Hairy Crab & Chips
from Raffles Museum News
四月华语导游 Mandarin guided walk @ SBWR
from PurpleMangrove
Changi: studded with pink sea urchins!
from wild shores of singapore and Singapore Nature
blue-lined flatworm @ Pulau Hantu
from sgbeachbum
How did bird lose its head?
from The Lazy Lizard's Tales
What's going on? Crows attack passersby at Choa Chu Kang
from The Lazy Lizard's Tales
Spotted Wood Owl sunbathing
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Mok Fei Fei Channel NewsAsia 19 Apr 10;
SINGAPORE : The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is organising two public forums next month to gather feedback on the recommendations of its Concept Plan 2011.
The Concept Plan 2011 maps out the long term directions for Singapore's land use and transportation plans over the next 40 to 50 years.
As part of the process, URA is organising the public forum to engage and involve Singaporeans on plans to shape the country.
Since the launch of the Concept Plan 2011 in January this year, two focus groups were formed to discuss 4 key issues.
The 4 issues are - Quality of Life; Ageing issues; Sustainability; and Identity.
The focus groups will review the feedback received at the forums before they submit their final recommendations to URA.
After taking into consideration the views of the focus groups and the public, a draft Concept Plan 2011 will be formulated.
The first public forum on "Sustainability and Identity" will be held on Thursday, May 6 at 6pm.
The session will be co-chaired by Lee Tzu Yang, chairman of Shell Companies in Singapore and Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, director of Institute of Policy Studies. They will be leading the focus group on these topics.
The second forum on "Quality of Life and Ageing Issues" will be held on Monday, May 10 at 6pm.
This session will be co-chaired by Edmund Cheng, chairman of the National Arts Council, and Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, president of National University of Singapore. They are leading the focus group on these topics.
Online registration for the forum is open to all members of the public from now till April 26.
The public can register for the forums here http://www.ura.gov.sg/conceptplan2011/publicforum
For enquiries, the public can call 6329 3212. - CNA /ls
Concept Plan 2011 Focus Groups seek public feedback on proposed recommendations
News Release 19 Apr 10;
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is organising two public forums next month for the Concept Plan 2011 Focus Groups to share and gather more feedback on their proposed recommendations on the review of Concept Plan 2011.
The public forum is part of URA’s continuing efforts to actively engage and involve Singaporeans and residents in our plans to shape Singapore into a great city to live, work and play in.
Announced at the launch of the Concept Plan 2011 review public consultation exercise on 23 January 2010, two focus groups were formed to discuss four key issues that will shape our live, work and play environment in the coming years:
a. Quality of Life;
b. Ageing issues;
c. Sustainability; and
d. Identity.
Please see Annex 1 (pdf) for details of the four topics.
Public forums
The two focus groups have met over the last four months to deliberate and discuss the key issues. They will be sharing their preliminary recommendations at two public forums next month to seek feedback from the public on their ideas:
The first public forum on ‘Sustainability and Identity’ will be held on Thursday, 6 May 2010 at 6pm. The session will be co-chaired by Mr Lee Tzu Yang, Chairman, Shell Companies in Singapore and Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, Director, Institute of Policy Studies, who are leading the focus group on these topics.
The second forum on ‘Quality of Life and Ageing Issues’ will be held on Monday, 10 May 2010 at 6pm. This session will be co-chaired by Mr Edmund Cheng, Chairman, National Arts Council and Prof Tan Chorh Chuan, President, National University of Singapore, who are leading the focus group on these topics.
The focus groups will review the feedback received at the forums before they submit their final recommendations to URA. After taking into consideration the views of the focus groups and the public, a draft Concept Plan will be formulated. Next year, URA will provide avenues for the public to give feedback on the draft Concept Plan.
Registration
Online registration for the forum is open to all members of the public from now till 26 April 2010. Seats are limited. To register for the forums, please log onto www.ura.gov.sg/conceptplan2011/publicforum.
For enquiries, the public can call 6329 3212.
About the Concept Plan
The Concept Plan maps out the long term directions for Singapore’s land use and transportation plans over the next 40 to 50 years. The Concept Plan takes into consideration Singapore’s land use demands including housing, industry and commerce, community, recreation, transport and infrastructure needs. It safeguards land for key growth sectors to ensure we have enough land to meet all our development needs even in the long term. The review is carried out once every ten years and the present review is scheduled to be completed in 2011.
