Triple Terumbus for Giant Clams
from wild shores of singapore
Transformation of the Mirror Spider
from Macro Photography in Singapore
Down Memory Lane - Singleton
from Butterflies of Singapore
Kopsia arborea
from The Total Vascular Flora of Singapore Online
How YouTube has put the world's only poisonous primates at risk from Mongabay.com news by Jeremy Hance
Hafiz Marzukhi and Edmund Goh The Star 26 Jul 13;
GEORGE TOWN: Air quality continued to worsen in Penang due to the haze while neighbouring Kedah, Perlis and Perak saw slight improvement.
The Air Pollutant Index (API) registered at the Department of Environment (DOE) monitoring station in Seberang Jaya showed an unhealthy level of 102 at 1pm before improving to 100 two hours later.
At the stations in Prai and Universiti Sains Malaysia, the readings were moderate at 94 and 88, respectively, as at 3pm.
This was an increase compared to Wednesday when it was 83 (Prai), 78 (Seberang Jaya) and 79 (USM) at 5pm.
Visibility levels in Bayan Lepas and Prai were at 6km at 3pm while in Butterworth, it was at 5km.
Meanwhile, most stations in Perak recorded only slight improvement in the reading.
According to the DOE, the highest reading of 98 came from the SK Jalan Pegoh station in Ipoh as of 2pm.
The Seri Manjung station recorded a reading of 93, an improvement from its Wednesday reading of 123.
The reading for Kampung Air Putih in Taiping was 78, while the Jalan Tasek station in Ipoh and Tanjung Malim station were 68 and 65, respectively.
In Kedah, the haze situation was relatively better with an API reading of 51 recorded at the Alor Setar station and 73 at the Batu Arang station in Sungai Petani.
In Perlis, the air quality was considered good as the reading was at 44.
Penang air quality near 'unhealthy'
New Straits Times 26 Jul 13;
GEORGE TOWN: Penang was shrouded in haze yesterday morning as the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings in the state hit the highest in the past week.
From 6am to 10am, the readings in Prai, Seberang Jaya and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) hit above 80, close to the "unhealthy" level of between 100 and 200.
At USM, the API was at 81, 84 and 83 at 8am, 9am and 10am respectively, while in Prai, the readings were at 84, 86, 88, 90 and 92, increasing steadily from 6am to 10am.
The API readings were the highest in Seberang Jaya at 90, 93, 95, 97 and 98.
Visibility was poor, with motorists on the Penang Bridge hardly able to see the island or mainland.
State Department of Environment director Datuk Hassan Mat said the state had one of the worst API readings in the country yesterday morning.
He said it was difficult to predict whether the air quality would worsen, but hoped for rain to clear the air.
"The current situation is not as bad as that in June, when the API readings reached the 'unhealthy' level at one point."
Hassan said the causes of the haze were hot spots in Sumatra, Indonesia, and the wind blowing across the Straits of Malacca and moving northwards.
"We can only hope that rain will come, so that the air quality will improve and return to normal.
"For now, we advise the public to limit outdoor activities, wear face masks and refrain from carrying out burning activities."
The API readings at other stations nationwide recorded "moderate" and "healthy" readings, except for one station in SK Jalan Pegoh in Ipoh, Perak, which recorded an "unhealthy" reading of 104 at 3pm yesterday.
Seri Manjung, Perak, which recorded an "unhealthy" reading on Wednesday, improved to a "moderate" reading of 93 yesterday.
Overall, 14 stations recorded "healthy" readings and 36 recorded "moderate" readings, compared with Wednesday's 12 "healthy" readings and 39 "moderate" readings.
API levels of between 0 and 50 are rated as good, 51 to 100 as moderate, 100 to 200 as unhealthy, 200 to 300 as very unhealthy and more than 300 as hazardous.
Isabelle Lai The Star 26 Jul 13;
PETALING JAYA: The National Association of Smallholders Malaysia (NASH) has urged French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to put a stop to anti-palm oil campaigns in France.
Its president Datuk Aliasak Ambia said the campaigns were a major cause of concern for hundreds of thousands of small farmers as well as the entire industry.
“False allegations about nutrition and the environment cannot be allowed to stand. The reality is that palm oil is the most efficient vegetable oil in the world, which is 100% free of trans fats,” he said in a joint statement with Malaysian Palm Oil Council chief executive officer Tan Sri Datuk Dr Yusof Basiron yesterday.
