Fertile Crescent 'will disappear this century'

Fred Pearce, New Scientist 27 Jul 09;

Is it the final curtain for the Fertile Crescent? This summer, as Turkish dams reduce the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to a trickle, farmers abandon their desiccated fields across Iraq and Syria, and efforts to revive the Mesopotamian marshes appear to be abandoned, climate modellers are warning that the current drought is likely to become permanent. The Mesopotamian cradle of civilisation seems to be returning to desert.

Last week, Iraqi ministers called for urgent talks with upstream neighbours Turkey and Syria, after the combination of a second year of drought and dams in those countries cut flow on the Euphrates as it enters Iraq to below 250 cubic metres a second. That is less than a quarter the flow needed to maintain Iraqi agriculture.

Tensions have been growing since May, when the Iraqi parliament refused to approve a new much-needed trade deal with Turkey unless it contained binding clauses on river flows. But Turkey appears in no mood to compromise. In July, it announced the final go-ahead for yet another dam, the Ilisu on the Tigris.

Meanwhile, according to Hassan Partow at the UN Environment Programme, Iraq's hydrological misery is compounded by Iran, which is also building new dams on tributaries of the Tigris. "Some of these rivers have run completely dry," he told New Scientist. And Iraq itself is set to worsen the problem with its own dam building, he says. This year construction is set to begin on another Tigris tributary at Bekhme Gorge in Iraq's northern province of Kurdistan. At 230 metres it will be one of the world's tallest dams.
Paradise lost

In ancient times, the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers through Iraq were bountiful – irrigating fields that sustained civilisations like Sumeria and cities like Babylon. But the combination of drought, dams and Iraq's own desire to revive its agriculture is placing huge pressure on the last remnant of that bounty, the Mesopotamian marshes, which form where the Tigris and Euphrates meet and flow to the sea.

The marshes were deliberately drained by Saddam Hussein. But after 2003, there was an international effort to revive them.

The UN Environment Programme reported on progress until 2006, when the Iraqi water ministry took over monitoring. As concerns grew that the Iraqi government was once again diverting scarce water away from the marshes to maintain agriculture, reporting abruptly stopped. "The marshes are getting smaller," says Azzam Alwash, an Iraqi-American campaigner for their revival.

Drought has helped precipitate the crisis. The most detailed assessment of the Fertile Crescent's future under climate change suggests flow on the Euphrates could fall by 73 per cent. "The ancient Fertile Crescent will disappear in this century," forecasts Akio Kitoh of Japan's Meteorological Research Institute in Tsukuba, Japan. "The process has already begun."

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Egypt says historic Nile River rights not negotiable

Maha El Dahan, Reuters 27 Jul 09;

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt is working alongside other Nile Basin countries to reach a framework on use of river water for all states but will not compromise its historic rights, the country's water minister said on Monday.

Under a 1929 agreement, heavyweight Egypt has the right to veto projects upstream on the Nile that would affect its water share of 55.5 billion cubic meters a year, the lion's share of the river's total flow of around 84 billion cubic meters.

Nile Basin countries have been eager for a more equitable distribution of river water to support power generation projects and agricultural growth.

But with agriculture accounting for 83.3 percent of Egypt's water consumption in the fiscal year 2007/08, securing water is vital for the country's food security. Egypt has been cutting down on water-consuming crops such as rice, an Egyptian export, in order to save water.

Water Minister Mohamed Nasreddin Allam said it did not matter if other Nile Basin countries were not convinced of the rights given to Egypt, the most populous Arab country, in previous agreements.

"It doesn't matter if they are convinced. It matters that we are convinced," Allam told reporters on the sidelines of the 17th meeting of water ministers of the Nile Basin Initiative.

The 1929 agreement was signed between Egypt and Great Britain, which at the time was acting on behalf of its east African colonies. The 1959 Egypt, Sudan agreement acts as a supplement to the previous accord and gives Egypt the right to 55.5 billion cubic meters of Nile water a year.

RESENTMENT

Both agreements have created resentment among other Nile states and calls for changes to the pact, resisted by Egypt.

A meeting of Nile Basin water ministers that took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May fell through when Egypt refused to sign a new framework governing the Nile River.

"The main hurdle is water security and the historic rights of Egypt and Sudan," Allam said.

The World Bank and other donor countries to the Nile Basin Initiative, a cooperative commission formed in 1999 bringing together nine Nile states, sent a letter on June 29 to all relevant parties expressing concern with the outcome of the Kinshasa meeting.

"The first inclusive Nile agreement is close to being fully realized," David Grey, senior water adviser at the World Bank, said in opening remarks at the conference. "But there is a difficult issue to be resolved," he said, without elaborating.

Egypt, with a population of close to 77 million people, lies below the water poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters per capita per year at around 800 cubic meters per capita per year.

Egypt has said its water needs would surpass its resources by 2017. The North African country is heavily dependent on the Nile River, which comprises around 87 percent of its total water resources as it has little rainfall.

"We can't fix everything in one day. An agreement for all basin countries will take time, so we have to have patience but I'm sure there will be a solution," Allam said.

(Editing by James Jukwey)

FACTBOX: Nile river agreements and issues
Reuters 27 Jul 09;

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Ministers of water resources from Nile Basin countries are meeting in Alexandria, Egypt on July 27-28 to discuss cooperation and a conclusive Nile River framework agreement.

Following are facts and agreements governing the use of Nile river waters:

NILE BASIN COUNTRIES:

The nine Nile Basin countries attending the conference are Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

THE 1929 NILE WATERS AGREEMENT:

This agreement was signed between Egypt and Great Britain, which represented at the time Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and Sudan. The document gave Cairo the right to veto projects higher up the Nile that would affect its water share.

THE 1959 AGREEMENT BETWEEN EGYPT AND SUDAN:

This accord between Egypt and Sudan, supplementing the previous agreement, gave Egypt the right to 55.5 billion cubic meters of Nile water a year and Sudan 18.5 billion cubic meters per year.