But another dry spell may delay this as rain is needed to dilute salt content
Amresh Gunasingham, Straits Times 20 Apr 10;
The 10,000ha Marina catchment is the island's largest and most densely built catchment. It is about one-sixth the size of Singapore. -- ST FILE PHOTO
THE Marina Reservoir, which when completed will be able to supply up to 10 per cent of Singapore's water needs, is expected to be ready by the end of the year.
But another dry spell like the one just past could push its ready date to next year, as the reservoir depends, to a large extent, on rainwater to dilute its salt content, the PUB said.
Over the last 15 months, the reservoir's concentration of salt water has come down from around 35,000mg
per litre - which is typical of seawater - to around 2,000mg per litre today, PUB's director, water supply (plants) department Tan Yok Gin told The Straits Times.
This will have to be brought down further to around 100mg per litre before the reservoir can be considered suitable enough to be of drinking water standard, he added.
The timeframe for when this will happen, however, will be determined to a large extent by the amount of rain that falls over the rest of the year.
'The desalting process depends on rain bringing water to displace the seawater,' said Mr Tan.
Currently, the water in the reservoir, which is part of the iconic $226 million Marina Barrage built to boost Singapore's water supply while also alleviating flooding in low-lying parts of the island, is made up of a mixture of salt water and fresh water.
Since its completion in October 2008, the national water agency has used two methods to turn the catchment into a freshwater source: opening the nine tidal gates located at the barrage to allow sea water to flush the reservoir; and depending on rain to dilute the catchment's salt content.
But a repeat of the dry spell seen in February - the driest month ever recorded in Singapore's history with just 6.3mm of rainfall - will mean its conversion to a freshwater catchment is delayed.
Mr Tan also told The Straits Times that a 13.32km network of underground pipes is also being constructed, and it will be completed later this year, to pump fresh water from Marina Reservoir to the Upper Peirce Reservoir, which has a larger storage capacity.
'Once the water quality meets our target, it will be pumped to Upper Peirce for storage,' said Mr Tan.
Water will also be channelled for treatment at Chestnut Avenue Waterworks, near Bukit Panjang, before being returned to the reservoir.
With a catchment area of 10,000ha, or one-sixth the size of Singapore, the Marina catchment is the island's largest and most densely built catchment.
Together with two other new reservoirs - Serangoon and Punggol - scheduled for completion in the next few years, the Marina Reservoir will increase Singapore's water catchment from half to two-third's of the country's land area.
The Jakarta Post 20 Apr 10;
Indonesia is lacking well-trained taxonomists who have the knowledge and skills to identify and preserve its rich yet dwindling biodiversity, environmentalists and scientists say.
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Oceanography Research Center chief Suharsono said there were only around 20 taxonomists in Indonesia, when it needed at least 100 to cover its biodiversity.
“The problem we are facing today is the fact that not enough people want to become taxonomists. Most people would rather take a more promising career path,” he said.
A taxonomist is still perceived as a nerdy profession; for someone who typically spends most of their time alone in damp laboratories or dusty libraries, Suharsono said.
The path to becoming a taxonomist is long and arduous, he added. They have to study for at least five years after graduating from university to memorize the names of existing species.
“To become a well-known taxonomist, one may need to spend hundreds of millions of rupiah [on research],” Suharsono said.
The institute is now looking for new talents in taxonomy through a selection program funded with money raised during the 2007 auction to name then newly discovered marine creatures in Raja Ampat regency, West Papua.
LIPI selected 160 people from five regions in the archipelago, including Makassar, South Sulawesi and Jakarta.
These people were from different backgrounds ranging from lecturers to activists.
A number of selection phases now have narrowed down the list to 20 possible taxonomists and para-taxonomists, who can identify species but not necessarily publicize their findings. Of the 20, only three are expected to become major taxonomists.
“We cannot conserve something if we are not acquainted with it,” said Jatna Supriatna, the vice president of Conservation International Indonesia.
In 2007, Conservation International, along with the Monaco-Asia Society, sponsored a charity auction conducted by Christie’s International in Monaco.
The auction gave numerous well-funded people and organizations an opportunity to bid on the naming rights to 11 newly found species, including the “walking shark” that “walks” with its fins along reefs.
