Two Deaths @ Neo Tew Lane 2
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature
Myna - Common or Javan?
from Manta Blog
Water quality and pollution module
from Water Quality in Singapore
More reclamation and refinery expansion expected on Jurong Island
from wild shores of singapore
Feathers for sexual display
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Shark Fins Dealer Pleads Guilty to Illegally Dealing in Fins From Protected Species from Pulau Hantu
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Straits Times 17 Jun 09;
JAKARTA - THE haze in Riau caused by forest fires has been subdued by rain over the past few days, a local weather forecaster said.
'Light haze still remains, but that's because of forest fires in the neighbouring provinces in the south. The wind is blowing our way,' weather forecaster Ardhitama, from the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics in Pekanbaru, Riau, told The Straits Times by telephone yesterday.�
Smoke from forest fires in Riau and other parts of Sumatra re-emerged last week, reaching Riau's coastal city of Dumai, about 320km from Singapore.
The dry season in Riau usually peaks between mid-June and end-July.
More than 400 hot spots have been recorded in Riau so far this month, compared with 227 in the whole of June last year, AFP reported yesterday.�
South-east Asia has been hit by haze almost every year since 1997. That year, fires set to clear land in Indonesia and East Malaysia burned out of control, fuelled by the El Nino weather phenomenon. The ensuing smoke blanketed much of the region in a choking haze.
There are concerns that a similar problem could arise this year. The Climate Prediction Centre in the United States said earlier this month that an El Nino pattern, which can produce chaotic conditions that result in droughts and floods, could develop within weeks.
Despite a ban on open burning, some farmers and villagers in Sumatra and Kalimantan are still clearing land by cutting down vegetation and burning it, a much cheaper method than having to rent heavy machinery to clear land.
Deforestation has cut the forest area in Riau to about 30 per cent of its total land now, from 78 per cent back in 1982, according to environmental group Greenpeace South-east Asia.
Straits Times 17 Jun 09;
I AM writing in response to the article, "What Rubbish" published on Monday.
I was shocked to read that styrofoam and plastic containers were listed as unacceptable for recycling. Considering the number of Singaporeans choosing takeaway food every day, the amount of waste generated that is not recyclable must be mind-boggling.
Just think about our food and how it's served.
A McDonald's breakfast is served in styrofoam plates and cups; should you choose to take away, it is put in plastic bags. Takeaways at foodcourts and hawker centres come in plastic containers. (One seldom sees the brown paper wrapper nowadays.) Bakeries like BreadTalk pack individual items in plastic bags and put the lot in larger bags. Even takeaway sushi comes in individually wrapped pieces, and grouped in plastic containers.
It is unfortunate that waste collectors are unable to accept all of these. In the end, these non-biodegradable materials remain in our landfills for generations. Pulau Semakau is Singapore's only landfill and its lifespan is expected to last only until about 2045.
Aside from educating the public to reduce, reuse and recycle, I suggest that the Government take more drastic steps to reduce the amount of plastic and styrofoam used, or at least encourage the use of biodegradable materials. We can learn from Taiwan, which has banned plastic takeaway containers, and Ireland and China, which have banned free plastic shopping bags.
Plastic bags are tough and durable, so impose an expensive premium if shoppers really need one. For takeaway food, get vendors to use paper containers instead. Shops should be discouraged from selling plastic containers in the first place.
Seah Nida (Mdm)
PUB testing 2 other projects with different systems
Teh Shi Ning, Business Times 17 Jun 09;
JTC Corporation plans to test a new gravel filtration drainage system at its upcoming Business Aviation Complex to be built soon at Seletar Aero+sPace.
The complex will sit on a 7,000 square metre compound designed to channel rainwater off surfaces and through gravel and sand before it runs into public drains.
Koh Chwee, director of JTC's engineering planning division, said: 'This is our effort to support the overall sustainable development of Singapore, and do our part to make sure the water run-off from our industrial estates is made cleaner, and help reduce pollutants or load to the waterways and reservoir systems as a whole.' JTC has completed a study that started late last year to devise an alternative drainage system to filter rainfall as it runs off industrial land, before it reaches public drains.