The statement was an open letter to Ayrault ahead of his upcoming visit here.
Aliasak said oil palm cultivation was a major catalyst for poverty reduction and increased prosperity in Malaysia and elsewhere.
He said these were facts known to scientists and academics, including those from French institutions such as the Institute Pasteur.
Malaysia’s commitment to preserve forest cover was much greater than France’s pledge to preserve 29% of its forests, he said.
“The strong and growing trade relationship between France and Malaysia must be a two-way one, built on trust and mutual understanding.
“Palm oil is one of Malaysia’s most important exports and many families in our community depend on it. A stop to the anti-palm oil campaigns will certainly go a long way in supporting the small farmers and their families,” he said.
He urged Ayrault to ensure French companies Casino, Systeme U, Findus, Lesieur, Lays and Jacquet immediately cease their campaigns, including labelling that denigrated palm oil.
He also asked that the government agency responsible for regulating consumption and competition, Direction Generale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et la Repression des Fraudes (DGCCRF), use its authority and powers to investigate the companies.
The Star 26 Jul 13;
PETALING JAYA: Harsher punishments must be imposed to deter pangolin poachers from dabbling in the highly-lucrative illicit trade, said wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic Southeast Asia.
Its senior programme officer Kanitha Krishnasamy said this was still lacking although Malaysia had among the strongest wildlife protection laws in the region.
“Pangolin smugglers are often found guilty when prosecuted, but the severity of the penalties is the problem.
“Based on court observations, prosecutors are not fighting as strongly for our wildlife as they should, resulting in criminals getting away with a mere slap on the wrist,” she said.
Under the Wildlife Conservation Act, the maximum fine for hunting totally protected wildlife including pangolins, is not more than RM100,000, not more than three years’ jail or both.
Kanitha pointed out the case of ex-policeman Muhammad Norazzuan Ahmad Zahari, who was caught trying to smuggle 18 pangolins across the Malaysia-Thailand border at Bukit Kayu Hitam in September 2012.
He was found guilty in January on all four counts, which carried a total maximum jail term of 24 years but was sentenced to a total of 36 months in jail, with no fines imposed.
In addition, he only needs to serve 12 months in jail as the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
“So for all intents and purposes, a law that was designed to impose punishments of up to 24 years’ jail had its worth diminished to one year,” she said, stressing the need for prosecutors to make a strong case against wildlife smugglers.
In contrast, she said a Malaysian, Ng Soo Heong, had been sentenced to life imprisonment in China for smuggling 2,090 frozen pangolins and 1,800kg of scales from Malaysia to Guangdong on June 6, 2010.
“Although China is the largest market for the pangolin trade, its Government has been cracking down strongly on captured traders. Its stiff penalties are sending a strong deterrent message to traders,” she said.
“The authorities must also continue efforts to root out the kingpins of the pangolin trade.
“Based on the seizures, those captured are usually the middleman and it is obvious that some of them are being bankrolled,” she noted.
Methane released by a thinning permafrost may trigger catastrophic climate change and cost the world $60tn
John Vidal The Guardian 25 Jul 13;
Rapid thawing of the Arctic could trigger a catastrophic "economic timebomb" which would cost trillions of dollars and undermine the global financial system, say a group of economists and polar scientists.
Governments and industry have expected the widespread warming of the Arctic region in the past 20 years to be an economic boon, allowing the exploitation of new gas and oilfields and enabling shipping to travel faster between Europe and Asia. But the release of a single giant "pulse" of methane from thawing Arctic permafrost beneath the East Siberian sea "could come with a $60tn [£39tn] global price tag", according to the researchers who have for the first time quantified the effects on the global economy.
Even the slow emission of a much smaller proportion of the vast quantities of methane locked up in the Arctic permafrost and offshore waters could trigger catastrophic climate change and "steep" economic losses, they say.
The Arctic sea ice, which largely melts and reforms each year, is declining at an unprecedented rate. In 2012, it collapsed to under 3.5m sqkm by mid September, just 40% of its usual extent in the 1970s. Because the ice is also losing its thickness, some scientists expect the Arctic ocean to be largely free of summer ice by 2020.
