Best of our wild blogs: 28 Apr 10

Three bugs
from The annotated budak

Woodpecker-like feeding behaviour of drongos
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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Singapore Exports Its Government Expertise in Urban Planning

Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, The New York Times 27 Apr 10;

SINGAPORE — Last autumn, Singapore’s senior minister of state for national development and education helped officiate at the groundbreaking for a housing development in a new “eco city” that eventually will be home to 350,000 people. But the metropolis — featuring a power plant fueled by organic waste, pedestrian-oriented urban design and plenty of green space — is nowhere near Singapore: It is in northeastern China.

Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City is a $22 billion effort to turn an expanse of nonarable salt pan and deserted beaches into a 30-square-kilometer, or 11.5-square-mile, urban area southeast of Tianjin. For China, the project is intended to showcase resource-efficient technologies and serve as a model for other new cities in the country.

For Singapore, a city-state of five million with few natural resources and one of the highest population densities in the world, it is another chance for its companies to cash in on decades of government investment in urban planning.

In the 1960s, Singapore suffered from severe overcrowding, poor living conditions and a lack of infrastructure. Today, thanks to numerous public housing and land reclamation projects, a modern international financial and business hub stands where slums and squatters once resided.

“In the past 40 years, we’ve acquired a good reputation for our design and master plan for urban development. A lot of cities have come here asking us how we did it, and how we got where we are in this short span of time,” said Wong Kai Yeng, group director of Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority International, referring to growth since the former British colony gained independence in 1965.

Rapid, uncontrolled urbanization in developing countries is creating environmental as well as socioeconomic problems, including the growth of slums and increases in air pollution and waste. What the World Bank describes as possibly the biggest challenge of the 21st century is also a giant business opportunity for those ready to share their know-how.

While many engineering and architectural firms do business globally, Singapore is unusual in its systematic governmental efforts to export the country’s public-sector expertise — in effect, selling pieces of the Singapore Inc. model.

“What we see Singapore doing differently from other cities in the developed world is that in addition to offering technical assistance, it has cleverly harnessed these interests into its economic growth strategy,” said Abha Joshi Ghani, manager of the urban development and local government unit at the World Bank.

“It has increasingly structured the city’s competitiveness and growth around sustainable development with the aim of using Singapore as a test bed for future urban solutions,” she added. “It’s addressing areas of challenge that Singapore itself faces, and at the same time facilitating the export of knowledge and best practices among developing-country cities globally, thus creating jobs for its businesses and population.”

Four years ago, the government set up a one-stop shop, the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise, to respond to foreign requests to tap its governmental experience, including urban planning and training in fighting corruption. Two years ago, Mr. Wong’s department, the Urban Redevelopment Authority International, was established to specifically deal with overseas enquiries on urban planning issues.

Each month, the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise, which has a full-time staff of 20, receives about 10 foreign delegations seeking expertise in areas like infrastructure development, master planning and water treatment. The agency organizes visits to relevant ministries and departments and puts on 5- to 10-day training programs.

So far, the enterprise has worked on more than 100 projects, including advising on master planning for the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil, advising Oman on the strategic development of its capital markets and training officials from Dubai’s Department of Finance. The government estimates that the enterprise funneled $40 million into Singapore’s economy in its first two years; more recent data are not available.

A Singapore Cooperation Enterprise spokesman declined to give financial details on its own income from consulting work, studies and reviews, saying only that it gets paid on a cost basis. Its chief executive, Alphonsus Chia, said in a statement that its primary aim was to lay groundwork for Singaporean firms and improve relations with other countries.

Kigali, the capital of Rwanda and among the fastest-growing cities in the world, is one of the developing cities turning to Singapore for advice. It selected the enterprise and Surbana Urban Planning Group (which is wholly owned by Temasek Holdings, the investment vehicle of Singapore’s government) to help with detailed plans for its new central business district.

“We were impressed by Singapore’s expertise in urban planning and how they have built an environmentally friendly city,” said Rangira Bruno, a spokesman for the Kigali City Council, which visited Singapore in 2008 to meet with government agencies dealing with urban planning, housing development, city transportation and water management. “Singapore has built a green city which is different from European and American cities.”

Mr. Bruno said Kigali officials were interested in learning how Singapore had managed to transform itself in the last four decades “from a third-world economy to a middle-income economy.”

Beyond urban planning, Singapore has also had some success exporting its know-how in the water sector. In 2003, Singapore opened its first two NEWater plants, which treat sewage via microfiltration and reverse osmosis, purifying the water for commercial and industrial use as well as human consumption. This year, with the opening of a fifth plant, the system will meet 30 percent of the city-state’s water needs, while a desalination plant meets a further 10 percent.

Chua Soon Guan, director of policy and planning at the Public Utilities Board, said that while the wastewater and desalination plants had been commissioned to reduce Singapore’s reliance on imports of water from Malaysia, they had had a far broader economic effect. The experience that local companies acquired in developing the projects has lent them credibility when vying for international contracts, he said.

The Public Utilities Board actually participates in tenders with private companies, providing technical expertise and support in areas like operations and maintenance. “It lends credibility to the company’s bidding for the project,” Mr. Chua said.

Since 2006, Singaporean companies have clinched over 100 water-related projects globally worth more than 7.7 billion Singapore dollars, or $5.52 billion. Those included a 1.5 billion-dollar sewage treatment plant in Qatar by Keppel Seghers, a 632 million-dollar desalination plant in Algeria by Hyflux and a 1.4 billion-dollar power and water desalination project in Oman by Sembcorp.

Choo Chiau Beng, chief executive of Keppel Group, said he believed his company had benefited from its work for Singaporean government agencies. “These partnerships have helped us to springboard our presence overseas,” he said, citing the Keppel Seghers Tuas waste-to-energy power plant in Singapore and the NEWater projects. It allows the company, he said, “to present a compelling track record when we pursue projects abroad.”

