Middle reef
from The annotated budak
Random Gallery - The Malay Tailed Judy
from Butterflies of Singapore
An extremely tame House Crow
from Bird Ecology Study Group
The 7 Habits of Green Conscious Singaporeans
from AsiaIsGreen
BBC News 11 Apr 12;
An earthquake with an magnitude of 8.7 has struck under the sea off Indonesia's northern Aceh province.
The quake triggered a tsunami watch alert across the Indian Ocean region.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said it was not yet known whether a tsunami had been generated, but advised authorities to "take appropriate action".
The region is regularly hit by earthquakes. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 killed 170,000 people in Aceh.
The US Geological Survey (USGS), which documents quakes worldwide, said the Aceh quake was centred 33km (20 miles) under the sea about 495km from Banda Aceh, the provincial capital.
It was initially reported as 8.9 magnitude but was later revised down to 8.7 by the USGS. Strong aftershocks were also reported.
The PTWC alert said quakes of such a magnitude "have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean basin".
But Bruce Presgrave of the USGS later told the BBC that the nature of this quake made it less likely a tsunami would be generated, as the earth had moved horizontally, rather than vertically, therefore had not displaced large volumes of water.
"We can't rule out the possibility, but horizontal motion is less likely to produce a destructive tsunami," he said.
Sutopo, a spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, said the quake had been felt "very strongly".
"Electricity is down, there's traffic jams to access higher ground. Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere," he told Reuters.
'Minute of chaos'
The earthquake monitoring agency in Indonesia said the tsunami warning would remain in place for another few hours, but that there had been no reports so far of a low tide, which would indicate the water was receding before building into a tsunami.
The tremor was felt as far away as Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.
"There was a tremor felt by all of us working in the building," a man called Vincent in Calcutta, India, told the BBC.
"All just ran out of the building and people were asked not to use the elevator. There was a minute of chaos where all started ringing up to their family and asking about their well-being."
The Thai office of disaster management said people along the coasts of Phuket, Phang Na and Andaman province should heed warnings and evacuate.
Tsunami warning sirens, set up in many vulnerable areas after the 2004 disaster, were heard in Phuket, where correspondents said people were calmly following evacuation routes to safe zones.
Indonesia straddles the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of major seismic activity.
The BBC's Karishma Vaswani in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, says there were reports of the ground shaking for up to five minutes. Contact with people in the immediate area around the quake has not been possible so far, says our correspondent.
Huge quake strikes off Indonesia, tsunami warning issued
Reza Munawir Reuters Yahoo News 11 Apr 12;
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - An 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia on Wednesday, sending residents around the region scurrying from buildings and raising fears of a huge tsunami as in 2004, but authorities said there were no reports suggesting a major threat.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in Aceh, the Indonesian province closest to the earthquake.
The quake struck at 0838 GMT and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said soon afterwards a tsunami watch was in effect for the entire Indian Ocean. It later said the threat of a big tsunami had receded, although the warning remained in place.
"It doesn't look like a major tsunami. But we are still monitoring as tsunamis come in waves," Victor Sardina, a geophysicist on duty at the Hawaii-based institute, told Reuters.
Individual countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India, issued their own warnings.
People near the coast in six Thai provinces were ordered to move to higher ground and authorities shut down the international airport in the beach resort town of Phuket.
The quake struck 308 miles (500 km) southwest of the city of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island, at a depth of 20.5 miles (33 km), the U.S. Geological survey said.
Indonesia's disaster management agency said power was down in Aceh province and people were gathering on high ground as sirens warned of the danger.
"The electricity is down, there are traffic jams to access higher ground. Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere," said Sutopo, spokesman for the agency.
But Yudhoyono said there were no signs of a disaster.
"There is no tsunami threat although we are on alert," said he said at a joint news conference in Jakarta with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron, who said Britain was standing ready to help if needed.
"The situation in Aceh is under control, there's a little bit of panic but people can go to higher ground," Yudhoyono said.
He said he had ordered a disaster relief team to fly to Aceh, which was devastated by the 9.1 magnitude 2004 quake, which sent huge tsunami waves crashing into Sumatra, where 170,000 people were killed, and across the Indian Ocean.