The growing fear is that as the ice retreats, the warming of the sea water will allow offshore permafrost to release ever greater quantities of methane. A giant reservoir of the greenhouse gas, in the form of gas hydrates on the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS), could be emitted, either slowly over 50 years or catastrophically fast over a shorter time frame, say the researchers.
The ramifications of vanishing ice will also be felt far from the poles, they say because the region is pivotal to the functioning of Earth systems, such as oceans and climate. "The imminent disappearance of the summer sea ice in the Arctic will have enormous implications for both the acceleration of climate change, and the release of methane from off-shore waters which are now able to warm up in the summer," said Prof Peter Wadhams, head of the Polar ocean physics group at Cambridge University and one of the authors of the paper published in the journal Nature.
"This massive methane boost will have major implications for global economies and societies. Much of those costs would be borne by developing countries in the form of extreme weather, flooding and impacts on health and agricultural production," he said.
According to the authors, who using the Stern review, calculated that 80% of the extra impacts by value will occur in the poorer economies of Africa, Asia and South America. "Inundation of low-lying areas, extreme heat stress, droughts and storms are all magnified by the extra methane emissions," they authors write. They argue that global economic bodies have not taken into account the risks of rapid ice melt and that the only economic downside to the warming of the Arctic they have identified so far has been the possible risk of oil spills.
But, they say, economists are missing the big picture. "Neither the World Economic Forum nor the International Monetary Fund currently recognise the economic danger of Arctic change. [They must] pay much more attention to this invisible time-bomb. The impacts of just one [giant "pulse" of methane] approaches the $70-tn value of the world economy in 2012", said Prof Gail Whiteman, at the Rotterdam School of Management and another author.
The Nature report comes as global shipping companies prepare to send a record number of vessels across the north of Russia later in 2013, slashing miles travelled between Asia and Europe by over 35% and cutting costs up to 40%.
According to Russian authorities, 218 ships from Korea, China, Japan, Norway, Germany and elsewhere have so far applied for permission to follow the "Northern sea route" (NSR) this year. This route uses the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alaska and is only open for a few months each year with an icebreaker.
But following 2012's record collapse of the Arctic sea ice, shipping companies are gaining confidence to use the route. In 2012, only 46 ships sailed its entire length from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans and in 2011 only four. The route can save even medium-sized bulk carrier 10-15 days and hundreds of tonnes of bunker fuel on a journey between northern Norway and China.
Satellite data collated from the US National snow and ice data centre in Boulder, Colorado this week showed ice loss now accelerating and, at 8.2m sqkm (3.2m square miles) approaching the same extent as during last year's record melt. Over 130,000 sqkm of sea ice melted between July 1 and 15. "Compared to the 1981 to 2010 average, ice extent on July 15 was 1.06m sqkm (409,000 square miles) below average," said a spokesman.
Would Singapore’s most beautiful damselfly species be extinct by the construction of Cross Island Line? from Dragonflies & Damselflies of Singapore
Grandmama Clam and coral bleaching at the Terumbu Pempangs
from wild shores of singapore
Relationship between mistletoe, birds and butterflies
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Butterflies Galore! Orange Emigrant
from Butterflies of Singapore
Kash Cheong Straits Times 25 Jul 13;
A $17 MILLION bridge for monkeys and other wildlife is on track to be completed by the end of the year, the National Parks Board (NParks) and the Land Transport Authority confirmed yesterday.
Structural works for the Eco-Link@BKE are almost done, and the site is now being prepared for the planting of trees.
The 62m-long overhead bridge will reconnect Singapore's largest primary and secondary forests, the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Central Catchment Area. Both forests have been separated by the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) since 1986, leaving animals like rare banded leaf monkeys cut off from their fellow monkeys on the other side.
"The bridge is a boon for biodiversity," said conservationist Alan Ow Yong.
When ready, it will allow animals such as flying squirrels, palm civets and pangolins an easy way to cross the BKE.
"Animals will be able to move freely between the two reserves to find other food sources as well as mates. They will also help to propagate plant species as seeds are dispersed by more animals," Mr Ow explained yesterday.
Trees planted on the bridge will also provide food for animals, NParks said. The public will not be allowed onto the bridge in the first few years, to reduce the disturbance to the wildlife.
The eco-link is situated about 600m north of Rifle Range Road, between the Pan-Island Expressway and Dairy Farm exits.
Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post 25 Jul 13;
The Riau Haze Mitigation command post at Roesmin Nurjadin Airbase in Pekanbaru, Riau, was reopened on Wednesday in response to the recurrence of fires over the past several days.
