Green Drinks: The Population White Paper and Implications on the Environment from Green Drinks Singapore
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The Challenge To Educate and Save
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Jonathan Kwok Straits Times 19 Feb 13;
CASUAL observers of the global maritime sector will be familiar with the five-year shipping slump, which has seen many smaller firms go under, be forced to consolidate or be acquired by larger liners.
Since 2008, even the most well-known global container liner firms have been hit, with profits well down - if they are even making money at all.
The giants generally suffered losses in 2009, before a tentative recovery helped them to flip to the black in 2010. 2011 turned out to be another loss-making year for most liners with the recoveries coming only in the later part of last year.
The financial figures have see-sawed in such a pattern at Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) and Denmark's Maersk Line, the world's biggest container shipping operator.
The recent tough times were highlighted in a recent note by offshore specialist DNB Bank, which declared that "we have just entered the sixth year of the shipping downturn".
However, Singapore's port has managed to pack in strong growth during the same years of the shipping downturn, growing strongly on several measures used to chart port performance.
Vessel arrival tonnage - a measure of the combined capacity of ships calling here - has risen almost 40 per cent since 2008, to last year's estimated 2.25 billion gross tonnes.
And the sale of bunker fuel has grown over 20 per cent in this period, to about 42.7 million tonnes last year.
Singapore is tops worldwide in both these measures, and the numbers make for encouraging reading for the maritime sector, which employs more than 170,000 people and contributes to 7 per cent of economic output.
Incongruence
SO WHY the incongruence between the downbeat fates of the shipping lines and the strong growth in Singapore's port?
The basic reason lies in the vastly different economics underpinning the ports and shipping sectors.
Essentially the key problem facing the shipping firms is that they ordered too many new ships in the boom years leading up to 2008. This excessive optimism led to an oversupply of ships when the new builds were eventually delivered.
With all the glittering new vessels lying around, the shipping companies tried to gain market share by slicing freight rates - but this in turn bit hard into bottom lines and even forced some firms into the red.
"Container shipping, in an oversupply situation, is a commoditised business," NOL's chief executive officer Ng Yat Chung said last year.
This means that firms tend to compete on price and customers have many providers to pick and choose from. High fuel costs are also a headache for the liners.
But underlying all this, global trade was growing every year except in 2009. In 2011, when shipping firms were awash in red, the volume of world merchandise trade grew 5 per cent and the World Trade Organisation expects 2.5 per cent growth last year and a 4.5 per cent rise this year.
Asian trade growth has been even faster, helping Singapore's port and competitors like Shanghai and Malaysia to grow their businesses.
While Singapore's port has done well to distinguish itself, it still faces key challenges that it has to overcome in order to grow further.
Land constraints
SINGAPORE'S container terminals are run by PSA Corp and located at Tanjong Pagar, Keppel, Brani and Pasir Panjang. A port in Jurong handles "bulk" cargo not carried in containers, such as steel products, cement and copper slag.
Together, these facilities occupy about 600ha of space - just a fraction of Singapore's total land area of 714.3 sq km, or 71,400ha.
Still the sector, like all other industries, faces the challenge to raise productivity while using as little land as possible.
It is encouraging then that the Government is planning way ahead in this aspect. It has outlined a longer-term scheme to concentrate port activities in Tuas.
The upcoming Tuas Port will sit on 1,700ha of reclaimed land, according to the Government's recently released Land Use Plan.
The City Terminals - those at Tanjong Pagar, Keppel and Brani - will move to Tuas after the lease for their land expires in 2027.
"This consolidation will increase efficiency through greater economies of scale and provide the opportunity to introduce new technology and processes to meet the future challenges of container shipping," said Mr Lam Yi Young, chief executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, which is the statutory board overseeing the sector.
The plan is for Tuas Port to be able to handle up to 65 million standard-sized containers every year - more than double the 31.6 million containers handled last year.
The Government is sourcing for novel ideas to design Tuas Port. It launched a global contest with a US$1 million (S$1.24 million) top prize to design a new-age container port last year, with winners expected to be announced this year.
Regional competition
WHILE the land issue can be solved by careful planning and innovation, competition poses a larger challenge as the ball may not be in Singapore's court.