Keppel is heavily involved in Tianjin Eco-City. Initiated by the two governments when Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China visited Singapore in 2007, it is now driven by Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development, a 50-50 joint venture company between a Singapore consortium led by the Keppel Group and a Chinese consortium led by Tianjin TEDA Investment Holdings, a state-owned enterprise based in Tianjin.

The Chinese government said last year it would invest about 16.5 billion renminbi, or $2.41 billion, over three years in the construction of 149 priority projects to push the development of the city. Several Singaporean companies have announced plans to invest the area’s first “eco-business” park, a 4 billion-renminbi project slated to occupy 30 hectares, or 74 acres.

For example, First DCS, a provider of heating and cooling systems, is working on a feasibility study of the energy requirements of the business park. Pan Asian Water Solutions plans to locate its Chinese headquarters in Tianjin Eco-City and consolidate its existing pipe and valve manufacturing operations in the business park. It plans to invest an estimated 100 million renminbi there over the next two years.

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Fuel-sipper taxis a good Fit for Prime Taxis

Its Honda Fit hatchbacks can do 18km per litre but savings will not be passed on to commuters
Christopher Tan, The Straits Times 28 Apr 10;

PRIME Taxis has bucked the trend again.

In a taxi market dominated by two- and three-litre diesel cabs, the newcomer has rolled out the tiniest taxis here - the petrol-efficient Honda Fit.

These 1.3-litre hatchbacks are capable of 17km to 18km per litre - frugal compared to the 10km most diesel cabs are getting from each litre of fuel.

Whatever savings Prime cabbies make from these fuel sippers will not, however, be passed on to commuters.

These cabs will have a flag-down fare of $2.80, the base rate of small taxis.

Prime Taxis general manager Tan Soon Chye pointed out that the rate is still the lowest for an automatic transmission cab.

Its managing director Neo Nam Heng said it has added these cars to its fleet partly in reaction to Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport chairman Lim Wee Kiak's call for operators to consider using smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles as taxis.

Dr Lim had said that 1-litre or 1.3-litre models would 'help lower costs'.

Prime Taxis' Honda Fits cost around $58,000 each, about $10,000 less than the next cheapest range of cabs such as the Honda Airwave and Toyota Premio.

Prime thus charges its Fit cabbies a rental of $69 per day, versus about $78 for its next cheapest cab.

The company has started with 10 Fits, and will add another 10 soon. Mr Tan said it will add 'as many as taxi drivers demand'.

Other industry players reckon demand for these sub-compact cabs would not be high.

Mr Tan said their small size is not an issue with medium-built commuters, adding that the hatchback can also take 'two to three pieces of luggage'.

But rivals say cabbies, who typically clock 300km to 500km a day, may find the Fit a less comfortable drive than cars with bigger, more powerful engines and roomier cabins.

Prime's boss, Mr Neo, said the Fit made good commercial sense for its cabbies because of its high fuel efficiency, with the cheapest grade of petrol now costing $1.817 a litre. At 17km a litre, the Fit driver will spend $53.44 on petrol for every 500km, versus $66.65 for the 10km-a-litre diesel cab over the same distance travelled. Diesel now costs $1.333 a litre.

The company also saves on diesel tax, which amounts to $5,100 per diesel cab per year.

Prime has blazed the trail since it started up in 2007. Its fleet is made up of compressed natural gas, petrol and petrol-electric hybrid models.

To Dr Lim's call for the savings to be passed on to commuters, Prime's Mr Tan said this would not go down well with the cabbies.

Meanwhile, some commuters are finding the wide array of cabs here - about three dozen types at last count, painted in different colours - a little dizzying.

Regular cab commuter Lee Li Hua, a 50-year-old private banker, said: 'It's definitely not as clear-cut as before, or as in places such as Hong Kong or New York, where the cabs come in one colour.'

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Recycling industrial waste into construction materials and animal feed

Putting waste to good use
Business Times 28 Apr 10;

Reclaims Enterprise has plans to recycle organic waste into animal feed and fertilisers, reports EILEEN TAY

RECYCLING company Reclaims Enterprise is playing its part to battle the shortage of dumping grounds in Singapore by recycling industrial waste into construction materials and animal feed.

Started in January 2009, the young company was born among four long-time friends with a common vision: to reduce wastage in Singapore. It was their many years of experience in the construction industry that made them realise that a large portion of construction waste could be recycled into materials that could be used for further construction.

This observation led Reclaims Enterprise to focus on recycling construction waste into usable road materials in the first stage of its venture into the recycling industry.

When asked how well his company is faring, Tan Kok Huat, managing director of Reclaims Enterprise, modestly says 'fairly well', estimating a turnover of about $2 million last financial year.Despite the positive outlook of the business, Mr Tan expresses fears that growth may be restricted in the near future because of regulatory barriers with regard to the use of recycled materials as construction materials.

For instance, although he says recycled stones produced by the company can provide roads with the level of sturdiness required by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), it has not been officially approved for such use. Thus, Reclaims Enterprise is supplying only to private firms, where owners have the say in the choice of materials used.

On the bright side, this two-year-old problem may soon be resolved as there are currently bigger companies pushing for LTA's certification.

Though recycling waste into construction materials has helped to anchor Reclaims Enterprise in the recycling industry, it is not what differentiates Reclaims Enterprise from other recycling companies. What enables the company to stand out is its plans to recycle organic waste into animal feed and fertilisers.

To convert waste into animal feed and fertilisers, Reclaims Enterprise gets factories' organic waste, such as biscuits, bread and milk waste, removes the moisture in it using high temperatures, and then grinds it into powder.

The technology used for this process is termed Environmental Recycling System (ERS) and is imported from Japan. In the first few months of usage, Reclaims Enterprise engaged experts from Japan to come to Singapore to train workers to operate the machines.

Using its newly-imported machines, Reclaims Enterprise is able to reduce moisture content in the resultant product to less than 10 per cent compared to the usual 20 per cent that other recycling companies in the industry can do. A lower moisture content means that the product can last longer.