"The command post was earlier moved to the Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency [BPBD], but today it was reopened at the airbase to facilitate trans-sector coordination," Riau BPBD head Said Saqlul Amri told The Jakarta Post.
He acknowledged the main command post was reopened to anticipate the haze, which had sparked protests from neighboring countries like Singapore and Malayasia, from recurring.
"In August, forest fires in Riau are predicted to be more severe. According to the BMKG [Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency], August is the peak of the dry season, that's why efforts should be made to anticipate the problem," said Amri.
Four helicopters have been deployed to conduct water bombing operations in the north of Riau, where the majority of fires have been detected. The local military command has sent an additional 200 troops - assisted by 100 public order officers - to Rokan Hulu, Rokan Hilir, Siak, Bengkalis and Dumai city, which are the worst-hit by forest and peatland fires.
The number of fires in Riau has continued to fluctuate and has tended to increase in the past three days. On Monday, 173 hot spots were detected. They dwindled to 165 the next day, but again rose to 183 on Tuesday.
The majority of fires are in Rokan Hilir, with 48, followed by Pelalawan (22), Siak (19), Bangkalis (18) and Rokan Hulu (17). As of Wednesday, only Pekanbaru was free of the fires.
Roesmin Nujadin Airbase operational head Let. Col. Prasetya H said the four helicopters were focusing on water bombing operations in Pelalawan and Dumai.
"Today, they're focusing operations in Dumai on fires near the city. The air quality has also dropped to 308 PSI [Pollutants Standards Index]," he added.
Nine choppers readied to put out land fires
Antara 24 Jul 13;
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - The National Disaster Mitigation Body (BNPB) has again readied nine helicopters to put out land and forest fires in Riau province.
"The nine helicopters earlier conducted aerial patrols to monitor hotspots in Riau. However, hotspots have appeared again so water-bombing efforts are needed," BNPB spokesman Agus Wibowo told Antara in Pekanbaru by phone on Wednesday.
The nine helicopters would be involved in water-bombing operations in turns, he said.
"The water bombing efforts are likely to have the same pattern as earlier. Four of the helicopters will lead water-bombing operations while the other three will conduct aerial patrols and be put on standby," he said.
As a coordinator of disaster mitigation efforts, BNPB would also ready three Cassa planes, consisting of one from the Air Force, one from the Navy and one from the Army, he said.
"Each of the forces has readied one plane to conduct cloud seeding, if needed," he said.
An Antara journalist observed smog again shrouded a number of areas in Riau province over the past few days.
The smog forced three planes to divert flights as visibility at Sultan Syarif Kasim (SSK) II Airport in the provincial capital Pekanbaru dropped to less than 500 meters.
The local authorities have again put the province under "smog alert status" and will cooperate with BNPB in putting out the land and forest fires. (*)
Editor: Heru
Forest fire occurs again in Riau as new hotspots found
Antara 24 Jul 13;
Pekanbaru, Riau Province (ANTARA News) - About 185 hotspots, possibly forest fires, have been found in Riau province recently, spokesman to National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Agus Wibowo said here on Wednesday.
"The recent number is an increase compared to our finding last Tuesday (July 23) of 48 hotspots," he said.
Meanwhile analyst from Pekanbaru`s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Warih Budi Lestari predicted hotspots will keep emerging in Riau province as Indonesia is in a drought season now meaning there will be little rain to eradicate them.
"From mid to end of July there is a dynamic graphic of hotspot occurrences in Riau. If it rains, the hotspots will reduce, but if it`s not, the number of hotspots will be increasing," he said.
Warih called on local people not to burn forest in order to open new plantation. Such action, he said, will hinder efforts to reduce hotspots in Riau.
Last June, Riau province suffered the worst due to an increase of hotspots allegedly originated from intentional forest fire by local people. Thousands of people are suffering acute respiratory disease because of the haze resulting from the forest fires. The haze even impacted people in neighboring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia.(*)
Editor: Heru
Jakarta minister vows action against forest-fire culprits
Zakir Hussain Indonesia Bureau Chief And Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Indonesia Correspondent In Jakarta
Straits Times 25 Jul 13;
INDONESIA will identify and act against companies found responsible for the latest round of forest fires in Riau, Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya has said. Investigations into those complicit in last month's severe haze are continuing, he told reporters yesterday.