Currently, most industrial compounds have concrete drains along their perimeters.
The proposed gravel filtration system will also run along the edge of each parcel, channelling rainwater through layers of gravel and sand to filter out sediment and pollutants.
Such systems are not new - countries such as Germany have had eco-friendly drainage systems for some time. Studying their systems has allowed Singapore to implement the idea faster, Mr Koh said. However, there are geographic differences - such as far heavier rainfall here, compared with temperate countries - so modifications need to be made.
The Public Utilities Board is testing two alternative drainage projects with systems different from JTC's.
For instance, drains along Sengkang West Way blend into the landscape, as water collects in bio-retention swales - troughs of shrubbery that filter rainwater through soil layers into main drains.
'It is with the same impetus, towards sustainable development, that we embarked on this,' JTC's Mr Koh said. The Business Aviation Complex will be tendered by the end of this year and is expected to be fully operational by early 2011.
The drainage system will be monitored to assess cost-effectiveness, water quality and feasibility for roll-out to JTC's other industrial parks. Cost savings gleaned at macro-level from reducing sediment channelled to reservoirs, will need to be looked at too, Mr Koh said.
With investors and industrialists increasingly conscious of environmental issues and corporate social responsibility, it makes good business sense for JTC to explore stormwater pollution control measures, he said.
International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
Erik Olsson, Siargao island, Surigao del Norte, Philippines
ReliefWeb 16 Jun 09;
Rain, rain and yet more rain greets most visitors to Siargao Island.
Located on the extreme western Pacific rim, the island faces well over 200 days of heavy rainfall every year. In total it adds up to four metres, and it regularly triggers massive flooding.
"In addition, Siargao Island often bears the brunt of typhoons and storm surges," says Catherine Martin, manager of disaster management services at the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), "and it's also threatened by rising sea levels, literally eating its shores."
The waves just off Siargao's famous beaches are perfect for surfers, but for local villagers making their living from fishery and farming the rain and floods are major problems.
One of the barangays (villages) affected is Santa Paz, sandwiched between green hills and the Pacific Ocean. It's also trapped by the forces of nature.
New course
Annual rains in December and January have carved a creek in one of the hills, and during the rainy season it turns into a torrent that used to flow straight into one of the main roads through the village.
But in 2002 the water – as well as the life of the villagers – took a new course. That year saw the completion of a 60-metre canal to steer floods away from the houses.
"It used to take a week before the water subsided," recalls Lelita Dumali, 61, holding her hand at shoulder level to indicate the height of the floods inside her house.
During the worst periods Lelita, her husband and five children evacuated to a nearby school. Even once they were back in their house, the water confined her children to a small upper level.
Since the flood contaminated their drinking water they had to "harvest" rain to cope.
"Sometimes it was not enough," says Lelita, adding that her children usually suffered from diarrhoea from drinking contaminated water.
The canal was built by the PNRC and the local authority as part of the Integrated Community-Based Disaster Preparedness Programme (ICDPP). Red Cross volunteers and community members carried out the majority of the construction work, with technical support and partial funding from the Danish Red Cross.
Disaster risks
The canal now prevents water sources from being contaminated, while the reduced flooding has cut the number of villagers who get fungal infections and water-borne diseases, according to the local Red Cross branch.
But some disaster risks remain to be mitigated in Santa Paz. The canal is not long enough to steer the flood water away from Lelita's fields, located next to the village. Her cassava, bananas and corn often rot away, or must be harvested prematurely ahead of the rains.
"Once we even had to build a raft out of banana trees to evacuate the water buffalo from the field," she says.
Nearly 15 per cent of Santa Paz's 550 inhabitants are fed by the crops from Lelita's fields, many of them exchanging food for work. But the floods have forced more villagers to buy food produced outside the barangay.
In mid January 2009, three weeks of continuous rain pushed the capacity of the canal to its limits: Santa Paz experienced the worst flooding since 2002.
Lelita and the other villagers want the canal to be extended to withstand heavy rains in the future, but funds are lacking. Other barangays have to be prioritized since Santa Paz has already benefited from previous risk-reduction activities.
