Monkey business: Youths aim to share love of nature, wildlife with others

KELLY NG Today Online 20 Jan 18;

SINGAPORE — One of Mr Karl Png’s closest encounters with wildlife occurred in his teenage years: Macaques sneaked into his home and took a bite of his meal.

Initially taken aback, Mr Png, now a 21-year-old full-time national serviceman, later learnt the monkeys did not mean it as an “attack”.

“That funny incident taught me that the macaques (lived in the neighbourhood) first, but later the condominiums were built there… So in a way, we share the same space as the macaques,” said Mr Png, who used to live in Bukit Timah. “They saw our food as an opportunity for survival, so the way to prevent such incidents is to keep our food out of their sight and to ensure that windows are locked.”

The encounter did not deter him from engaging with wildlife - in fact, he regularly shares the anecdote with visitors to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, where he has been serving as a guide for the last four years.

Mr Png is one of 50 youths who have signed up for a six-month programme called the Biodiversity Challenge, which aims to motivate, train and equip youths to engage their communities on issues surrounding human-wildlife interactions.

Launched last Saturday (Jan 13), participants will attend workshops and on-the-job training sessions with wildlife working groups and park managers before finally running their own projects.

The Challenge focuses on otters, macaques, wild boars, turtles and civets — animals which have a higher chance of encountering humans, said Mr Lim Liang Jim, group director of the National Parks Board’s (NParks) National Biodiversity Centre.

Mooted by a roundtable of more than 20 non-governmental organisations involved in biodiversity issues, the Challenge is supported by NParks, which will help to facilitate some workshops and field guiding sessions.

“Through this community-led effort, we hope to nurture a young cohort of nature advocates who can identify the challenges that this sector will face in the future,” said Mr Lim.

Mr Png hopes the Challenge can equip him with practical skills to share his love for nature with fellow Singaporeans, as well as to debunk misconceptions, such as how wildlife may be “dangerous” or “dirty”.

Unlike Mr Png, fellow participant Zhang Han Xiang is a relative greenhorn. But this was precisely what prompted the 20-year-old Singapore Polytechnic student to sign up for the Challenge.

“I hope to foster a closer relationship and enhance my own encounters with wildlife… I hope to pick up as much knowledge as possible on various types of species,” said the final-year civil engineering student, who does not know which animal he hopes to focus on yet.

“This will be a good opportunity to explore what Singapore’s biodiversity scene has to offer, and I hope to share this with the people around me,” he added.

Another participant, Ms Srishti Arora from the National University of Singapore, was spurred on by a growing number of “conflicts” reported here between humans and wildlife such as wild boars.

“I want to learn how conflicts can be shaped into positive interactions,” said the 21-year-old undergraduate, who majors in environmental biology.

She hopes to come up with a guidebook on the “do’s and don’ts” when approaching wildlife.

Social media is another platform Ms Arora plans to tap to raise awareness of biodiversity among the masses.

Another group of youths hoping to promote Singapore’s natural heritage among their peers is from Nanyang Technological University.

The final-year project of four Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information students consists of a campaign that kicked off with a seminar on Friday (Jan 19).

They invited NParks’ Mr Lim, Strix Wildlife Consultancy director Subaraj Rajathurai and primate researcher Sabrina Jabbar from the Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore) to share insights with about 70 members of the public who signed up.

Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee was also at the seminar.

The team also surveyed 400 university and polytechnic students and found 85 per cent of them had low awareness of nature reserves in Singapore — for instance, they did not know that these sites are gazetted and protected from development.

Of the respondents, 78 per cent also felt they “did not have sufficient knowledge about (Singapore’s) natural heritage”, but three-quarters were interested in finding out more.

“Through this campaign, we hope to (convey) that like any monument or artefact, our natural heritage holds historical significance as something that was right here from the start and something worth preserving for the future generations,” said Miss Velyn Lee, one of team members. “Natural heritage is a key component of Singapore’s unique identity, and something we should all be proud of.”

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askST: What exactly is the International Year of the Reef?

Audrey Tan Straits Times 20 Jan 18;

S'pore going all out with events for International Year of the Reef

If this year had a colour, it would be blue - blue for the oceans and the creatures that live there.

Welcome to the International Year of the Reef.

It may be only the first month of the year, but things are already in full swing, with programmes being rolled out worldwide to raise awareness about marine habitats, and the need to conserve them.

Singapore, too, has planned a series of public events for the year ahead.

But what marine habitats are there in Singapore, and are they worth visiting? The Straits Times dives into the Republic's underwater universe to find out.

Q What exactly is the International Year of the Reef (IYOR)?

A It is a global campaign that aims to get people thinking about the world's marine habitats.

For the land-bound, underwater habitats, such as coral reefs or seagrass meadows, are often "out of sight, out of mind". As a result, they remain a mystery to many people.

The IYOR hopes to change that.

Governments and conservation groups have joined forces to organise events and programmes that raise awareness of these habitats, and why they need to be conserved.

They include exhibitions, guided walks and workshops.

This year marks the third edition of the global event. The first two were celebrated in 1997 and 2008.

The IYOR is an initiative of the International Coral Reef Initiative - an informal partnership founded in 1994 between nations and marine conservation organisations.

Q What activities have been planned to celebrate the event in Singapore?

A The National Parks Board (NParks) and marine conservation groups have lined up activities that anyone - including those who would rather stay dry - can take part in.

Exhibitions on Singapore's marine biodiversity are being planned for March and April at The Seletar Mall and the Asia Dive Expo at Suntec City respectively. There will also be workshops and talks on seagrass meadows, marine trash and turtle ecology.

People can sign up for patrols to look for turtles or horseshoe crabs on Singapore's beaches, or take part in inter-tidal and coral reef surveys with scientists.