In all, the 2004 tsunami killed about 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean countries, including Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.
"HORIZONTAL SHIFT"
Wednesday's quake was felt as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok, and in southern India, residents said.
Hundreds of office workers in the Indian city of Bangalore left their buildings while the Indian port of Chennai closed down because of the danger of a tsunami, the port said.
The quake was in roughly in the same area as the 2004 quake which was at a depth of 18 miles (30 km) along a fault line running under the Indian Ocean, off western Indonesia and up into the Bay of Bengal.
One expert told the BBC the Wednesday quake was a "strike-slip" fault, meaning a more horizontal shift of the ground under the sea as opposed to a sudden vertical shift, and less risk of a large displacement of water triggering a tsunami.
The quake was also felt in Sri Lanka, where office workers in the capital, Colombo, fled their offices, and in Phuket, both of which were hit hard by the 2004 tsunami.
Mahinda Amaraweera, Sri Lanka's minister for disaster management, called for calm while advising people near the coast to seek safety.
"I urge the people not to panic. We have time if there is a tsunami going to come. So please evacuate if you are in the coastal area and move to safer places," Amaraweera told a private television channel.
In Bangladesh, where two tremors were felt, authorities said there appeared to be no threat of a tsunami. Australia also said there was no threat of a tsunami there.
(Reporting by Jakarta, Bangalore and Bangkok bureaus; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Kai Fong SingaporeScene Yahoo News SG 10 Apr 12;
Is there really a pressure on land? (AFP photo)Is there really a pressure on land? (AFP photo)
From SOS Bukit Brown
COMMENT
Let's be clear... Singapore's total floor area, if we add up the floor space of every kind of building in Singapore, is approximately 250 million sqm.
If we divide this by the island's total land area of 700 million sqm, it means that all our buildings will only occupy 1/3 of the island if all of them are 1-storey high. If they are 2-storey high, the proportion of the land covered by all our buildings will be 1/6. And if they are 4-storey high, they will cover 1/12. Given that there has to be spaces between buildings for light and ventilation of, say, 3 times the building's footprint, the proportion would end up as approximately 1/4.
It can be seen that there is actually a lot of land available in Singapore, especially since we have built a lot and our buildings tend to be 12 to 15 storeys high. Any increase in building floor space can be easily accommodated, and the scope for large area conservation such as that of Bukit Brown is easily possible.
But as the demand for land increases as a result of population increase, would the same hold true?
This increased demand for land is an important one, and has to be addressed even as one makes the case for heritage and nature conservation. But ultimately, the question is: Is there really a pressure on land?
I will answer this question like this: Already, 5 million people are provided for in flats, schools, factories, offices, shopping malls, etc. And the environment is OK.
If you take the total floor area of Singapore (ie 250 million sqm, as mentioned at the start of this article), and divide it by the population of 5 million, you get a per-capita floor area of approximately 50sqm. Now, this is a very important measure of the average land requirement that an individual needs. Since URA is planning for a population increase of 1 million people as stated in its concept plan, how much more land is needed is the question. For if indeed there is no land available, then Bukit Brown has to be sacrificed, notwithstanding heritage and nature.
But all that is needed is to plan for the additional 1 million.
50sqm x1 million = 50 million sqm. This would be the floor area that the additional 1 million population needs. Dividing this again by 700 million sqm (total land area of Singapore) gives us 7%. This is the percentage of the land that will be taken up, if the floor area for this additional 1 million population is provided for in the form of 1-storey buildings. If we assume 4-storey buildings on average, the percentage will only be 1.75%. Not much.
This land can easily be found in the Marina East golf course land plus the old KTM railway workshops, relocated Keppel Harbour, Kampung Bugis land, etc. Housing can also be easily built above many of our MRT stations. Furthermore, the ongoing development of existing housing estates will whittle down the 1.75%. The 1.75% is therefore very conservative. So it is clear that the Bukit Brown land can be preserved through better land planning.
It is simply a matter of political will.
This article was written by a prominent local architect.