The Republic's main business is in trans-shipment - meaning the vast majority of cargo arriving here is promptly loaded onto another ship to be moved elsewhere.
The other main trans-shipment hubs in the region are Hong Kong and Johor's Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP).
As if these are not enough, other countries are also not sitting idly by.
Ports in South Korea and China have been looking to catch up, and Indonesia is starting on a new trans-shipment port in Tanjung Sauh, an island between Batam and Bintan. This is set to challenge Singapore, as PTP has done.
Overseas ports may offer lower rates than Singapore, and some have succeeded in luring shipping lines over. For instance, PTP attracted Maersk and Evergreen Marine Corp - the second largest shipping firm - to move much of their operations there from 2000 to 2002.
The moves worried Singapore's economic planners for a while, but they are now comforted that Singapore's volumes have remained ahead of most of its regional competitors', PTP included.
Threats will exist in the longer term if other cities replicate Singapore's maritime eco-system, but the consensus is the Republic's lunch should be safe in the short to medium term if it continues to raise productivity while maintaining a pro-business environment.
After all, developing a hub like Singapore's will take many years. In recent years, Singapore has also managed to fend off competition by a mix of planning and good fortune.
In terms of planning, the Government has managed to grow a "maritime cluster" including ship financing, shipbroking, legal and technical services, research capabilities and manpower development, so that all the business needs of firms can be satisfied.
This complements the wide network of shipping lines that call here - a "hub effect" that allows firms to easily transfer cargo to another company's ship to be moved elsewhere. This has given Singapore's port an edge over South-east Asian competitors such as Malaysia's PTP.
Good luck comes in the form of Singapore's location which has provided an advantage over its other main competitor Hong Kong, which is grappling in recent years with China's slowing growth. South-east Asia and South Asia are seeing more business and production work, which is benefiting Singapore.
"There's more manufacturing being done in Vietnam and in Bangladesh for items like textiles," said Mr Andrew Chiang, regional head of Asia for shipping, offshore and logistics at DNB Bank. "As these countries have less developed ports they usually use the port in Singapore (to ship the goods farther away)."
The result is that Singapore's container-handling numbers last year grew more than those of any regional competitor.
Singapore's figures grew 5.7 per cent to 31.6 million containers - more than PTP's 2.9 per cent - while Hong Kong's port volumes actually contracted by 5.3 per cent.
The world's top container handling port is Shanghai but it is more of an end-destination port for moving goods in and out of China. This means it is not a direct competitor to Singapore's trans-shipment operations, but Singapore still managed to close the gap on it last year.
Shanghai's volumes grew 2.5 per cent, less than Singapore's 5.7 per cent.
"It is easy to copy some measures like financial incentives, but harder for others," said Mr Chiang. "If viewed as a package, the competition is hard pressed to replicate Singapore's success."
The challenges of land and competition may appear daunting but the country should overcome them - in the medium term at least - through foresight, continued careful planning, and a good dose of luck.
Nelson Benjamin The Star 19 Feb 13;
SINGAPORE: Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to go ahead with the Rapid Transit System (RTS) linking Johor Baru with the republic.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said both countries had a year to draft the plans on the preferred option for the RTS.
He added that under phase one, the alignment and station scheme options would be identified.
“Once this is decided, we can move to phase two,” Anifah said during a briefing on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's two-day working visit to Singapore which began yesterday.
It is learnt that among the options being considered is a bridge or an underground tunnel link.
Singapore had earlier announced that its Thomson mass rapid transit (MRT) line would be opened in stages from 2019.
The 30km line will run through the north-south corridor of the island republic, starting in Woodlands, the area closest to Johor Baru via the Causeway, and passing through industrial, residential and shopping districts before ending at Marina Bay.
The S$18bil (RM44bil) line will be completely underground and is expected to serve 400,000 commuters daily.
Anifah said leaders from both countries were expected to discuss the progress and implementation of the Points of Agreement.
“Both leaders will also travel to Iskandar Malaysia in Johor to launch the ground-breaking ceremony of the Urban and Resort Wellness project.
He added that it involved a 2ha “Urban Wellness” project in Medini North and a 84ha “Resort Wellness” in Medini Central.