The government claims Indonesia has a huge biodiversity, being home to 12 percent of the world’s mammal species (second only to Brazil) and 17 percent (1,531 species) of all bird species.
The country was also said to be home to 37 percent of the world’s species of fish.
However, most of those species are yet to be identified. Suharsono said the number of identified species could be around 30 percent, hence the urgent need for more taxonomists.
Jatna added that Indonesia’s marine population was under threat from human-bred species and species transported from other regions by humans.
“We must promote the country’s natural biodiversity … marine species could become extinct when we haven’t even named them yet,” he said.
Jatna said the rest of the US$2 million had been used for various purposes, including educating locals in the villages in the Bird’s Head area, about conserving marine species.
Scientists Offer Naming Rights for Cash
Ismira Lutfia, Jakarta Globe 20 Apr 10;
Imagine having your name, or the name of your child or company, immortalized by being used to name a newly discovered species. You can, if you have the money.
Paracheilinus nursalim, a fish species discovered in 2007, was named after Sjamsul and Itjih Nursalim, while Chrysiptera giti, another fish species, was named after Giti Group, the company of Enki Tan and Cherie Nursalim. Sjamsul Nursalim also happens to be the name of a suspect in the massive Bank Indonesia liquidity assistance fraud scheme in 1997.
A report released by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) on Monday said that the Nusalims and Enki and Cherie bought their naming rights through a bidding process, organized by Christie’s auction house, at a gala dinner in Monaco in 2007.
Another familiar Indonesian name among the bidders was Sindhuchajana Sulistyo, who won the right to name a species Pterois andover.
“Scientists discovering the species have given up their rights to name their findings in an effort to raise funds for marine conservation,” said Suharsono, head of LIPI’s Research Center for Oceanography.
The two species of fish were found in 2007 by scientists Gary Allen and Mark Erdmann in the Bird’s Head Seascape, an area in the northwest corner of Papua, along with nine other species, including two speckled sharks that walk on their fins and a species of seahorse.
Suharsono said the event raised more than $2 million and some $500,000 of it was given to LIPI to train 10 scientists to become marine taxonomists. With its vast oceanic biodiversity, Indonesia was in dire need of more marine taxonomists, he said.
“There are only about 20 marine taxonomists in the country, and that is very inadequate compared with our country’s abundant marine species,” Suharsono said.
Hery Harjono, LIPI’s deputy chairman for earth sciences, said: “There is a possibility that there are many marine species that have gone extinct without ever having been scientifically recorded.”
Ruben Sario The Star 19 Apr 10;
KOTA KINABALU: Wildlife experts here remain hopeful about the future of the highly endangered Sumatran rhino following a rare picture of a 20-year-old female that is believed to be pregnant.
The picture of the female rhino was captured by remote camera trap devices set up jointly by the Sabah Wildlife Department and WWF-Malaysia.
The picture was considered rare as there were estimated to be less than 30 rhinos left on the entire island of Borneo.
International Rhino expert Dr. Terri Roth said she was hoping that the female rhino was indeed pregnant.
"There are so few Sumatran rhinos left in the world that each calf represents a lifeline for the species, she said here Tuesday.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu said the department was working with WWF-Malaysia and the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) to finalise the Rhino Action Plan that which would be expected to be ready for full implementation by August this year.
The plan would address the conservation plans of the viable population including isolated rhinos, Dr Laurentius added.
He said his department intended to take a "different" approach in managing the viable but isolated rhino population in Sabah.
Habitat protection and enforcement have been recognised as the main strategy in order to ensure the survival of the viable rhino population in forest reserves, while a breeding programme has been identified as the key strategy in order to address the conservation plan for the isolated rhinos, Dr Laurentius added.
The rhino breeding programme is currently supported by Sime Darby, the Malaysian federal government and WWF-Malaysia.
The future of rhinos in Borneo now depends on how seriously the enforcement and security work in the forest reserves can be implemented and coordinated, said Raymond Alfred, Head of the Borneo Species Programme, WWF-Malaysia.
The monitoring and survey work in the central forest of Sabah is currently supported by HONDA Malaysia, WWF-Netherlands, WWF-Germany and USFWS since 2005.
WWF-Malaysia is working with the department and the Sabah Forestry Department to look into reinforcing the security of the forest reserves that are the key habitats for the animals.
