge amounts of bread and on the other, there were under-privileged families who were hungry. We needed to bridge the gap."

Food from the Heart was started by Austrian couple Henry and Christine Laimer in 2003 to collect unsold bread from bakeries, hotels and restaurants for distribution to the needy.

It had 120 volunteers and gave to 26 welfare homes when it was launched but now that number has grown to more than 1,700 volunteers and the charity reaches out to 25,000 beneficiaries across Singapore.

Apart from non-profit organisations, businesses have also taken an active role in reducing food wastage.

NTUC FairPrice, the largest supermarket chain here, has developed a Food Waste Index that measures the annual total food waste against the total retail space of its stores to track its progress on various food waste-reduction initiatives.

It has also trimmed and repackaged ugly produce and sells them at a cheaper price, saving 250,000 kg of fruit and vegetables in a year.

Since it started doing this, the supermarket has managed to cut total wastage by nearly 40 per cent, from about 2.2 million kg in 2014 to 1.3 million kg in 2015.

Hotel chain Swissotel is doing its part to cut wastage. Swissotel The Stamford uses a composter to convert its food scraps into organic fertiliser for the hotel's herb garden, which in turn supplies organically grown herbs, vegetables, fruit and edible flowers to all its food and beverage (F&B) outlets.

Sister hotel Swissotel Merchant Court uses a digester system to transform its 350 tonnes of food waste produced a year into water, which is used for washing floors and plant irrigation.

Singapore's leading brewing company, Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), has also gone big on recycling.

It proudly told The Business Times that it has been consistently sending just one per cent of its waste to the landfill in the last few years.

Its head of corporate relations Mitchell Leow says that to reduce brewery waste, APB is working with the AVA to repurpose more than 26,000tonnes of spent grain into animal feed and fertiliser for agricultural use.

"And to make better use of the grains, we are looking at turning them into biscuits to feed the needy," he says.

According to him, consumers are increasingly opting for more sustainable packaging.

In taking its cue from them, APB has saved 83.4 tonnes of aluminium and tin-free steel since 2011, Mr Leow says.

This, it has done through reductions in packaging material for their cans and bottle caps.

"We are also looking at reattaching value to glass. We have reintroduced beers in glass bottles and kegs to business partners like F&B outlets and hotels.

This way we can minimise our environmental impact by extending the end-of-life of our packaging materials," he says.

In 2015, APB Singapore retrieved 86 per cent of bottles and crates distributed to the hospitality sector.

This is equivalent to more than 18.2 million bottles or 15,868 tonnes of glass - more than the total amount of recycled glass in Singapore that year.

"Currently, it may be costly to collect the used bottles from the partners but we will be saving money in the long run," he adds.

Mr Leow also reveals that since glass starts its life as sand, APB is reaching out to the construction industry to see if the two can work together.

"The construction industry is the only industry where 99 per cent of the waste generated is recycled. While we recycle or bottles and reuse them, by working together with construction companies, we will be able to reuse those that are broken," he says.

"We hope to start a movement where even our consumers make more environmentally-friendly choices and reduce how much they're throwing away throughout the course of their daily lives."

Editor of online news site Eco-Business Jessica Cheam says that if Singapore is serious about positioning itself as a sustainable city, it should take a leaf from cities such as San Francisco, which has a goal of zero waste by 2020.

"It has already diverted 80 per cent of its waste away from landfills and has banned plastic bottles. The ban will soon be extended to all styrofoam products," she says.

"Some ways that Singapore can address this issue is to fund research and development to find ways to lower the cost of sustainable, biodegradable packaging. And apart from setting national recycling target rates, the city should also consider setting targets to lower the absolute amount of waste generated."

Legislation, however, will only get us part of the way there. Our relationship with our material possessions will need to change. But until then, clothes that have fallen out of favour and toys that have prematurely lost their allure will continue to end up in our dumpsters.

- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/business/singapore-throw-away-nation#sthash.XsPy8lIg.dpuf

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