For those who would like to literally get their hands dirty, they can join volunteers in picking up marine rubbish on Singapore's shores. This year would also be a good time to visit the Sisters' Islands Marine Park.

The list of activities planned by NParks and the marine community, along with details about how to take part, can be found at www.nparks.gov.sg/iyor.

The sheer variety of activities available may be surprising to some.

After all, Singapore is a global transshipment hub with busy shipping lanes, and the murky waters surrounding the Republic may beg the question of whether there is anything alive in them.

The answer: A resounding yes!

Q What's so special about Singapore's marine habitats?

A Singapore may wear a concrete crown but it is laced with a necklace of blue.

The Republic is home to many different types of marine habitats - from colourful coral reefs in the south, to mangroves in the east and north-west, to seagrass meadows, rocky shores and sandy beaches on other parts of the coast.

And they sustain a surprising amount of life.

Dolphins and endangered sea turtles have recently been spotted in Singapore's waters. The carcass of a sperm whale was found floating off Jurong Island in 2015 - the first time the species has been found here. Hungry dugongs munching through local seagrass meadows have also left their mark.

But it is not just these charismatic animals that have found a home in Singapore's waters. The Republic's marine habitats are also full of little creatures.

For example, there are more than 250 species of hard coral in Singapore, which make up about a third of hard coral species found worldwide. More than 100 species of reef fish can also be found in coral here.

The 12 seagrass species in Singapore make up more than half the total number recorded in the Indo-Pacific region.

Singapore's waters are also home to 200 species of sponge - including the Neptune's cup sponge, a sea creature shaped like a large goblet.

Once thought to be globally extinct, it was re-discovered in Singapore waters in 2011, and there are now five known Neptune's cup sponges in Singapore.

Q Why do these habitats need to be conserved?

A Simply put, they are in danger.

The International Coral Reef Initiative has declared that coral reefs are now one of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet as a result of both climate change and local human-induced pressures, such as run-off from industries.

Warming seas caused Singapore's corals to suffer the longest bleaching incident on record in 2016.

Corals depend on symbiotic algae, called zooxanthellae, for energy. Bleaching occurs when abnormally high sea temperatures cause coral to expel the algae, turning the coral white and depriving it of a key source of nutrition.

The coral on the fringes of Singapore's southern coast started bleaching in early June 2016 and the sea temperature only returned to normal in December that year.

Singapore experienced two earlier bleaching incidents. In 2010, bleaching started in June and ended in September. The 1998 incident lasted from June to August.

In addition, land reclamation and development has also put Singapore at risk of losing other marine habitats, such as mangroves and seagrass meadows.

A study found that development involving filling the island's coastal waters with sand for almost five decades has killed 1.6 sq km of seagrass - nearly half of the country's total.

And Singapore may have lost almost 90 per cent of its mangroves since the 1950s because of land reclamation in the north and south-west.

Losing these habitats will mean losing more than just the loss of colourful coral, plants and animals.

Marine habitats also provide an array of ecosystem services that benefit humans.

For example, healthy coral reefs draw in marine life and function as a nursery for baby fish. Seagrass meadows and mangroves can store large amounts of carbon. Seagrass meadow soil around the world has accumulated an estimated nine billion tonnes of carbon, according to a New York Times report.

All these habitats also provide a natural escape for city dwellers - as visitors to Singapore's beaches or the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve will attest to.

That tiny Singapore has such a variety of marine habitats and lifeforms despite its busy port and history of intense land reclamation is something to cherish.

As Dr Karenne Tun, director of the coastal and marine branch of NParks' National Biodiversity Centre, said: "Our marine biodiversity is our common natural heritage."

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Only 6 per cent of domestic e-waste ends up in recycling bins: NEA study

SIAU MING EN Today Online 20 Jan 18;

SINGAPORE — Most Singaporeans know nothing or little about how to recycle their unwanted electrical or electronic goods, resulting in only about 6 per cent of domestic e-waste recycled and one-quarter thrown out with food and other general waste.

Releasing key findings of an 18-month study on Friday (Jan 19), the National Environment Agency (NEA) found that three in five people in Singapore do not know, or are unsure of how to recycle e-waste.

Singapore generates more than 60,000 tonnes of e-waste each year – the weight of about 220 Airbus A380 superjumbo planes. Half of it is estimated to come from households. This means an individual here throws out about 11kg of e-waste each year.

The study – which surveyed 1,600 consumers and concluded in October last year – found that households recycle only 6 per cent of the estimated 30,000 tonnes of electrical and electronic goods thrown out every year.

Washing machines (32 per cent), refrigerators (27 per cent) and television sets (22 per cent) make up more than 80 per cent of the e-waste generated here. The remainder includes air-conditioners, computers, printers and mobile phones.

About one-quarter of household e-waste is thrown away with general waste or left at common areas. Another 24 per cent, usually the higher-value e-waste like mobile phones, are traded-in or sold.

More than one-third (35 per cent) — usually bulky items such as washing machines and refrigerators — are handed over to deliverymen by consumers collecting their new appliances.

But these items are not always properly disposed of. Some end up with “informal collectors” such as scrap traders and rag-and-bone men, said an NEA spokesperson.

The informal collectors would refurbish and resell the reusable items or trade in parts of the items with recyclers.

“Many of these collectors do not have the capability to maximise resource recovery from e-waste, and as a result, only components of significant value are recycled,” said the spokesperson.

They could endanger themselves and may discard potentially hazardous components with general waste. When e-waste is incinerated, the heavy metals also contaminate incineration ash.

There are only a handful of voluntary recycling programmes in Singapore, but they mostly collect portable e-waste. More than 400 bins are found islandwide under StarHub’s Renew programme and they collected about 93 tonnes of e-waste last year, for instance.

