Malaysia, Johor: DOE acting on river pollution complaints

The Star 11 Jul 19;

ISKANDAR PUTERI: Johor Department Of Environment (DOE) has received eight complaints of pollution in a river in Ulu Tiram since last year.

Johor local government, urban well-being and environmental committee chairman Tan Chen Choon said following complaints about Sungai Kopok, the department carried out inspections.

“Among complaints received include the change in the colour of the river water, which turned darker and emitted a stench.

“There were also claims of dead fishes in the river,” he said in reply to S. Gopalakrishnan ( PH – Tiram) at the Johor state assembly at Bangunan Sultan Ismail in Kota Iskandar here.

Tan said initial investigations by the department found that the pollution was due to the discharge of industrial effluents from palm oil, oleochemical, biodiesel, soap-based and food-based companies in the area.

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Indonesia: Weather modification likely to prevent Rp3 trillion loss

Antara 10 Jul 19;

How much is the state loss due to the harvest failure? The estimation is up to Rp3 trillion, and hence we must find a solution to address the drought, and one way out is by making artificial rain
Bogor, West Java (ANTARA) - The Agency for Technology Assessment and Application (BPPT) will propose the use of weather modification technology to deal with the severe dry season that could inflict a loss worth Rp3 trillion in the agricultural field.

"We are trying to calculate (loss) caused by harvest failure. This is just a proposal. How much is the state loss due to the harvest failure? The estimation is up to Rp3 trillion, and hence we must find a solution to address the drought, and one way out is by making artificial rain," Hammam Riza, head of BPPT, said.

Many farming areas in Java, Bali and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) have been affected by the extreme dry spell.

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Massive shark fin haul into Hong Kong dodges global shipping bans

Farah Master Reuters 10 Jul 19;

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Two global shipping firms that have vowed not to transport shark fin products inadvertently moved a 40-foot container of the controversial delicacy from Nicaragua to Hong Kong this year, both companies told Reuters.

The shipment highlights the challenges global industry faces in monitoring the trade that results in the killing of more than 70 million sharks a year, and has pushed more than a quarter of species into extinction according to World Wildlife Fund.

The fins were first loaded onto a vessel called Laura, which is operated by Ocean Network Express (ONE), in Nicaragua in March and then transhipped in Manzanillo, Mexico, onto Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) vessel Natasha to Hong Kong, according to cargo records seen by Reuters and confirmed by the firms.

The shipment arrived in Hong Kong in April and was first flagged to Reuters by conservation group OceansAsia, which saw bags of shark fin being unloaded on a road in the city’s industrial western district.

Representatives of both ONE and MSC told Reuters the shipment took place but said the contents had not been declared as shark fin.

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Thousands of wild animals seized in smuggling crackdown

Nearly 600 arrests in Interpol operation that nets primates, big cats, birds and reptiles
Agence France-Presse The Guardian 10 Jul 9;

Police across the globe have seized thousands of wild animals, including primates and big cats, and arrested nearly 600 suspects in a crackdown on illegal wildlife smuggling, Interpol has said.

Covering 109 countries, the operation was carried out in coordination with the World Customs Organization (WCO), with investigators homing in on trafficking routes and crime hotspots, the international policing body said.

Operation Thunderball, based in Singapore, was aimed at transnational crime networks seeking to profit from wildlife smuggling activities. It was the third such Interpol mission in recent years.

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Best of our wild blogs: 10 Jul 19

Great Expectations
The Hantu Blog

Scaly-breasted Munia enjoying Algae
Singapore Bird Group

Protesting for the planet: Is climate activism alive in Singapore?
eco-business.com

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Spot a python? Just leave it alone, advise wildlife groups

Pythons are a natural control for the rat population, say wildlife experts.
Cindy Co Channel NewsAsia 19 Jul 19;

SINGAPORE: Waking up to the screams of his wife and maid, Mr Melvin Yap rushed to them, only to discover a snake coiled around the cage of his pet bird.

It was a reticulated python about 1.5m long - one of the most common species of snakes found in Singapore.