Last week, Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Chan Chun Sing said Singaporeans tend to volunteer less once they graduate from school. 'What we're seeing is a 'bathtub' effect... Their activism dips when they are occupied with their careers and families, and their participation comes back up only when their children are grown or when they retire,' he said. Are Singaporeans 'bathtub' volunteers? Feng Zengkun and Miranda Yeo report
Straits Times 11 Apr 12;
GREEN issues may be red-hot, but at Singapore's foremost green group, Nature Society, most members of its executive committee are past their youthful prime.
Its 55-year-old vice-president Leong Kwok Peng acknowledged that the society's volunteer corps has a 'middle-aged' profile. He and most of his colleagues on the committee are in their 40s and 50s.
After the student volunteers graduate, they have work and then families and children to take care of.
'It's hard to blame them for not doing as much social work as they'd like,' said Mr Leong.
Two national surveys between 2005 and 2010 suggest that this problem is not the Nature Society's alone.
They found that while as many as 70 per cent of teenagers help out in at least one social welfare group, the numbers fall steadily to about 40 per cent for those in their early 30s.
Most of the 13 organisations The Straits Times spoke to that are involved in the arts, sports, human rights, green issues and grassroots work also broadly agreed with Mr Chan's 'bathtub' assessment.
They added that it is especially difficult to find young working adults who are willing to consider taking up leadership posts within the groups.
'Volunteerism is a commitment which does not pay. It's understandable if young people prioritise working and saving money for their children,' said Mr Eugene Heng, 62, founder and chairman of the Waterways Watch Society, which monitors and promotes water bodies here.
The Singapore culture of spending long hours at the workplace also prevents more young people from volunteering, said administrative assistant Gary Yeo, 29. 'If I'm not working, I'd rather spend time with my friends, family or girlfriend. Or else, I would never know someone well enough to get married,' he said.
But activists said the nature of volunteer work also plays a role. About half of the 150 volunteers in women's rights group Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware), for example, are working adults between 20 and 40 years old who have been with the group for years.
Aware executive director Corinna Lim, 47, attributed this to the visceral impact of the group's work and its flexible volunteer hours. Most of the volunteers either conduct research for the group's projects, provide legal advice or counsel women seeking help.
Those in the research committees meet in person only once a month or even less frequently, and most of their work is conducted online. This makes it easier for volunteers juggling multiple roles to stay with the group, she said.
'When you counsel a crying woman and give her hope, it's quite visible,' she added.
Others such as the Singapore Sailing Federation and Waterways Watch Society said they face greater difficulty retaining their young members.
'Frankly speaking, sports clubs do not attract many young people because it is not a cause for the underprivileged that would motivate them to help out,' said a spokesman for the federation. Its executive committee is made up of people in their 40s and 50s.
Mr Heng said people may think his society's work would be handled more effectively by government agencies. His group retains only two out of every 10 student volunteers.
'Some people in Singapore still think that the environment is a job for the Government, not the people. Or they may think that they can serve the environment in their own lives and don't need to join a society to do so,' he said.
But most of the societies said their members usually return when their careers and family life are more stable. For example, Mr Heng said many of his group's volunteers and executive committee members are people in their 30s or older who join or return after becoming more established at work.
Nature Society's Mr Leong said young people may volunteer for certain issues, as seen in the recent Bukit Brown and Rail Corridor campaigns.
Other groups added that it may not be realistic to groom young professionals as leaders as they may be too inexperienced.
Said Mr Jeffrey Leow, 60, president of the Singapore Swimming Association: 'We look for expertise and experience in our organising committee.
'Those who have just started work are not our target group because they are focused on their careers.'
A spokesman for the People's Association Youth Movement said the problem of engaging and grooming young people to become leaders is a perennial one.
'Young people have short attention spans, diverse interests, changing aspirations and are driven by fast-changing trends,' she said.
But all the groups said more could be done to encourage volunteerism during the early working years.
Aware holds a monthly get-together to introduce new volunteers to the organisation, as well as for members to mingle.
It also organises discussions pegged to the news, such as its recent Budget roundtable, which help keep its volunteers engaged.
'The social bonds are very important in keeping people in the organisation,' said Ms Lim.