Singapore’s largest e-waste recycler TES-AMM collected about 12,200 tonnes of e-waste last year. About 20 to 30 per cent came from Singaporean consumers while the remainder was from its offices in other countries.

TES-AMM’s Benoi Sector facility can recycle different materials that are extracted from the e-waste, including copper, steel, plastic and even gold.

E-waste is a growing problem worldwide as new products are rapidly rolled out and demand for gadgets grows with increasing wealth and digitalisation. Yet, rare earth metals used to make tech gadgets are reportedly becoming scarcer.

A lot of energy and resources are used to make even small electronic devices and consumers should help in “preserving” them, said TES-AMM group chief operating officer Gary Steele.

Formal recyclers are also able to ensure personal data residing in the devices is not compromised while processing the e-waste, he said.


Most people do not know what to do with e-waste; only a fraction recycle: NEA study
Monica Kotwani Channel NewsAsia 19 Jan 18;

SINGAPORE: Six in 10 people in Singapore may be throwing out items such as old television sets, printers and computers because they do not know or are unsure of how to recycle these electronic waste (e-waste), the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Friday (Jan 19).

This was among the findings of a study it commissioned in a bid to identify the challenges in Singapore’s management of e-waste and to guide the agency in creating an e-waste management system for the country.

The study was conducted between April 2016 and October last year.

ONLY A FRACTION OF E-WASTE RECYCLED

Singapore generates more than 60,000 tonnes of e-waste a year – the equivalent of 220 Airbus A380 planes.

Out of this, half is generated by households, NEA said. Each person disposes of around 11kg of e-waste, the equivalent of 73 mobile phones.

NEA said the study found that while people typically trade in or sell e-waste of high value such as mobile phones, they discard the rest with their general waste. In fact, only 6 per cent of e-waste from households ends up in e-waste recycling bins. More than a quarter is just thrown away.

Bulky items such as washing machines and refrigerators may be passed on to deliverymen upon receiving new appliances, but even this is sometimes discarded at common areas.

The study also found that this e-waste could end up with scrap traders and rag-and-bone men.

“Many of these collectors do not have the capability to maximise resource recovery from e-waste, and as a result, only components of significant value are recycled,” NEA said.

As a result, e-waste that is not recycled is incinerated, and results in not just the loss of resources that could have been recycled by proper recycling facilities, but also in the release of carbon emissions that contribute to global warming and climate change.

The agency has been working to raise awareness programmes among members of the public and in 2015, formed the National Voluntary Partnership for E-Waste Recycling, where proper recycling and treatment processes are adopted.

But it said there are limits to a voluntary approach.

“A regulated system is therefore needed to ensure that consumers are provided with convenient means to recycle their e-waste, and (that) the e-waste collected is channelled to proper recycling facilities where safety and environmental standards are adhered to,” NEA said.

MORE AWARENESS NEEDED TO IMPROVE E-WASTE RECYCLING FIGURES: STAKEHOLDERS

According to NEA, there are eight voluntary e-waste recycling programmes, including telco StarHub's Renew programme. Under the programme, e-waste such as modems, mobile phones and cables can be collected from some 400 bins around the island.

Still, StarHub's Chief Strategic Partnership Officer, Jeannie Ong said outreach efforts need to be intensified.

"I suppose because this is a society whereby we want instant gratification and we want everything to be quick and fast and convenient, the idea and the concept of recycling your electronic waste is not there, we definitely need to do more to educate, remind public," Ms Ong said.

“With Smart Nation, it means that there will be even more electronic devices around, so therefore, it's even more critical for us to expand the e-waste system in Singapore. We need to get more players in the sector to come together and play a part to tackle these issues."

Recycling facility TES-AMM's group chief operating officer, Gary Steele, said recycling one's mobile phone for example, will not just benefit the environment, but consumers also.

"If it's poorly disposed of, there can also be toxicity and leakage into the environment," Mr Steele said.

"But if you don't dispose of your mobile phones correctly, there are also numerous ways that the phone can be accessed to access your personal data."

MANUFACTURERS NEED TO HAVE A STAKE IN RECYCLING PROCESS

NEA said it looked to countries with an established e-waste management system in order to develop a comprehensive one for Singapore. They included Germany and South Korea as well as cities such as New York.

A common feature of formal systems in these countries is that stakeholders throughout the e-waste value chain have responsibilities assigned through the Extended Producer Responsibility approach, NEA said.

This means that when products reach their end-of-life, their producers have to ensure these products are properly recycled.

“For example, in New York, electronics manufacturers fund programmes where consumers can mail small e-waste to recyclers,” NEA said.

In European countries such as Germany and France, large retailers have to provide e-waste collection points in their stores, as well as cater for free take-back services for larger e-waste products.

E-waste recyclers in these countries are also regulated and have to meet high environmental standards, where they need to set recycling targets and provide information to authorities on e-waste flows.

The agency said these systems are being assessed for adoption in Singapore through various consultations.

NEA and the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources will seek public views on the matter through a consultation session next month.

(Additional reporting by Vanessa Lim)

Source: CNA/ms


Steps to shrink mountain of e-waste through better recycling
Samantha Boh Straits Times 19 Jan 18;

SINGAPORE - There could soon be regulations here to ensure that discarded electrical and electronic items are recycled and reused, to help shrink the mountain of computers, laptops, refrigerators and other e-waste thrown away in Singapore.

The Republic's poor record in this area means not only that valuable materials in such items, such as gold and copper, are going up in smoke, but also that hazardous waste in some components, including mercury, is being incinerated and polluting the atmosphere.

