Best of our wild blogs: 22 May 19

Terumbu Semakau still alive
wild shores of singapore

1-2 June (Sat, Sun): Singapore Blue Plan at the Biodiversity Carnival
Singapore Blue Plan 2018

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Hospitals need to shrink their carbon footprint

PATS OLIVA Today Online 22 May 19;

Despite its mandate to protect and save lives, the healthcare sector is a major source of carbon emissions. Hospitals use vast resources, energy-intensive equipment, operate around the clock, and generate and dispose of medical plastic waste by incineration.

In 2018, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service was responsible for 5 per cent of the country’s 364 tonnes of carbon dioxide produced.

Hospitals contribute to climate change, and climate change is threatening to undo the last 50 years of gains in public health.

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Malaysia, flooded with plastic waste, to send back some scrap to source

A. Ananthalakshmi, Emily Chow Reuters 21 May 19;

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia, which has become the dumping ground for the world’s plastic waste, will send back non-recyclable plastic scrap to the developed countries that sent it there, its environment minister said on Tuesday.

Malaysia last year became the leading alternative destination for plastic scrap after China banned imports of such waste, disrupting the flow of more than 7 million tonnes of plastic scrap a year.

Dozens of recycling factories cropped up in Malaysia, many without an operating license, and residents complained of environmental damage.

Most of the plastic scrap coming into the country is contaminated and low-quality plastic from developed countries that is non-recyclable.

Now Malaysia has begun sending back the waste to its country of origin, said Yeo Bee Yin, Malaysia’s minister of energy, technology, science, climate change and environment.

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Malaysia: Sabah pushing for rhino breeding and conservation collaboration with Indonesia

Avila Geraldine, Olivia Miwil New Straits Times 22 May 19;

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will push for a collaboration with Indonesia to set up a Sumatran rhinoceros breeding and conservation programme.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew said Sabah is committed to establishing a mutual agreement to protect the endangered species.

"I am very concerned about our Sumatran rhinoceros. Sabah is now left with two of them, but our male rhinoceros Tam is now very ill.

"I had spoken to state wildlife director Augustine Tuuga and we will make a trip to Indonesia in June or July.

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Malaysia: Turtle eggs are being sold openly in Sabah, and tourists are partly to blame

It is illegal to possess turtle eggs under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997. Those convicted face a fine of RM50,000 or a jail term of up to five years, or both.
Amir Yusof Channel NewsAsia 22 May 19;

SANDAKAN, Sabah: Cars idle in endless queues along Sandakan’s busiest street, Jalan Pryer, as locals horde the dozens of rustic shophouses for bargains.

Right in the heart of the neighbourhood’s labyrinth of alleys, a group of men stood on a prominent street corner with wads of cash bulging in their pockets.

They seemed relaxed, leaning against the walls while smoking, observing passersby. The eyes of one of them lit up when he saw this reporter walking by.

“You want turtle eggs, brother? I give you a good price,” he asked in Bahasa Malaysia. “How much?” I asked.

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Plastic straws, cotton buds and drink stirrers to be banned in England

Government confirms ban on sale and use of items from April next year
Fiona Harvey The Guardian 22 May 19;

Plastic straws and drink stirrers, and cotton buds with plastic stems will be banned from sale and use in England from next April, the government has confirmed.

The move, which has been in the offing for more than a year, is hoped to vastly reduce the litter and other environmental impacts of the nearly 5bn plastic straws currently used each year in the UK, along with more than 300m plastic stirrers and close to 2bn cotton buds with plastic stems.

Huge numbers of these items, particularly cotton buds, are flushed down toilets or otherwise end up in litter – surveys have recently found waterways across the UK teeming with plastic, putting wildlife at risk.

Alternatives are available, including serving drinks without straws or stirrers, which is preferable, or using paper straws and biodegradable products in place of plastic stirrers and cotton buds. The only exceptions to the new rule will be for people with a medical need or disability, for whom plastic straws and other materials will be available upon request.

The EU is also moving to phase out plastics in various forms.