Reclaims Enterprise has four of these machines situated in Tuas and each of them can process about 60 tonnes of waste. As moisture makes up about 88 per cent of the waste processed, after processing the waste through the machines, only a quarter of the 240 tonnes can be used as animal feed and fertilisers.

'Rather than having companies incinerate their waste, we can recycle it to something more useful,' says Mr Tan in Mandarin, commenting on Singapore's recyclable waste of about 2,000 tonnes daily.

He goes on to enthuse that we can use our country's resources instead of relying on foreign countries. Currently, local farms import their feed and fertilisers from overseas.

The idea of recycling waste to produce animal feed and fertilisers was proposed last year when the management team saw the potential in this business.

'As the population increases, consumption increases and thus, the amount of waste available for recycling also increases,' explains Mr Tan.

Reclaims Enterprise is currently testing the feasibility of the entire process with a sample machine, and so far results have been positive. Mr Tan believes that in six more months, the company can start supplying animal feed to local farms. Claiming that finding buyers is not difficult, Mr Tan says that Reclaims Enterprise has already engaged two potential clients.

Nevertheless, Reclaims Enterprise is still a small-scale company. The company does not have an office of its own yet, and is currently using the quarters of Mr Tan's current construction company as office space. Also, apart from the four founders of the company, the company only employs 10 staff, all whom are stationed at Tuas.

Mr Tan and his management team do not have the privilege of giving orders from the comfort of an office. Instead, they make the long trip to Tuas every day to give personal training and supervision to their workers.

When asked how his management team manages the workers, Mr Tan simply says that productivity is observable from the amount that is produced at the end of the day.

Mr Tan says that the potential prize money that the company may garner from being a winner of the Emerging Enterprise 2010 will be used to upscale the company.

In the next three to five years, if there are substantial returns from this business, Reclaims Enterprise aims to increase its number of machines by two, so as to handle more waste. Mr Tan states that currently, the amount that the company can produce is possibly only enough to supply to one client if the client is a big company.

To ensure enough manpower to operate more machines, the company also aims to double its number of staff to 20.

The company is also considering expanding into neighbouring countries. Mr Tan observes that countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia have many farms and are potential markets for recycled animal feed and fertilisers.

Despite being shortlisted for the Emerging Enterprise 2010, Mr Tan is not one to trumpet his successes. 'I don't like to glorify our company's achievements, especially when we have yet to succeed. I will be happy as long as we manage to get our new idea of recycling waste into animal feed rolling.'

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Promoting clean technology options in shipping

The Business Times 28 Apr 10;

VINCENT WEE looks at how DNV is helping shipping firms adopt more environmentally friendly measures, thus enabling them to cut costs too

THE issue of carbon emissions is one that reaches all aspects of life now and the shipping sector is no exception. And once again the age-old debate about the more obvious aspects of pollution from shipping versus the overall energy efficiency of the industry comes to the fore.

But the fact remains that despite 90 per cent of the world's goods movement being carried by ships, international shipping only accounted for 2.7 per cent of carbon dioxide, 10 per cent to 15 per cent of NOx and 4 per cent to 9 per cent of SOx emissions. Basically, the world economy would grind to a halt without shipping and, despite its scale, is considered to be the most environmentally friendly form of transportation.

The green movement has also become an increasingly important element in shipping as it has with the rest of the world. This factor is exacerbated by the rising price of oil and the economic imperative on the industry to reduce costs.

This can lead to the happy coincidence of more environmentally friendly measures also helping shipowners and operators to save money. Among the leading players helping companies to find the balance between the various demands on them is DNV, which recently set up a dedicated Clean Technology Centre (CTC) in Singapore focused on finding solutions to just these sort of problems.

DNV rightly sees Asia as the world's fastest developing region, expected to account for one-third of world trade by 2020, and as such it is appropriate that they have decided to set up the first of its kind centre in Singapore.

In the same timeframe, Asia will also have 90 per cent of its people living in countries with middle-class status and most of them will be living in megacities and urban areas. So Asian countries are becoming increasingly active in the race to capture a share of the emerging clean technology industry.

Ideal test bed

The company has also been attracted by Singapore's clustering concept which it is also extending to the clean technology area, said DNV chairman and CEO Henrik Madsen. In addition, the highly urban nature of Singapore provides an ideal test bed for urban technology solutions.

Among the specific areas CTC is specifically concentrating on initially in Singapore are sustainable mobility and smart grids. Among the broad areas the CTC will be aiming to work on are renewable energy, cleaner conventional energy, urban solutions and green transport.

In terms of the first two areas, DNV supplies guidelines on design and operation of wave energy converters, provides verification and certification of sustainable biofuels and is working on increasing the operating efficiency of existing power plants by 10 per cent.

DNV works with the world's leading carbon capture and storage (CCS) players on projects in the entire CCS value chain and has released the world's first guidelines for qualification of carbon capture technologies. It is also the second largest professional services firm in the wind power space and certifies 75 per cent of the world's offshore wind projects.

In terms of sustainable cities, DNV provides expertise in providing risk management frameworks for new technology based solutions, technology assessments for investors, helps build understanding and capacity to effectively seize opportunities related to cities and emissions trading, creates renewable energy solutions that are adapted to the urban environment and infrastructure and does materials testing for climate neutrality.

DNV is the top greenhouse gas validator with a 35 per cent market share of all clean development mechanism (CDM) projects globally and also offers a wide portfolio of related services from carbon footprinting to training and risk management of carbon projects.

In the green shipping sphere, DNV is at the forefront of green shipping and offshore design and construction which still enables the industry to meet future regulatory and commercial requirements. It also works with shipowners, operators, yards and financial institutions providing various services from technical qualification of green shipping solutions to due diligence and risk management services for green ship projects.

DNV believes that while shipping has already embarked on a journey to significantly reduce emissions of the most common major pollutants of NOx, SOx and particulate matter (PM), the potential for reducing carbon dioxide emissions is still significant. It firmly believes that shipping can achieve carbon neutral growth towards 2030 with no additional costs for the industry.