Alfred noted that that data from an ongoing rhino monitoring and survey programme showed that the animals' home range was affected by oil palm plantation expansion near the state's coastal areas.
The research also indicated that sustainable logging activities had minimal impact on the rhino population while conversion of forests especially those located adjacent to key rhino habitat into other mono-crop plantations such as oil palm would further worsen the fragmentation of the rhino population.
Images of Rhino believed to be pregnant, captured in Borneo
WWF Malaysia 21 Apr 10;
Kota Kinabalu – Images of the near-extinct Sumatran rhino believed to be a pregnant female, estimated to be below twenty years old, was captured by Sabah Wildlife Department and WWF-Malaysia’s remote camera trap devices, thus strengthening the argument to maintain and improve the enforcement and security of the forest and wildlife reserves in this part of the region. At the moment, the rhino population is estimated to be less than 30 in Borneo. International Rhino expert Dr. Terri Roth commented that, “It would be wonderful if this female is pregnant, since there are so few Sumatran rhinos left in the world that each calf represents a lifeline for the species.”
Dr. Laurentius Ambu, the Director of Sabah Wildlife Department, highlights the importance of strong and co-ordinated enforcement in the forest and wildlife reserves by the relevant government agencies and non-government organisations (NGOs) in order to ensure the survival of this species in Borneo’s forests. Presently, WWF-Malaysia is working closely with Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Wildlife Department and Sabah Foundation, with the support from the Royal Malaysian Police, to ensure the safety and survival of this endangered species in Borneo. Dr. Laurentius mentioned that consistent monitoring of the rhino population here has been productive so far, as two rhino calves has been identified in this part of regions. Sabah Wildlife Department is currently working closely with WWF-Malaysia and Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) to finalise the Rhino Action Plan which will be expected to be ready for full implementation by August 2010. The “Rhino Action Plan” will address the conservation plans of the viable population including isolated rhinos. He emphasises that his department will have a different approach in managing the viable and isolated rhino population in Sabah. Habitat protection and enforcement has been recognised as the main strategy in order to ensure the survival of the viable rhino population in forest reserves, whilst rhino breeding programme has been identified as the key strategy in order to address the conservation plan for the isolated rhinos. The rhino breeding programme is currently supported by Sime Darby, the Malaysian federal government and WWF-Malaysia.
“The future of rhinos in Borneo now depends on how seriously the enforcement and security work in the forest reserves can be implemented and coordinated,” said Raymond Alfred, Head of the Borneo Species Programme, WWF-Malaysia. The monitoring and survey work in the central forest of Sabah is currently supported by HONDA Malaysia, WWF-Netherlands, WWF-Germany and USFWS since 2005. WWF-Malaysia is joining forces with Sabah Wildlife Department and Sabah Forestry Department to look into reinforcing the security of the forest reserves where rhino inhabits.
Alfred mentioned that the data gathered from a continuing rhino monitoring and survey programme in this part of region shows that: (i) the home range of the rhinos is affected by oil palm expansion near the coastline, (ii) sustainable logging activities have minimal impact on the rhino population, and (iii) forest conversion of the natural forests, especially those located adjacent to key habitat for the rhino, into other mono-plantation (particularly oil palm) would further worsen the fragmentation of the rhino population. WWF-Malaysia believes that full espousal and co-operation from the relevant land developers and forest managers, to restore the corridor and also address illegal encroachment would help support the survival of rhinos in Sabah.
- End
Endangered Sumatran Rhino Caught on Camera on Borneo Island
Jakarta Globe 21 Apr 10;
Wildlife experts on Wednesday were beaming over new photos of a rare Sumatran rhinoceros, thought to be pregnant, in Malaysian Borneo, saying a new calf would be a lifeline for the near-extinct species.
Only 30 rhinos are thought to remain in the wild on Borneo island, and researchers are only able to monitor the reclusive animals through images captured on remote camera traps.
The news comes after Ratu, a young female Sumatran rhino at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park, had a miscarriage last month, seen as a major blow to efforts to pull the species back from the brink.
Images of the Borneo rhino, believed to be a pregnant female under 20 years old, were captured by a camera trap in February, the Malaysian branch of the World Wildlife Fund said in a statement.
“There are so few Sumatran rhinos left in the world that each calf represents a lifeline for the species,” international rhino expert Terry Roth said.