Ms Jean Chong, 37, co-founder of Sayoni, a platform for lesbian, bisexual and trans-sexual Asian women, added that a culture that appreciates volunteers is crucial.
'Don't treat them like cogs in a machine. Help them understand how their involvement contributes to making things better, and listen to what they say,' she said.
Ms Zheng Huifen, 29, a lawyer who does ad hoc work for Aware, said the Government could encourage working adults to volunteer by offering practical incentives such as tax breaks.
'Just look at the schools here. Parents always want to volunteer because it gives their children a better chance of getting into the school,' she said.
Mr Laurence Lien, 42, chief executive of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre and a Nominated MP, said companies could encourage volunteerism as well.
He added: 'If ministers and senior civil servants publicly show or talk about their volunteering experiences, I am sure they will lead many by their example.'
Others added that social groups could retain their young volunteers by offering them more ad hoc opportunities as they graduate and start working.
'As long as they help out in some meaningful way, they are more likely to return regularly when they have more time,' said Mr Heng.
But Ms Lim said she was not worried about the state of volunteerism in Singapore. When she was 23 years old, she considered emigrating for personal reasons but her volunteer work at Aware inspired her to stay in Singapore, she said.
'I think young people, as long as their material needs have been met, will always feel the need to do something more with their lives,' she added.
Additional reporting by Tessa Wong
STEADY DROP
While as many as 70 per cent of teenagers help out in at least one social welfare group, the numbers fall steadily to about 40 per cent for those in their early 30s, according to two national surveys between 2005 and 2010.
DIFFERENT PRIORITIES
'Volunteerism is a commitment which does not pay. It's understandable if young people prioritise working and saving money for their children.'
Mr Eugene Heng, 62, founder and chairman of the Waterways Watch Society, which monitors and promotes water bodies here
FORGING BONDS
'The social bonds are very important in keeping people in the organisation.'
Ms Corinna Lim, 47, executive director of Aware, which holds a monthly get-together to introduce new volunteers to the organisation and for members to mingle. It also engages volunteers by organising discussions pegged to the news
Letter from Tang Hung Kei Today Online 11 Apr 12;
I AM a frequent visitor to the Venus Drive nature area. I was horrified during the last visit to see that the tall grass and ferns have been cut all the way to the stream.
This stream (picture) has fresh water flowing from the forest, through a grassy meadow and then underneath the HSBC Tree-Top-Walk Carpark. For a long time, both banks of the stream were protected by tall grass and ferns.
This protection is vital for the micro-ecosystem because it prevents soil erosion and unavoidable littering by humans.
The latter is particularly detrimental to the environment because it fouls and blocks the otherwise pristine stream.
Furthermore, plastic bags, food and beverage containers store stagnant rainwater and become mosquito-breeding grounds.
If we leave the grass and ferns uncut they attract damselflies and dragonflies to the area and these are the nemesis of mosquitoes.
We spend so much money and efforts in restoring Bishan Park closer to its natural state and clearing drains of debris. But, here we are disrupting a stream and risking the generation of debris at a water source.
Aren't we doing ourselves a disservice by cutting the grass and ferns by the stream so aggressively?
Lisa Oon my paper AsiaOne 11 Apr 12;
The sight of several sailfish being hung out to defrost in front of the Great Atlantis Seafood Centre in Marina Country Club in Punggol on Sunday has irked some Singaporean anglers.
The anglers say the fish should be released after they are caught.
Photographs of the sailfish at the restaurant were posted on citizen-journalism website Stomp on Monday.
Sailfish are so named for their dorsal fin, known as a sail, which often spans the entire length of the back.
The manager of Great Atlantis Seafood Centre, Mr Victor Yi, said: "The fish were not caught by us but by Malaysian fishermen in Malaysian waters."
He added that the restaurant bought six or seven sailfish for $10 per kilogram from the fishermen. The restaurant plans to use the fish to prepare fish and chips. Mr Yi said he believes the fish have already been cut into fillets.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) lists sailfish as a "priority species", along with marlin, swordfish and spearfish.
Ms V. Prema, director of communications at WWF Singapore, said sailfish are "at risk from overfishing and as a target in recreational fishing".