His ministry also said in a statement that it was widening the net of culpability by taking a "multi-door" approach: This considers whether companies and individuals involved had violated one or more of 11 relevant laws. Apart from statutes on environmental protection and forestry, these include laws on taxation, Customs, money-laundering, and corruption.
"I have said the law must take its course, and I will encourage and ensure this," Dr Balthasar said. "Those who breach the law must face the consequences."
The comments came as the national disaster management agency (BNPB) reopened a command post in Pekanbaru yesterday, and some 1,300 soldiers were redeployed in Riau to fight fires.
They joined another 1,200 Riau disaster agency officials already battling the fires, aided by water-bombing and cloud-seeding sorties.
Yesterday, the number of hot spots fell sharply to 56 in Riau, down from 185 on Tuesday, BNPB said. The Riau disaster agency's rescue head, Mr Ferialdi, said the main challenge was getting to severe hot spots in peatlands far from access roads.
Residents in parts of Riau got some respite yesterday. In Dumai, the PSI fell to 77, well below a peak of 900 last month.
Dumai mayor Khairul Anwar told The Straits Times that the situation had improved compared to the past three days.
In Malaysia, conditions also improved yesterday with just one spot in Seri Manjung, Perak, reporting "unhealthy" air quality at 122 on the Department of Environment's air pollution index at midday.
Air quality in Port Klang improved from 120 in the past two days to 81 yesterday, and other areas saw marked improvement.
Still, Indonesian officials are on guard for fires in other provinces until the dry season ends in October.
Deputy Minister Arief Yuwono told reporters that two command posts to coordinate response efforts elsewhere will start operating tomorrow in Palembang, South Sumatra, and Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan.
Dr Balthasar also said the documents for ratifying the Asean Transboundary Haze Agreement are ready, and refuted concerns by reporters that MPs might raise other issues to stall it.
"We are in this together. And as a big country in Asia, we should lead, not trail behind. Signing it should be a matter of national pride," he added.
Additional reporting by Lester Kong in Malaysia
Hafiz Marzukhi The Star 25 Jul 13;
GEORGE TOWN: The air quality in Penang is inching towards the ‘unhealthy’ level.
The Air Pollutant Index (API) reading for several areas in the state on Thursday morning showed an upward trend.
According to the Department of Environment website, Seberang Jaya looked to cross into the unhealthy zone with its API of 95 at 8am.
The API for Prai and at Universiti Sains Malaysia are at 88 and 81 respectively.
Showers to ease arid weather conditions in several hazy states
Isabelle Lai and Manjit Kaur The Star 25 Jul 13;
PETALING JAYA: Rainfall is expected over several states in the next few days, which will hopefully help to clear up the hazy skies.
According to the Department of Environment (DOE), rain should fall over Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang.
“This weather condition is expected to help dispel the haze the country is experiencing,” it said in a statement here yesterday.
As at 5pm, the Air Pollutant Index readings showed slightly improved air quality, with just Seri Manjung in Perak recording an unhealthy level.
However, the number of hotspots in Sumatra are still on the rise, with the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre’s hotspot map displaying 292 hotspots yesterday, up from 252 on Monday.
In Malaysia, 27 hotspots were detected – seven each in Johor and Pahang, two in Negri Sembilan and 11 in Sarawak.
“Site investigations and enforcement action will be taken for each of the hotspots detected,” it said.
Indonesian authorities have begun cloud seeding efforts to induce rain over Riau province, which is currently engulfed in choking smog believed to be from resumed land and forest burnings.
The haze returned after the number of hotspots in Sumatra rose drastically from three last Thursday to 159 on Saturday.
However, Malaysia is not as badly affected this time around due to lighter wind patterns resulting in the haze spreading much slower.
Last month, thick haze enveloped parts of the peninsula and Singapore – aided by forest fires and strong winds – with air quality in several areas reaching hazardous levels.
In Ipoh, the API reading in Seri Manjung was at 120 as at 3pm.
State Department of Environment director Abdul Razak Abdul Manap said the northwards wind was bringing the haze into that part of Perak and affecting the air quality.
His officers, he said, had been instructed to carry out ground surveillance for any open burning as well as via the satellite to detect any hotspot.
“Once we have detected the locations, the Fire and Rescue Department will be called in to assist in putting out the fires,” he said.