Sense of urgency
In Burgos, a few kilometres north of Santa Paz, residents are also trying to mitigate the impact of climatic disasters.
Poblacion 1 and 2, two barangays on the coast, usually experience at least one major storm surge per year, and floods of up to about a metre used to follow, destroying houses and washing boats into the streets.
But since 2001 another ICDPP project, a sea wall more than 200 metres long, has given substantial protection. It stopped many surges caused by heavy rain and typhoons.
A sense of urgency still hangs over Burgos. The wall is now being tested to its limits by rising sea levels and needs extending. In January 2009, rain and storm surges after Typhoon Auring flooded both barangays and Red Cross volunteers from the local disaster action team (BDAT) helped people evacuate to higher ground.
Well aware of the link between climate change and rising sea levels, residents have implemented a waste-management system, separating out compost from trash that can't be recycled, and BDAT volunteers help the local authority educate people about the importance of sorting household waste.
Says Maximino Virtudazo, 59, a veteran BDAT volunteer and one of those who took part in the construction of the wall: "If the Pacific continues to rise, the wall will be destroyed and then only God knows if my children will still live here in the future."
Radio Free Asia 16 Jun 09;
New warnings about the impact of dams along one of the world's longest rivers.
HANOI—Vietnamese environmental experts have sharply criticized plans by Laos, China, and Thailand to build a cascade of dams along the upper reaches of the Mekong River, which flows through six countries, including Vietnam.
"If there are such dams on the river, it will change the flow of the river and its quality," said Ky Quang Vinh, head of the Center for Natural Resources and Environment in the southern Vietnamese city of Can Tho.
"For example, it will change the ecosystem and the quantity of water, affecting downstream countries," said Vinh, who has been monitoring water levels recently on the city's Hau river, a major tributary to the 4,350-km (2,700-mile) Mekong.
"They can use the dam system to direct the water flow, which will make downstream countries suffer a shortage of water."
He said a substantial reduction in water levels on the Hau and Tien rivers had rendered them vulnerable to an invasion of salt water from the sea, affecting the ability of the the rivers to support life and agriculture along their banks.
He also blamed upstream dams for lowering the number of microorganisms and seaweed, which help maintain the river's ecosystem.
U.N. report
China is currently constructing eight dams on the river, which flows through its southwestern Yunnan province, where it is known as Lancang Jiang. One of them would be the world's tallest, at 292 m (958 feet).
The dams would provide water storage equal to all the existing reservoirs in Southeast Asia combined.
Meanwhile, Laos has started construction on 23 upstream dams, scheduled for completion by 2010 on the Mekong.
A recent U.N. report said the hydroelectric projects were a means to spur development and lift the country from poverty, noting that Cambodia and Vietnam both have ambitious dam-building plans as well.
But it highlighted the Chinese dam projects as having the biggest impact.
"China's extremely ambitious plan to build a massive cascade of eight dams on the upper half of the Mekong River, as it tumbles through the high gorges of Yunnan province, may pose the single greatest threat to the river," the May 21 report said.
It added that the impact of the proposed dam development include "changes in river flow volume and timing, water quality deterioration, and loss of biodiversity."
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in response that Beijing gave equal attention to the development and environmental protection of cross-border rivers.
'Like a blood vessel'
More than 60 million people depend on the Mekong River—one of the world's longest—for food, water, and transportation.
Yearly wet and dry conditions are important for the production of rice and vegetables.
Experts up and down the Mekong—known as Lancang Jiang in Chinese, Lang Thuong in Vietnamese, and Mae Nam Khong in Lao and Thai—say they fear possible adverse effects on agriculture, the fishing industry, and transportation links of low, and widely fluctuating, water levels.
Nguyen Huu Chiem, head of the environment and natural resources management faculty at Can Tho University, said the Mekong river should be allowed to flow naturally.
"It is like a blood vessel in the human body. When we build dams, it is like a blockage in the veins: It will definitely affect other areas."
But he added: "This is a sensitive matter. There are already some data about water levels in the monsoon and dry seasons of the Mekong river."
"A lot of people think the water level has been affected by upstream dams," Chiem said.
Better understanding sought
The four-country Mekong River Commission (MRC) has launched a detailed environmental impact assessment of the plans for new hydropower projects along the river.