She added that WWF Singapore discourages people from buying sailfish if they are caught in the wild in a way that depletes their numbers.
However, an Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore spokesman said that sailfish are "not protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), and are allowed to be imported".
Cites is an international agreement drawn up in 1973 to protect wildlife. Singapore has been a signatory of the convention since 1986.
Angler R. Teo, 36, said one of the practices among anglers is to release fish which are fished for recreation, such as sailfish.
Another angler, Mr William Ow, 32, was not angered over the sailfish incident. He said other anglers might have been angry because catching the fish for food would deplete the supply available for recreational fishing.
"Nobody eats sailfish, as it does not taste as good as other fish. Anglers who catch it usually release it," he said.
Some netizens did not have any issue with the sailfish incident. Said netizen loverangel10: "It's just fish."
Newmond Tibin Bernama 10 Apr 12;
KOTA KINABALU, April 10 (Bernama) -- Sharks are vulnerable to overfishing because of their low fertility, and capacity to produce only few offspring in one breeding cycle, says Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Director of Borneo Marine Research Institute Prof Dr Saleem Mustafa.
He said in bony fishes such as tuna, mackerel and sardines, the breeding and population recruitment systems were different.
"That's why, sharks deserve special attention. Sharks play a significant role in the ocean ecosystem, being at the top of the food chain.
"They eliminate weaker specimens from the prey populations, and define the evolutionary pathways. Obviously, their elimination alters the ocean ecosystem balance," he told Bernama here Tuesday.
Saleem was responding to the raging debate about shark sanctuaries and shark fishing ban in Sabah, while timely, puts the focus on conservation of marine ecosystem and socio-economic imperatives.
He said the marine ecosystem had traditionally provided goods and services in Sabah, and the lifestyles of the people and sources of food and income of certain sections of the coastal communities were closely tied to marine resources.
Saleem said the entire issue put the spotlight on important and highly relevant topics, including ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, the need for alternative livelihood and public awareness.
"Because sharks have a behaviour which in many respects is very different from coral reef fishes, the plans for managing shark conservation will have to be unique, as well as within the overall context of marine conservation and ecosystem based approach to fisheries management. "Probably, it is not practical at this stage to consider 'shark sanctuary' in Sabah as some sort of a limited area in the sea that is "off limits" and which generally raises concern among the coastal communities using marine resources for sustenance.
"Due to a variety of reasons and obvious practical limitations, very few "shark sanctuaries" exist in the world today. A conservation plan for Sabah will have to be developed, according to ground realities here," he added.
-- BERNAMA
Strange nudibranch at Changi
from wild shores of singapore
What do ordinary Singaporeans think of dolphins in captivity?
from wild shores of singapore
Yellow Bittern’s Stance
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Lynda Hong Channel NewsAsia 9 Apr 12;
SINGAPORE: Singapore will continue to augment its land capacity through reclamation, building higher, and going underground.
Still, land allocations for industrial, commercial and residential use will likely remain the same over the next decade.
Currently, one third is used for industry, commerce and housing.
The remaining two thirds are used for roads, sea port, airport, reservoirs, utilities, military training grounds as well as social and community facilities like parks, hospitals and schools.
The National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan gave the projections in a written reply to Marine Parade GRC MP Associate Professor Fatimah Lateef, who asked how land utilisation will be like, and whether a land shortage is likely over the next decade.
With Singapore land limited at 710 square kilometres, Mr Khaw said his ministry will also pursue efforts to recycle and optimise land to make the best use of this limited resource.
Undeveloped lands at Tengah and Bidadari will be opened up for residential needs while the use of existing land within mature house and industrial estates will be intensified.
But Mr Khaw gave the assurance that Singapore will remain highly liveable and a great place to raise families.
Upcoming discussions on the National White Paper will help sharpen the focus on future infrastructure planning and its execution.
- CNA/ck
Dylan Loh Channel NewsAsia 9 Apr 12;
He said: "We have made plans to protect our coasts and to improve our drainage. Singapore's coastal reclamation sites were previously required to be at least a minimum of 1.25 metres above the highest recorded historical tide levels. For new reclamation projects, this has now been raised by an additional one metre."