Meanwhile, a fire at the Tanjung Tualang landfill near Batu Gajah since Tuesday had worsened the air quality there, with billowing smoke covering the 4ha site.
Fire and Rescue Department’s Operations chief Halid Md Zin said 14 firemen had the fire under control within 20 minutes but it took them nine hours to completely put out the blaze.
“We are still determining the cause of the fire,” he said, urging the public not to encroach into the site to carry out open burning.
Haze clears leaving 1 area with unhealthy air quality
New Straits Times 25 Jul 13;
KUALA LUMPUR: The haze situation in the country has improved, with only one station recording an unhealthy level at 5pm yesterday, compared with three on Tuesday.
The Environment Department yesterday said the unhealthy reading was in Seri Manjung in Perak with an Air Pollutant Index (API) of 120.
Overall, the API readings at 12 stations were healthy while 39 others had moderate readings.
But the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre reported that hot spots in Sumatera had increased from 252 on Tuesday, to 292 yesterday.
The increase was not apparent in Malaysia, where 27 hot spots were detected yesterday compared with 26 the previous day.
The 27 hot spots were in Johor (7), Pahang (7), Negri Sembilan (2) and Sarawak (11).
Director-general of Environment Datuk Halimah Hassan on Monday had sent a letter to her Indonesian counterpart to express Malaysia's concern about the spike in the number of hot spots in central Sumatra.
She urged Indonesia to take action to prevent and put out forest fires in central Sumatra, which had brought the haze back to Malaysia.
The department had been keeping tabs to ensure there was no open burning in all states.
It took steps to prevent peat fires and opened a 24-hour operations centre to receive complaints on open burning.
Uncloaking the Haze
from Green Drinks Singapore
Save MacRitchie Forest: 14. A Pangolin's Plea
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Chek Jawa Boardwalk - sign up for walk on 3 August (Sat)
from Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs
Slow death on Beting Bronok
from wild shores of singapore
Ultraviolet Fluorescence in Spiders
from Macro Photography in Singapore
Butterflies Galore! Spotted Black Crow
from Butterflies of Singapore
Today Online 23 Jul 13;
SINGAPORE — After a month of clear skies and a flurry of activities to tackle the problem, the threat of haze returned yesterday, with several parts of Malaysia blanketed in thick smog as air pollution reached unhealthy levels.
The situation prompted the National Environment Agency (NEA) to contact Indonesia to register its concerns over the “sudden spike” in the number of hot spots in Indonesia’s Sumatra region — which came after the number had fallen steadily thanks to firefighting efforts — and to extend the Republic’s support and assistance to prevent the haze situation from recurring.
Since Singapore enjoyed a respite from the haze exactly a month ago, several government leaders, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had warned that the haze would return and urged Singaporeans to be prepared. The latest warning was issued on Sunday by both Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu.
In a statement, the NEA said that there has been a “marked increase” in the number of hot spots in Sumatra in the last two days, with 261 and 252 hot spots detected on Sunday and yesterday, respectively.
With 250 hot spots or more detected on two consecutive days — and with dry weather conditions persisting and prevailing winds blowing towards other countries in the region — the NEA said it has also advised the interim ASEAN Coordinating Centre For Transboundary Haze Pollution that Alert Level 3 for Sumatra has been activated.
When Alert Level 3 is triggered, a panel comprising experts from ASEAN countries may be activated and deployed to the affected country, with the latter’s consent, to assist in assessing the fire and haze situation and provide their recommendations on resources that need to be mobilised to mitigate the fires and transboundary haze pollution.
The NEA said its Chief Executive Officer Ronnie Tay contacted Indonesian Deputy Minister for Environmental Degradation Control and Climate Change Arief Yuwono and Indonesian Deputy Minister for Environment and Social Vulnerability, Coordinating Ministry for People’s Welfare, Mr Willem Rampangilei.
Mr Tay “expressed Singapore’s concerns that the region will once again be shrouded by smoke haze if the hot spots in Sumatra continue to remain high”, the NEA said. It added that Mr Tay also sought an urgent update of Indonesia’s efforts to tackle the fires there and urged Indonesia to take immediate action.
In response, Mr Rampangilei said there has been “new sporadic burning”, the NEA said. He also assured Mr Tay that the Indonesian government is monitoring the situation and taking various actions on the ground to suppress the fires, such as cloud-seeding and water-bombing efforts.