Other issues to be discussed include cooperation in aviation and airport services between Senai and Changi airports as well as the establishment of ferry and water taxi services between Puteri Har-bour in Iskandar and Tuas in Singapore.
Anifah added that there was steady progress in the implementation of initiatives under the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia including in transport, immigration, tourism, environment and industrial cooperation.
Malaysia-Singapore high-speed rail link
The Star 20 Feb 13;
SINGAPORE: Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to build a high-speed rail link between the city state and Kuala lumpur.
The link will cut travelling time between the two destinations to just 90 minutes, from the hours it now takes by rail and road.
The two countries also agreed on a rapid transit system linking Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit system with Johor Baru.
Both Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his counterpart Lee Hsien Loong described the speed-link project as a “game changer” .
“This project will change the way we do business, look at each other and interact,” said Najib.
“We hope to meet the 2020 deadline for the project,” he told a joint press conference after the annual leaders retreat here.
The two mass “people mover” projects are part of multi-billion ringgit business deals between the two countries.
These include a wellness project at Nusajaya in Johor and a mixed development project between Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd and the Singapore Government investment arm Temasek in Danga Bay worth RM8.1bil.
Najib said the high-speed rail link would be built via public-private partnership with strong government participation.
“It will be on the basis of private sector funding with the government providing structural support and participation.”
Lee said the project would make it faster to travel between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore by rail than by air, including waiting time.
He recalled that Najib mooted the idea of the link at a meeting some months ago and he felt that it was a good idea.
On the rapid transit system, Lee said the two countries had 12 months to decide on whether to build a bridge or an undersea tunnel between the two countries.
Later the two leaders unveiled the Marina One project, which is in the heart of Singapore's new central business district undertaken by M+S Pte Ltd, a company owned 60:40 by Khazanah Holdings Bhd and Temasek.
They were also updated on the integrated development DUO joint venture. The two projects have a gross development value of S$11bil (RM26.4bil).
The leaders lauded the excellent progress in relations between the two countries since the Points of Agreement was settled in 2010.
In a three page statement, they agreed to intensify existing cooperation and explore new ways to leverage on the complementarities between Singapore and Iskandar, just across the island republic.
They agreed among others to look into the feasibility of a third road link between the two countries in the long term, and establishing new ferry terminal and Customs, Immigration and Quarantine facilities at Puteri Harbour in Johor this year.
Singapore, Malaysia agree on high-speed rail link
Imelda Saad Channel NewsAsia 19 Feb 13;
SINGAPORE: The leaders of Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to build a high-speed rail link between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur that will significantly cut travel time for commuters to just 90 minutes!
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak made the announcement after a retreat in Singapore on Tuesday.
Both described the upcoming project as a "game changer" that will give both countries greater stakes in each other's prosperity and success.
The Leaders' Retreat is an annual meeting for both prime ministers to take stock of bilateral ties and discuss areas of further cooperation.
Since the resolution of the Points of Agreements in 2010, relations have progressed steadily.
Mr Lee said it was Mr Najib who first mooted the idea of a high-speed rail link, some months back.
Mr Lee said: "It's a strategic project for the two countries. It will change the way we see each other. It's the way people in London and Paris are able to - think of it like twin cities where you can commute, go up there, do business, meet friends have a meal and come back, all within maybe two-thirds of a day.
"And I think it's going to be a game-changer. It will transform the way people interact, the intensity of our cooperation and the degree in which we become inter-dependent on one another and therefore have stakes in each other's success."
Mr Najib agreed. He said: "It will change the way we do business, the way we look at each other, the way we interact. And it will be seamless in every sense of the word. Within a mere 90 minutes from door to door, people can travel from KL to Singapore and vice versa.
"So, I'm excited about the project. We will certainly do our level best to meet the 2020 deadline. It may go slightly beyond that but those are details in implementation."
The distance between Singapore and the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur is about 315km.
Currently, it can take up to 8 hours by train between the two cities; by bus or car, up to 5 hours; and flight, about 45 minutes.