The ways in which this can be done are through more efficient operations by means such as weather routing systems and speed optimisation, the introduction of more efficient technology through the use of means such as better-designed engines, propellers, hull forms and coatings, a change of fuel usage from the heavy fuel oils being used now to natural gas and later biofuel and fuel cells, improving infrastructure to enable faster turnaround times and increased port capacity and improved cooperation between players, including charterers and owners on contractual issues.

New eco-efficient ship designs which incorporate innovations in all areas such as engine and propulsion, machinery and hull shape can also help to reduce emissions. For example, DNV cited a Maersk Line design for a fleet of 16 new 7,450-TEU ships from Korea's Daewoo yard that is notably different from standard designs.

Various measures such as slow running of the main engine would cut fuel consumption by 3 per cent, a bigger propeller would reduce it by 5 per cent, a custom-made hull designed for a specific route would take 8 per cent off and waste heat recovery would shave off another 9 per cent adding up to total fuel reduction of around 22 per cent and more.

In another example from Maersk Line, slow steaming their vessels and cutting engine loads down to 10 per cent has resulted in savings of up to 20 per cent. While these measures help reduce emissions from the ships, they also help to bring down the fuel bill for the owners thus providing a positive outcome for all.

CTC managing director Bjorn Tore Markussen noted that while governments are beginning to talk more about climate change and a move to more sustainable energy it will still take some time to take effect. The world is in a transition phase now, he explained, and during this time natural gas will play a very important role in the transportation sector especially.

He pointed out that another area with huge potential to cut emissions is to shift to using natural gas as a fuel for short sea and inland waterway shipping in particular. This can produce significant emission reductions compared to using fuel oil. DNV estimates that SOx and PM can be completely cut out while NOx can be reduced by 90 per cent and carbon dioxide by 20 per cent if natural gas is used.

Potential for Asia

Much of the short sea fleet of RoRo vessels, ferries and even offshore supply vessels in Europe is already being transformed to using this green fuel. This holds much potential for Asia where the infrastructure is still underdeveloped and the concept of short sea shipping is not fully understood.

Innovative green port solutions is another area that DNV is focusing on. It has worked with various government bodies and port operators to develop and execute solutions to ports and terminals to help them reduce greenhouse gases, deal with climate change and manage risk. These include investing in research and development on traffic management and port systems and working with international organisations such as the World Ports Climate Initiative.

The key driver for growth for the CTC is to tap into the cleantech ecosystem, said Mr Markussen. This is still very new in Asia and needs an established name such as DNV to provide confidence to asset owners.

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Greenpeace clashes with Golden Agri

Group accuses palm oil giant of lying about green standards; firm investigating claims
Victoria Vaughan, Straits Times 28 Apr 10;

A RARE confrontation occurred in corporate Singapore yesterday when environmental group Greenpeace levelled allegations of deception at a major listed firm just three hours before its annual general meeting (AGM).

Greenpeace's intervention - it accused palm oil giant Golden Agri-Resources of lying to shareholders about its environmental standards - was the strongest direct action it has ever staged here.

It was clearly aimed at highlighting the issues ahead of Golden Agri's AGM and forced an equally dramatic response from the company.

Golden Agri rushed out a statement just 30 minutes before the meeting, saying it had suspended from duty a manager responsible for the plantation at the centre of the accusations.

The firm added that it has commissioned an independent study to investigate the claims, and stressed that it tries to meet conservation protocols.

It also pointed out the importance of the palm oil industry to Indonesia.

Talks between Greenpeace and Golden Agri ground to a halt early last year as the palm oil company continued to carry out what the conservation group regarded as unsustainable deforestation.

Greenpeace added fresh evidence to the simmering row with detailed allegations at a low-key press conference in Novotel Clarke Quay hotel yesterday attended by just four journalists.

It presented evidence that it claims shows a Golden Agri subsidiary continuing to flout Indonesian law and that nation's commitment to a pact promoting sustainable palm oil production.

Mr Bustar Maitar, a forest team leader for Greenpeace South-east Asia, said: 'We are asking all buyers to stop business if they don't want to be involved in the deforestation in Indonesia.'

The Greenpeace team of three from Jakarta did not attend the Golden Agri AGM at Holiday Inn Atrium hotel. The media was also barred from attending.

Greenpeace got new information on Golden Agri, one of the world's largest palm oil companies, after the firm issued its 2009 annual report and a letter to shareholders that renewed its commitment to sustainability.

Mr Maitar said the Greenpeace team went to a plantation operated by Golden Agri subsidiary PT BAT last weekend and found it clearing rainforest bordering an orang utan habitat in central Kalimantan.

Orang utans are listed as endangered and protected by Indonesian law.

Deforestation of peatland that is more than 3m deep is also illegal in Indonesia. Greenpeace said it found proof that this was being done by another unit, PT ALM, in Ketapang in February.

Ms Suzanne Kroeger, a forest campaigner at Greenpeace, said the group had also found that mandatory high conservation value (HCV) assessments had not been carried out at the PT BAT concessions on 14,300ha in central Kalimantan.

Mr Richard Fung, director of investor relations at Golden Agri, said yesterday: 'We don't cut down rainforest but secondary forest and degraded areas.

'We carry out HCV assessments of areas high in biodiversity and don't develop these areas and we avoid peatland. But we cannot claim to be perfect as our plantations cover an area six times the size of Singapore, so it's a huge challenge.'

Mr Fung said institutional investors had expressed concerns about the financial impact of big players like consumer goods giant Unilever pulling out of contracts with Golden Agri on the back of the Greenpeace reports.

'Financially we believe there is no impact as our client base is very wide. Our top 10 customers represent only 32 per cent of the business. There will always be a ready market,' he added.

Mr Fung pointed out that the company built 125 schools as well as roads and religious buildings in Indonesia as part of its socialisation programmes, which start two years before it begins work on a plantation.

He added that if its study does find Greenpeace's claims to be accurate, it can replant areas of forest.

Greenpeace wants the protection of all peatlands and a moratorium on deforestation so a proper assessment of the remaining forest can be carried out.

