Indonesia threatens to quit Paris climate deal over palm oil

Reuters 27 Mar 19;

JAKARTA (Reuters) - A senior Indonesian minister warned on Wednesday Southeast Asia’s biggest economy could consider exiting the Paris climate deal if the European Union goes ahead with a plan to phase out palm oil in renewable transportation fuel.

Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer, has lashed out at the EU after the bloc classified palm oil as a risky crop that caused significant deforestation and ruled that its use in renewable fuel should stop by 2030.

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Indonesia: Apusan forest's illegal logging is death warrant for rare animals

Antara 29 Mar 19;

Malang, E Java (ANTARA) - Extensive illegal logging in the Apusan preserved forest, Tambakrejo Village, Malang, endangers the existence of rare animals, including the hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) and Javan leaf monkey (Trachypithecus auratus), an environmental non-governmental organization Profauna Indonesia stated.

"Damage caused to the Apusan forest, which comes under Perhutani's management, is estimated to reach 200 hectares, of the total 500.20 hectares of the preserved forest area," Coordinator for the Lowland Forest Conservation Program of Profauna Indonesia Erik Yanuar stated here on Friday.

Yanuar noted that the forest served as a habitat for varied species of wild and protected animals.

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Best of our wild blogs: 29 Mar 19

2019 Draft Master Plan on wild shores of singapore

• Climate change in the 2019 Draft Master Plan
• Pulau Ubin and northern shores in the 2019 Draft Master Plan
• Southern shores in the 2019 Draft Master Plan
• Kranji and Mandai shores in the 2019 Draft Master Plan
• Eastern shores in the 2019 Draft Master Plan

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Burning smell set to be reduced with rain: NEA

Timothy Goh Straits Times 29 Mar 19;

The burning smell reported across the island over the past two months may soon occur less frequently, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday.

On Feb 8, residents living in several parts of eastern Singapore, including Tampines, Bedok and Pasir Ris, reported a "strong burning smell" similar to haze. The source of the smell was later traced to a landfill fire in south-eastern Johor, which was later extinguished.

Complaints about the smell continued through mid-February and March, however, due to other fires and hot spots in the region.

NEA said yesterday that it has continued to receive feedback from the public about the burning smell in various areas of Singapore.

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Malaysia: All Sungai Kim Kim victims released from hospital

Rizalman Hammim New Straits Times 28 Mar 19;

JOHOR BARU: All victims of the Sungai Kim Kim toxic waste dumping case who were hospitalised for inhaling toxic fumes have been discharged.

State Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee chairman Dr Sahruddin Jamal said he was informed that the last victim who sought treatment following the incident was allowed to go home on March 25.

"All patients who were hospitalised have been released. So far, we have not received any new cases relating to the incident," said Dr Sahruddin.

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Malaysia: ‘Laws needed to protect Ulu Muda’

tan sin chow The Star 29 Mar 19;

GEORGE TOWN: Legislation is needed to gazette the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve in Kedah as a ‘Northern Region Water Catchment Area’, said the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP).

Its chief executive officer Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa said with laws to monitor and manage Ulu Muda, the reserve will receive protection not only as a rainforest area but also as a regional catchment area.

“There should also be federal compensation to Kedah for conserving Ulu Muda, as well as to Perlis and Penang.

“It is vital to gazette Ulu Muda as a water catchment area and only then can we guarantee raw water security for Kedah, Perlis and Penang,” he said.

Ulu Muda encompasses 163,103 ha of rainforest.

About 70% of Perlis’ raw water, 96% of Kedah’s raw water and more than 80% of Penang’s raw water originates from Ulu Muda.

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Indonesia: Police foil attempt to export Komodo dragons for Rp 500 million apiece

The Jakarta Post 28 Mar 19;

Police in East Java have busted a network of criminals they say attempted to smuggle 41 Komodo dragons out of the country and sell them for Rp 500 million (US$35,000) each.

The special crimes unit head of the East Java Police, Sr. Comr. Akhmad Yusep Gunawan, said the force had also rescued five baby Komodo dragons from the Surabaya-based group of alleged smugglers.

“The criminals intended to ship the animals to three countries in Southeast Asia through Singapore,” Yusep told reporters on Wednesday, as quoted by kompas.com.

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Asia's mega-cities need clean energy drive to cope with environmental threats

Henning Gloystein Reuters 28 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Avoiding threats from climate change and pollution will require Asia’s booming cities to become much more efficient in their use of energy resources, delegates at a city development conference said on Thursday.

Asia is home to 15 out of the world’s 20 biggest cities, and the United Nations estimates another 2.5 billion people will live in cities by 2050, by far the most in Asia.

This growth caused serious pollution problems and will challenge transport networks, food supply chains, and energy supplies, the delegates said.

“Cities occupy 2 to 3 percent of our planet’s surface, yet they consume 70 percent of all energy,” said Soren Kvorning, President for Asia Pacific at Danfoss, a Danish engineering firm with a strong focus on Asia.

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Climate change: Global impacts 'accelerating' - WMO

BBC 28 Mar 19;

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says that the physical and financial impacts of global warming are accelerating.

Record greenhouse gas levels are driving temperatures to "increasingly dangerous levels", it says.

Their report comes in the same week as the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported a surge in CO2 in 2018.

However, new data from the UK suggests Britain is bucking the trend with emissions down by 3%.

This year's State of the Climate report from the WMO is the 25th annual record of the climate.

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Best of our wild blogs: 28 Mar 19

No more fires in Indonesia? Blazes on Sumatran peatland say otherwise
Mongabay.com

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Tech for urban farming among R&D focus as Singapore looks to beef up food security

Tang See Kit Channel NewsAsia 27 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE: As part of his job, Liew Woei Chang keeps a close eye on hundreds of tilapia fish daily.

But the 39-year-old does not work in the fish trade. In fact, the tilapia that he monitors possess quite an atypical trait.

A freshwater fish, tilapias tend to grow slower or face high mortality rates when reared in sea water. Together with four other researchers, Dr Liew, a research investigator at the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL), has been looking at how to change that.

Eight years since the research programme started, the team has “almost achieved” that.

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Malaysia, Johor: Hot spells caused 15 major fires

nelson benjamin The Star 28 Mar 2019;

JOHOR BARU: The present hot and dry spell has caused 15 major fires in six states, destroying land equivalent to the size of nearly 450 football fields.

Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Mohammad Hamdan Wahid (pic) said the 15 hotspots involved peat soil, farms and estates, landfill, forest and plantations covering some 239ha of land.

Mohammad Hamdan said the hotspots included six in Sarawak, Pahang (four), Johor (two), and one each in Kedah, Kelantan and Perak.

“Most of the major fires have been put out and so far there are still 56ha to be doused,” he said, adding that there was a landfill fire the size of 3.23ha, which had been raging in Kota Tinggi in Johor for about three weeks.

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