Mr Lee said: "90 minutes, travel time, that should be faster than even taking a plane if you add in the waiting time at both ends. I think it will become like, as Prime Minister Najib said, like between the European cities where you consider the two cities as one virtual urban community; I can live in one city, I can work on the other side, I can come back the same day.
"It's happened in Europe, it's happened in Taiwan between Taipei and Kaohsiung with their high speed train. I think it will happen in China, because they've built a high speed train network, and if you look at Southeast Asia, and you talk about connectivity between ASEAN countries then a high speed train between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur is the link that makes the most sense.
"The population is there, the economic vitality is there, the spending power is there. The rationale is good."
Mr Najib said the project will be a partnership between the private and public sectors.
He also said: "We will draw on each other's experience. Of course, Singapore has got many years of experience running the MRT. We can look at modalities in other countries...UK, France...Madrid, Barcelona, and you've got the cities in China as well, connected by high speed rail.
"Those are example of projects we can use as a basis for us to work out very doable, practical model for this rail link between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The important thing is this is huge, this is big, this is a real game-changer."
The leaders have tasked the joint ministerial committee to look into details and modalities of the high-speed rail link.
The high-speed rail link will also complement another rail project - the Rapid Transit System Link that will link Johor Bahru in southern Malaysia to Singapore's local trains along the upcoming Thomson Line that is expected to be ready by 2019.
In the longer term, both sides will also look into the possibility of a third road link between the two countries.
Also launched on Tuesday by the two prime ministers were two wellness projects in Medini at Iskandar Malaysia and a mixed development project at Danga Bay.
The leaders also noted the progress of the joint developments by Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional and Singapore's Temasek Holdings in Singapore (by M+S Pte Ltd) and in Iskandar Malaysia (by Pulau Indah Ventures Sdn Bhd).
Both sides have also agreed on the final composition and terms of reference of the Industrial Cooperation Workgroup.
This group will be spearheaded by Singapore's Economic Development Board and Malaysia's Investment Development Authority.
It will explore mutually beneficial economic activities and facilitate the hiring of skilled workers, among other things.
Tuesday's retreat is the fourth between Mr Najib and Mr Lee.
With the Malaysian General Election looming, Mr Najib said he would like to see continuity in these long-term projects.
The next leader's retreat is scheduled for 2014, in Malaysia.
- CNA/al/ir
Alister Doyle PlanetArk 18 Feb 13;
A new United Nations plan to involve all nations in marshalling science to fix environmental problems ranging from toxic chemicals to climate change will be put to the test from Monday at talks in Nairobi.
The 40-year-old U.N. Environment Programme will open its annual governing council to all the world's almost 200 nations, up from a current group of 58, under reforms aimed at making the world economy greener at a time of weak economic growth.
"A strengthened UNEP will ... improve and enhance international cooperation on the environment," Achim Steiner, executive director of UNEP, said of the annual February 18-22 meeting in a telephone interview with Reuters.
Environment ministers or senior officials from about 150 nations are due to attend, out of almost 200 possible worldwide. Until now, UNEP's governing council has left out many smaller states, from Guyana to Albania.
The shift is meant to sharpen world focus on problems such as toxic chemicals, over-fishing and global warming. Getting more countries in the room will not necessarily make reaching agreements easier but should give UNEP decisions more authority.
Steiner said the talks would be a first chance to see how the new approach works. UNEP oversees many scientific studies guiding U.N. work, such as monitoring climate change or the pace of extinction of animals and plants.
Under an agreement last year at an Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, UNEP will get a bigger budget. "By (February 22) the plan is that we will have the final steps in implementing the Rio summit's decisions to reform UNEP," Steiner said.
The Rio deal fell short of calls by some nations, such as France, to create a completely new U.N. environment agency.
"The seeds of what we are seeing will be seen only 5 or 10 years down the line," Steiner said.
"One of the major issues is a new strategy for the organization and a programme of work for the next 3 years," Steiner said of the Nairobi talks that will lay guidelines for work on issues from oceans to slowing extinctions.
OZONE, MERCURY
UNEP has registered some successes, such as the 1987 Montreal Protocol for limiting emissions of gases blamed for thinning the planet's protective ozone layer, or a treaty due to be signed in Japan this October to limit toxic mercury.