The Borneo subspecies is the rarest of all rhinos, distinguished from other Sumatran rhinos by its relatively small size, small teeth and distinctively shaped head.
The Sumatran rhino is one of the world’s most endangered species, with only small pockets left on Sumatra, in the north of Borneo and on peninsular Malaysia.
Laurentius Ambu, wildlife director for Malaysia’s Sabah state, where the rhino was spotted, said two rhino calves had also been seen in the same area and urged the central government to do more. “Habitat protection and enforcement have been recognized as the main strategies in ensuring the survival of the rhino population in forest reserves,” he said.
The WWF said the rhino’s future on Borneo depended on efforts to preserve its habitat, which was under threat from expanding palm oil plantations.
Sally Kestin, Sun Sentinel 17 Apr 10;
A group of Hollywood celebrities is lining up in defense of another kind of star: whale, dolphin and marine mammal performers in marine parks and aquariums.
Producer Raul Julia-Levy, son of the late Broadway and Hollywood actor Raul Julia, has campaigned to free Lolita, the Miami Seaquarium's lone killer whale, and now wants to broaden his message.
"Animals this large don't deserve to be in captivity,'' Julia-Levy said in an interview this week. "They're extremely intelligent. Keeping these animals in those little tanks is not right.''
Julia-Levy said he's recruited A-list stars to the cause: actors Johnny Depp and Wesley Snipes, singer Elton John and rapper RZA.
"Whether it's man, animal, bird or fish, nothing wants to be held captive,'' RZA told the Sun Sentinel. "There's no spirit on earth that enjoys that.''
RZA and Julia-Levy have little faith in a Congressional hearing scheduled for April 27 on marine mammals in captivity. The hearing will focus on the education and conservation efforts of marine parks.
"I think it's baloney,'' Julia-Levy said. "It's not going to help the animals.''
The Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, a trade organization, contends the attractions educate the public about oceans and sea life. Their marine animals "live long, happy lives,'' free from the stress of predators and life in the wild, according to the Alliance's website.
Julia-Levy believes the motive of the attractions is less pure. "They do this for the hundreds of millions of dollars they get every year,'' he said.
He is working on a new television series, "Species in Captivity,'' narrated by Snipes and directed by RZA, a protégé of acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino. The first episodes will focus on killer whales and dolphins and how marine parks "cash in on these animals,'' Julia-Levy said.
He has tried to persuade the Seaquarium to return Lolita to the waters off Washington state, where she was captured 40 years ago. The Seaquarium has said Lolita could not survive in the wild.
U.S. marine parks stopped capturing marine mammals more than 15 years ago and now rely on breeding. The animals' natural instincts remain, as demonstrated by the recent death of a SeaWorld trainer by a killer whale, said RZA, a Grammy-winning music producer, actor and director whose real name is Robert Fitzgerald Diggs.
""You have to have a strong will to bite the hand that feeds you,'' he said. "The will to swim and explore the depths of the ocean is going to come back to them. We should let these animals go, yo.''
Yahoo News 19 Apr 10;
HONG KONG (AFP) – A Hong Kong marine park on Monday rejected environmentalists' allegations that it was trying to capture dolphins in the Solomon Islands, possibly in breach of animal conservation rules.
The Washington-based Animal Welfare Institute has said the popular Ocean Park venue was believed to be importing 30 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins.
"These wild dolphins are believed to have been recently captured or about to be captured from waters surrounding the Solomon Islands. The importing facility is believed to be Ocean Park, Hong Kong," several conservation groups told Hong Kong lawmakers in an April 16 letter.
The Institute said there was "mounting and irrefutable evidence" that dolphin imports from the cluster of islands near Papua New Guinea would breach the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Ocean Park rejected the allegations.
"Ocean Park has not deployed any team to capture the dolphins in the Solomon Islands," it said.
The park's executive director of zoological operations and its general curator met officials from the Solomon Islands during a research project in December and March, Ocean Park said.
They discussed "supporting a potential collaboration of scientific research on the whale and dolphin population, distribution and genetic diversity in the area."
"This project represents Ocean Park's wildlife conservation initiatives in the wild," the park said.
Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said it had not received any application from Ocean Park to import dolphins.
The daily South China Morning Post quoted a Solomon Islands government adviser as saying Ocean Park representatives met two government ministers and were expected to sign a memorandum of understanding under which "between 24 and 30" dolphins would be sent to Hong Kong.