SINGAPORE : Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean has said a more complex security environment means there are no dominant risks, but interconnected ones which could come together in a major event.
Mr Teo, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, outlined a three-pronged approach to tackle such risks.
Speaking at a security conference on Monday, he called for a multi-disciplinary approach where various perspectives are considered to better understand how things are connected.
Mr Teo also said strategies and responses need to be constantly reviewed.
Lastly, he said international collaboration is crucial for effective response to complex issues, and agencies in different countries must work together.
Mr Teo cited how Singapore deals with climate change as an example of how it has to adapt to a complex challenge.
He said: "We have made plans to protect our coasts and to improve our drainage. Singapore's coastal reclamation sites were previously required to be at least a minimum of 1.25 metres above the highest recorded historical tide levels. For new reclamation projects, this has now been raised by an additional one metre."
Mr Teo added that authorities are doing a Risk Map Study - to be completed by next year - to identify specific coastal areas at risk of flooding.
- CNA/ms
Teo: Countries need to cooperate on security
Risk landscape will grow more complex, diverse with interconnectivity
Malminderjit Singh Business Times 10 Apr 12;
WITH interconnectivity comes increased risk of local events escalating into global ones, so countries need to develop a multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach to security.
That was the gist of Singapore Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean's message at the opening of the 6th Asia-Pacific Programme for National Security Officers. The growing correlation and connectivity between individual risks and societies have transformed the way countries need to identify and deal with threats to their national interests, said Mr Teo .
'Taken together, what this means is that the risk landscape will become increasingly complex and diverse, with no single dominant risk, but a series of interconnected ones which could coalesce into a major event,' said Mr Teo.
Mr Teo pointed out the paradox of interconnectivity as a key contributor to more complex risks globally as while at the local level being assimilated with a large network may attempt to reduce risk, it 'can increase risk at the overall system level if one part of the interconnected system fails and threatens to bring the whole system down'. Britain, for instance, which has stayed out of the eurozone, is less affected by the eurozone crisis than the countries within it, explained Mr Teo and elaborated that such wider systemic risks could also apply to electrical power grids.
The ubiquity of the internet has in part contributed to inter-connectivity and makes cyber crimes more difficult to track and counter while also amplifying isolated incidents into global events, added Mr Teo.
In addition, he identified demographic and social changes as having a wider impact on national security in the coming years as the growing world population and urbanisation will increase the demand for water and food among other resources, while exposing poor infrastructure and a lack of employment opportunities as pressure points in societies. The pressure on these resources will be worsened by climate change, which threatens to be a risk multiplier, said Mr Teo.
To counter these complex threats, Mr Teo highlighted the need for a multi-disciplinary, adaptive approach and international collaborative strategy.
The first approach is based on developing policies beyond the needs of 'the individual stakeholder, agency or even country', explained Mr Teo, citing the fight against piracy as an example.
Explaining that the current 'mechanism for conducting patrols, escorts and convoying to detect, deter and disrupt piracy in the region' may be inadequate, Mr Teo pointed out that shipowners may need to get involved in these efforts 'by keeping up-to-date with real-time information about pirate activities to better plan their routes and avoid areas of higher pirate activity'.
'Some shipowners and countries have also employed guards, including armed security teams, on board their ships,' he added but acknowledging that a more comprehensive approach will have to include increased efforts by the international community to enhance governance and economic development in Somalia, to address the root causes of piracy.
An adaptive approach is also necessary to deal with the dynamic risks and thus warrants the 'need to constantly review and renew our strategies and responses', said Mr Teo.
Singapore's National Climate Change Strategy is based on such a principle, he explained, as current reviews have led to coastal reclamation sites now being raised by an additional one metre than the minimum level of 1.25 metres above the highest recorded tide levels to safeguard against projected sea level rises by the year 2100, while water agency PUB has developed a diversified water supply strategy through the 4 National Taps. These measures have helped protect Singapore's coasts and improve the resilience of its water supply.
International cooperation is necessary among enforcement agencies to address transnational crime, added Mr Teo and highlighted the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation, which will open in Singapore in 2014, as an example of such collaboration.
