Two leopard geckos seized at Woodlands Checkpoint

Channel NewsAsia 18 Oct 18;

SINGAPORE: A 31-year-old Malaysian man was found with a pair of live leopard geckos in his car at the Woodlands Checkpoint on Tuesday (Oct 16), the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Thursday.

The geckos were found in two separate container boxes that had been wrapped in a towel and placed in a bag in the driver's Malaysian-registered car, ICA said in a Facebook post.

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Malaysia: No more mangrove lands for shrimp farming, says Sabah minister

stephanie lee The Star 18 Oct 18;

KOTA KINABALU: There will be no more mangrove lands approved for shrimp farming in Sabah, says Datuk Junz Wong.

The Sabah Agriculture and Food Industries Minister said mangrove destruction for whatever purposes must be stopped for conservation.

“The destruction of valuable natural environment assets are irreversible, therefore instead of destroying the environment for wealth, we should promote and encourage agricultural economic development,” he said during a visit to the Pitas Shrimp Farm at Sungai Telaga in Pitas.

Wong urged prawn farmers to go upstream to create hatcheries, as well as downstream for prawn export.

Wong had also rejected a 1,000 acre mangrove land application for prawn farming.

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Indonesia: Floods strike Sumatra as rainy season begins

Fardah Assegaf Antara 19 Oct 18;

Jakarta, (ANTARA News)- Rainy season has begun in some parts of Indonesia, particularly on Sumatra Island, but the dry season has continued in other regions, such as on Java Island and East Nusa Tenggara.

Such a weather phenomenon is quite normal in Indonesia, as the country is prone to hydrometeorological disasters, such as flooding in rainy season and wildfires or severe drought during the dry season.

In East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), for instance, 11 districts have been hit by the severe dry season. The districts, which include East Manggarai, Nagekeo, Ende, Lembata, East Sumba, Rote Ndao, Kupang, North Timor Tengah, Malaka, and Belu, have received no rains for more than two months.

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Indonesia: Prolonged drought triggers wildfires on mountains in Java

Fardah Antara 18 Oct 18;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Some parts of Indonesia`s regions have entered the rainy season, while several others, such as Java and Nusa Tenggara Islands, are experiencing prolonged severe dry season, causing drought, water shortages, and also wildfires.

On Java Island, the prolonged dry season has triggered wildfires in forest areas located on the slopes of several mountains in Central, East, and West Java Provinces.

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Indonesia: BRG claims less hot spots detected in intervened peatland

Antara 18 Oct 18;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s Peat land Restoration Agency (BRG) has claimed that fewer hot spots were found in the peat land area under its restoration program through the 3Rs approach (rewetting, revegetation, livelihood revitalization).

"Similar to what Mr Haris (BRG`s Deputy for Research and Development Haris Gunawan) has done, making fish ponds or sampling farms, we map out the coordinates, and then we observe within one kilometer. If there are hot spots detected, it was not much, and located more than 2 km from the intervened area," BRG chief Nazir Foead said here on Wednesday.

He noted the intervention that included peat land rewetting by establishing canal blocks, building artesian wells, and livelihood revitalization by making fish ponds and farms had successfully reduced the number of hot spots.

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Best of our wild blogs: 18 Oct 18

Our Crazy Rich Shores: Pulau Semakau
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

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Man fined S$7,600 for illegal import and possession of reptiles, another fined for abandoning cats

ASYRAF KAMIL Today Online 17 Oct 18;

SINGAPORE — A 28-year-old man was fined S$7,600 for the illegal import of a leopard tortoise, and possession of two endangered reptiles in his home.

In a statement on Wednesday (Oct 17), the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA) and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said that Joey Law Swee Siang, 28, was fined S$4,000 for the illegal import of the tortoise, S$3,000 for possessing an African spurred tortoise, and S$600 for keeping a razor-back musk turtle.

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Malaysia to do away with single-use plastics

sim leoi leoi The Star 18 Oct 18;

KUALA LUMPUR: There will be no more drinking straws and plastic carrier bags by 2030 under an ambitious plan that will see local councils imposing a “pollution charge” and a “no straw by default” policy.

These measures will be introduced under Phase 1 of the Roadmap Towards Zero Single-use Plastics 2018-2030 from next year until 2021.

The roadmap will also eventually see the implementation of a circular economy for recycling as well as position Malaysia as a leader in biodegradable technology and industry within the region.

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Indonesia: Death toll of C Sulawesi earthquake reaches 2,102

Antara 15 Oct 18;

Palu, C Sulawesi (ANTARA News)- The death toll of a magnitude-7.4 earthquake and a subsequent tsunami that hit Central Sulawesi on Sept 28, 2018, reached 2,102, following discovery of two more bodies by a marine team in Patoloan seaport area, here, Tuesday.

The bodies of a mother and a child were handed over to their family for funerals.

The total number of injured people was 4,612, while 680 people were still missing, and 152 others remained under the debris of buildings destroyed by the natural disaster.

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Climate change 'at point of no return': Ban

AFP Yahoo News 16 Oct 18;

The Hague (AFP) - Former UN chief Ban Ki-Moon warned Tuesday the world is at the "point of no return" on climate change as he launched an international commission on responses to global warming.

The Global Commission on Adaptation is endorsed by 17 countries including major economic powers China, Germany and India and will look at ways the world -- especially poor nations -- can shield themselves against the impact of rising temperatures.

"We are at the point of no return," Ban told an audience at the commission's launch in The Hague, where the Netherlands hosted its 28 commissioners.

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Best of our wild blogs: 17 Oct 18

Our Crazy Rich Shores: Kusu Island
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

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Sentosa Island, Pulau Brani development plans in the works

Channel NewsAsia 17 Oct 18;

SINGAPORE: A comprehensive set of plans to reshape Sentosa Island is being developed, announced Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat on Wednesday (Oct 17) at the opening of travel trade show ITB Asia 2018.

Mr Chee spoke about Sentosa Island's status as a major tourism attraction in Singapore, and highlighted its need to remain competitive by constantly rejuvenating itself.

"We are currently developing a comprehensive set of plans to reshape the entire island and provide more scope for new attractions and investments on Sentosa," said Mr Chee.

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