Both the 1929 and 1959 agreements have created resentment among other Nile states and calls for changes to the pact, resisted by Egypt.

THE CAIRO COOPERATION FRAMEWORK OF JULY 1993:

This framework was concluded between Egypt and Ethiopia, from which 85 percent of Egypt's water originates. Both countries pledged not to implement water projects harmful to the interests of the other and consult over projects to reduce waste and increase the flow of waters.

THE NILE BASIN INITIATIVE:

Formed in 1999, the initiative brings together Nile Basin countries to develop the river in a cooperative manner, share substantial socioeconomic benefits, and promote regional peace and security.

THE NILE BASIN INITIATIVE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION:

This convention has yet to be agreed by all Nile Basin countries. Talks in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2009 over this new framework governing the use of Nile waters failed after Egypt refused to sign the deal. Egypt has argued that it would not approve any new framework that would deny it a right to 55.5 billion cubic meters of water a year and its veto powers over projects that would harm its allocation.

Source: Reuters, Nile Basin Initiative, Egypt State Information Service

(Writing by Maha El Dahan; editing by James Jukwey)

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Water crisis uproots Syrian farmers

Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Reuters 27 Jul 09;

SHAIZAR CASTLE, Syria (Reuters) - Only a few decades ago, fish were plentiful in the Orontes river which for thousands of years has provided water to the lush Syrian plains, at the crossroads of the ancient world.

These days the Orontes's 12th century norias, enormous water wheels famous for their distinctive creak, barely turn in the weak tides. Algae covers the river's surface and the desert has been closing in.

"The river has become so polluted. The quality of our produce has suffered and there is barely enough now to feed my family," said 80-year-old farmer Mohammad al-Hamdo.

Syria's worst drought in decades has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and raised calls for a coordinated water policy for the Middle East as the region faces a dryer climate and water supplies depleted by damming and water well drilling.

Yet whether a coordinated water policy is even possible is in doubt in a region riven by tensions and rivalry and where water politics is often seen as a zero-sum game.

The Euphrates River, which flows from Turkey through Syria and Iraq, is polluted and salinized. Damming by Turkey and demands for water by ballooning populations have drastically reduced its flow.

Mohammed Okla is among an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 Syrian farmers and their families who in the past three years have been forced to abandon their land due to drought, according to a recent United Nations study.

"I lost two-third of my cattle after the water wells dried up," said Okla, who fled the badly-hit eastern Hasaka province five months ago and now lives in a tent with his two wives and 15 children next to the main garbage dump in Damascus.

Okla's family have turned from wheat and cattle farmers into virtual refugees. Flies cover the faces of his barefooted children who play among scraps of metal and trash pulled from the dump as substitute toys

"We can hardly buy bread and tea to feed ourselves. No government official sees us. We received no help," he said.

Farmers from areas as close as 30 km (19 miles) to Damascus have deserted their land for tents, or shantytowns.

TILLING THE SOIL

Syria is a major farm commodities producer in the region. Sales of wheat, olive oil, cattle and fruit and vegetables contribute 20 percent of its $45 billion GDP, and about half of its 20 million population earn their income from agriculture.

The country's rivers and 420,000 ground wells, half of which were dug illegally over recent decades, have been drying up and drought and mismanagement of water resources have hit agriculture hard, especially in the Hasakah region bordering Iraq.

Hasakah's wheat production is forecast to drop to 892,000 tons this year, compared to a planned 1.9 million tons.

Malnutrition cases in the province rose 370 percent since 2006, and 229 percent in the bordering region of Deir al-Zor on the Euphrates, according to the study.

A recent United Nations study said the drought now covers over 60 percent of Syria's land mass and 1.3 million people have been affected so far, with regions around Damascus, Aleppo and Hamah receiving the bulk of the displaced.

Leading economist Aref Dalila said a misguided agricultural policy, including subsidizing wheat production over the last two decades has contributed to the present crisis.

Dalila, who served 7 years in jail for criticizing the government's economic policy and was only released last year, said the state allowed wheat farming in semi-dry areas reserved for pasture and encouraged the drilling of illegal wells that damaged the water table.

"Syria strove to become a wheat exporter, which is rare in the third world. Now we are forced to import wheat and animal feed. Pasture and water have diminished," he said.

The topic is politically sensitive. The government, controlled by the Baath Party since it took power in a 1963 coup and banned all opposition, has touted its management of agriculture as a "strategic" triumph.

But the policy has come under rare criticism after a lower than expected 2008 harvest forced the state to import wheat for the first time since the 1990s.

"We must reconsider our priorities and overhaul agricultural policy. Syria's population is increasing by half a million people a year," said Rim Abed Rabu, head of the water safety division at the Environment Ministry.

"The food security policy is undermining water security and sustainability of agricultural development."

Finance Minister Mohammad al-Hussein told the Baath controlled parliament last month that the government was working on an agriculture disaster fund but gave no hint of abandoning the costly subsidies that experts say have fueled the problem.

Agriculture consumes as much as 90 percent of the available water, and 60 percent of the supply comes from ground wells, whose levels have sunken sharply, raising the cost of agricultural production and alarming landowners.

SOUR OLIVE OIL

Even traditionally lush regions have been hit. In the northwestern area of Ifrin, olive, apple and pomegranate trees dot the hilly landscape bordering Turkey, but yields have fallen.

"Olive oil, which we export to Europe, is becoming more sour every year. The rivers are growing weaker and more and more sewage is being dumped into them. The government seems helpless," said Kurdish farmer Hassan Siwa.

The story is similar in other parts of Syria. The currents of the Orontes river were once so powerful that they helped shield Shaizar castle, founded by the Thessalonian cavalry of the army of Alexander the Great, from Crusader attacks.

The Khabour, a tributary of the Euphrates, which used to irrigate farms in Hasakah has dried up, and Damascus's Barada river, glorified in Arab literature, is now a smelly stream.