'This facility will also allow enforcement officers around the world to share real-time criminal data, analyse cyber threats and trends, and work more closely together when fighting new types of crime, including transnational crime and cybercrime.'
Global risk landscape getting more complex
A series of interconnected risks can bring down a whole system: DPM Teo
Bryna Sim Straits Times 10 Apr 12;
THE global risk landscape today is highly complex and will be increasingly so in the future, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean yesterday.
Instead of a single dominant risk, the world could face a series of interconnected risks which could then become a major event, he said.
Mr Teo gave his thoughts on the changing nature of the risks to national security at the sixth Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers, held at Sentosa Resort and Spa.
Started in 2007, the programme brings together government officials from the Asia-Pacific to exchange perspectives on the latest developments impacting national security.
To illustrate how the failure of one part of an interconnected system could threaten to bring an entire system down, Mr Teo used the recent example of how the euro zone crisis was precipitated by the Greek debt crisis.
In his speech, Mr Teo, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security and Home Affairs Minister, did not speak directly on the threat of terrorism, but instead highlighted issues such as cybercrime, demographic and climate change, all of which he said would become increasingly important as 'risk multipliers'.
Quoting statistics from the World Economic Forum's Global Risks 2012 Report to show how interconnected the world is today, the minister said that the 'networked and complex' nature of the Internet means cyber attacks on the home front can happen even when its perpetrators are located overseas.
About 470 million smartphones had been sold worldwide by the end of last year, and the figure is expected to double by 2015, he said.
Then there is demographic change: A growing global population means an increased demand for clean water and food - something that could tip the balance in maintaining global stability.
'Food security - not just the production, but also the transportation, distribution and willingness to supply or withhold food exports - will continue to be a challenge,' Mr Teo said.
Of ways to meet these challenges, Mr Teo suggested three: A multi-disciplinary approach, an adaptive approach, and international collaboration.
The minister stressed the need for nations to 'constantly review and renew' their security strategies and responses.
'The risks confronting us are dynamic, and new developments can easily render our solutions obsolete,' he said.
Mr Teo also spoke of the new Interpol Global Complex for Innovation, which will open here in 2014. He said the facility would enable enforcement officers from around the world to work more closely together when fighting new types of crime.
Mrs Evelyn Wu, a programme participant and senior deputy director of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority training school, agreed that more cooperation between nations is needed.
'We definitely need to work together to learn, unlearn, and re-learn some of these issues,' she said.
Another participant, Mr Bernard Miranda, director of the National Maritime Operations Group, said the focus of national security has 'always been and remains on terrorism'.
He added: 'Mr Teo has brought to the fore issues that we may not have paid enough attention to, which shows how our risk landscape has changed.'
Straits Times 10 Apr 12;
KEEPING THE SUPPLY SAFE: New measures have been introduced to regulate the quality of used water entering Singapore's drainage system, in a bid to reduce pollution and protect the water supply. -- ST PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN
LAWS have been tightened to regulate the quality of used water entering Singapore's drainage system, as part of moves to reduce pollution and protect the country's water supply.
Under a pair of Bills passed by Parliament yesterday, regulations have been tightened and higher penalties imposed to reduce the amount of silt and dangerous substances in the water fed into the drainage system.
Specific and higher penalties for those who damage pipes and other water infrastructure were also laid out in amendments made to the Public Utilities Act and Sewerage and Drainage Act, which the House passed after a debate during the second reading.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said the new measures were necessary as Singapore intends to expand its water catchment area, which now makes up two-thirds of the island.
'To do this, we must keep our land, waterways and reservoirs clean. Any pollution... will make the water more difficult and costly to treat,' he said.
The changes also close the loop on the country's water management cycle, by allowing national water agency PUB to take over the running of several sewage treatment plants that were built and run by private owners.
Primarily located in remote areas, these treat used water before discharging it into the drainage system. The PUB will start overseeing the operations, maintenance and repair of all such treatment plants by June.Experts said the new water quality laws are likely to affect construction companies the most, as they now have to install silt-control measures and dig trial trenches to make sure that their projects will not damage water pipes, before they can start work.
