Indonesia to welcome back endemic snake-necked turtles

The Jakarta Post 30 Jun 19;

The “repatriation” is to be conducted through a reintroduction program run by the Wildlife Conservation Society Indonesia Program (WCS-IP) and Wildlife Reserve Singapore.

The turtles, which are to be shipped to Indonesia in the next couple of months, have been bred by organizations in a number of countries, including the United States and Austria. Some 26 individuals bred in the US and Austria are now being kept in the Singapore Zoo. However, how many of those are to be sent to their natural habitat in their ancestral home is still under negotiation, Timbul Batubara, the head of the East Nusa Tenggara Resource Conservation Center (BBKSDA), said on Saturday.

The species, called the Roti Island snake-necked turtle, is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list and is categorized as critically endangered. Roti Island is another name for Rote Island.

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Best of our wild blogs: 30 Jun 19

Morning Walk At Dairy Farm Nature Park (29 Jun 2019)
Beetles@SG BLOG

The Bamboo Feeders (Part 2)
Butterflies of Singapore

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Floating wetlands in Pulau Ubin to be expanded, more amenities for wheelchair users

Felicia Choo Straits Times 29 Jun 19;

SINGAPORE - Bird enthusiasts and nature lovers will soon have more to enjoy in Pulau Ubin, where floating wetlands will be vastly expanded to provide more habitats for various species of migratory birds.

The mangroves at abandoned aquaculture ponds in the south-eastern part of the island will also be restored.

These are part of plans announced by the National Parks Board (NParks) on Saturday, which will also see improved accessibility to Pulau Ubin for wheelchair users.

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New MPA database to promote better use of Singapore waters

Zhaki Abdullah Straits Times 29 Jun 19;

A new database on Singapore's waters, from its coastlines to the seabed, was launched yesterday by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

Dubbed GeoSpace-Sea, it aims to provide comprehensive geospatial data for port and coastal planning, among other things, as well as environmental management.

"It will be something like the SLA's (Singapore Land Authority's) OneMap," said MPA deputy chief hydrographer Jamie Chen, referring to the map service which will provide geospatial data as well as land ownership information.

The MPA's database will help Singapore's waters be used and developed in a safe and sustainable manner, he added.

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Singapore bans bottled water from Malaysia's Malee Mineral Water after bacteria found

Channel NewsAsia 28 Jun 19;

SINGAPORE: The import of all bottled drinking and mineral water from Malee Mineral Water has been banned with immediate effect after bacteria was detected in recent consignments.

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) announced this in a circular addressed to all bottled water importers on its website on Friday (Jun 28).

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Malaysia, Johor: 'Authorities must determine safe range in Pasir Gudang'

New Straits Times 29 Jun 19;

PASIR GUDANG: Medical experts have urged the authorities to ascertain the concentration level of the ‘anomalous’ gases foundin Pasir Gudang atmosphere.

This ratio, they believe, is the key towards determining the “safe range”, or whether residents have to exercise additional precautionary measures.

Dr Ravindran R. Naidu, who is former president of the Malaysian Medical Association, said the three gases detected in named by the authorities as being present in the Pasir Gudang air should not be treated lightly.

He said the gases, if found in large quantities, could pose not just immediate problems, but also severe respiratory issues.

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Indonesia, Kalimantan: Land fires hit East Kotawaringin

Antara 29 Jun 19;

Sampit, C Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Land fires began in East Kotawaringin District, Central Kalimantan, as less rain fell in the past week to make the dry land flammable.

"Today we are putting out land fires that have occurred in an area of about 50x100 meters with an area burned (into the ground) around 20x10 meters," said Head of the East Kotawaringin Fire and Rescue Service, Rihel, in Sampit Saturday. A fire was spotted on Walter Hugo Street, Baamang Barat Village, Baamang District. The location of the burned land is still within the area of Sampit City.

A team of eight firefighters was immediately dispatched to the location after public reports. Although the burning area is an empty field full of weeds, the prompt response of the firefighters helped to quickly bring the fire under control.

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Staying in Jakarta: Will a great sea wall protect Indonesia's capital from coastal flooding?

Stania Puspa Channel NewsAsia 29 Jun 19;

JAKARTA: For those living in North Jakarta, regular coastal flooding is a fact of life.

Entire communities are inundated, usually in the middle of the month, as the sea level rises around the full moon period. Residents of Kaliadem in Penjaringan, North Jakarta, simply refer to coastal flooding using the Javanese word “rob”.

“(A) big cycle (of flooding) comes once every three months,” said local citizen Bani Sadar when interviewed by CNA.

“Sometimes, it’s a moderate flood, sometimes it’s a big flood. We have (in the past) experienced five days of flooding in a row.”

In the middle of May this year, seawater flooded Mr Sadar’s house. The water level was up to his ankle.

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Japan whaling: Commercial hunts to resume despite outcry

BBC 29 Jun 19;

Japan is about to resume catching whales for profit, in defiance of international criticism.

Its last commercial hunt was in 1986, but Japan has never really stopped whaling - it has been conducting instead what it says are research missions which catch hundreds of whales annually.

But Japan has now withdrawn from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which banned hunting, and will send out its first whaling fleet this July.

Isn't whaling banned?

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How Singapore is battling ‘existential’ climate threat

Environmental change and water dispute with Malaysia threaten low-lying state
Stefania Palma Financial Times 27 Jun 19;

One word crops up repeatedly in Singaporean authorities’ discussions on the environmental risks facing the low-lying country: “existential”.

An island nation half the size of London with limited natural resources, Singapore is vulnerable to rising sea levels and flooding, with food and water security major concerns. A spat with Malaysia over an accord that has underpinned water exports to Singapore for almost six decades has compounded the sustainability challenge.

However, Singapore has rolled out some of the world’s most progressive policies to tackle climate change risks as well as encouraging businesses to harness technology to address them.

“The effects of climate change are real, and in Singapore we are definitely going to be facing them,” says Pamela Lee, director of policy and planning at the National Climate Change Secretariat in the prime minister’s office.

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Malaysia, Johor: Crackdown on Pasir Gudang factories dumping chemical waste illegally

Kalbana Perimbanayagam New Straits Times 27 Jun 19;

PASIR GUDANG : The Department of Environment (DOE) in Johor has initiated investigation on at least 38 industrial factories operating in Pasir Gudang, for non-compliance and flouting the department’s laws, following the recent toxic fume pollution here.

State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said action taken included the issuing of compounds to 37 factory operators who had failed to adhere to the department’s procedures under the Environmental Quality Act 1974.

“Of the total, 27 compounds were issued for unscheduled waste disposal, 10 were for industrial effluents and three notices to stop work and notice of demand, each were also issued to six of them.

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Indonesia: TNI foil alleged sale of protected primates worth Rp 1.42b

Rizal Harahap The Jakarta Post 27 Jun 19;

The Indonesian Military (TNI) have arrested two Pekanbaru residents for allegedly trading illegal wildlife in Dumai, Riau.

Dumai Customs and Excise Office head Fuad Fauzi said he had received a report from residents regarding the illegal selling of protected animals in the area.

“We suspect that the animals were heading to Malaysia and were to be delivered by speedboat from a harbor belonging to one of the locals,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

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