The situation has become so bad that the government recently asked for international aid and provided cash assistance to farmers' families to try to halt the internal migration.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization is working with the government on a new agriculture plan which may involve a review of the crop composition across the country and also includes steps to treat sewage, halt salinatisation and improve water management.

"There is no ready recipe," Abdulla Tahir Bin Yehia, the Food and Agriculture representative in Syria. "But it's clear that Syria cannot continue with the same decades-old policies."

(Editing by Megan Goldin)

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World will warm faster than predicted in next five years, study warns

New estimate based on the forthcoming upturn in solar activity and El Niño southern oscillation cycles is expected to silence global warming sceptics
Duncan Clark, guardian.co.uk 27 Jul 09;

The world faces a new period of record-breaking temperatures as the sun's activity increases, leading the planet to heat up significantly faster than scientists had predicted over the next five years, according to a new study.

The hottest year on record was 1998, and the relatively cool years since have led to some global-warming sceptics claiming that temperatures have levelled off or started to decline. However, the new research firmly rejects that argument.

The work is the first to assess the combined impact on global temperature of four factors: human influences such as CO2 and aerosol emissions; heating from the sun; volcanic activity; and the El Niño southern oscillation, the phenomenon by which the Pacific Ocean flips between warmer and cooler states every few years.

It shows that the relative stability in global temperatures observed in the last seven years is explained primarily by the decline in incoming sunlight associated with the downward phase of the 11-year solar cycle, together with a lack of strong El Niño events. These trends have masked the warming caused by CO2 and other greenhouse gases.

As solar activity picks up again in the coming years, the new research suggests, temperatures will shoot up at 150% of the rate predicted by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The research, to be published in a forthcoming edition of Geophysical Research Letters, was carried out by Judith Lean of the US Naval Research Laboratory and David Rind of Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Lean said: "Our paper shows that the absence of warming observed in the last decade is no evidence that the climate isn't responding to man-made greenhouse gases. On the contrary, the study again confirms that we're seeing a long-term warming trend driven by human activity, with natural factors affecting the precise shape of that temperature rise."

Lean and Rind's research also sheds light on the extreme average temperature observed in 1998. The new paper confirms that the temperature spike of that year was caused primarily by a very strong El Niño episode. A similar episode occurring in the future could be expected to create a spike of equivalent magnitude on top of an even higher baseline, thus shattering the 1998 record.

Furthermore, the study comes within days of announcements from climatologists that the world is entering a new El Niño warm spell. This development suggests that temperature rises in the next year could be even more marked than Lean and Rind's paper suggests. A particularly hot autumn and winter could add to the pressure on policy-makers to reach a meaningful deal at December's climate-change negotiations in Copenhagen.

Bob Henson of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado said: "If El Niño continues to develop, it's quite possible that the Copenhagen meeting will take place during one of the warmest Decembers in the global record."

He added that the paper was a reminder that temperature patterns observed over periods of just a few years can be misleading when it comes to the bigger picture: "To claim that global temperatures have cooled since 1998 and therefore that man-made climate change isn't happening is a bit like saying spring has gone away when you have a mild week after a scorching Easter."

Temperature highs and lows

1998

Hottest year of the millennium

Caused by a major El Niño event. The climate phenomenon results from warming of the tropical Pacific and causes heatwaves, droughts and flooding around the world. The 1998 event caused 16% of the world's coral reefs to die.

1957

Most sunspots in a year since 1778

The sun's activity waxes and wanes on an 11-year cycle. The late 1950s saw a peak in activity and were relatively warm years for the period.

1601

Coldest year of the millennium

Ash from the huge eruption the previous year of a Peruvian volcano called Huaynaputina blocked out the sun. The volcanic winter caused Russia's worst famine, with a third of the population dying, and disrupted agriculture from China to France.

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UN chief discusses climate change in Mongolia

Michael Kohn Yahoo News 27 Jul 09;

ULAN BATOR (AFP) – Expanding deserts "suffocate livelihoods and a way of life," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said on Monday in Mongolia, on a visit to highlight the risks posed by desertification to one third of the world's population.

"You are part of the one third of the world's population -- two billion people -- who are potential victims of desertification," Ban told the landlocked country's parliament, in a speech on overcoming the challenge of climate change.

On Sunday, Ban met with herders to see first-hand how their lives were being affected by water shortages and the encroaching Gobi desert.

Earlier on Monday he had discussed with Mongolian leaders how to address climate change issues and secure food supplies in vulnerable areas.

The theme of Ban's visit to Mongolia is the importance of helping communities adapt to the effects of climate change so they can become more resilient in the face of extreme weather and other environmental problems.

He commended the Mongolian government on its efforts to better manage grasslands and pastures and for programmes such as improved weather forecasting and insurance funds aimed at protecting herders' livelihoods.

Growing livestock populations and deteriorating pastureland in Mongolia threatened to exacerbate severe weather conditions, the World Bank warned earlier this month.

Ban's visit to Mongolia comes less than a week after rain storms triggered the country's worst flooding since 1966, according to the Red Cross.

More than 20 people died and around 120 homes were destroyed -- a stark reminder of the extreme weather conditions that add to the woes of one of the poorest countries in Asia.

Mongolia's grassland is rapidly turning into desert, the environmental ministry warned last month.

Grassland is thinning in three quarters of the country, while seven percent of the steppe has already become desert.

Ban has said he will host a summit in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to galvanise support for a global deal in Copenhagen in December on "a fair, effective and scientifically ambitious new climate framework".

Negotiations to seal a climate change treaty have been dogged by disagreements over targets for cuts in carbon emissions and a fund from rich nations to help developing countries tackle climate change.

The planned treaty, due to take effect from 2013 as the successor to the Kyoto Protocol, will shape worldwide action on the issue up to the middle of the century.