The palm oil industry provides direct employment for about 4.5 million people in Indonesia, and last year generated US$10.4 billion (S$14.2 billion) worth of exports or 11 per cent of Indonesia's non oil and gas exports.

Indonesian palm oil giant broke commitments: Greenpeace
Yahoo News 27 Apr 10;

SINGAPORE (AFP) – Greenpeace on Tuesday disclosed what it said was new evidence showing Indonesia's biggest palm oil producer Sinar Mas broke a pledge not to destroy forest rich in carbon and wildlife.

Activists from the environmental group said they had discovered recently that a Sinar Mas subsidiary, PT BAT, was still clearing rainforest near a habitat of orangutans, an endangered species, in Central Kalimantan.

Two weeks ago, Greenpeace unveiled what it said was evidence that another Sinar Mas subsidiary, PT ALM, was "destroying deep peatland and high conservation value forest" in West Kalimantan.

"These cases show that Sinar Mas' commitments are meaningless and nothing but greenwash," said Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaigner Bustar Maitar.

Sinar Mas had said in a policy statement in February and in its 2009 annual report that it was committed to sustainable environmental principles promoted by the industry body, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

But Greenpeace said the evidence proved otherwise and vowed to continue with a campaign urging customers to cut ties with the Indonesian firm until "it cleans up its act".

US food company Cargill in March became the latest multinational to demand answers from Sinar Mas about claims it is devastating forests.

Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever and Switzerland's Nestle have dropped the company as a supplier in response to protests by Greenpeace.

Sinar Mas said in a statement Tuesday it had suspended a plantation manager responsible in the case cited by Greenpeace in West Kalimantan.

It has also requested an independent investigation to verify Greenpeace's allegations and reaffirmed its commitment to the RSPO principles.

"This commitment applies to all plantations owned and managed by (Sinar Mas) and its parent company, Golden Agri-Resources Ltd," it said.

"In the meantime, the company views any breach of its sustainability practices seriously and has suspended the plantation manager responsible for the area highlighted in the Greenpeace report."

Sinar Mas said the palm oil industry is crucial to alleviating poverty in Indonesia as it provides direct employment for about 4.5 million people and generated 10.4 billion US dollars worth of exports last year.

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Indonesian fishermen strike a balance with coral reefs

The Jakarta Post 28 Apr 10;

Nothing in nature goes unreciprocated.

Just ask the coral farmers of Panggang islet, Thousand Islands Regency, who earn a living from harvesting the coral reefs that stretch across the island’s 700 hectares of waterfront and in turn nurture the revival of that delicate ecosystem that once was on the verge of destruction due to illegal fishing activities.

“In 2004, the government banned the harvesting of naturally occurring coral and reinforced bans on the use of explosives and cyanide in fishing,” said Ilham, 29, a resident coral farmer of the islet.

“Since then, I have noticed that the corals have gotten healthier and have multiplied.”

Ilham started farming naturally occurring coral in 2001, but in 2004, following the ban, he switched to farming transplanted coral, a move he found difficult at first, but was empowered by training from the local administration, the national marine park and The Indonesian Coral Reef Foundation.

He said farming coral was similar to farming the earth.

First, he grafts branches from naturally occurring coral. These grafts, which are then transplanted on to a specially made rack of PVC pipes, will act as the primer seeds for the growth of the new coral.

Once the primary grafts, known as mother colonies, have begun to grow on the scaffolding, Ilham cuts them into smaller fragments and then transplants them onto new scaffoldings, which will then be sold off.

“I have 120 racks, 50 of which are for coral fragments. Every rack holds 64 fragments, which I sell for a minimum of Rp 5000 (55 US cents) each after they have reached desirables sizes within four to eight months,” he said, adding that the other 70 racks were mother colonies, which were not for sale.

He said coral farmers such as himself entered exclusive agreements with exporters, known as foster fathers, who would buy a full rack for Rp 250,000.

“The foster fathers supply the corals to countries in Europe as well as Singapore and the Philippines,” Ilham said.

“I can earn a minimum of Rp 500,000 for harvesting 100 corals per week, totalling around Rp 2 million per month,” he said.

Head of the resource development division of Terangi, Idris, said Ilham was one of 13 coral farmers who worked with 22 active foster fathers under the strict supervision of local officials who monitored the corals’ health as well as sales procedures.

“Farmers rarely buy their own racks because they have not learned how to manage their money properly to turn their profits into investment,” he said.

The head of the Thousand Islands’ third coral growing region, Sugeng Purnomo, said that rules governing coral harvesting stipulated that a three-party memorandum of understanding be signed by the foster fathers, farmers and the national park to determine sales prices and harvest quantity.

Farmers must also officially report how much they spend on planting and harvesting.

Muhammad Syahrir, from Terangi’s coral reef resource management division, said the coral reefs were vital because they protected the islands from sea erosion.

“Coral reefs are also home to many kinds of fish. Without them, fish stocks will become depleted, which would result in unemployment for many fishermen on the islands,” he said.

“Besides, corals are natural barriers that protect these fragile islands from erosion caused by waves.” (gzl)

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Are Current Fishing Regulations Misguided?

Selectively harvesting fish by species, size, gender or other traits can knock an ecosystem out of balance, according to a new analysis
John Matson, Scientific American 27 Apr 10;

The oceans are in trouble—overfishing has led to depletion of fish stocks around the world and has driven many species to critically endangered status. But what to do about it?

Officials have responded to the collapse of fishery stocks with a slew of regulations, many of them forcing fishing operators to be more selective in their harvest, whether by targeting certain species and regional populations, by mandating size or gender restrictions on catches, or by defining open and closed seasons for fishing. For instance, U.S. commercial fishing regulations set minimum-size limits on red snapper and many species of Atlantic tuna.

But a perspective paper set to be published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences argues that such "selective fishing" practices can have unintended consequences. By targeting specific segments of the sea for removal, the authors contend, regulations intended to preserve fish populations can instead nudge a delicate ecosystem out of balance.