Any plan to acquire dolphins in the future would meet local and international animal conservation rules, Ocean Park said.
"If the dolphins (in the Solomon Islands) are not sustainable, we would go somewhere else," Ocean Park chairman Allan Zeman told the Post last week.
"There are a lot of dolphins around, of different species."
Ocean Park has 16 dolphins, almost half of them born in captivity through an artificial insemination programme, it said.
James Kon Brunei Direct 20 Apr 10;
Bandar Seri Begawan - The smuggling of turtle eggs continues to be rampant in the region despite stringent laws in most countries, including Brunei, making the sale and consumption of the dying "delicacy" illegal.
"We believe it is coming mainly from the Philippines and Malaysia, specifically from Sabah and Sarawak and through Brunei as well," Malaysia's TRAFFIC officer, Norainie Awang Anak, told the Bulletin.
TRAFFIC is Malaysia's wildlife trade monitoring network responsible for raising awareness of illegal wildlife trading within the region. The non-government organisation is in Brunei to conduct a two-day workshop in collaboration with Brunei's Department of Forestry and the World Wildlife Fund.
"(Turtle eggs) are also smuggled from the Turtle Islands to Sandakan in Sabah before going to Terengganu," she said. Demand for the regional delicacy is apparently quite large in the Malaysian state.
"There is also a third route where smuggling of this species occurs from Kalimantan to Sarawak. They also come from the Natuna region going to either Malaysia, Singapore or Brunei," added the wildlife officer.
According to Norainie, the largest amount seized by Malaysian enforcement authorities was in 2008 with over 10,000 turtle eggs suspected to be smuggled regionally.
Meanwhile, Brunei authorities are not denying the smuggling of turtle eggs into Brunei that are then sold illegally to the public but its occurrence is apparently "very rare".
"We will not deny that turtle eggs are being smuggled into Brunei," said Pg Haji Abdullah, Assistant Superintendent of Customs at the Customs and Excise Department.
He, however, asserted that there have been no cases of locals smuggling turtle eggs out of the country.
"Cases (of smuggling turtle eggs) are quite rare," he told the Bulletin, citing only nine known cases between 2004 and 2009.
He added that while there are cases of turtle eggs being smuggled in for personal consumption, most of the cases involve turtle eggs of which amount goes up in the thousands to be sold illegally in local markets, further revealing that "approximately 20,000 turtle eggs have been seized since 2004".
Most of these cases have already been prosecuted while others are still pending at the Attorney General's Chambers.
Meanwhile, Claire Beastall, Training and Capacity Building Co-ordinator for TRAFFIC, puts her faith in these workshops as an avenue to raise awareness among the people directly involved in the enforcement of these laws.
"Most people in most regions are not aware of how big the problem is," she told the Bulletin. "This is about raising awareness and helping customs officers and other enforcement agencies in the Heart of Borneo area to work together to protect its unique wildlife."
While the decline of the species continues, Beastall believes that "everybody is working towards improving the detection of the smuggling of illegal wildlife".
"It's everybody's job from all the enforcement agencies in all countries to the public itself," she added.
Poaching of marine turtles remains one of the biggest dangers to the species coupled with pollution of the ocean and drastic climate changes that affect the species' ability to reproduce.
In Brunei, marine turtles and their eggs are protected under the Wild Fauna and Flora Act 2007.
In 2009, Brunei's Royal Customs and Excise Department foiled an attempt to smuggle in a total of 4,150 turtle eggs as a result of a tip-off from the public, the largest number of turtle eggs seized by local authorities thus far.-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
Cyber Diver News Network 19 Apr 10;
KOROR, Palau — Three dugongs this year were found dead and at least two of them are believed to have died due to illegal dynamite.
Mandy Etpison, who coordinates the 2010 Palau Dugong Awareness Campaign on behalf of the French Embassy said that in January there was a report of dead dugong being cut up by Palauans at the Ngardmau Dock.
The second incident was that on March 6, kayakers camping on Ngeremdiu beach reported a dead juvenile dugong floating and that craters along the beach indicated illegal dynamite use in the area.
The latest death was a floating dugong found in Mekeald area in Koror, on April 2.
Etpison said that the dugong was spotted by Palau Helicopter pilot Matt.