Ban travelled over Mongolia's open steppe on Sunday to meet a community of nomadic herders in a region called Bayansonginot.

"He wants to learn from the people who are dealing with climate change. The solutions are not going to come from the scientists," Ban's spokeswoman Michele Montas told AFP.

Inside a traditional ger, or yurt, Ban discussed the community's challenges with the head of the household, Mamo Batchuluun.

"We are involved in an environmental project to protect the nature of this area. We are trying to prevent desertification of the land," Batchuluun said.

The community is part of a Netherlands-funded programme that is helping find new sources of income, such as growing vegetables and making felt handicrafts, while preserving the grasslands.

UN chief talks climate change with Mongolian leaders
Kohn Mon Yahoo News 27 Jul 09;

ULAN BATOR (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon met with Mongolian leaders on Monday to discuss how the poor, landlocked country exemplifies the need for nations to adapt to changes caused by global warming.

The United Nations secretary general, who arrived here Sunday, met Prime Minister Sanj Bayar before he was scheduled to give a speech on climate change at the Government House, the parliamentary building.

The theme of Ban's visit to Mongolia is the importance of helping local communities adapt to the effects of climate change so they can become more sustainable in the face of extreme weather and other environmental problems.

On Sunday, he met with herders to see first-hand how their livelihoods were being hit by water shortages and desertification.

"I listened to the many problems of the community as it struggles to adapt to a changing environment, but fortunately we can see their resilience and admire their spirit," Ban told a news conference.

Ban said he discussed with Mongolian leaders how to address climate change issues and secure food supplies in vulnerable areas.

They also discussed how the country can meet the UN Millennium Goals for eradicating extreme poverty by 2015, he said.

Ban's visit to Mongolia comes less than a week after rain storms triggered the country's worst flooding since 1966, according to the Red Cross.

More than 20 people died and around 120 homes were destroyed -- a stark reminder of the extreme weather conditions that add to the woes of one of the poorest countries in Asia.

Mongolia's grassland is rapidly turning into desert, the environmental ministry warned last month.

Grassland is thinning in three quarters of the country, while seven percent of the steppe has already become part of the Gobi desert.

Ban has said he will host a summit in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to galvanise support for a global deal in Copenhagen in December on "a fair, effective and scientifically ambitious new climate framework".

Negotiations to seal a climate change treaty have been dogged by disagreements over targets for cuts in carbon emissions and a fund from rich nations to help developing countries tackle climate change.

The planned treaty, due to take effect from 2013 as the successor to the Kyoto Protocol, will shape worldwide action on the issue up to the middle of the century.

Ban traveled over Mongolia's open steppe on Sunday to meet a community of nomadic herders in a region called Bayansonginot.

"He wants to learn from the people who are dealing with climate change. The solutions are not going to come from the scientists," Ban's spokeswoman Michele Montas told AFP.

Inside a traditional ger, or yurt, Ban discussed the community's challenges with the head of the household, Mamo Batchuluun.

"We are involved in an environmental project to protect the nature of this area. We are trying to prevent desertification of the land," Batchuluun said.

The community is part of a Netherlands-funded programme that is helping find new sources of income, such as growing vegetables and making felt handicrafts, while preserving the grasslands.

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Best of our wild blogs: 27 Jul 09

Singapore Map exhibition @ NLB, 01 Aug – 31 Oct 2009
from Otterman speaks

Hantu Dive Log, 26 July 2009
from Pulau Hantu

MAD lessons go to School
from Cicada Tree Eco-Place

Coral garden at Tanah Merah
from wonderful creation

Semakau - Edwardsid country
from Singapore Nature and wild shores of singapore

Semakau over the last weekend of July
from Where Discovery Begins

TeamSeagrass at Pulau Semakau
from teamseagrass and from isn't it a wonder, how life came to be

The snaked truth
from The annotated budak and it don't mean a sting

Blue-throated Bee-eater: 10. The chicks
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Highlight of the tank
from Psychedelic Nature

Firefly of Semakau
from Manta Blog

Spiders, insects and other stuff
from Mendis' World

Monday Morgue: 27th July 2009
from The Lazy Lizard's Tales

Bornean Sun Bear on youtube
from Bornean Sun Bear Conservation

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No wedding gifts please, donate a tree

Guests oblige with more than 150 trees for couple
Victoria Vaughan, Straits Times 27 Jul 09;

TWO lawyers had an unusual request for their guests on their wedding day - do not come bearing traditional gifts.

Instead, lawyers Susan de Silva, 50, and Chandra Mohan K. Nair, 60, asked their 200 guests to donate to the Plant-A-Tree scheme.

The scheme is an initiative by the Garden City Fund, a charity supported by the National Parks Board, and the Singapore Environment Council, a charity that champions green causes.

Since their wedding in Sentosa last December, the couple have planted more than 150 trees pledged by their guests. Yesterday, they planted the last 10 in Bukit Batok Nature Park.

Their wedding trees, which cost $15,400 in all, are planted across Singapore in various parks.

'We wanted something that would be a gift for us but also beyond us - for our guests, the community and future generations,' said Ms de Silva. 'Ten years from now, people can sit under the trees we planted to celebrate our wedding.'

Having grown up in Malaysia and climbed many trees back then, she added: 'I can even remember studying in the crook of a tree.'

At her home in Pandan Valley, she has a tree house. Her love for nature led her to campaign to save five trees from a developer's axe in 2001.

The keen environmentalist does pro bono work for the Singapore Environment Council and the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore.

At home, she recycles cans and paper and refrains from turning on the air-conditioner whenever possible.

She admits she was the driving force behind the tree-planting idea for the wedding. 'I think I have influenced my husband, but he is very open to environmental issues and he's a nature lover, so it wasn't difficult.'

Mr Chandra Mohan is a former Nominated Member of Parliament.

Since the Plant-A-Tree programme began in November 2007, nearly 60 organisations and 210 individuals in Singapore have planted young trees across the island to improve the environment.

