What politics and drugs have to do with the hike in rice prices

As with some crops, the weather is one of the reasons Thai jasmine rice costs more – but the situation is more complex that just that. The series For Food’s Sake looks at the issues and some solutions.
Derrick A Paulo and Gosia Klimowicz Channel NewsAsia 17 Nov 18;

THAILAND and SINGAPORE: Because of its taste and texture, it is the key ingredient in the old favourite among Singaporeans, chicken rice. Hom Mali – or fragrant Thai jasmine rice – is also preferred by local Chinese restaurants.

It is one of Thailand’s premium exports, and the World Rice Conference has named it the world’s best rice five times since 2009. But that quality, for the most important staple in Asia, has come at an increasingly higher price.

For hawker Wong Teck Tham, the cost of the rice had increased by more than 10 per cent over the past five years, to about S$100 for every 50 kilogrammes.

He was shocked, however, when it then increased to S$108 around the middle of this year. “I’ve never used rice that’s so expensive,” he said.

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China's ban on trash imports shifts waste crisis to Southeast Asia

As plastic scrap piles up, Malaysia and others fight back.
LAURA PARKER National Geographic 16 Nov 18;

When President Donald Trump signed legislation renewing the federal marine debris program, he blamed Asia for fouling the world’s oceans. He named Japan, China, and “many, many countries” for dumping plastic waste that floats over to the West Coast.

“And we’re charged with removing it, which is a very unfair situation,” he said.

What Trump didn’t acknowledge is that plastic waste polluting the seas cannot be assigned entirely to Asia alone. East and West are inextricably connected by their plastic trash, as wealthy nations sell their recycled plastic scrap to Asia for the simple fact it’s easier to ship it around the world than process it at home.

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Worries over CO2 emissions from intensifying wildfires

Navin Singh Khadka BBC World Service 15 Nov 18;

Rising numbers of extreme wildfires could result in a significant increase in CO₂ emissions, scientists warn.

That could mean attaining the Paris climate agreement's goal of keeping global temperature rise well below 2C could become harder, they say.

Present emission-cut pledges by countries are projected to increase the average global temperature rise by more than 3C by the end of the century.

That would lead to dangerous climate change impacts, experts say.

These include sea level rise, drought, wildfires, among other extreme events.

"We can't neglect the emissions from wildfires," says Ramon Vallejo, a scientist specialising on fire ecology with the University of Barcelona.

"Particularly now that we are seeing intense wildfires all around the world."

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Caribbean swamped by seaweed that smells like rotten eggs

From Belize to Barbados, tourist beaches have been swamped by huge tides of foul-smelling sargassum – and climate change could make the problem worse
Will Worley The Guardian 16 nov 18;

“It was like something out of a science fiction movie,” says Barbara Hall from the office of the beachside hotel she runs in Placencia, southern Belize.

“I woke up at 6am, looked out my window and realised we had a big problem. It was absolutely overwhelming.”

The sight that greeted her that morning was a gargantuan tide of sargassum – a type of ocean seaweed that had swept in overnight. At sea, sargassum is an essential habitat for some marine life, but when it reaches land it rots, sucking up oxygen from the water and emitting hydrogen sulphide gas, which smells like rotten eggs.

It has washed up in the Caribbean in unusually large amounts since 2011, but this year the largest volumes ever have appeared on shores from Barbados to Mexico, with piles several feet deep stretching for miles, and dozens of metres out to sea.

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Best of our wild blogs: 16 Nov 18

Birding update on November 2018
Francis Yap Nature Photography

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Malaysia: Wild animals for sale via mail – unusual but not new

vincent tan and ili aqilah The Star 14 Nov 18;

PETALING JAYA: Using the postal system to traffic animals and other protected wildlife is not common – but not new either, said wildlife and conservation groups.

Sending animals by post has been done since 2014, said Serene Chng, a programme officer with wildlife trade monitor Traffic.

“From Traffic’s 2016 report Trading Faces, which assesses the use of Facebook to trade wildlife in peninsular Malaysia, we have documented sellers on Facebook offering to deliver live specimens by post,” Chng told The Star.

Chng explained that using the postal route was convenient, and could be fast if using express post, and levels of detection can be low.

“It is worth noting that wildlife is not only sent via parcel post, but also postal cargo, where larger volumes of wildlife parts can be transported,” she said.

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Indonesia: Sumatran tiger enters market in Riau

Rizal Harahap The Jakarta Post 15 Nov 18;

A Sumatran tiger has been found hiding in a basement of a shophouse in a market in Pulau Burung village, Indragiri Hilir regency, Riau, stirring uproar in the densely populated area.

The presence of the tiger was first known on Wednesday at about 11 a.m. local time, when a resident spotted it walking around under the attached stilt houses belonging to Johari, Atek, Aming and Ayang.

Shortly afterwards, the picture of the tiger went viral on social media and people flocked the market to see the animal.

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Best of our wild blogs: 15 Nov 18

21 Nov (Wed): Diving into citizen science - Marine chit-chats
Celebrating Singapore Shores

The Bottled-Up Truth: Singapore's Plastic Problem
Celebrating Singapore Shores

34th Singapore Bird Race Winners
Singapore Bird Group

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Indonesia: Conservationist reveals 17 sea turtle nests spotted at Trisik Beach

antara 14 Nov 18;

Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - The number of sea turtles reaching Trisik Beach, Kulon Progo District, in Yogyakarta Province has increased significantly this year as observed from the existence of 17 nests, a conservationist stated.

The nests had at least 1,700 eggs. This number sharply increased as compared to 800 recorded last year, Head of the Abadi Turtle Conservation Agency at Trisik Beach Jaka Samudro remarked here on Wednesday.

"This progress has been achieved as a result of moving the location of shrimp aquaculture rearing from Trisik Beach to the northern areas following the recent giant waves that hit the coastal area," he stated.

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Indonesia: Scientists slam govt for giving nod to Batang Toru dam

Kharishar Kahfi and Evi Mariani The Jakarta Post 13 Nov 18;

Scientists have slammed the Indonesian government for giving the controversial Batang Toru hydroelectric power plant the green light, saying that orangutans are valuable to Indonesia, like pandas are to China.

Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said the government believed that the dam would have little impact on the Tapanuli orangutans, the rarest great ape on earth, which environmentalists call the last 800 due to its small number.

The scientists said Indonesia risked its global reputation if it does not protect them.

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Vietnam’s wetlands under threat

VietNamNet Bridge 12 Nov 18;

Wetlands in Vietnam are under threat from both natural factors and human activities.

Wetlands occupy an important place in the development of the country and are a key source of income for local communities.

With a total area of nearly 12 million hectares, accounting for 37 per cent of the country’s total land, wetlands benefit all economic sectors.

At present, many wetland areas have reduced in size. Some have become degraded or polluted, while others are not being used sustainably, requiring effective conservation and wise use.

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World has no capacity to absorb new fossil fuel plants, warns IEA

Watchdog says new projects must be low carbon or existing plants must be cleaned up
Adam Vaughan The Guardian 13 Nov 18;

The world has so many existing fossil fuel projects that it cannot afford to build any more polluting infrastructure without busting international climate change goals, the global energy watchdog has warned.

The International Energy Agency said almost all of the world’s carbon budget up to 2040 – the amount that can be emitted without causing dangerous warming – would be eaten up by today’s power stations, vehicles and industrial facilities.

Fatih Birol, the executive director of the Paris-based group, told the Guardian: “We have no room to build anything that emits CO2 emissions.”

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