The dead dugong was brought in by the boat to the Neco Marine dock and reported to the Koror State Rangers Bureau of Marine Resources.
The Koror State veterinarian Mihnea Muresanu with the assistance of the Civic Action Team medic and the Coral Reef Foundation conducted a necropsy on the animal.
According to the report the cause of death is believed to be heart failure caused by explosives thrown in the water nearby.
The necropsy also noted that the animal had dead for at least two days.
Etpison in a statement said that she hopes "the authorities continue to sample and examine future confiscated or reported dugongs and that they will address the urgent problem of illegal dynamite use which is more common in Palau than people realize."
She added that dynamite not only causes harm to the highly endangered dugong population in Palau but also to coral reefs and wrappings from dynamite have been found on Rock Island beaches.
Etpison said that the brand of the dynamite is imported from the Philippines and was reportedly used in the past by Daewoo and currently by at least one local quarry.
John Dodge, The Olympian 19 Apr 10;
A gray whale that washed ashore in West Seattle last week at an unusually high amount of human debris in its stomach, marine mammal researchers announced today.
The 37-foot-long whale had more than 50 gallons of undigested stomach contents, including more than 20 plastic bags, small towels, surgical gloves, sweat pants, duct tape, pieces of plastic and a golf ball, according to John Calambokidis of the Olympia-based Cascadia Research Collective.
“It’s not a very good testament to our stewardship of the marine environment,” Calambokidis said.
The debris, while numerous, represented about 1 percent to 2 percent of the stomach contents, which consisted mostly of algae, he said. There is no sign that it caused the whale’s death.
But it clearly indicates that the whale had tried to feed in urban waterways where it was exposed to debris and contaminants, he said.
Gray whales are filter feeders that feed on the bottom and suck in sediment from shallow waters to strain out small organisms that live there. This feeding process can lead to ingestion of rocks, wood debris and human litter.
This marked the fourth gray whale to die in Puget Sound waters in the past two weeks and the fifth overall in this year’s northern migration of grays from their breeding grounds in Mexico to their feeding grounds in Alaska.
The total number of deaths are well below a major mortality event in 1999-2000 when 50 gray whales died in Washington waters in those two years.
But the peak period for gray whale deaths in Washington waters is only about half complete and the rash of strandintgs is cause for concern among whale researchers.
“I’d say we are concerned, but not alarmed yet,” Calambokidis said.
The latest flurry of strandings began April 4 when a young gray whale stranded alive in Deer Creek at the northeast end of Oakland Bay in Mason County and died that day. A necropsy of the animal April 5 showed it to be emaciated and malnourished.
Photo identification of the whale revealed it was the same whale spotted in the Nisqually River March 25.
Three of the four whales to perish in April appeared to be emaciated and all four appear to be stragglers from the larger gray whale population of nearly 20,000 that typically migrates north past Washington each spring.
April is the time of year when whales that didn’t get enough to eat in their Alaskan feeding grounds may be running low on reserves, whales researchers noted.
The Jakarta Post 20 Apr 10;
Dozens of attentive children sit in a circle on the floor of the gazebo with a thatched roof, cooled by the breeze, listening to a woman who is explaining how to make a cake.
When she asked them about the ingredients on display, the children enthusiastically raised their hands to answer the questions.
The students at Sekolah Alam Depok, or school of nature, located in Bedahan subdistrict, Sawangan district, Depok, were learning about solids and liquids in their natural science class.
Sekolah Alam Depok (Sade) is just one of the “nature schools” that have gained popularity in Greater Jakarta in the past few years.
The trend was set by Sekolah Alam Ciganjur in South Jakarta and School of the Universe in Parung, Bogor, West Java, which were both established in the noughties.
They have emerged to accommodate the trend of bringing children closer to the environment, using nature as a learning medium.
The existence of these nature schools echoes global concerns about current environmental problems, especially climate change.
But they have also become an alternative for parents who seek quality schools, besides international schools or national-plus schools.
Sade, for example, applies a curriculum of character building and a curriculum of leadership to complement the national curriculum.
Wulan, one of the school’s founders, said each curriculum has its own target outcomes.
“In the character building curriculum, for example, we try to promote the students’ team work spirit and problem solving,” she said.
Together, the three curricula intend to stimulate the students’ best potential.
Sade was established four years ago in response to an education system that alienated students from their surrounding environment.