Climate change has proved far tougher to solve as global emissions of greenhouse gases have continued to rise. China, the United States and the European Union are top emitters.
Governments aim to work out a deal by the end of 2015 to slow global warming and make it effective from the end of 2020. World leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama failed to nail down a treaty at a summit in Copenhagen in 2009.
"On the current trajectory of negotiations it is not easy to see how by 2015 a new framework agreement will emerge," Steiner said. But some nations have been acting on their own and extreme events, such as a melt of the Arctic sea ice, droughts, floods and powerful storms, have underscored the risks.
"It is becoming more and more clear in the minds of the public that climate change is ... a clear and present danger that will require us to act," he said.
UNEP has overall responsibility for environmental problems among U.N. agencies but talks on fixing global warming are overseen by the Bonn-based U.N. Climate Change Secretariat.
(Reporting by Alister Doyle; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Latest Green Jobs in Singapore [11 - 17 Feb 2013]
from Green Business Times
Dredging off Cyrene Reef and other Southern coastal works
from wild shores of singapore
Hantu bloggers - One seahorse for you, and many seahorses for me! from Psychedelic Nature
From Bukit Brown to Lornie Trail
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature
Javan Myna with deformed wing
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Antara 17 Feb 13;
Palembang, South Sumatra (ANTARA News) - World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Indonesia said that at least 80 Sumatran Tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) are breeding well in South Bukit Barisan National Park.
"Dozens of tigers live well in the forests of South Sumatra and Lampung," said Project Leader of WWF Indonesia Job Charles here on Sunday.
According to him, despite the fact that human activities have threatened the tigers` habitat, the breeding of this species pans out in Sumatra's national parks.
The success of the tiger breeding is thanks to the cooperation between nature lovers and the local community who help protect the habitat of the tigers.
"The WWF along with other institutions and local communities are continuously preserving the habitat in order to promote the tiger's breeding and increase the population," said Charles.
The NGO activists, said Charles, conduct patrol in the habitat regularly.
According to the WWF, the population of tigers on Sumatra Island is around 200 heads. "The species will not extinct if the whole communities are actively helping preserve their habitats and let the tigers breed optimally," said Charles.
Previously, Sarah Christie, Zoological Society of London (ZSL)'s head of regional conservation said in a statement that a camera trap caught video of a mother tiger and her two cubs in a protected Sumatran forest, the first evidence of breeding in this location, conservationists say.
The footage was captured in Sumatra's Sembilang National Park. Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have documented evidence before of the endangered species in nearby Berbak National Park in Sembilang Conservation area, Jambi Province.
The video of these big cats shows the mother and her two youngsters walking past the camera. Scientists said they estimate the cubs are less than a year old. They live in their original habitat in mangrove forest, said Sarah.
"We will continue working with leaders of both national parks as well as the government to ensure the areas are better protected and well patrolled," she said.
(B019/F001)
Editor: Ade Marboen
April: Free Pasir Ris mangrove boardwalk walk
from Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs
Life History of the Tawny Coster
from Butterflies of Singapore
Myna Having a Free Cool Drink
from Bird Ecology Study Group
The last kampong in Singapore
from Rojak Librarian
Chek Jawa with long driftnet
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Black-naped Oriole stole an egg
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World Pangolin Day 2013
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322 cases recorded last week, four new dengue clusters identified by NEA
Today Online 16 Feb 13;
SINGAPORE — The number of dengue cases weekly hit a five-and-a-half-year high last week with 322 cases, while four new dengue clusters have been identified.
The last time numbers reached such levels was in July 2007, when weekly figures hit as high as 426 cases in one week.
The number of dengue cases has been rising steadily in the first six weeks of the year, from 134 cases in the first week to 295 in the fifth week, to last week’s high of 322.
Altogether, there have been 1,442 cases in the first six weeks of the year, compared to 419 during the same period last year. As of 3pm on Thursday, there were 148 cases for the seventh week of the year.
The four new dengue clusters identified by the authorities are Jalan Usaha, Lorong Ong Lye, Block 27, Marine Crescent and Block 55, Marine Terrace and Ubi Avenue 1.