China is not a member of the Commission but provides crucial hydrological data to the MRC under an agreement signed in 2002.
China currently contributes 16 percent of the flow of the Mekong River, according to MRC figures.
MRC chief executive Jeremy Bird said the Mekong is a valuable but fragile resource.
"Before any decisions are made to implement mainstream hydropower schemes in the lower Mekong basin, the four lower Mekong countries have agreed to work together to cultivate a better scientific understanding of the wider development impact," Bird said.
He said private sector proposals for new dams should be guided by principles of economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
"The MRC is faced with perhaps its most important strategic challenge since the Mekong Agreement was signed in 1995 because of increased interest in building hydropower dams in the mainstream of the lower Mekong River Basin," Bird said.
Mekong tributary hydropower turbines currently generate 3,235 MW of electricity.
Projects under construction are likely to double that generating capacity, sparking interest from the private sector in developing the Mekong further.
Massive network
The Mekong runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam in a 795,000 square km (307,000 square mile) river network.
The network is home to dozens of rare bird and marine species, including the Mekong giant catfish, and already faces threats from pollution, climate change, and the effects of earlier dams that were built in China and have caused water levels to drop sharply on the upper Mekong.
The U.N. report said that for the time being the Mekong's pollution levels are not at "alarming levels," while water shortages and conflicts over water on the Mekong have so far not emerged.
But it said several connected river basins in the Mekong region are under threat, including the Tonle Sap in Cambodia, Nam Khan in Laos, and Sekong-Sesan Srepok in Vietnam and Cambodia, because of increasing development and demand for water.
It also called for countries bordering the Mekong to work more closely together to ensure the Mekong Basin can continue to meet future water needs.
Original reporting by RFA's Vietnamese service. Translated by Hanh Seide. Vietnamese service director: Diem Nguyen. Executive producer: Susan Lavery. Written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.
IUCN 17 Jun 09;
Investing in nature can reduce the impact of natural disasters on people and the environment, says IUCN.
In its latest report, released today, IUCN says that environmental concerns need to be integrated into disaster risk reduction strategies at all levels..
In the past two decades more than 200 million people have been affected every year by disasters, most of them occurring in parts of the world where communities are less prepared to face them. Panellists at the four-day meeting of the UN’s Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, taking place in Geneva from 16
to 19 June, are discussing the links between climate change adaptation, poverty and disaster risk reduction.
“The steady rise in the number of natural disasters and in the number of people, whose lives and property are affected by them, is now increasingly recognized as a result of poor governance leading to environmental degradation, including climate change,“ says Neville Ash, Head of IUCN’s Ecosystem Management Programme. “ What we need to do now is make sure the disaster risk community puts ecosystem-based management at the heart of all preventive and disaster-relief policies.”
“Healthy ecosystems for human security”, IUCN’s latest publication, looks at what constitutes a healthy ecosystem and how it helps to reduce disasters and poverty. Various case studies illustrate the cost-effectiveness of well-managed watersheds, forests, and coastal habitats. The guide also provides practical advice for local and national authorities on how to bridge the gap between ecosystem-based management and disaster risk reduction policies.
From reforestation of the degraded slopes of the Tacaná volcano in Guatemala and Mexico, after the tropical storm Stan in 2005, to restoration of the Komagudu Yobe river’s water flow in Nigeria, IUCN projects have enabled local communities to sustainably manage natural resources and become less sensitive to extreme weather events.
“Investing in ecosystems to reduce the risk of hazards and support livelihoods is key to building resilient communities,” says Jeff McNeely, IUCN’s Chief Scientist. “Disasters kill people but they also have immense environmental impact on affected areas. In order to reduce biodiversity loss, we need healthy and diverse ecosystems, which are more robust to extreme climate events.”
IUCN’s publication “Healthy Ecosystems for Human Security” is available at: www.iucn.org/isdr/guidance_note
WWF 16 Jun 09;
Russia will create a new 1.5 million hectare park in the Arctic, a central area for the Barents and Kara Sea polar bear populations.