“We want to bring students close to nature as we believe that human beings were created to lead the universe,” said Wulan, who also teaches there.
To achieve this goal, nature is used as the chief learning medium, with 60 to 70 percent of classes conducted outdoors.
During mathematics, for example, students learn about angles by identifying various angles in leaves and plants found in the school’s gardens.
In social science class, students explore various Indonesian cultures and their traditional food.
“Students, for example, conduct a survey about the taste of the West Sumatran food by interviewing people.
After graphing statistics, they know that Sumatran people prefer spicy food,” said Wulan.
In natural science class, they also learn about the weather from the actual conditions.
When it is cloudy, for example, teachers will ask students to identify how they feel and how to respond to the weather.
“So they can apply their knowledge about the weather,” said Wulan.
“People often think our school is informal, but the learning process is very structured,” she said.
The school, which now has seven classes from kindergarten to fourth grade of elementary school, runs from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. everyday.
The evaluation system is also conducted as required by the education agency. The school issues report cards every six months as in other schools.
However, it also has its own evaluation through portofolios given in mid-semester terms and narrative reports issued at the end of the semester.
Andriyani, a mother of two students, said she was satisfied with the school’s education system.
“I think the target of bringing the children closer to nature has been realized,” she said.
“When my son learned maths on conversion, he was asked to measure how much water we used in our daily activities at home.
“It made him realize we waste a lot of water every day and he was aware that we should reduce water use,” she said.
His children also asked her to separate garbage into organic and non-organic categories, as they learned at school.
“I am not worried that they can’t catch up the requirements of the national curriculum,” she said.
However, she said that her children might need adaption once they continue their study at other schools. (lnd)
Fidelis E. Satriastanti, Jakarta Globe 20 Apr 10;
The country must eliminate fuel subsidies to ensure an efficient, sustainable, and secure energy sector, according to a World Bank report on sustainable energy released on Monday.
The report, “Winds of Change: East Asia’s Sustainable Energy Future,” finds that energy subsidies intended to protect the poor end up benefiting the rich, thus increasing the burden on the country's budget.
Based on studies in Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, the World Bank estimates the region needs additional investment of $80 billion a year to reach a sustainable energy growth path.
Vijay Jagannathan, the World Bank’s energy sector manager for East Asia and the Pacific, said the question of subsidies was a political one with no simple solution.
“We’re working with our partners in those countries to find ways to reach the target,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone can deny the fact that there are many poor people, particularly in countries like Indonesia and the Philippines, who require some amount of government assistance. But we’re also experimenting in terms of targeting outputs by which those families and individuals are provided with subsidies and unconditional cash transfer programs [that proved] effective in Indonesia a few years ago.”
Jagannathan said one option was for the poor to switch from kerosene to solar power.
“The World Bank started a program back in 1995-96 in Indonesia [on solar power] but it failed because of the economic crisis,” he said.
“We have many other programs in Bangladesh with one million households using solar systems and no longer using kerosene. There were many ways to shift fossil fuel use toward lighting or cooking, but they’re not common in Indonesia.”
He added the World Bank was not against fuel subsidies for the lower class.
“But the bank is looking at ways for poor people to improve their lives through these methods we’re suggesting,” he said.
WWF Indonesia climate and energy director Fitrian Ardiansyah said the country’s fuel subsidies had missed their mark, agreeing that the rich benefited more from them than the poor.
“However, you can’t just end it, because it’s grounded more in politics than economics,” he said, adding the government could instead gradually introduce alternative energy to phase out subsidized fossil fuels.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati says subsidy spending this year will be Rp 201.8 trillion ($22.3 billion), up 43.9 trillion from last year, making it the second-largest subsidy budget in 10 years after the Rp 223 trillion spent in 2008.
Around 71 percent of total subsidies, or Rp 143.2 trillion, will go toward energy, much higher than last year’s Rp 99.9 trillion.
Xiaodong Wang, lead author of the report and senior energy specialist for the World Bank, said Indonesia’s huge geothermal potential offered a solution.
“Indonesia has the world’s largest geothermal resources, and the government already has a blueprint to develop at least 6,000 megawatts of geothermal power capacity by 2020,” he said.
“We believe the [geothermal] market is visible and large. The key question is to put the right policy framework into place and for the government to [enforce] serious regulations.”
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