To find out more about the scheme, visit www.gardencityfund.com.sg

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Rethink shooting of crows

Letter from Bhaskaran Kunju, Today Online 27 Jul 09;

I WRITE with regard to the culling of crows as carried out by the National Environment Agency (NEA). I live in an HDB estate in the northern part of Singapore where the culling of crows is carried out about once a month. The amount of noise the gunshots generate is enough to startle anyone, especially since no warning or notice is given beforehand.

There are a number of schools in the vicinity. Culling has even been carried out directly in front of a primary school, while school children were on their way home.

While the shooter may be a marksman, I find it discomforting that the NEA has allowed firearms to be used in such locations.

The culling process was started in the 1980s to reduce the crow population. I strongly believe that the numbers have dropped significantly given the culling process and our rapid urbanisation.

It is time the NEA reconsider the status of crows as pests. Apart from the population numbers, which the NEA should make public to justify its actions, the other contributing factors for the culling have been the supposed noise from the birds and their being scavengers. Crows, however, are not the only scavengers. Any bird that becomes accustomed to living in densely-populated areas with few natural preys resorts to scavenging.

It is common to see sparrows and mynahs eating the leftovers in eateries and leaving behind their droppings. Is this not also a nuisance and unhygienic?

In addition, crows do not breed as much as has been mistakenly repeated. They brood once a year and only an average of three eggs are hatched successfully. In comparison, pigeons brood as many as eight times a year.

We should also not be paranoid about the possible spread of bird flu, which is more likely to be spread by migratory birds. Pigeons are known to spread diseases as well.

I am not asking the NEA to switch its culling focus to other intrusive birds but pointing out the flawed rationality in its programme. If the issue is about aggressiveness or incessant noise, then the NEA should only act on such instances of disturbances.

I do not wish to launch into a plea of humanity against the killing of animals but it is indeed inhumane to be shooting birds when alternative methods are available to deal with them. One method is for people to be more responsible in the disposal of trash and in the clearing of leftover food in eateries.

The real cause for the population explosion of birds, if any, are these food sources. Another alternative method is to install plastic owls to scare the crows away.

If the NEA is pressing on with its culling programme and the culling has not reduced the bird population, then obviously there is a fundamental flaw in its methodology.

I am also appalled that an annual crow- hunting competition is held by the Singapore Gun Club and endorsed by the NEA. This seriously goes against the very values of the NEA as an environmental-protection agency.

Sparrows, pigeons can be a nuisance, too
Letter from Thomas Phua, Today Online 28 Jul 09;

I refer to the letter "Rethink shooting of crows" (July 27). Yes, sparrows and pigeons can be a nuisance, too, but I have never seen them attacking people.

Crows do attack people when it is their breeding season. If sparrows and pigeons would attack people, too, I am sure they would be dealt with more harshly.

Crows: Why not consider alternate and humane options first?
Letter from Jeslyn Long Jielin, Today Online 28 Jul 09;

I refer to "Rethink shooting of crows" (July 27) and agree with many points made by Bhaskaran Kunju.

Firstly, the noise from the guns is extremely disturbing. In my opinion, the sound of gunshots, coupled with the shrieking of the wounded birds, is infinitely more unpleasant than any possible disturbance created by the crows each day.

Secondly, I see no reason to single out crows for persecution as opposed to other bird species that are commonly found in the urban environment. The public impression of these racuous black birds may be that of vermin and disease carriers, yet there is no scientific evidence to prove that their presence is significantly detrimental to human health. Certainly, there is no evidence to indicate that they are more likely to spread disease than any other species of bird.

Thirdly, I agree that crows are attracted to an area as long as there are available food sources. Even if the crows are removed, another kind of animal or birds be it pigeons, mynahs or rodents would move in.The solution in this case would be to eliminate food sources through more secure and efficient disposal of trash.

Lastly, I would like to say that indiscriminate killing of animals /birds is not something that befits a civilized society. In this day and age, surely there are more sophisticated methods of dealing with human-animal/birds conflicts? I have heard of companies that make use of a variety of creative solutions, such as netting, visual and auditory deterrents in dealing with unwanted avian guests.

In any case, the relevant authorities should consider alternate options. Lethal control of problem animals/birds should be a last resort, not the first.

Not true that crows attack at random
Letter from Bhaskaran Kunju, Today Online 29 Jul 09;

I refer to "Sparrows, pigeons can be a nuisance, too" (July 28), a reply to my letter "Rethink shooting of crows" (July 27).

The writer mentions that "Crows do attack people when it is their breeding season" unlike sparrows or pigeons. This is a fallacious statement. Firstly crows do not attack people at random when it is breeding season, they only do so if they believe they are under threat while roosting. This is not a unique trait to crows and can be seen in sparrows and pigeons as well. In fact the oriole, which is another common species in Singapore, is just as aggressive if not more ,and is a threat to other birds as well.

I think there is a need for us to break out of this misinformed mentality of crows as devious and dangerous cretins. Apart from that I await a reply from the National Enviroment Agency over the other issues I have raised.

Address root cause
Letter from Melissa Lim May Lin, Today Online 30 Jul 09;

I WRITE with regard to the plan to cull pigeons in various constituencies, including Marine Parade GRC.

Pest control companies have been hired by the Town Council to control the pigeon population in the area.

I have seen dead pigeons lying around, resulting not only in unsightly surroundings, but more importantly, a danger to the children and pets around the area.

As I understand, pigeons have gathered in the area because residents throw food either out from their windows or at street level. The pigeons would not have otherwise congregated and hence become pests.

I find it appalling that instead of addressing the root cause - by conducting ample investigations into finding who these errant residents are and issuing them a warning or punishing them for littering - the Town Council is utilising collective funds to hire pest control companies to cull the pigeons.

I would imagine that a proper investigation into the perpetrators of littering would be more cost-efficient than addressing the symptoms of the problem. The Town Council should take measures to deal with the littering problem, rather than add to it by culling pigeons.