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Best of our wild blogs: 21 May 19

Three-clam day at Terumbu Pempang Laut
wild shores of singapore

1-2 June (Sat, Sun): Biodiversity Carnival at the Central Library
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

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Malaysia: Diving fraternity angry over picture of diver holding protected Hawksbill turtle

Avila Geraldine New Straits Times 20 May 19;

KOTA KINABALU: A picture of a diver holding up a totally protected turtle in the waters here has caused anger among the diving fraternity.

The picture, which was shared in a WhatsApp chat group with members comprising mostly professional divers and Sabah Parks staff, showed the diver holding a Hawksbill turtle up from the surface of the water.

The diving group has described the act as thoughtless and called on the relevant authorities to investigate and take necessary action against such irresponsible behaviour towards marine life.

It was unclear whether the incident occurred within the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (TARP) or outside it, but the water appeared to be shallow. It was also unclear why such an act was committed.

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Coral bleaching event underway in French Polynesia despite no El Nino

Jo Khan ABC 21 May 19;

Widespread coral bleaching has been reported in the French Polynesian islands of Tahiti and Moorea, even though there was no El Nino event this year.

Key points:
More than 50 per cent of coral reefs around Tahiti and Moorea have been bleached
Bleached corals have been observed as deep as 100 metres
Scientists are concerned the lack of climate action will spell the end of the world's reefs

The reefs are among the most regularly bleached in the world, thanks to their position in the path of warm waters that spread west from South America during El Nino years.

This year, however, without the presence of an El Nino and the warmer water it brings, the reefs should have been spared.

But in the last few days, it's been estimated that 50 to 60 per cent of corals on reefs around Tahiti and Moorea have been bleached, according to marine biologist Luiz Rocha from the Californian Academy of Sciences.

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Rise in global sea levels could have 'profound consequences'

Matt McGrath BBC 21 May 19;

Scientists believe that global sea levels could rise far more than predicted, due to accelerating melting in Greenland and Antarctica.

The long-held view has been that the world's seas would rise by a maximum of just under a metre by 2100.

This new study, based on expert opinions, projects that the real level may be around double that figure.

This could lead to the displacement of hundreds of millions of people, the authors say.

The question of sea-level rise was one of the most controversial issues raised by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), when it published its fifth assessment report in 2013.

It said the continued warming of the planet, without major reductions in emissions, would see global waters rising by between 52cm and 98cm by 2100.

Many experts believe this was a very conservative estimate.

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Best of our wild blogs: 20 May 19

Wild fun for kids during the June school holidays!
wild shores of singapore

Mushroom (coral) overdose at Pulau Hantu!
wild shores of singapore

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Diving in: Singapore scientists, volunteers on a mission to protect local reefs from marine trash

LOW YOUJIN Today Online 19 May 19;

SINGAPORE — As the divers navigated their way through Singapore’s southern waters, the beam from their flashlights came across a child-like hand sticking out from the murky depths.

They approached it with apprehension and, to their relief, discovered that it was a doll.

“It was during the Seventh Month (Hungry Ghost Festival)…It was so creepy that I couldn’t sleep the whole night!” said Ms Sam Shu Qin, 30, one of the founders of Our Singapore Reefs.

Undeterred by the spooky encounter, the team from the non-profit organisation has continued on their mission to clean up the waters around the southern islands of marine trash.

The debris poses a threat to the marine biodiversity in Singapore, said Ms Sam, a marine biologist.

Research is emerging on the environmental damage caused by plastic – the most common type of marine debris retrieved in Singapore, making up 57 per cent of the pieces retrieved.

A new study released on May 15 revealed that the production and incineration of plastic in 2019 will add more than 850 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere — equal to the pollution from 189 new 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants.

According to the report by the Center for International Environmental Law and other groups, oceans absorb as much as 40 percent of all human-produced carbon dioxide since the beginning of the industrial era.

A small but growing body of research suggests plastic discarded in the environment may be disrupting the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide, said the report, titled Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet.

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