"A regulated system is... needed to ensure that consumers are provided with convenient means to recycle their e-waste, and the e-waste collected is channelled to proper recycling facilities where safety and environmental standards are adhered to," said the National Environment Agency (NEA) yesterday.

Households here produce some 30,000 tonnes of e-waste a year - half of the total amount generated, equivalent to the weight of 110 Airbus A-380 planes.

But most people have no clue what to do with it. Auditor Rachel Lim, 24, for one, does not know what to do with old electronic goods. "I know it shouldn't go in the dustbin, so I just keep it," she said.

According to NEA's recent survey of 1,600 consumers, only a tiny portion of e-waste - just 6 per cent - is sent for recycling.

To turn things around, the Government is looking to countries like Sweden - which has a sterling 52 per cent recycling rate for e-waste, and Denmark, where the figure is 43 per cent.

Recycling initiative to turn electronic trash into cash for Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund
Both countries harness an "Extended Producer Responsibility" (EPR) strategy, where producers such as brand owners and manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that their products get recycled.

If applied to consumers here, this may mean they will have to mail smaller products to recyclers for free. Retailers might have to provide e-waste collection points in stores, and one-for-one take-back services for large items such as refrigerators.

The wheels have been set in motion, with the NEA announcing on Friday (Jan 19) that it is assessing the suitability of overseas practices with the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources through consultations with industry stakeholders. These discussions will be extended to the public next month.

The NEA said this will ensure that e-waste collected is recycled safely at proper recycling facilities.

The consumer survey had found that e-waste was generally given to deliverymen to cart away, or thrown in the garbage. Such items also end up with scrap traders and rag-and-bone men, who lack the skills to fully recycle these items, and could end up discharging harmful chemical compounds or disposing of them with general waste.

Worse - if e-waste is incinerated, it would add to carbon emissions and contaminate the ash at the Semakau landfill, NEA warned.

Recycling facility TES-AMM's group chief operating officer Gary Steele applauded the move towards regulation: "Enforcing legislation and having EPR schemes makes it more visible for people so they will want to deal with it properly."

And some consumers are keen for the changes to happen. Said Miss Lim: "If recycling e-waste is convenient, such as having the bins around my housing estate, I would of course consider doing it."

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Indonesia: Burning need for more funds to restore Indonesian peatlands

University of Queensland 19 Jan 18;

A major shortfall in funding to restore Indonesia’s degraded peat forests means the country is facing a difficult environmental decision, an international study has found.

Restoring the country's peat forests is essential to reduce the extent and frequency of large-scale fires, which have already caused more than 100,000 premature deaths, released greenhouse gases, destroyed the habitats of threatened species.

University of Queensland School of Earth and Environmental Sciences PhD student Amanda Hansson said Indonesia’s target to restore two million hectares of peat forest was likely to cost more than US$4.6 billion.

“The currently allocated US$200 million in Indonesian and international funds would only restore about 100,000 hectares of peat,” she said.

“This shortfall means Indonesia will have to choose between using best-practice methods in smaller areas or using cheaper and potentially ineffective restoration methods to reinstate larger areas of degraded peat forest.”

Peat is formed under very wet conditions, when dead plant material is unable to decay in a flooded environment.

Ms Hansson and Deputy Head of School Associate Professor Paul Dargusch said the study aimed to understand the restoration activity needs of Indonesia’s degraded peat forests.

It also examined restoration methods and their applications and the classification of degraded peatlands, and applied these classifications to estimate the cost of restoration.

“Many degraded peat forests in Indonesia - caused by draining and clearing - have shown poor signs of natural regeneration, and will require assisted restoration,” Ms Hansson said.

“An initiative to restore more than two million hectares of degraded peat by 2020 has been outlined by the Indonesian Peatland Restoration Agency.”

Ms Hansson said the study proposed classifying areas of the peat forests based on the type of restoration activities required – determined by fire history, logging, and the width of canals used to drain the peat.

She said classification helped in calculating the cost of restoration per hectare, estimated to range between US$25 and US$400.

The research is published in Case Studies of the Environment, (doi: 10.1525/cse.2017.000695).

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Philippines: Facebook top choice for Philippines wildlife traders

AFP Yahoo News 19 Jan 18;

Manila (AFP) - Facebook has emerged as the top site for wildlife trafficking in the Philippines, a watchdog said Friday, with thousands of endangered crocodiles, snakes and turtles illegally traded in just three months.

Monitoring network TRAFFIC said Facebook had not done enough to shut down the trade, which saw more than 5,000 reptiles from 115 species put up for sale on its discussion groups from June to August 2016 alone.

"Facebook is the platform of choice for illegal traders in the Philippines because of its popularity and insufficient internal monitoring enforcement," the report said.

"This magnitude of commerce in live wild animals online is just mind-boggling," said Serene Chng, TRAFFIC's programme officer for Southeast Asia.

The groups where live reptile advertisements were posted had more than 350,000 members when the study began, with numbers growing 11 percent in three months.

Most transactions were completed using Facebook's Messenger service, the report said, adding that trading continues on the platform despite periodic government raids.

Over half the species bought and sold were protected internationally and by the Philippines' wildlife act, which carries jail terms and fines.

The radiated tortoise, black spotted turtle, Bengal monitor lizard, and Dumeril's boa -- all threatened with extinction -- were among them, as well as the critically endangered Philippine crocodile and Philippine forest turtle.

In one transaction, a trader also used an unnamed ride-sharing service to deliver wildlife to a buyer.

"This small snapshot reinforces how social media has taken over as the new epicentre of wildlife trade," Chng said.

A statement from Facebook's PR firm said the site does not tolerate wildlife trade and is working with TRAFFIC to tackle the problem.