I need not emphasise the inhumanity in the act of culling.

Aside from that, I hope the Town Council understands that the use of funds for such a purpose which does not address the root cause of the problem is worrying.

This is especially so because of what I term the vacuum effect, where a population of animals (pigeons in this case) are removed but because the root cause (i.e. food) remains present in the space, another population will enter - thus resulting in a never-ending cycle of culling, and no ease to the situation at hand.

Funds should be spent on addressing residents' real problems, not symptoms.

Some people litter, some throw them food
Letter from Grace Wong Public Relations Manager Marine Parade Town Council
Today Online 6 Aug 09;

WE WOULD like to thank Ms Melissa Lim for her views on "Address root cause" (July 30).

We share Ms Lim's comments that littering is the root cause of pigeons congregating and becoming pests within the estate.

Over the years, we strive to educate the public against poor social habits, such as littering and feeding the pigeons out of their windows through our publicity drives.

We have taken on public education programmes through displaying of messages on the town council's noticeboards and newsletters and taking part in the Island-wide Cleanest Estate Competitions to promote community ownership in keeping the environment clean.

While the majority do exercise personal responsibility in caring for the environment, there is a minority who do not do so.

Efforts have been put in to spot them in action but it requires much manpower and resources.

Our town council will continue to work with the relevant agencies and will not hesitate to take action against those who are found littering.

The culling of pigeons will only be carried out when the population is high so as to prevent the risk of people contracting birds' transmitted diseases.

We wish to assure residents that the town council is committed in sustaining a clean and green environment and we seek all residents' cooperation not to litter or throw food out of their windows.

Should members of the public wish to provide further feedback or suggestions, they may contact us at 1800-241 6487.

Proper disposal of waste will help
Letter from S Satish Appoo Director, Environmental Health Department National Environment Agency
Today Online 6 Aug 09;

WE refer to the letter "Re-think shooting of crows" (July 27).

The National Environment Agency (NEA) adopts a multi-pronged approach to controlling the crow population in Singapore given the public health concerns they pose.

This includes encouraging proper waste management at food establishments to deny crows their food sources, pruning of trees to reduce potential roosting sites and removal of crow nests where they can pose a nuisance.

The culling of crows is done when we need to keep their numbers in check. Through such efforts, this has allowed us to maintain the crow population in Singapore at a manageable level of 10,000 to 15,000 in recent years as compared to some 120,000 eight years ago. Members of the public can play their part through proper disposal of waste.

We appreciate Mr Bhaskaran Kunju's concerns on this matter and thank him for the feedback.

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Foreigners on Segways a curious sight as they trundle down Orchard Road

Zip and zoom, they draw odd looks
Shree Ann Mathavan, The New Paper 27 Jul 09;

FIRST there are the stares, then out come the camera phones.

Slovenian Bojan Tercon, 36, is no celebrity - it is his mode of transport, a two-wheeled battery-powered Segway, that makes heads turn.

He uses it daily to run errands in town.

Mr Tercon, an artiste manager, is among a growing number of Segway users here, who are drawn to the two-wheeler because of its eco-friendly nature and ease of use.

The Segway, which starts at around $12,800 here, is self-balancing and has zero emissions.

It was first introduced in the US in 2001 and started selling here in 2003.

But two years ago, a different distributor, HT Advanced Mobility (HTAM) took over and collaborated with action superstar Jackie Chan, to form GoGreen Holdings.

The transporter consequently saw a sharp upswing in sales this year.

Mr Tom Navasero, managing director of GoGreen Holdings attributed the spike in interest to the setting up of a Segway rental service in Sentosa earlier this year by his company, which provides guided tours of the island on the transporter.

Jackie Chan was in town to help launch the service.

The Segway tours, he said, helped create more awareness of the transporter, which can travel distances of about 38km when fully charged.

The vehicle's battery needs to be charged for several hours, preferably overnight.

Mr Navasero declined to provide figures of the rise in demand, but said that around 300 Segways have been sold to both individuals and organisations since its launch here.

Currently the profile of his clientele in Singapore are working professionals - evenly split between expatriates and locals.

Nevertheless, seeing someone zip by using the Segway in town is still fairly rare.

Drawing attention

When The New Paper on Sunday caught up with Mr Tercon and his business partner, Mr Robin Lokerman, 46, who run an events company, the duo certainly attracted a fair bit of attention even early on a Thursday morning.

Gliding along the pavement in front of Ion Orchard, the duo, both already standing over 1.8m, literally dwarfed the milling pedestrians when perched on their respective Segways.

Said Mr Lokerman, a Dane: 'People ask us questions about it, they wave and I've even had taxi drivers giving me the thumbs-up sign.'

Seeing the duo navigate, turn, and circle effortlessly using their i2 models, one would think they've had the personal transporters for years.

But their models, each priced at $12,800, are both new acquisitions, which were delivered to them only last week.

Mr Lokerman had first found out about the personal transporter three months ago in Washington when he went on a Segway city tour with a relative.

He recalled: 'I found it so mobile and easy to use.'

Intrigued, he did some research online and found that Segways were available here.

But before taking the plunge, he and Mr Tercon first did a test drive at Segway hub on Sentosa. This was followed by a trial for four days to see if the Segway could fit in with their daily lives.

Mr Lokerman now uses his Segway every day during his daily commute from his apartment along Grange Road to his office in Bukit Timah, and back.

Cheaper in long run

This 4.5km journey typically takes him 20minutes, which is about the same as taking a cab in peak-hour traffic, he points out.

This saves him money, he said.

'It gets me from my apartment straight to my office desk thanks to good sidewalks and slopes along the way.'

However that isn't to say that navigating the Segway doesn't come with its own set of challenges.

While Segway users are allowed to trundle along on roads with certain speed limits in the US, the European Union, China and Korea, the machine is only allowed on public sidewalks, private roads and private compounds in Singapore, said Mr Navasero.