The ‘Russian Arctic’ park is located on the northern part of Novaya Zemlya, a long island that arcs out into the Arctic Ocean between the Barents and Kara Seas. It also includes some adjacent marine areas.
WWF has long been lobbying for the park, which is also a key area for walrus, wild reindeer and bird population. The park creation excludes all industrial activities.
“This is exactly the sort of thing we need to see from Arctic governments,” says Neil Hamilton Director of WWF International’s Arctic Programme.
“The only way these Arctic populations are going to survive the ecological havoc caused by global warming is by providing them with enough breathing room.”
“If industrial activity is kept far enough from key habitat, the animals have a chance.”
“We also need urgent global action on climate change to ensure that the parks stay cold enough for animals such as polar bears and wild reindeer.”
While WWF is pleased with the park creation, it notes that the protected area is smaller than the 5 million hectares initially planned.
“Despite the fact that the Russian Arctic Park is our big achievement, we’re sorry that not all planned territories were included in the park area,” says Oleg Sutkaitis, Head of the Barents Sea Ecoregional Office for WWF Russia.
“Franz Josef Land and Victoria Island were crossed out from the project, but we will now work on widening the park’s borders.”
When announcing the park, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he hoped it would be a major attraction for tourism, and announced that he personally plans to vacation there.
Massey University, Science Alert 17 Jun 09;
The natural re-colonisation of kakariki on Raoul Island after a 150-year absence has set a unique international example for conservation management, University conservation researchers say.
The exercise could be repeated by kakariki and other vulnerable bird species on predator-free islands closer to New Zealand.
A recent study has revealed how kakariki (red-crowned parakeets) spontaneously migrated to Raoul from neighbouring islands and created a new population, says Massey conservation biologist and PhD researcher Luis Ortiz-Catedral, from the Institute of Natural Sciences at Albany.
The remote volcanic island lies about 1000km northeast of the North Island, halfway between Auckland and Tonga. It is the largest in the Kermadec Islands Marine Reserve, New Zealand’s largest marine reserve.
In April institute staff from the Ecology and Conservation Group travelled to the island with colleagues from the University of Auckland and the Department of Conservation on the Navy frigate Canterbury and stayed for a month. They were astounded to observe a flourishing population of the colourful parakeets so soon after the eradication of pests.
Between 2002 and 2004 the department carried out the world’s largest multi-species eradication project, removing cats, rats and goats from the island. Soon after that kakariki, which have not been known to breed on the island for 150 years, are thought to have flown from the nearby Herald Islets island group, about 4km away.
Mr Ortiz-Catedral and Associate Professor Dianne Brunton have published a paper describing the phenomenon and say their observations give hope for conservationists managing endangered bird species in other parts of the world because it appears birds will voluntarily move to safe breeding locations and thrive if humans remove predators first. This would remove the need for artificial and more costly translocations, which involve moving birds by helicopter or boat to new predator-free locations.
“The natural re-colonisation of parakeets on Raoul Island from a satellite source population is to our knowledge, a first for parrot conservation and the first documented population expansion and colonisation of a parrot species after removal of invasive predators,” Mr Ortiz-Catedral and Dr Brunton say in the paper, just published in Britain’s Conservation Evidence journal.
Mist nets were used to capture over 100 kakariki for data collection. The researchers estimated 44 per cent of the birds were born within the previous year and they observed breeding and nesting for the first time on the island since 1836.
Mr Ortiz-Catedral, who has coordinated two translocations of kakariki by helicopter between islands in the Hauraki Gulf and the mainland as part of his doctoral research, says what he witnessed at Raoul Island has major implications for conservation management in New Zealand’s offshore islands as well as other places world-wide where parrot species in particular are under threat.
“It’s very exciting – a lot of people are not aware of the cutting edge conservation happening around New Zealand.”
Raoul Island’s permanently manned station has been maintained since 1937, and includes government meteorological and radio stations, and a hostel for conservation staff and volunteers.
Conservationists led by Sir David Attenborough will pay tribute to the remarkably successful reintroduction of the large blue
Patrick Barkham, guardian.co.uk 16 Jun 09;
Ants, Battenberg cake and 37 years of heroic labour by one scientist will be celebrated today as the ingredients that brought the large blue butterfly back from the dead.