"Facebook does not allow the sale and trade of endangered animals and we will not hesitate to remove any material that violates our community standards when it is reported to us," it said.

TRAFFIC's regional spokeswoman Elizabeth John said that Facebook was "seeking additional information in order to take action" and that the watchdog was helping it liaise with Philippine authorities.

Findings from the study were used to launch raids on suspected illegal traders in Manila and other areas last year, TRAFFIC said, with numerous arrests made.

Philippine customs authorities also intercepted packages with illegal wildlife destined for China, Sweden, and the United States.

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Coral reefs 'at make or break point', UN environment head says

Erik Solheim cites ‘huge decline’ in world’s reefs but says shift from coal and new awareness of plastic pollution are good news
Michael Slezak The Guardian 19 Jan 18;

The battle to save the world’s coral reefs is at “make or break point”, and countries that host them have a special responsibility to take a leadership role by limiting greenhouse gas emissions, plastic pollution and impacts from agriculture, the head of the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has said.

Speaking to the Guardian after the launch of International Coral Reef Initiative’s international year of the reef, Erik Solheim said he expected governments to take their efforts on reef protection in 2018 beyond symbolic designation.

“We expect governments to step up to concrete actions,” Solheim said.

To kick off ​ that effort, Fiji’s prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, has announced new protections ​for large portions of the Great Sea Reef, by nominating it a Ramsar site. The Ramsar Convention ​ gives protection to wetlands – including coral reefs – that are important for the conservation of global biodiversity and for sustaining human life.

Announcing the nomination, Bainimarama said it was shocking that this might be the last generation to witness the beauty of coral reefs.

“Today I appeal to every single person on Earth to help us. We must replace the present culture of abuse with a culture of care,” he said.

Solheim ​said another significant ​ step was ​taken this year when Belize imposed a moratorium on oil exploration and extraction in its waters – a move the Belizean prime minister said was ​a first for a developing country​.

“We have seen a huge decline in the reefs and that is absolutely serious,” Solheim said. “But there are also signs of change. We see now a huge global shfit from coal to solar and wind and that is very good news for our efforts to reduce the effects of climate change.

“And we have seen a huge shift in the awareness of the problem of plastic pollution,” he said, noting there have been many moves around the world to ban various forms of plastic pollution.

Solheim said that while the decline of reefs was a global problem that needed coodinated action, host countries ​had a special responsibility.

“We expect Australia and the Pacific Islands and the Carribbean to protect their coral reefs – they can do so much,” he said.

He called on Australia to do more to mitigate climate change.

“I strongly encourage Australia to transform its energy mix from coal to solar and wind and renewables – that is happening, but the faster it happens the better.”

Solheim said failure to act now would bring about a major catastrophe.

“Beyond the complete moral failure of destroying the enormous beauty and all the different species in the ocean living in the reefs, it would also be an economic disaster,” he said.

Estimates vary, but coral reefs around the world are thought to sustain the lives of about one billion people, ​ by supporting food sources, ​protecting coastlines or providing other economic support.

That is particularly ​true of developing countries, but reefs also support thousands of jobs in Australia, Solheim said.

“It would have a huge impact for Australia – the reduction of tourism, and an impact on the fishing industry. Tourism is the most rapidly growing business on the planet and a huge job provider. At a time when every nation is desperate for jobs, restoring reefs is fundamental to economic success everywhere.”

Unep also announced it would​ be working in collaboration with WWF to “drive an urgent response to combat the decline of coral”.

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Longer cool spell a sign of changing weather

Straits Times 19 Jan 18;

The cool spell that enveloped Singapore last week was the longest in at least a decade, according to records of the Meteorological Services Singapore (MSS).

Temperatures fell below 24 deg C for five days, from Wednesday to Sunday, because of a monsoon surge that typically would last two to three days.

Coupled with rain, it led many people to don winter wear.

Such extreme weather could happen more often owing to climate change, the MSS spokesman said.

Projections for 2100, made by MSS' Centre for Climate Research Singapore, show that more rain could be produced from the cold surge usually experienced during the current monsoon season.

"This indicates a possibility of more intense surges with higher risk of extreme weather," said its spokesman said.


Five-day cool spell was Singapore's longest in a decade
Audrey Tan Straits Times 18 Jan 18;

SINGAPORE - Last week's cool spell was the longest in the Republic for at least a decade, weather experts said on Thursday (Jan 18).

"In the last 10 years, there was no cold spell of five days or more with minimum temperatures between 21 deg C and 22 deg C," the Meteorological Services Singapore (MSS) told The Straits Times.

"Over this period, most monsoon surges that affect Singapore are of short duration lasting two to three days."

The five days of cool weather, which lasted from Wednesday to Sunday, delighted many locals and was a result of a monsoon surge.

Monsoon surges, which are common from December to March, are sudden increases in wind speed, which bring in cool air from the winter chill in the northern hemisphere.

As this cold air moves south, it warms and gathers moisture, resulting in rain over the equatorial region, including in Singapore.

Last week's surge led to five days of cool but rainy weather, leading some people to break out their winter wear and spurring heart-warming acts of kindness. Restaurant owner Francis Ng, 44, for example, bought blankets to distribute to seniors who sleep on the streets.

Satellite images showed that wind speeds picked up significantly last Wednesday as temperatures in Singapore fell to 22.8 deg C. The surge continued until Sunday, when temperatures in Jurong West and Admiralty dropped to a low of 21.2 deg C - the lowest temperature recorded in Singapore since 2016.

The mean daily temperature range for January is between 24 deg C and 30 deg C, according to the Met Station's long-term climate records dating from 1982.

Such cool spells could become more frequent due to climate change, the MSS spokesman said. Projections for 2100 made by MSS' Centre for Climate Research Singapore show that there could be more rain from cold surges during the north-east monsoon season.