Hence, navigating narrow paths with plants, steep steps or curbs can be tricky, said the pair.

There are also Singaporeans like Ms Grace Ler, 29, an account manager, who remain skeptical of the Segway's viability in Singapore.

She said: 'I would think the Segway is a hazard for pedestrians in crowded areas like Orchard Road.

It took me just five minutes to enjoy the ride

MR ROBIN Lokerman, 46, the boss of an events company, gallantly offered me a 10-minute ride on his $12,800 i2 model.

Stepping gingerly on his Segway, I half expected to tip over and fall flat on my face, but the Segway holds steady, even though I'm not known for my poise or balance.

The great thing about the Segway is the intuitive way it reacts to your body.

There's no need for buttons, the personal transporter just reacts to your body.

Want to head left? Simply tilt the handlebar to the left; ditto if you want to turn right, go back or go forward.

Pretty soon, I was gliding freely and thinking that this must be what it's like if I had wheels instead of legs.

The good thing about the Segway is there is immediate gratification, without a need for lengthy how-to tutorials.

You get onboard, muck around for five minutes or so and you pretty much get to enjoy the ride immediately.

While I'm pretty sure I wasn't going at the i2's top speed of 20km per hour, I got my kicks all the same - whizzing by bemused pedestrians along the Orchard Road shopping belt.

So, contrary to concerns that it may be a hazard in urbanised areas, I think the Segway works in the hands of a responsible rider.

It's stable, eco-friendly, speedy, but not too crazy fast.

And if you don't like to stand...

IF you don't like the idea of standing on a Segway, keep your fingers crossed that the Puma (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility) makes it to the market soon.

The Puma is essentially a Segway with two seats and a roof.

The 136kg prototype runs on a lithium-ion battery and uses Segway's two-wheel balancing technology, along with dual electric motors.

It is designed to reach speeds of up to 56kmh and can cover 56km on a single charge.

Also, it will be linked to a vast communication network that allows vehicles to interact with each other, regulate the flow of traffic and prevent crashes.

The Puma, which is expected to be 75 per cent cheaper than the average car, is currently being developed by General Motors and Segway and is touted to be the solution to the world's urban transportation problems.

But some observers are not buying into the hype. InformationWeek writer Cora Nucci called the Puma 'bizarre', adding that 'the photos tell you all you need to know about this misbegotten vehicle.'

Read more!

Energy Market Authority carves out new role

It will look at developing industry apart from its regulatory function
Ronnie Lim, Business Times 27 Jul 09;

THE Energy Market Authority - which recently took over development and ownership of the $1 billion-$1.5 billion LNG terminal - has unveiled its new corporate vision, which includes taking on industry development in addition to its present regulatory and operational responsibilities.

Announcing this last Friday, EMA said that its new 'Smart Energy, Sustainable Future' focus reflects 'the need to be smarter about our energy choices, and to work out robust solutions that will endure over time'.

When it was first formed in 2001, EMA's main focus was to liberalise the electricity and gas markets and ensure power system security. This has been largely achieved.

'EMA's mandate today has been broadened to include overseeing the energy market and enabling its growth. EMA will thus take on industry development and promotional functions, in addition to its regulatory and operational responsibilities,' it said on its website.

Its newly announced corporate mission comes just a month after the EMA took over the development of the liquefied natural gas terminal project on June 30 so as to ensure timely and sufficient natural gas supplies for power stations and industries here.

This is because the earlier-appointed project developers Singapore Power subsidiary PowerGas and GDF Suez had found it challenging to develop the Jurong Island project on a commercial basis and on time, amid a slowdown in gas demand and 'more difficult and costly' financing over the past 12 months due to the credit crunch.

The EMA's takeover was to ensure the LNG terminal is completed and operational by 2013, which puts the critical project already a year late.

LNG, which can be shipped in from anywhere in the world, will help supplement current piped gas supplies from neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia whose own growing economies increasingly need gas for their needs.

EMA has since set up the new Singapore LNG Corporation to drive the LNG terminal, and plans to recruit as many as triple the current 20 staff seconded from PowerGas and also EMA. This will also include foreign LNG talent, which is lacking here, for the project.

Under its new mission statement of forging 'a progressive energy landscape for sustained growth,' EMA said that this includes having a competitive energy market with a sound regulatory framework that encourages investment and prevents the exercise of market power.

It also wants secure energy supplies, and to develop and support R&D efforts to secure Singapore's energy future.

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Climate change: New study backs UN panel on ocean rise

Yahoo News 26 Jul 09;

PARIS (AFP) – The UN's climate panel has been backed over a key question as to how far global warming will drive up sea levels this century, a study published on Sunday says.

The UN experts are right that the oceans are unlikely to rise by an order of metres (many feet) by 2100, as some scientists have feared, it says. But, its authors caution, low-lying countries and delta areas could still face potentially catastrophic flooding if the upper range of the new estimate proves right.

In a landmark report in 2007, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted oceans would rise by 18-59 centimetres (7.2 and 23.6 inches) by 2100.

The increase would depend on warming, estimated at between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees Celsius (1.98-11.52 degrees Fahrenheit) this century, which in turn depends on how much man-made greenhouse gas is poured into the atmosphere.

It based the calculation on thermal expansion of the seas -- when a liquid is warmed, it grows in volume.

Harder to calculate, the IPCC admitted, was how far meltwater from glaciers and icesheets on land would boost sea levels.

It ventured a provisional calculation, suggesting contributions from those sources could push the upper limit to 76 cms (30.4 inches).

The new paper, led by Mark Siddall of Britain's University of Bristol, used data from fossilised coral and from ice-core measurements to reconstruct sea-level fluctuations over the past 22,000 years, from the height of the last Ice Age to the balmy era of today.

