Higher seafood prices, but eateries adapting swimmingly for CNY

SHERLYN SEAH Today Online 3 Feb 19;

SINGAPORE — As Singaporean families gather on Monday evening (Feb 4) to tuck into their Chinese New Year (CNY) reunion dinners, they would certainly have had to fork out more for the fish, prawns and crabs on their tables.

In the lead-up to the festive season, prices of fresh seafood have spiked by 30 to 40 per cent due to high demand and low supply, said Mr Goh Thiam Chwee, Chairman of the Singapore Fish Merchants’ General Association.

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Indonesia: Ministry investigates alleged environment damage in bauxite mining

Antara 5 Feb 19

Bintan, Riau Islands(ANTARA News) - The Environment and Forestry Ministry has deployed a team to bauxite mining sites in Bintan District to investigate alleged environment damage in the region.

Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya stated when contacted here on Tuesday that the team had arrived at the scene and will take legal measures.

"We will take legal measures," Nurbaya remarked without elaborating further.

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The Hidden Environmental Toll of Mining the World’s Sand

By far the largest mining endeavor globally is digging up sand, mainly for the concrete that goes into buildings. But this little-noticed and largely unregulated activity has serious costs — damaging rivers, wreaking havoc on coastal ecosystems, and even wiping away entire islands.
FRED PEARCE Yale Environment 360 5 Feb 19;

Nothing sounds so dull — even for most environmentalists — as sand mining. But in India, reports of sand mafias cashing in on the country’s construction boom have lately been making headlines. Last month, the issue went viral — a 17-year-old girl named Kavya in a fishing village in the state of Kerala posted a video on a mobile phone app about how excavators and dredgers had invaded her coastal community. “The land beneath our feet is sinking away,” she said. It became a sensation across the country. Bollywood actors backed her, and now the country’s National Green Tribunal, a government body aimed at settling environmental disputes, is to consider the case.

Sand mining is the world’s largest mining endeavor, responsible for 85 percent of all mineral extraction. It is also the least regulated, and quite possibly the most corrupt and environmentally destructive. So could this be a turning point?

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Best of our wild blogs: 5 Feb 19

No Shark Fin in CNY Menu? No Problem! Restaurants Share Positive Reactions
WWF Singapore

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Indonesia: 31 giant turtles lay eggs in Raja Ampat throughout 2018

Antara 4 Feb 19;

Waisai, W Papua (ANTARA News) - A total of 31 leatherback sea turtles, also known as the world`s explorer giant turtles, landed and laid eggs in Yenbekaki Village, Raja Ampat district in West Papua, throughout 2018.

The turtle conservation activist group in Yenbekaki village stated here on Monday that in May 2018, eight leatherback sea turtles landed and laid eggs in the coastal area of Warebar in Yenbekaki.

"Then, there were five leatherback sea turtles that landed and laid their eggs here in June. There were eight turtles in July, three turtles in August, three turtles in September, and four turtles in October, resulting in a total of 31 giant turtles that landed and laid eggs in Yenbekaki village," Yusuf Mayor, Head of turtle conservation activist group, stated in Yenbekaki village.

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Best of our wild blogs: 4 Feb 19

The Malayan Jester - Permanent Resident?
Butterflies of Singapore

Chinese New Year Resolution – Let’s eat less of threatened seafood species!
Mei Lin NEO

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Indonesia: Borneo road, railway projects ‘world’s scariest environmental threat'

Kharishar Kahfi The Jakarta Post 3 Feb 19;

When President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo began his tenure in 2014, he uttered his wish to finish a number of infrastructure projects immediately, including the construction of a highway and a railway in Kalimantan.

With dense forests, mountains and many rivers, Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the Borneo island, is faced with transportation problems that have increased production costs. According to the Public Works and Housing Ministry, there were only 6,363 kilometers of main roads connecting cities and provinces across Kalimantan in 2014 and only 68 percent of them were in good condition.

The construction of roads in Kalimantan started in 2015 and, recently, concerns were raised by experts who said that such infrastructure projects were “the world’s scariest environmental threat” and could impact the lives of rare animal species such as orangutans and elephants.

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'Once-in-a-century' floods hit northeast Australia

AFP 3 Feb 19;

Once-in-a-century floods have turned streets into rivers and forced thousands to abandon their homes in northeast Australia, with authorities warning of tornadoes and more rain over the next few days.

Australia's tropical north experiences heavy rains during the monsoon season at this time of the year, but the recent downpour has surged far above normal levels.

Thousands of residents in the city of Townsville in Queensland were without power and cut off by flooded roads.

More severe weather could whip up tornadoes and destructive winds in the days ahead, Bureau of Meteorology state manager Bruce Gunn told reporters Sunday.

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Best of our wild blogs: 3 Feb 19

Happy World Wetlands Day!
Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs

The Not So Common Common Myna
BES Drongos

Singapore Raptor Report – December 2018
Singapore Bird Group

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Zero Waste Masterplan to focus on electronics, packaging, food waste: Masagos

Melanie Oliveiro Channel NewsAsia 3 Feb 19;

SINGAPORE: Singapore will relook the waste management cycle for three major streams of trash: Food waste, packing waste and e-waste, under its first Zero Waste Masterplan, Minister for Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli said.

The ministry has designated 2019 as Singapore's Year Towards Zero Waste, in a campaign that aims to raise awareness of waste issues and the need to conserve resources.

At 21 per cent, Singapore's household recycling rate is low when compared with other developed countries like Germany and South Korea.

While Singaporeans are practicing better recycling habits, many of them are still doing it wrong, said Mr Masagos in an interview with 938NOW which was broadcast on Friday (Feb 1).

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Malaysia: ‘Protecting Sarawak’s wildlife a niche tourism product’

Cecilia Sman Borneo Post 3 Feb 19;

MIRI: Sarawakians should cooperate with the authorities by not buying, rearing or trapping protected and totally protected wild animals, to prevent them from being extinct.

Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin regards continuous and strong cooperation as being vital when it comes to protecting these animals from extinction and Sarawak’s tourism focus.

“Currently among our tourism targets include promoting nature tourism to tap its rich biodiversity, which is a niche tourism product especially to naturalists.

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Indonesia: Population of Komodo dragons in national park stable

Antara 2 Feb 19;

Komodo dragons in the Komodo National Park in West Manggara, East Nusa Tenggara. ANTARA FOTO/Indrianto Eko Suwarso/aww.

Kupang, E Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - The population of Komodo dragons at the Komodo National Park located in West Manggara, East Nusa Tenggara Province, reaches 2,897 and is considered to be stable.

"Based on our record, the population of Komodo dragons remains stable, which is between two thousand and three thousand heads," Jackson, the Park`s Komodo dragon monitoring officer, stated here, Saturday.

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