Photograph: David Simcox/National Trust/PA
This rare and mysterious insect became extinct in Britain 30 years ago but conservationists, led by Sir David Attenborough, will pay tribute to its remarkably successful reintroduction by visiting grassland in Somerset where the butterfly now flies in larger numbers than anywhere else in western Europe.
The large blue was revived only after the endeavours of Jeremy Thomas, professor of ecology at the University of Oxford, who unravelled the butterfly's baffling lifecycle and masterminded its top-secret reintroduction using large blue eggs taken from the island of Öland in Sweden.
For decades, the large blue was greatly prized by butterfly collectors. Despite their best efforts to breed perfect specimens in captivity, they failed, and so they caught thousands of wild specimens which drove the species to extinction in parts of north Cornwall and the Cotswolds. But even after collecting was banned from sites, the butterfly continued to disappear.
When the butterfly was reduced to just two colonies in 1972, Thomas, who also works for the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, was dispatched to live with the butterfly to solve the mystery of its decline.
In a race to save it from extinction, every summer for six years, he "measured everything", counting thousands of eggs, and laying trails of Battenberg cake to attract ants and locate their nests where, bizarrely, the large blue caterpillar spent most of its life. "It was a bit like a detective story," said Thomas.
Entomologists had already uncovered the large blue's dependence on ants but did not fully understand it. The large blue caterpillar drops to the ground after hatching and tricks ants into taking it into their nest by secreting a seductive fluid and even "singing" to the ants so they believe it is a queen ant grub. In the comfort of the nest, the parasitic caterpillar devours ant grubs all winter, pupating and emerging from the ground as a butterfly in June.
Crucially, Thomas discovered the large blue was only able to trick successfully one species of ant, Myrmica sabuleti. If it entered the nests of other ant species, the caterpillar was likely to be attacked and killed.
In research published in the journal Science, Thomas charted how the Myrmica sabuleti ant requires warm ground, only created by short, well-grazed grass, to survive. A near-imperceptible difference of just a centimetre in grass length could change the soil temperature by 2C-3C, causing the ant — and the large blue with it — to perish.
The widespread decline in grazing sheep and cattle and myxomatosis, which decimated wild rabbits after the 1950s, caused traditional grassland to grow too tall and cool for ant and butterfly.
Thomas's discovery was just too late to save Britain's last population of large blues, which died out in 1979. Undeterred, he and David Simcox, his colleague at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, reintroduced the butterfly 25 years ago on a carefully restored and managed meadow in Devon known only as Site X. To this day, the location of Site X is still a closely guarded secret to thwart rogue butterfly collectors.
Now reintroduced to six other sites, the large blue has spread to a total of 28 colonies in the Polden Hills, Somerset. This includes one National Trust site, Collard Hill, which is now open to the public. The large blue can even be spotted from the train: some of its largest populations fly on railway embankments close to Castle Cary, Somerset, which are managed by Network Rail to encourage the butterfly. Other landowners who helped revive it are the Somerset Wildlife Trust and even the owners of Clark's shoes, based in nearby Street.
"The restoration of the large blue butterfly to Britain is a remarkable success story, illustrating the power of ecological research to reverse damaging environmental changes," said Sir David Attenborough. "It is, moreover, a tribute to the dedication of many practical conservationists who have skillfully recreated its specialised habitat in our countryside."
Martin Warren, chief executive of Butterfly Conservation, said Thomas's "painstaking" research was a "watershed moment" for conservation because it showed the importance of managing habitat after a mistaken focus on letting nature take its course during the 1970s. The Adonis blue, the silver-spotted skipper and the heath fritillary have all been saved from near extinction using ideas from Thomas's scientific research.
"[The research] was the turning point not just for the large blue but was a watershed moment for conservation because it showed the need for the management of habitat to conserve rare species," said Warren.
Praising the labours of Simcox, and landowners such as Network Rail, Thomas said the success showed that other rare insects could brought back from the brink . "Up until then, everything had failed. There was very little insect conservation being attempted," he said. "It is a practical demonstration that it can be done with a species of butterfly or insect elsewhere in the world."