Lead study author Shijie Zhou of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and his colleagues advocate an alternative approach to fisheries management that they call, perhaps somewhat unappealingly, "balanced exploitation." Using their concept, all fish—regardless of species, size or gender—would be fished in proportion to their abundance and replenishment rate, thereby better preserving the makeup of the ecosystem. Less selective fishing practices would remove a representative slice of the ecosystem while keeping populations above a certain threshold.

"Simply speaking, a balanced exploitation aims to maintain, to the extent possible, natural ecosystem structure to support sustainable fisheries and conserve biodiversity," Zhou says. He adds that the concept seeks to balance relationships both among different species and among subpopulations of a given species such as age groups, gender groups or regional schools. Recent research indicates that selectively targeting subsets of a species can drive unwanted population shifts—say, drastically reducing the number of males relative to females—or even genetic and behavioral changes. Setting a minimum catch size, for instance, applies selection pressure that may unnaturally favor smaller individuals, thereby driving down the size of the species over generations. Similarly, the establishment of legal fishing seasons can affect the timing of salmon runs by selectively killing late or early migrants.

A potentially thorny outcome of fishing a broader range of species is that, in addition to catching high-value species such as salmon, fishing operators would also pull up numerous low-value fish, known as bycatch, that would otherwise be avoided or caught inadvertently and tossed back. Not so under balanced exploitation, wherein species would be harvested according to the carrying capacity of their population rather than their value to consumers. "This concept still supports avoiding bycatch of vulnerable or protected species," Zhou says. But avoiding all bycatch is unnecessary, he adds, and may even be counterproductive from a biodiversity standpoint.

The key would be to develop uses for bycatch species so the harvest would not go to waste. Marie-Joëlle Rochet, a fisheries scientist at the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea who did not contribute to the new research, says that incentives might be more effective than regulations in encouraging less selective fishing. "Probably an important part of the approach would be to develop markets for small things and species you would not judge edible nowadays," she says. Zhou adds that fish need not be suitable for sushi or fish sticks to be of value: other uses include fish oil as well as feed for livestock or even for fish farms cultivating more desirable species.

Rochet has run theoretical models on the effects of fishing practices and has indeed found that selective fishing can negatively impact biodiversity and create ripples in the food web as the balance between predator and prey is upset. "However, this is only theory and needs to be substantiated with empirical analyses," she says.

Jim Scott, assistant director of the fish program for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in Olympia, says that the paper by Zhou and his colleagues raises some good points. "It's important for every person with fisheries management responsibility to understand" the potential concerns about selective fishing, Scott says. "It isn't a panacea," he adds. "You have to be really thoughtful about how you approach it." For instance, he says, gender restrictions on Dungeness crab have led to very high harvest rates among males of the species and may need to be rethought.

At the same time, Scott adds, some ecosystems are already so far out of balance that selectivity is necessary just to stave off total collapse of certain species. "In Washington, we have many species that are either listed under the Endangered Species Act or designated as overfished," he says. "So the idea of moving away from less selective fishing strategies in an environment like Washington—it's not readily apparent to me how we would do that."

Even in more stable fishery environments, Zhou acknowledges that it is "very difficult if not impossible" to design and implement a perfectly balanced exploitation strategy. "We suggest balanced exploitation as an ideal," he says, "and a new approach to consider while scientists and managers critically review the current fishing philosophy that points in the opposite direction."

Fishing needs ecosystem focus
CSIRO, Science Alert 30 Apr 10;

A new, less selective approach to commercial fishing is needed to ensure the ongoing productivity of marine ecosystems and to maintain biodiversity, according to a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

The paper, ‘Ecosystem-based fisheries management requires a change to the selective fishing philosophy’, was written by a team of authors led by Shijie Zhou of the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship.

Dr Zhou says ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) is broadly practiced as a means of reducing the impact of fishing on marine ecosystems while ensuring sustainable fisheries.

He says fishing methods under EBFM vary greatly in how selectively they catch fish. The common view is that highly selective methods that catch only one or a few species above a certain size limit are more environmentally responsible.

But recent advances in fishery science and ecology suggest a selective approach may exacerbate rather than reduce the impact of fishing on both fisheries and marine ecosystems.

“The trade-off is lower exploitation levels on currently highly targeted species against better use of more parts of the ecosystem,”Dr Zhou says.

“Selective fishing alters biodiversity, which in turn changes ecosystem functioning and may affect fisheries production, hindering rather than helping to achieve the goals of EBFM,” Dr Zhou says. “These effects have been overshadowed to some extent by a focus on overharvesting”.

“We believe it is time to critically rethink traditional selective fishing approaches that might not protect ecosystems and fisheries as intended, but may in fact make them more vulnerable to large changes in structure and function.”

Dr Zhou and his co-authors propose a “balanced exploitation” approach combining reduced fishing effort, less selective fishing strategies, and better use of the catch to help achieve sustainable overall yields while maintaining healthy ecosystems.

“The trade-off is lower exploitation levels on currently highly targeted species against better use of more parts of the ecosystem,” Dr Zhou says.

“Fisheries production could actually increase through better use of non-target species, while reducing unsustainably high catches of target species, thereby helping to meet the challenge of increasing global food demand.”

Dr Zhou says the implications of such a change in approach would need to be considered by a wide range of stakeholders including fishermen, fishery managers and conservation agencies.

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Transforming the Klang River - 'one of the dirtiest in Malaysia'

Elan Perumal, The Star 28 Apr 10;

THE Klang River, Selangor’s iconic river, which is also one of the dirtiest and most polluted in the country, is set to get a thorough overhaul.

Stretching some 120km from its source to the sea, the famed Klang River will be rehabilitated through a proposed cleaning and beautification programme initiated by the Selangor government.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said the rehabilitation project would be implemented over five years.

At the recent Selangor state assembly sitting, Khalid announced that a task force had identified four companies that would be taking part in the project.

Khalid also said the programme aimed turn the polluted river into a source of clean drinking water.

He said a Korean company was among the four chosen for the project.