This brings the total number of active dengue clusters to 32.
An area is identified as a dengue cluster when two or more dengue cases occur within 14 days and the homes of the dengue victims are within 150m of each other.
The most active cluster as of Feb 14 is an area consisting of Lorong K Telok Kurau and East Coast Road, which had 123 cases. Within this cluster, St Patrick’s Road had 44 cases.
In an advisory posted on http://www.dengue.gov.sg, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said the public should take preventive steps to remove stagnant water in homes.
Those diagnosed with dengue should sleep in air-conditioned rooms or apply insect repellent to break the dengue transmission chain.
The public can visit http://www.dengue.gov.sg, check the myENV app, or sign up for X-Dengue SMS alerts at http://www.x-dengue.com for updates on dengue case numbers and affected areas.
Those who come across mosquito breeding habitats should contact the NEA through its 24-hour hotline at 1800-2255 632, or contact their managing agents or Town Councils to have them removed.
The Star 16 Feb 13;
KOTA KINABALU: The Wildlife Department and Universiti Malaysia Sabah have teamed up to save an injured dolphin at Sepanggar Bay.
They rescued the dolphin after it was spotted to be in distress about 100m from the shore at about 1pm yesterday. It is belived the injuries were caused by fishing nets.
The university's director of the Borneo Marine Research Institute, Prof Dr Saleem Mustafa, said the dolphin was weak from its injuries and would be placed in the institute's hatchery while its wounds were tended to.
This was the second dolphin spotted in two days.
The first was seen near the Sutera Harbour Resort near here on Thursday.
Prof Saleem said dolphin sightings in Sabah had increased over the years, and this proved the success of marine conservation efforts.
A pod of dolphins was spotted on Jan 6 and Jan 8 near Gaya Island, he said.
Rescued Sepanggar Bay dolphin dies
The Star 28 Feb 13;
KOTA KINABALU: An injured female dolphin found in Sepanggar Bay here two weeks ago has died.
The dolphin died on Feb 25 while at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah Borneo Marine Institute hatchery, which was treating it.
Institute Director Prof Dr Saleem Mustafa said the 3m-long mammal, a Delphinidae dolphin, died due to its injuries.
“The dolphin arrived with infected wounds and despite the best effort of staffers and students and the Wildlife Department, it could not be saved,” he said, adding that it was sad to see another mammal die on Malaysian shores.
The Star 16 Feb 13;
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is in dire need of a specialised environment court to handle cases involving wildlife and environmental crimes, said Malaysian Nature Society president Prof Dr Maketab Mohamed.
He said such a court would result in the appointment of specialist judges well-versed in various acts pertaining to wildlife and nature.
“MNS and other NGOs would be more than happy to conduct dialogues and workshops for judges.
“For example, do they know that the Malayan tiger is critically endangered?,” he said.
Dr Maketab said the most recent example was the disappointing lack of fines meted out to wildlife trader Mohd Nor Shahrizam Nasir despite the fact that he was caught with eight tiger skins, 22 whole tiger bones and nine African elephant tusks.
The Alor Setar Sessions Court sentenced him to a total of 60 months jail 24 months each for possession of tiger skins and bones, and 12 months for the tusks.
However, the sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will spend only two years in jail.
“This means he will spend a little over a month for each of the 22 tigers despite being an accessory to the murder. Is that the value of a tiger, conservation wise?” he asked.
Half of all freshwater turtles close to extinction while three species, including jungle runner lizard, are possibly extinct
John Vidal The Guardian 15 Feb 13;
Nearly one in five of the world's estimated 10,000 species of lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodiles and other reptiles are threatened with extinction, according to a study conducted by 200 experts.
But the risk of extinction was found to be unevenly spread throughout the extremely diverse group of animals. According to the paper, an alarming 50% of all freshwater turtles are close to extinction, possibly because they are traded on international markets.
The study, published by the Zoological Society of London in conjunction with the IUCN species survival commission, is the first of its kind summarising the global conservation status of reptiles, and used 1,500 randomly selected reptiles worldwide.
Out of the estimated 19% of reptiles threatened with extinction, in order of magnitude of danger, 12% are classified as critically endangered, 41% endangered and 47% vulnerable.