Emily Beament, Press Association, The Independent 16 Jun 09;
Naval exercises could have contributed to the mass stranding of 26 dolphins on the Cornish coast a year ago, a scientific report found today.
The pod of dolphins beached themselves at four separate locations around the Percuil river near Falmouth in June last year after Navy exercises in the area involving surface ships and a submarine.
At the time, rescuers said they believed the worst mass stranding of the marine mammals in UK waters was the result of the dolphins being panicked by an underwater disturbance.
According to the today's study led by Zoological Society of London (ZSL) researchers, sonar used in the exercises was "highly unlikely" to have directly caused the dolphins to beach themselves.
But the activities of the Navy could have been a contributing factor in pushing the marine mammals close to shore and put them at risk of beaching.
Dr Paul Jepson, of ZSL, said: "We don't have definitive information but we've ruled out everything else, and it's possible that something in the naval exercises caused the mass stranding."
The study said a definite cause for the stranding could not be found, although the dolphins could have reacted to a "trigger" event or suffered an "intrinsic error of navigation".
The research said the common dolphins were unusually close to shore and at a greater risk of beaching themselves - possibly because they were in unfamiliar waters.
Naval activities such as the use of sonar for anti-submarine training could have been a factor in the dolphins, which are sensitive to underwater sounds, coming closer to shore.
Natural behaviour such as foraging for food could also have played a part.
The ZSL researchers said information supplied by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) under the Freedom of Information Act showed several days of "mid-frequency sonars for anti-submarine warfare training" ended some 60 hours before the stranding.
A "short-range side-scan sonar" for sea-bed mapping trials was used by the Navy the day before the dolphins beached themselves, but the technology is common and has not been implicated in strandings, the study said.
As a result the use of underwater sonar in the Navy exercises was "highly unlikely to have directly triggered the mass stranding event", but the researchers believe other parts of the exercises could be to blame.
The study also ruled out other potential causes including disease, poisoning, attacks by killer whales or bottlenose dolphins and even earthquakes as the reason for the mass stranding - only the fourth recorded in England since 1913.
In the wake of the report, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said it believed that as all other potential causes had been ruled out, the military was to blame of the strandings.
Sarah Dolman, ocean noise campaigner for WDCS, said: "The post-mortem results have shown us that those dolphins that died were healthy animals prior to stranding.
"Something frightened them ashore, way up inside the river system, where this species in not generally known to go.
"The unusual behavioural response of all these groups of otherwise healthy animals was triggered by something.
"An 'error of navigation' would not lead this many dolphins to strand, and other groups to behave in such an unusual manner, on the same morning - but over a distance of 20km."
She called on the Ministry of Defence to conduct transparent environmental assessments of its exercises to see what effect they were having on marine life, and to suspend use of sonar once a stranding occurs until rescued animals are out of danger.
The mass beaching in Cornwall was one of two unusual stranding events of cetaceans - the group of marine mammals including whales, dolphins and porpoises - last year.
No cause could be found for the other event, in which a number of long-finned pilot whales and various species of beaked whale were found stranded in Scotland, Wales and Ireland over a three-month period at the beginning of 2008.
The annual report for 2008 from the UK Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme, also published today, revealed the number of dead and stranded whales, dolphins and porpoises increased by 6.2% on the previous year.
Some 583 cetaceans were reported to the programme, of which 485 were found stranded and dead, 81 were live strandings and 17 were found dead at sea.
The most common species reported were harbour porpoises which were mainly found to have died of starvation, disease, attacks by bottlenose dolphins or as a result of being accidentally caught by fishermen, and short-beaked common dolphins, which mostly died as a result of stranding themselves live, the report revealed.
Solomon Star 17 Jun 09;
A RECENT visit to Bita’ama village, north Malaita, brought some mix feeling of traditional practices for catching dolphins.
Catching dolphin in the past is a normal practice using traditional taboos for bride price initiation.
Today, it has been transformed into a business that has brought the country of the Solomon Islands in the world map, especially, those who are concerned over will be extinct animals and mammals.
The country has benefitted from its sale.
My journey that Friday (11 June 2009) was a unique one.