He added that the company had succesfully cleaned up a polluted river in Seoul and turned it into a source of potable water.

“We are determined even though we know it will not happen overnight. It will take some time for the people of Selangor to enjoy the fruits of this project.

“We have decided to involve private companies in the hope of reducing the burden on the state,” he said.

Currently, the river is muddy and murky with hardly any activities taking place along its banks except for some fishing.

Floating pontoons placed along the river at Padang Jawa to trap garbage have also been removed.

Klang Municipal Council public relations director Norfiza Mahfiz said the traps had been removed after the 10-year Klang River cleaning project ended several years ago.

She said the debris collection system was installed by the Federal Government under the river cleaning and beautification programme.

Under the earlier programme, a RM10mil riverside park was built along the river in South Klang but it has not been maintained well and nearby residents seem unaware of its existence.

The park, which houses the Pengkalan Batu jetty, is equipped with gazebos, benches and a children’s playground.

When contacted, Klang Consumers Association president A. Devadass said the proposed project would focus on rehabilitating the river rather than beautifying it.

“We want to see a new Klang River by the time the project is completed and the quality of the water must be good.

“Development along the riverbank must also be done without causing pollution to the river,” he added.

Klang River could do with a clean-up
Elan Perumal, The Star 28 Apr 10;

WHEN I first heard about the Selangor government’s latest plan to rehabilitate the Klang River, I could not help but recall my experience of cruising down the river about five years ago.

I was part of a group of journalist who joined local politicians and government officers for a boat ride to inspect the river.

It may have been a short trip from South Klang to Padang Jawa, covering a distance of less than 5km, but it was the most unpleasant river “cruise” I had ever been on.

What struck me the most was not the quality of the water but the amount of garbage that could be seen floating in the river.

I would not be exaggerating when I say that it appeared as if we were floating on rubbish instead of water. The stench was also unbearable.

It has been five years since that cruise but I can safely say that the condition of the river has not improved by much since then.

Statistics provided by the authorities on the condition of the river are also disheartening and the condition of the Klang River is so bad that many do not realise its geographical and historical significance.

Being a Klang resident who frequently drives across the river, I strongly feel that it is an important feature for the town.

One cannot separate the river from the town, especially since it is believed that the town was named after the river.

The Klang River also has significant historical value as it was used to transport tin from as far away as Kuala Lumpur.

Soon, going by the announcement made by Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, the river is set to become a mode of transportation again.

The mentri besar also said ferry services could be provided and this would benefit the public and the tourism industry alike.

“Tourists can visit Klang via the Klang River which will be clean and offer a beautiful view of its banks,” he said.

I hope the Selangor government is serious in its efforts to offer river cruises as an alternative mode of transportation as it would also help ease the increasing traffic congestion in the Klang Valley.

After hearing so much over the last 15 years on how the authorities are planning to transform the dirty Klang River into one like the Thames, I can only hope that this five-year Klang River rehabilitation programme will materialise.

When it happens, count on me to be among the first to line up for a “real” cruise along the Klang River.

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Experts call for hike in global water price

World Bank and OECD say water is a finite resource that must be valued at a higher price in order to repair old supply systems and build new ones
Juliette Jowit, guardian.co.uk 27 Apr 10;

Major economies are pushing for substantial increases in the price of water around the world as concern mounts about dwindling supplies and rising population.

With official UN figures showing that 1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water and more than double that number do not have proper sanitation, increases in prices will be – and in some countries are already proving to be – hugely controversial.

However experts argue that as long as most countries provide huge subsidies for water it will not be possible to change the wasteful habits of consumers, farmers and industry, nor to raise the investment needed to repair old supply systems and build new ones. And price rises can be managed so that they do not penalise the poorest.

Last Friday, the World Bank held a high-level private meeting about water in New York, at which higher prices were discussed. Days before that the OECD, which represents the world's major economies, issued three water reports calling for prices to rise. "Putting a price on water will make us aware of the scarcity and make us take better care of it," said Angel Gurría, the OECD secretary-general. It has also been a key theme at this week's meeting of industry leaders in Paris, hosted by Global Water Intelligence.

The discussion at the World Bank was raised by Lars Thunell, chief executive officer of the International Finance Corporation. "Everyone said water must be somehow valued: whether you call it cost, or price, or cost recover," said Usha Rao-Monari, senior manager of the IFC's infrastructure department. "It's not an infinite resource, and anything that's not an infinite resource must be valued."

Concern about dwindling water supplies has been rising with growing populations and economies. And with climate change altering rainfall patterns, experts warn that unless changes are made, up to half the world's population could live in areas without sustainable clean water to meet their daily needs.

Global Water Intelligence's 2010 market report estimated the industry needs to spend $571bn (£373bn) a year to maintain and improve its networks and treatment plants to meet rising demand - more than three times this year's projected spending.

At the same time, a major report last year by consultants McKinsey, paid for by a group of water-dependent global brands including SABMiller and Nestlé, said that most of the estimated "gap" in water in 2030 could be met from efficiency savings such as better irrigation and new showerheads.

However, highly subsidised prices are hampering both investment and efficiency, because private and public companies cannot collect enough water, nor persuade farmers, homeowners and businesses to make - and sometimes pay for - changes to reduce their water use, say the experts.

"We were in a vicious cycle," says Virgilio Rivera, a director of Manila Water, which took over water and sewage services in the city when the Philippines government passed a National Water Crisis Act in 1997. "Lack of investment; poor service; government can't increase the water rates because customers are dissatisfied; they are not paying, so low cash flows; so the government can't improve the service."

Huge opposition to price rises is expected however, especially as so many prices are set by elected politicians.

Even in Washington DC there has been an outcry over calls for prices to double over the next five years to help the city raise money to spend on its 76-year-old network of leaking lead pipes.

Obstacles include a long term "legitimacy" from providing free or very cheap water; and vested interests, says Rao-Monari, who cites the example of water vendors in India making big profits from desperate households.