Three species were found to be possibly extinct. One, a jungle runner lizard, Ameiva vittata, has only ever been recorded in one part of Bolivia. In Haiti, six of the nine species of anolis lizard included in this study have an elevated risk of extinction, due to extensive deforestation affecting the country.
The spread of farming and deforestation in tropical regions represents two of the greatest threats to reptiles, says the paper.
"The proportion of threatened reptile species is highest in freshwater environments, tropical regions and on oceanic islands, while data deficiency was highest in tropical areas, such as central Africa and south-east Asia," the paper says. "Levels of threat remain particularly high in tropical regions, mainly as a result of habitat conversion for agriculture and logging."
Monika Böhm, lead author of the paper, said: "Reptiles are often associated with extreme habitats so it is easy to assume that they will be fine in our changing world. But many species are very highly specialised in terms of habitat use and the climatic conditions they require for day to day functioning. This makes them particularly sensitive to environmental changes."
Reptiles have a long and complex history, having first appeared on the planet about 300m years ago. They play a number of crucial roles in the proper functioning of the world's ecosystems, in their roles as predators as well as prey.
Philip Bowles, co-ordinator of IUCN's snake and lizard red list authority, said the findings sounded alarm bells on the state of reptiles.
"Tackling the identified threats, which include habitat loss and harvesting, are key conservation priorities in order to reverse the declines in these reptiles,"
World's reptiles at risk of extinction
Ella Davies 15 Feb 13;
Almost a fifth of the world's reptile species are at risk of extinction, according to scientists.
Research led by the Zoological Society of London found that the future of 19% of the world's reptiles are threatened.
Conservation experts also confirmed that 47% are vulnerable and highlighted the possible extinction of three species.
The figures are based on a random sample of 1,500 of the world's reptile species.
"It's essentially an election poll set up - using this sample to give an example of how reptiles are doing as a whole," explained Dr Monika Bohm, lead author of the study published in the journal Biological Conservation.
The study was made in conjunction with 200 experts from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission.
Reptiles are a group of vertebrates that includes turtles, tortoises, snakes, lizards, crocodiles and amphisbaenians - commonly known as worm lizards. Tuataras, lizard-like animals found only in New Zealand are also included.
There are an estimated 9,500 different reptile species in the world.
"Reptiles can really be important in natural food webs: they're really important as predators as well as prey," said Dr Bohm.
"The risk is - if you lose a really important food source you can change food webs quite dramatically."
Although some species, including the tuatara, have survived relatively unchanged for millions of years, Dr Bohm pointed out that reptiles can often be "indicators" of environmental problems.
"Reptiles are often associated with extreme habitats and tough environmental conditions, so it is easy to assume that they will be fine in our changing world," she said.
"However, many species are very highly specialised in terms of habitat use and the climatic conditions they require for day to day functioning. This makes them particularly sensitive to environmental changes."
Under pressure
The study highlighted that levels of threat to the diverse group of animals are particularly high in tropical regions due to pressures from agriculture and logging.
One species previously listed as Critically Endangered is the jungle runner lizard Ameiva vittata, which had only ever been recorded in one part of Bolivia.
But, prompted by the destruction of its habitat, two recent searches for the animal were unsuccessful, causing conservationists to question its future existence.
In Haiti, six of the nine species of Anolis lizard studied also had an elevated level of localised extinction due to extensive deforestation.
Freshwater turtles were also flagged as a considerable concern. The study estimated 50% were at risk of extinction, and 30% of freshwater reptiles are in danger of disappearing as a whole.
Dr Bohm hopes the study's results will focus attention on their plight.
"With turtles, what's quite often the case is they are affected by harvesting and they're quite often used for food or the pet trade," she told BBC Nature.
The survey is one of many that aims to provide an indicator of biodiversity both now and over time, in an effort to make such research more collaborative.
"This gives us an indication of how reptiles are faring and we can compare this to other species groups."
"We can then find out if there's a similar picture across all of them or if there are some that are particularly threatened," Dr Bohm commented.
"It's more of a drive to really pool information rather than everybody doing their own thing... really working together, getting it out there and giving it more emphasis."
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