What is a monsoon surge?

"This indicates a possibility of more intense surges with higher risk of extreme weather," the spokesman added.

Experts have warned that more extreme weather is on the cards for Singapore as the world warms. This includes heatwaves, prolonged dry spells and periods of more intense rainfall.

There are already tell-tale signs of this, apparent in MSS' report of the weather and climate in 2017 released last Thursday.

Singapore broke another temperature record last year, with a mean annual temperature of 27.7 deg C. This made 2017 the warmest year on record that was not influenced by El Nino - a weather phenomenon associated with hot and dry weather in this part of the world.

While the mean annual temperature in 2017 was lower than the 28.4 deg C in 2016, and 28.3 deg C in 2015, those two years were influenced by El Nino.

Very warm days were also experienced in Singapore last year despite it not being an El Nino year, with the normally cool months of January and December also seeing warmer than usual temperatures on some days, the MSS said.

Heavy rain from intense thunderstorms caused flash floods and fallen trees. A waterspout - associated with thunderstorm clouds - was also observed off Singapore's southern coast last June. February, usually a dry season, saw twice the amount of rain compared with the long-term average.

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Singapore Airlines among least fuel-efficient airlines flying across the Pacific

Channel NewsAsia 19 Jan 18;

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines performs below the industry average for the amount of carbon dioxide per passenger-kilometre it emits, according to an analysis of 20 major airlines operating nonstop passenger flights across the pacific.

The Transpacific Airline Fuel Efficiency Ranking by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) - the group that exposed the Volkswagen emissions scandal in 2014 - modelled fuel burn for the airlines using flight schedule and detailed operational data in 2016.

Singapore Airlines had an average fuel efficiency of 30 passenger-kilometres per litre of fuel (pax-km/L), below the industry average of 31 pax-km/L.

Of the 20 airlines analysed, 12 had a fuel efficiency above the industry average. Singapore Airlines' score, which was the same as four of the other airlines, was the fourth-lowest in the analysis.

The Los Angeles-Tokyo route was the most competitive of those analysed, with six airlines completing 6,604 flights between the two cities. On that route Singapore Airlines had the worst fuel efficiency "by a large margin", while United had the best.

Using the Airbus A380 on two-thirds of its flights, it had an average fuel efficiency of 26 pax-km/L, compared to United Airlines' 43 pax-km/L.

The national carrier uses Airbus A350-900, A380-800 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on its flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco, the ICCT noted in the report released on Tuesday (Jan 16).

The A380, configured with either 379 or 441 seats, was the least fuel-efficient aircraft in its fleet, with an average of 304 passengers per flight. If an additional 50 passengers flew on each A380 flight, then the aircraft’s fuel efficiency metric would increase from 24 to 27 pax-km/L, ICCT said.

The same fleet fuel efficiency metric of 30 pax-km/L could be achieved by loading an additional 1,000kg of freight or 10 passengers to all flights, it added.

Hainan Airlines and All Nippon Airways (ANA) were the most fuel-efficient among the 20 airlines, with both achieving an average fuel-efficiency of 36 pax-km/L.

Their strategies for being more fuel efficient were very different, according to the ICCT white paper. Hainan’s efficiency rating mostly reflected its very "advanced fleet", with most of its travel in the region aboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

ANA, in contrast, operated aircraft with higher fuel burn but carried a heavier load on its flights, especially cargo. ANA carried about three times as much cargo in its baggage hold per passenger as Hainan, equaling 48 per cent of the flights' payload.

Australian flag carrier Qantas was the worst airline for fuel efficiency, at 22 pax-km/L. It operated the most fuel-intensive aircraft at very low load factors for both passengers and freight, according to ICCT.

Source: CNA/mz

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Biodiversity conservation should be a core value of China's 'Belt and Road Initiative'

Lindsay Brooke, University of Nottingham Phys.org 18 Jan 18;

Environment and conservation experts from the University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNMC) and the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) are challenging decision-makers, infrastructure planners and conservationists to work together to mitigate the negative impacts of China's "Belt and Road Initiative' (BRI) and look for opportunities for biodiversity conservation.

The correspondence—"Biodiversity conservation needs to be a core value of China's "Belt and Road Initiative"—has been published in the academic journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. It is authored by Dr. Alex Lechner and Dr. Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz from the School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at UNMC (both are members of the Mindset Interdisciplinary Centre for Environmental Studies at UNMC) and Dr. Faith Ka Shun Chan from the School of Geographical Sciences, the co-leader ofthe Belt and Road Initiative Research Priorities Area, Institute of Asia Pacific Studies (IAPS) at UNNC.

The article highlights what the authors describe as the potentially disastrous consequences for biodiversity and calls for BRI to put biodiversity conservation at the heart of its core values—not as an after-thought. The authors suggest that BRI could, for instance, implement a network of protected areas and wildlife corridors across Eurasia.

With an estimated cost of over four trillion US dollars, BRI will connect roughly half of the world's population across over 65 countries. Although much has been discussed about its economic and geopolitical implications the research team warns that critical implications for biodiversity need to be considered, especially in Asia.

Biodiversity in the Anthropocene

The Anthropocene denotes the current geological age, which is viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. Infrastructure and its impacts, such as disruption of ecological connectivity, are key drivers of biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene.

This article tracks the path BRI will take across a number of the world's terrestrial and marine biodiversity hotspots, wilderness areas and other key conservation areas—such as Southeast Asia's Coral Triangle, often described as the Amazon of the ocean.

Potential threats to biodiversity

The authors list the potential threats to biodiversity. Roads, they say, create habitat loss and fragmentation and encourage invasive species and illegal activities such as poaching and logging.