This century, they calculate, the seas will rise by between seven and 82 cms, all sources included, on the basis of a 1.1-6.4 C (1.98-11.52 F) warming -- an estimated increase that is in the same ballpark as the IPCC's.

The study appears in the journal Nature Geoscience.

"Given that the two approaches are entirely independent of each other, this result strengthens the confidence with which one may interpret the IPCC results," said Siddall.

But, he said, no-one should be kidded into thinking the flooding threat was over.

"The fact that this number is smaller than other numbers does not mean that this is not potentially a massive and very important sea level rise," Siddall told AFP in a telephone interview.

"Fifty centimetres (20 inches) of rise would be very, very dangerous for Bangladesh, it would be very dangerous for all low-lying areas. And not only that, the 50 centimetres (20 inches) is the global mean. Locally, it could be as high as a metre (3.25 feet), perhaps even higher, because water is pushed into different places by the effect of gravity."

He added: "Extreme flood effects will definitely become more frequent. If you rise by 50 centimetres (20 inches), floods that once happened every 100 years then become once a decade."

Siddall also pointed out that sea levels would inevitably rise even higher after the 21st century because of inertial effect.

It takes decades for atmospheric warming to translate into a warming of the seas because of the vast volume of the ocean, he said.

Thus the 22nd century and beyond will feel the impacts of the warming of the 21st century.

The IPCC's estimates on sea levels have been repeatedly challenged since the Fourth Assessment Report was published in 2007.

Several studies have suggested that runoff from the Greenland and Antarctic icesheets -- which hold the world's biggest stores of freshwater -- will be much higher than the panel suspected.

One paper, published in April by Paul Blanchon, a geoscientist at Mexico's National University, said that, in the distant past, the seas suddenly rose by three metres (10 feet) within a very time.

There was "a distinct possibility" that a step change of this kind could happen within the next 100 years, said Blanchon.

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Climate change 'threatens' Pacific isles

The Age 27 Jul 09;

New Zealand and Australia need to take urgent action against climate change to stop neighbouring Pacific Islands becoming uninhabitable, Oxfam says.

Millions of people from developing Pacific nations faced increased risk from cyclones, storm surges, king tides and ecosystem destruction due to climate change, the development agency said in a report released on Monday.

"Without a significant effort by developed countries now, some island nations in the Pacific face the very real threat of becoming uninhabitable in the decades ahead," the report's writers said.

People living in poorer Pacific nations already faced higher rates of malarial infection, more frequent flooding and were losing land and being forced from their homes, Oxfam said.

"It makes financial sense to act now, given that for every dollar spent on disaster preparedness and risk reduction, two to ten dollars is saved in disaster response."

The report called for New Zealand and Australia to reduce carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2020 and by 95 per cent by 2050.

On Sunday, New Zealand's Climate Change Minister Nick Smith said a 40 per cent cut by 2020, compared to 1990, was neither achievable nor affordable and would have too great an economic impact.

However, the Oxfam report recommended urgent action to avoid being forced into making more drastic choices in coming decades.

"It is in Australia and New Zealand's best interests to take this action now.

"The more frequent disasters caused by climate change will require Australia and New Zealand to respond, and the displacement of people in the Pacific due to rising sea levels will force them to look for new homelands," the report's writers said.

By 2050, eight million people in the Pacific Islands may need to find new places to live, along with 75 million people in the Asia Pacific region, it said.

Oxfam advised the governments of developed nations to begin considering how to deal with the looming issue.

The development agency supported a "polluter pays" scheme where New Zealand should pay $NZ792 million ($A637.3 million) and Australia $A43 billion to help repair the environmental costs of developing their economies.

Oxfam called for more resources to be directed toward tapping into local knowledge, as well as a renewed focus on sustainable livelihoods, food sources and water supplies.

Oxfam also warned of increasing coral bleaching, where climatic change kills the organisms making up the coral, causing the surrounding ecosystem to collapse.

Also, Pacific reefs faced a "significantly reduced ability" to provide food - for both local people and fishermen coming for tuna and other high-value fish.

The report writers also called attention to research probing the link between climate change and health, specifically mentioning the spread of malaria and dengue fever.

In Papua New Guinea's Western Highlands, researchers had recorded a large jump in the number of reported cases of malaria, from 638 in 2000 to 4,986 in 2005.

"For countries like Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tokelau, the Marshall Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and the Federated States of Micronesia, climate change is not something that could happen in the future but something they are experiencing now," Oxfam said.

Pacific needs help to combat climate change: Oxfam
Yahoo News 27 Jul 09;

WELLINGTON (AFP) – Developed countries need to act urgently to help vulnerable Pacific island nations cope with climate change, international aid group Oxfam said Monday.

By the year 2050, about 75 million people could be forced to leave their homes due to climate change in the Asia-Pacific region, the Oxfam report said.

"Climate change has the potential to affect almost every issue linked to poverty and development in the Pacific," said Oxfam New Zealand executive director Barry Coates.

"Without immediate action 50 years of development gains in poor countries will be permanently lost," he said.

Coral atolls are particularly vulnerable, including countries such as Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, which consist solely of atolls that often rise only two to three metres (six to nine feet) above sea level.

Climate change is expected to worsen storm surges, cyclones and high tides.

"Scientists have also projected an increase in diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, together with significant soil and coastal erosion as a result of climate change," Oxfam said.

Unless wealthy, developed countries like Australia and New Zealand take urgent action to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, some island nations in the Pacific could become uninhabitable, Oxfam said.

Oxfam estimated that around 150 billion US dollars would be needed every year to fund adaptation and emissions reductions in developing countries on top of existing aid.

Wealthy, polluting countries must reduce their emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020, and at least 95 percent by 2050 to prevent potentially catastrophic climate change, Oxfam said.

The report also said Australia and New Zealand had to be prepared to take refugees from Pacific islands.

Australia, New Zealand and other developed countries are expected to face renewed calls for more help over climate change from island countries when the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum meets in Cairns, Australia next week.

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