Although the incident occurred about two years ago, Mr Yap still has vivid memories of the snake.

“It was quite docile,” said Mr Yap, recalling how he calmly used a stick to coax the python into a plastic bag.

“Unless you know what you’re doing, the best thing is to avoid it. (But) I knew what kind of snake it was.”

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Reusable water bottles not in NDP 2019 funpacks due to high production cost

Channel NewsAsia 8 Jul 19;

SINGAPORE: Reusable water bottles were considered for this year’s National Day Parade (NDP) funpack, but this was not implemented due to the lack of suppliers who could do so at an affordable cost.

Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen revealed this in a written answer to a parliamentary question by Member of Parliament Louis Ng on Monday (Jul 8).

Mr Ng had asked whether a reusable water bottle could be provided for the NDP funpack instead of a single-use plastic bottle.

"Drinking water in reusable bottles was considered but not implemented as there were a lack of suppliers which can do so at an affordable cost," said Dr Ng.

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Malaysia: 26 investigation papers opened on illegal waste dumping in Johor

The Star 8 Jul 19;

JOHOR BARU (Bernama): The Johor Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) has opened 26 investigation papers for the illegal dumping of solid waste since 2018.

Its director Cairul Hisham Jalaluddin said 12 companies had been charged, including three as of Monday (July 8).

"We are completing the investigation papers against the remaining 14 companies," he told reporters when met at the Sessions Court here.

On the cases that were brought to court today, he said three companies were involved, adding that all pleaded guilty to the charges and were fined a total of RM45,000.

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Indonesia: Fire razes 50 hectares of peatland area in Aceh

Antara 9 Jul 19;

Meulaboh, Aceh (ANTARA) - A fire scorched 50 hectares (ha) of peatland area in West Aceh District, Aceh Province.

"We have continued to make attempts to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to a wider area," Mashuri, coordinator of the Operation Control Center of the West Aceh Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD), stated here on Tuesday.

On Monday evening, the fire razed a 45-ha peatland area located in Johan Pahlawan and West Woyla Sub-district, and on the next day, it extended to a five-ha area located in Alue Peunyareng in Meureubo Sub-district.

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Indonesia: Dry spells spread to wider Indonesian areas, affect farming

Antara 8 Jul 19;

Earlier this year, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reminded the regional authorities to step up their vigilance over possible forest fires and droughts as this year's dry season was forecast to be drier than that of the previous year.

The extreme dry season has affected several areas since May and is expected to last until September, with the condition likely to peak in August. In the beginning, dry spells were reported mostly on Java Island. Currently, drought has cast a pall over 100 districts and cities in the Aceh, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) provinces, the Indonesian Agriculture Ministry's data stated.

"Most parts of Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara have not received rains for over 30 days. Drought has affected some 100 districts and cities," Sarwo Edhy, director general for agriculture infrastructure and facilities at the Agriculture Ministry, revealed on July 8, 2019, following a coordinating meeting to discuss mitigation efforts.

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Indonesia sends rubbish back to Australia and says it's too contaminated to recycle

Indonesian officials say containers of paper contaminated by electronic waste, used cans and plastic bottles
Kate Lamb and Adam Morton The Guardian 8 Jul 19;

Indonesia says it will immediately send eight containers of household rubbish back to Australia after inspectors declared the material too contaminated to be recycled.

It is the latest in a series of announcements by south-east Asian nations that they will not be dumping grounds for overseas waste.

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Indonesia: Farmer arrested for alleged plan to sell Sumatran tiger pelts

The Jakarta Post 8 Jul 19;

Mount Leuser National Park rangers have arrested a farmer, identified only as P, from Langkat regency, North Sumatra, for his alleged role in the trade of Sumatran tiger parts.

The rangers confiscated three tiger pelts and a tiger skull.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry’s law enforcement head of the North Sumatra-Aceh office, Haluanto Ginting, said the suspect was arrested on July 1 after the rangers went undercover as a buyer of tiger organs at the Sogong crossing, Marike district, Langkat regency.

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