Increased sea traffic exacerbates the movement of invasive species and pollution.

Poorly planned infrastructure risks locking in undesirable environmental practices for decades to come.

Potential opportunity for biodiversity

There is, the authors say, a potential opportunity for biodiversity. BRI could learn from, support and expand existing national initiatives in the region such as Bhutan For Life or Malaysia's Central Forest Spine, and promote transboundary conservation parks and transboundary conservation activities as an integral element of transboundary infrastructure projects.

The authors want BRI to follow best practice environmental planning to ensure no net loss of biodiversity and achieve a net gain in biodiversity that yield benefits to conservation which would not have otherwise occurred.

The vision, they say, proposed in this paper should be led by Chinese authorities and diplomacy but will require clear buy-in and involvement from other countries' governments and different sectors and stakeholders, including intergovernmental organizations such as UNDP, financiers, developers, and civil society. The research team has already submitted a joint grant to the Chinese Social Science Foundation (CSSF) with partners at University of Beijing to further look at the implications and crossboundary effects on natural environment by BRI.

Explore further: Conservation hindered by geographical mismatches between capacity and need

More information: Alex Mark Lechner et al. Biodiversity conservation should be a core value of China's Belt and Road Initiative, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0452-8

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2017 was the hottest year on record without El Niño boost

Data shows the year was also one of the hottest three ever recorded, with scientists warning that the ‘climate tide is rising fast’
Damian Carrington The Guardian 18 Jan 18;

2017 was the hottest year since global records began that was not given an additional boost by the natural climate cycle El Niño, according to new data. Even without an El Niño, the year was still exceptionally hot, being one of the top three ever recorded.

The three main global temperature records show the global surface temperature in 2017 was 1C above levels seen in pre-industrial times, with scientists certain that humanity’s fossil fuel-burning is to blame.

The data, published on Thursday, means the last three years have been the hottest trio ever seen, with 2017 ranking second or third depending on the small differences between the temperature records. Furthermore, 17 of the 18 hottest years recorded since 1850 have occurred since 2000.

2017 also saw extreme weather events strike across the world, from hurricanes in the US and Caribbean to heatwaves in Australia and devastating floods in Asia. Many of these events have been shown to have been made much more likely by the heat resulting from global warming.

Scientists from across the globe warned that the limit of 1.5C of warming, set as a goal by the international Paris climate change treaty, was being approached very rapidly and that it was more urgent than ever to slash emissions to avoid the worst impacts.

The three global temperature records are compiled by the UK’s Met Office and Nasa and Noaa in the United States. The Met Office said the average temperature in 2017 was 0.99C above that seen from 1850-1900, despite the Pacific Ocean moving into its cooler La Niña phase.

“While climate change deniers continue to bury their heads in the sand, global warming continues unabated,” said Prof Michael Mann, at Pennsylvania State University in the US. “And the impacts of that warming – unprecedented wildfires, superstorms and floods – are now plain for all to see. There has never been greater urgency.”

In December, the US president, Donald Trump, suggested cold weather in the eastern US undermined the evidence of climate change, a statement called “phenomenally dumb“ by climate scientist Dr Sarah Myhre.

Scientists said that the slight drop in global temperature in 2017 was unsurprising and that huge levels of carbon emissions are still being pumped out. “Global temperatures will continue to bob up and down from year to year, but the climate tide beneath them is rising fast,” said Prof David Reay, at the University of Edinburgh in the UK.

“Despite our best efforts so far, global warming continues apace,” said Prof Martin Siegert, at Imperial College London. “This is yet another wake-up call to develop a zero carbon economy before it’s too late.”

Dr Dann Mitchell, at the University of Bristol, said: “We are getting ever closer to the Paris agreement target of 1.5C which we are so desperately trying to avoid.”

Prof Stefan Rahmstorf said there had been a very significant increase in global temperature since the major El Niño seen in 1998: “In just 18 years, our greenhouse gas emissions have pushed up global temperature by a full 0.4C. At this rate the Paris goal of 1.5C will already be crossed in under two decades.”

In Australia, the Climate Council chief executive, Amanda McKenzie, said: “The fingerprints of climate change were seen with extreme weather events across Australia in 2017. This data is yet another warning to the government to urgently slash Australia’s rising greenhouse gas levels in a bid to protect Australians from escalating extreme weather events.”

The temperature data is all compiled using many thousands of measurements from all continents and all oceans. Small differences between them largely result from how temperatures for the fast-warming but data-sparse polar regions are calculated.

The El Niño event in 2015-16 raised the annual average temperature for 2016 by 0.2C, but most scientists agree that both 2016 and 2015 would have been record hot years even without the El Niño. The 2017 global temperature was accurately predicted by the Met Office a year before, adding to confidence that scientists have a good understanding of the climate system.

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U.K.: Supermarkets under pressure to reveal amount of plastic they create

Leading UK retailers say information is too ‘commercially sensitive’ to reveal, following Guardian report they make almost 1m tonnes a year
Matthew Taylor and Sandra Laville The Guardian 18 Jan 18;

Supermarkets are coming under growing pressure from politicians and campaigners to reveal the amount of plastic they create, and pay more towards its safe disposal, following a Guardian investigation.

Amid mounting concern about the devastating environmental impact of plastic pollution around the globe, the Guardian revealed on Wednesday that the UK’s leading supermarkets create almost 1m tonnes of plastic packaging waste every year.

However, the system is shrouded in secrecy. When the Guardian asked leading retailers to reveal the exact amount of waste they are responsible for, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Asda and Lidl all refused, saying the information was “commercially sensitive”.

Mary Creagh, MP, the chair of the environmental audit committee, warned “a plastic tide is engulfing our streets, beaches and oceans” and called on the government to act.