The biggest concern though is the impact on the poorest households. There is evidence that they suffer most from the bad services of poorly funded water companies, because often they are not connected at all or have such bad services they are forced to rely on even more expensive water vendors.

In Manila, Manila Water increased bills from 4.5 to 30 pesos per cubic metre. At first there was resistance but by 2003 the company doubled connections from 3m to 6m, including 1.6m of the poorest squatters, leakage had been cut drastically, and pressure and quality had improved, said Rivera, one of the company's directors visiting Paris. Bills for the poorest households are now less than one-tenth of when they relied on vendors, and payment in the slum areas is 100%, said Rivera.

Some say step pricing can be used to protect a basic water allowance for drinking, cooking and washing – either for very low prices or for free, as it is in South Africa.

"I fully agree the water we need of hydration and minimal hygiene are part of the Human Rights declaration, but this is 25 litres of water [a day], which is the smallest part," said Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman of food giant Nestlé and one of the most prominent global business leaders campaigning on water. More than 95% of water is used to grow food, for other household needs and for industry, he added.

Food prices should not have to rise as higher water bills could be offset by efficiency improvements, from irrigation, to new seeds, or even a changing pattern of what is eaten to favour less water-intensive ingredients, said Brabeck-Letmathe.

Others favour separating water supply from government's duty to take care of the most vulnerable. "Ideally utilities should not make any distinction between rich and poor," said Prof Asit Biswas, president of the Third World Centre for Water Management. "The moment you subsidise [someone's bill] people don't use water prudently."

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South Korea completes world's longest seawall

Park Chan-kyong Yahoo News 27 Apr 10;

SEOUL (AFP) – South Korea formally marked completion of the world's longest seawall on Tuesday, the first step in a massive project aimed at reclaiming the ocean for industry, tourism and agriculture by 2020.

The 33.9 kilometre (21 mile) Saemangeum seawall encloses 401 square kilometres (160 square miles) of seawater or tidal mudflats, about two thirds the size of Seoul.

"Saemangeum is the largest-ever engineering project in this country and will change the country's landscape," said President Lee Myung-Bak at the televised inauguration.

The government has so far spent 2.9 trillion won (2.6 billion dollars) on the project, which began almost two decades ago but was repeatedly suspended amid a lawsuit by environmentalists.

Another 21 trillion won in state and private spending is envisaged over the next decade to reclaim land, build infrastructure and create giant freshwater reservoirs.

Lee called the structure, which incorporates a road, "the Great Wall on the sea", saying it would become an economic highway for South Korea to reach the world beyond Northeast Asia.

Agriculture minister Chang Tae-Pyong said the project would convert mudflats and shallow tidal waters into a centre for low-carbon, green growth industries, leisure, the environment and agriculture.

The ministry said it replaces the Zuiderzee dyke in the Netherlands, completed in 1933, as the world's longest seawall.

The inauguration of the first phase featured the opening of the road along the top.

The reclamation project was first mooted in the early 1970s and work on the west coast dyke, 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Seoul, began in 1991.

Originally the government planned to use 70 percent of the reclaimed land for farming but the South Korea's rice production now outstrips demand.

The plan now is to build a new city focused on logistics, industry, tourism and leisure as well as floriculture.

The reclaimed area and the port city of Gunsan will jointly house an international business complex, to be called the Saemangeum-Gunsan Free Economic Zone, by 2020.

The project has been dogged by fears of environmental disaster, and was marked by protests and clashes with riot police.

Environmentalists say it will destroy huge mudflats which provide habitats for wildlife and serve as natural water purification plants.

Opposition eased somewhat as authorities promised to invest more to address environmental concerns, including tighter control of pollution upstream on the two rivers that flow into the area.

"However, the overall development project must be reviewed in order to preserve the mudflats as much as possible," Jee Woon-Geun, a director of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, told AFP.

"Mudflats enable sustainable development. They are also a great tourist attraction."

Lee, quoted by Yonhap news agency, defended the project against claims it would severely damage the ecosystem.

"It is another effort by us for low-carbon and green growth, along with the four rivers project," he said, referring to his controversial drive to restore the country's four major rivers.

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Climate Change Not Slowing: German Weather Service

Christopher Lawton, PlanetArk 28 Apr 10;

Climate change is showing no signs of slowing despite a severe winter in Germany that helped reduce public concerns about the threat of global warming, Germany's leading meteorologist said on Tuesday.

Wolfgang Kusch, president of the German Meteorological Service (DWD), said it was a mistake to interpret the harsh winter of 2009/10 as a sign climate change is abating. A German opinion poll recently found fears of climate change falling sharply.

"Despite fluctuations, temperatures are still moving in one direction -- higher," he said. "Climate researchers have to look at least 30-year periods when talking about trends...At the same time the last decade was the warmest in Germany in 130 years."

Skepticism about climate change has been growing in Germany, one of the world's four largest industrial countries, after an unusually long and cold winter in northern Europe.

An opinion poll by the Infratest institute in Der Spiegel magazine found 42 percent of Germans are concerned about climate change, down from 62 percent in 2006. A third do not think the climate change research is reliable and a quarter believe Germany will actually profit from climate change.

Scientists say global warming could upset weather patterns, bringing flooding to low-lying areas throughout the world and disrupting agriculture in many regions, not least in the poorer, developing world.

DWD officials said on Tuesday rising temperatures in Germany could indeed turn out to be a boon for local farmers. They said the average annual temperature in Germany has risen by 1.1 degrees Celsius over the past 130 years.

By the end of the century, the DWD expects temperatures in Germany to increase by two to four degrees Celsius. The findings have particular ramifications for farmers, said Paul Becker, a DWD board member in charge of the climate and environment unit.

"The northern European agriculture sector will be one of the profiteers of climate change," Becker said. "The temperature rise will expand their growing possibilities considerably."

Becker said rising temperature will lead German farmers to plant various types of corn that mature at warmer temperatures. As winters grow milder, farmers could also plant various types of cereals. That will lead to a higher income for farmers.

"The decisive factor will be whether there will be enough water available," Becker said.

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