Mr Rampangilei also said that “law enforcement and socialisation efforts on the ground” have been strengthened and the deployment of additional police and troops to the Riau area will be considered urgently in a high-level inter-agency meeting.
Yesterday afternoon, five areas in Malaysia registered unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings: Bukit Rambai, Malacca City in Malacca, Muar in Johor, Banting in Selangor and Cheras in Kuala Lumpur.
The haze in Malaysia could continue for two to three days before rain was expected to bring relief, the authorities said.
The Indonesian media reported that flights in Dumai and Pekanbaru were affected by the poor visibility caused by smoke from the forest fires. Two Dumai-bound flights had to return to Pekanbaru, while three other flights from Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru city were delayed.
Officials from Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia met last week in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the haze issue. At the meeting, Indonesia committed to ratify the regional pact on transboundary haze pollution by early next year, at the latest, and agreed to share digitised concession maps with other governments. WITH AGENCIES
Haze had ‘no clear impact’ on Changi passenger traffic, retail
Sumita d/o Sreedharan Today Online 24 Jul 13;
SINGAPORE — Fears that the haze crisis last month would hit the tourism and retail sectors turned out to be unfounded, going by numbers released yesterday by Changi Airport Group (CAG) and credit card company MasterCard.
In a press release, the CAG said the haze had “no discernible impact” on passenger and aircraft movements.
In fact, passenger traffic at Changi Airport increased by 6.1 per cent last month compared to the same period last year, with 4.67 million passengers passing through the airport — the highest monthly figure so far this year.
Flight movements also grew at the same rate, with 28,300 aircraft landings and take-offs recorded.
The CAG said air traffic to and from regions such as South-east Asia, North-east Asia, South Asia and the Middle East grew.
For the first six months of the year, Changi Airport managed 26.2 million passengers, an increase of 5 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year. Aircraft movements grew by 4.6 per cent to 166,800.
Separately, MasterCard said its cardholders spent US$797.4 million (S$1 billion) in Singapore between May 31 to June 30 — the first month of the Great Singapore Sale (GSS) — an increase of 12.4 per cent over the same period last year. Singapore-based MasterCard holders accounted for almost 70 per cent of the spend.
Overall, the number of transactions also rose 17.1 per cent to about 6.4 million last month, compared to the same period last year.
MasterCard Singapore General Manager Julienne Loh said: “The haze that hit Singapore in mid-June certainly did not dampen the GSS shopping spirit.”
The recent bout of haze — during which the Pollutant Standards Index reading hit a record high of 401 — lasted for about week. There were initial concerns about the impact on the economy, especially on tourism, if the haze lasted for a prolonged period, given the record PSI levels.
CIMB Research regional economist Song Seng Wun noted that the haze last month had “marginal impact” on tourism-related industries because it was short-lived and the record-high PSI readings were registered on weekdays.
“If it had been persistently bad into the weekend, we could have seen a more adverse impact,” he said.
Mr Song noted that although there were some tourists who cut short their holidays, no major conventions were cancelled because of the haze.
To date, the worst economic impact suffered by Singapore because of the haze was in 1997, when the Republic was blanketed in smog for three months.
Professor Euston Quah, head of Nanyang Technological University’s Department of Economics, had estimated that the haze cost the country about US$300 million, including an estimated loss of US$210 million in tourism.
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Indonesia Correspondent In Jakarta
Straits Times 24 Jul 13;
JAKARTA will begin redeploying troops and firefighters in Riau province in Sumatra to help put out forest fires, following a sharp jump in the number of hot spots over the weekend that has seen the return of hazy days.
Unhealthy air quality levels were reported in some parts of Malaysia yesterday, while Singapore has been spared so far because of the wind direction.
Troops and relief officials sent to Riau last month, when the worst haze in years shrouded the region, but they were pulled out after relief operations were scaled down on July 10. The Riau authorities then took over operations from Jakarta.
"The number of hot spots spiked even as the provincial government did its utmost. The national government is stepping in," Mr Willem Rampangilei, a deputy minister at the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare, told The Straits Times yesterday.
He was speaking after an inter-agency meeting to discuss the haze situation.
Yesterday, disaster officials conducted more than 22 water-bombing operations, mostly over provincial capital Pekanbaru, and just one cloud-seeding sortie, as there were not enough clouds.