I never thought of encountering such experience with the people of the dolphin caller.
As I entered the netting ground, I saw more than 50 adults and children swimming in between 60 live dolphins that were caught a week earlier.
I suppose it was a normal practice for it was their traditional way of coming in contact with mammals of the sea.
Here I can sense the God-given closeness of human beings to mammals of which I have no idea.
It taught me a good understanding that man can know God through nature.
As I approach the beach, something tells me that these people need help.
I was with my friend who is also the landowner and have much to say in regard to the catching of dolphins.
I was introduced to the leader who shook my hand with delight and told me that they were waiting for a photographer.
You see, they have arranged for someone to take photos and to publish the article but he never came.
I found out later that the photographer finally arrived very late in the evening. He told this people that he would be happy to set up a tourist centre in the area for dolphin watching which I raise my eye brow with uncertainty.
May be it is too early but nothing can stop such business to be erected at this local site.
The leader was a charismatic guy who knew the traditional values and cultural practices of dolphin calling.
The catching of dolphin, especially for the tooth, has highlighted a very important role of women in the society.
Dolphin tooth were rare and it can only be obtained by catching them.
Indirectly, women become important to the society to the dolphin caller. This confirms our Melanesian traditional beliefs that women were important.
They till the ground for garden, they look after the babies, they fish and cut firewoods, they cook.
Men rely heavily on women for success and prosperity yet, today, we don’t even recognise them.
The people of the dolphin caller had taught me a good lesson that day. It was what behind the dolphin catching that counts.
What really matter is not the money, nor the tooth, but it is the value and respect given to women.
The killing in the past and the eating of the flesh was done for the whole purpose of womanhood as an important commodity in this ancient Solomon Islands society and practices.
Does modern Solomon Islanders have the same world view to women when you catch a dolphin today?
Or is it because of the money, riches and fame that dolphin are now caught. Let God be the judge.
The first catch of the dolphins some few weeks ago are rare ones. One of my colleagues was not permitted to take photos. He was not allowed because of traditional taboos.
The dolphin callers were advised that the rare dolphins should be released for safety reason.
They were told that some of the rare dolphins were sick so they were injected. I take that as rumour so I asked the leader whether the injection was true or not.
He said, no of which I asked no further questions. Curiosity for the safety of mammal in the Solomon Islands has led me to find out more.
However, it was not my business. I am just fascinated to see so many dolphins under captivity that day.
The leader then told me the story of the second catch. It was on Thursday that the name of the tribe to carry out the catch was permitted. There was no dolphin.
On Friday the name of the Mama to carry out the catch was permitted. Again, there was no catch.
On Saturday as they were approaching the area of the catch they saw a school of dolphin heading toward them.
Expert on dolphin says that if you see five dolphins above the surface of the sea, underneath you expect to see two hundred.
Whether this is true but it shows that we have been richer with so many dolphins.
They led them to the site of the slaughter but instead they lovely nurture them into the waiting net for possible sale.
My friend then told me of the important day that the Lord has given for mankind.
No wonder one can brand the second catch as the ‘dolphin Sabbath catch’ of which the leader pronounced without reservation of the truth concerning the Sabbath as the day of the Lord.
I was permitted to take pictures and loaded about more then 200 photos which are rare in comparison to dolphin sanctuary that can be seen in tourist outlet in every country of the world. It was big business.
No wonder world business people are looking at Solomon Islands, now, for more dolphins.
My simple mind says that we need to support our local industries.
Solomon Islands needs local people to carry out there God-given ability such as simple catching of dolphin to boost our economy.
I took an interview video clip of the leader.
He said that the people of Bi’itiama have entered a new era. An era that women, children and men can work together for the benefit of the community.
He wanted to see young people to benefit from the sale of the dolphin, to have schools, youth halls and churches.
He told me to write an article in the news paper for the world to see and if possible to come to Bita’ama directly, to buy their home-made product – the dolphin.
Solomon Islands Government, the name of the game is not exploitation but explanation.
How can we help this simple people to benefit directly from this untapped industry?
Long live dolphin catchers!
By Pastor Wilfred Liligeto
Youth Director
Seventh Day Adventist Mission
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