“Government should change the rules to encourage the use of packaging that is easy to recycle and raise charges on plastics that are difficult to recycle, to reduce the amount and type of plastic we use.”

Caroline Lucas, Green party MP and co-leader, said that although the “government talks a good game on plastics” they need to be taking much firmer action.

“For a start that must mean forcing supermarkets to come clean about how much plastic they use – but they should also ask those who use the most to pay more of the cost of dealing with it too.”
Labour’s shadow environment secretary, Sue Hayman, said: “Labour supports the calls being made for the government to change the rules so that supermarkets have to let the public know how much plastic they are producing.”

Supermarkets have to declare the amount of plastic they put on the market annually under an EU directive. But the information is kept secret.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it has plans to reform the producer responsibility system to “in order to incentivise producers to take greater responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products.

“We will be publishing more detail in our upcoming resources and waste strategy.”
The spokesman said it was not possible to release details of how much plastic packaging is produced by each supermarket because that was “commercially sensitive”.

Although several major supermarkets refused to share their figures with the Guardian, two – Aldi and the Co-op – were open about the amount of plastic they put on to the market each year.

Using their data, and other publicly available market share information, environmental consultants Eunomia estimated that the top supermarkets are creating a plastic waste problem of more than 800,000 tonnes each year – well over half of all annual UK household plastic waste of 1.5m tonnes.

Louise Edge, senior oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said more transparency would spur positive competition among supermarkets to cut their plastic output, rewarding the companies who make an effort.

“They should include measures such as phasing out non-recyclable and single-use plastics from own brand products, installing free water fountains and re-fill stations for soft drinks, backing deposit return schemes and trialling reusable packaging for home deliveries.”

The Guardian’s revelations about supermarket plastic have added to mounting public concern about the damage that plastic does to the natural world. The Guardian has already revealed the vertiginous growth in plastic production, and the heavy environmental toll it exacts.

Many believe the existing system to make producers pay towards the waste they create in the UK is not tough enough.

The Environment Agency polices the UK packaging compliance system. Under the scheme retailers who dodge their duties to pay towards the recycling of their packaging most often receive civil sanctions. They are rarely prosecuted in the criminal courts.

In the last six years 240 retailers have been sanctioned and agreed to pay a total of almost £5m to charities, including Wrap, the Woodland Trust, Keep Britain Tidy and various local rivers and wildlife trusts.

The sanctions are known as Enforcement Undertakings, and are a voluntary arrangement between the Environment Agency and the offending retailer.


Hundreds of MPs call on supermarkets to scrap plastic packaging
MPs write to major supermarkets, as pressure grows over the huge amounts of plastic waste they generate
Sandra Laville The Guardian 19 Jan 18;

Two hundred cross-party MPs are calling on heads of the major supermarkets to eliminate plastic packaging from their products by 2023.

The MPs, who are from seven political parties, have written to Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, Waitrose, Aldi, Lidl, Budgens and Marks & Spencer urging them to scrap plastic packaging.

They wrote after the Guardian revealed this week the major supermarkets in the UK create more than 800,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste – well over half the household plastic waste – each year.

Six of the major supermarkets refused to reveal the amount of plastic packaging they put on to the market, saying the information was commercially sensitive. Analysis by Eunomia environmental consultants used figures provided by Aldi and the Co-op – the only chains to release public figures on their plastic tonnage – and the market share of each supermarket to estimate how much plastic packaging the chains produce each year.

This week, Iceland announced it would stop plastic packaging on its own brand products by 2023. Catherine West, Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, who is behind the letter, said: “Vast amounts of plastic are ‘used’ for merely a few seconds before being discarded.

“We have a moral duty to tackle this disposable culture. As such, I welcome the recent announcement from Iceland supermarkets … and I’m delighted that MPs from all parties are supporting my call for other retailers to follow suit.”

Waitrose announced on Friday it would no longer use black plastic for its meat, fish, fruit and vegetables by the end of this year, and that all Waitrose products would be free of black plastic by the end of 2019. Black plastic cannot be recycled under current UK systems.

Each year it is estimated that more than 300m tonnes of plastic are produced globally. The Guardian revealed recently that plastic production is set to soar over the next 10 years.

On Friday Coca-Cola announced a new goal to collect and recycle the equivalent of 100% of the packaging it sells globally by 2030.

Coca-Cola said: “Given the size and scope of this challenge, we expect to invest in new packaging innovations and local collection and recycling systems, as well as consumer education and awareness programs.”

Damian Gammell, CEO of Coca-Cola European Partners, said: “At the heart of this is our commitment to collect 100% of our packaging and ensure that 50% of the PET plastic we use will be rPET by 2025. We are also exploring how we can inspire more consumers to recycle by using the power of our brands, advertising and message on packaging.”

But Greenpeace, which is campaigning for the introduction of a plastic bottle deposit scheme in the UK, said Coca-Cola’s plan failed to include any reduction of the company’s rapidly increasing use of single-use plastic bottles globally, which now stands at well over 110bn annually.

“It contrasts starkly with pledges to reduce the use of disposable plastic made by many retailers in recent weeks,” a Greenpeace spokesman said.

Greenpeace estimates that Coca-Cola has increased its number of single-use plastic bottles by nearly a third (31%) since 2008 and that they now account for almost 70% of Coke’s packaging globally.

Last week, prime minister Theresa May said supermarkets should set up plastic-free aisles, and pledged to eliminate unnecessary plastic waste by 2042 – but received a lukewarm response from environmental groups.

Sue Hayman, shadow environment secretary, said: “Labour is calling on all supermarkets to follow the lead shown by Iceland. We know that the government can act on Britain’s plastics crisis a lot sooner than before 2042.”

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