But Mr Guna, 39, a site superintendent with Tiong Seng Contractors, said most construction companies already carry out both procedures. 'Disruptions to the water supply these days affect many more people, so it's good to be careful,' he said.
During the debate, opposition MP Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC) had raised concerns that the proposed amendments to the laws could mean higher water prices.
But Dr Balakrishnan assured MPs that the move to reclassify two PUB fees - sanitary appliance and waterborne fees - as taxes were to better reflect the tax contribution to the national used water system. It would not affect current water price rates nor the structure of water charges.
'I am not making any announcements on new rates or new charges. That's not on the cards at this point in time.'
FENG ZENGKUN
Background story
COSTLY IF DIRTY
'We must keep our land, waterways and reservoirs clean. Any pollution... will make the water more difficult and costly to treat.'
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan, on our water catchment areas
WATCH THE COSTS
'While you want to be more green, you don't want to impose costs on your consumers. That's why we're technology-agnostic and very careful... in rolling out green renewable sources of energy.'
Dr Balakrishnan, on the authorities' approach to going green
Stiffer penalties for those who pollute water catchment
Wong Jiahui Alicia Today Online 10 Apr 12;
SINGAPORE - Stiffer penalties will be slapped on those who damage water infrastructure or installations as well as those who pollute the water catchment.
The authorities are also seeking to expand the pool of enforcement officers.
Yesterday, Parliament passed amendments to the Public Utilities Act. Under the changes, those who damage water installations - such as waterworks and desalination plants - could fined up to S$200,000 and/or jailed up to three years.
Those who damage water infrastructure will pay higher penalties commensurate with the severity of the damage. Any person who, for instance, damages a water main managed by national water agency PUB could be fined up to S$40,000 and/or jailed up to three months. If the water main is 300mm or more in diameter, he or she could be fined up to S$200,000 and/or jailed up to three years.
Previously, any person who damaged PUB property could be fined up to S$10,000 and/or jail of up to three years.
To avoid damaging underground infrastructure, thorough site investigations will be required before any excavation, piling or similar work is done. Trial trenches must also be dug to physically ascertain the location of any water mains or sewers.
PUB will be allowed to authorise any persons to perform any function or duty subject to conditions specified by the agency.
According to Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan, PUB is considering engaging agents for catchment surveillance and for the enforcement of laws regulating minor offences such as littering or causing nuisance at reservoir parks and waterways.
The Sewerage and Drainage Act will also be amended to put in place an additional tier of penalties for damages to larger infrastructure in the used-water system (pipes of 0.9m or more in diameter): Those found guilty will be liable to a fine up to S$200,000 and/or jailed up to two years.
Noting that the "challenge of meeting the water needs of our population and economy will be even more complex", Dr Balakrishnan said the amendment that will be put in place "safeguards to enable the expansion of our local water catchments, to protect our NEWater production and to protect key infrastructure across our entire water loop".
Other changes to the Sewerage and Drainage Act include the requirement of adequate control measures for silt discharge at work sites before any work takes place - an order may be issued to stop the works if the measures are inadequate. The maximum fine for those who fail to comply is raised from S$20,000 to S$50,000.
Dr Balakrishnan said a "pre-emptive approach to controlling pollution is necessary" as Singapore continues to expand the water catchment area and any water pollution in these areas would make the water more difficult and costly to treat.
Bernama 9 Apr 12;
SANTUBONG, April 9 (Bernama) -- The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry will carry out a thorough study on the problem of erosion of beaches and river banks, particularly in populated areas, nationwide.
Its minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas said among the main causal factors were rising sea levels due to the global climate change, affecting low-lying areas near beaches and rivers.
"The study will identify coastal areas and river banks which are at risk of erosion, especially heavily-populated areas," he said after visiting a wave breaker project in Kampung Santubong, here, Monday.
Uggah said besides the coastal areas of the Malaysian peninsula, focus would also be given to the coastal areas of Sarawak and Sabah, especially in Miri, Limbang, Bintulu and Santubong, and the banks of the two states' main rivers.
He said the government was prepared to provide a big allocation to overcome the problem.
-- BERNAMA
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