National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said there were 183 hot spots in Riau yesterday - higher than the 167 recorded on Monday and Sunday's 172.
Coordinating People's Welfare Minister Agung Laksono chided local officials on the ground for not doing enough to prevent and stop open burning, which was blamed for last month's haze that hit Singapore and Malaysia hard.
"Local governments need to be proactive," he said. "They need to tell their people that clearing land by burning is against the law."
The spike in hot spots came after an Asean meeting on transboundary haze in Kuala Lumpur last week. Indonesia had declined to make its concession maps public, agreeing to share them only with governments.
On Monday, Singapore registered its concerns with Indonesian officials over the latest situation and also extended its support and assistance to Indonesia.
Malaysia also wrote to Indonesia to register its concerns, according to a Bloomberg report, as air quality remained at unhealthy levels in some parts, including Malacca and Johor. The haze also affected states further north yesterday.
In Bukit Rambai, Malacca, the Air Pollutant Index reading hit the unhealthy level of 118 at 7am, said the Malaysian Meteorological Department. In Tanjung Malim, Perak, it reached a high of 110 - also unhealthy - at 2pm.
Additional reporting by Lester Kong in Kuala Lumpur
Encroachments cause forest fire in Tesso Nilo National Park
Jakarta Globe 23 Jul 13;
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - Encroachments on forest land have caused forest fires in Tesso Nilo National Park (TNTN) in Riau Province, according to an official.
Encroachers set fire to clear land for plantations, Kupin Simbolon, the head of Tesso Nilo National Park, said here on Tuesday.
Last June, when Riau Province were hit by massive forest fires, 18 hotspots were detected in the national park, he said.
The areas which are prone to encroachments and thus man-made forest fires, are Bukit Kusuma, Toro dan Dolit.
"If there are no rains within three days, many hotspots are detected," he said.
The TNTN officers have intensified patrol to prevent further encroachments, he said, adding that so far no one was arrested for encroachment on forest land.
The 83,068-ha Tesso Nilo National Park is located in Pelalawan and Indragiri Hulu Districts, Riau Province.
Based on an investigation by WWF and TNTN in 2011, a total of 52,266.50 ha land in the national park has been encroached and around 36,353.50 ha forest land has been converted into oil palm plantations.
There were 1,613 families who encroached the national park until 2009. They claimed that they have lived in the forest area far before the government designated the area as a national park.
(T.F012/Uu.F001/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Indonesia Comes Under Fire for Forest Fires
Baradan Kuppusamy Jakarta Globe 23 Jul 13;
Kuala Lumpur. With a propensity to devour everything in their path and spiral quickly out of control, leaving behind swathes of scorched earth, forest fires are considered a hazard in most parts of the world.
In Indonesia, however, fires are the preferred method for clearing large areas of land for massive plantations of commercial crops.In the first half of 2013, research studies have already recorded 8,343 forest fires, a higher number than in preceding years.
While some blazes occurred naturally, igniting in the country’s vast rainforests that are transformed in the dry summer months into an expanse of kindling, experts say that many fires were created by plantation companies and, to a lesser extent, by local communities, to clear millions of hectares of jungle land needed for oil palm plantations.
According to the Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor), oil palm plantations covered 7.8 million hectares in Indonesia in 2011, and produced roughly 23.5 million tonnes of crude palm oil that year.
The cheapest and easiest way to clear enough land to yield these huge quantities of oil is to set fire to acre upon acre of rainforest and let the wind and the flames do the work. This method is also efficient in reducing the acidity of peat soil.
Peat soil is a soggy organic matter that acts as anathema to palm trees. This explains why about two-thirds of forest fires in Indonesia occur on peat lands.
Unfortunately, peat soil becomes extremely toxic at high temperatures, emitting greenhouse gases and creating haze and smog. Peat fires can burn on for weeks, even months, endangering wildlife and human communities far from the site of the actual fire.
For years, palm oil-producing companies in Indonesia and Malaysia, which together account for 85 percent of the world’s palm oil production every year, have come under fire from activists and scientists who say the “forest fire method” poses serious environmental and health risks for the entire region.
While most of these fires originate in Sumatra, changes in wind direction mean that smoke travels to nearby countries.
Last month, for instance, the international community pilloried Indonesia for fires that choked parts of neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia.
The haze that enveloped the latter was so bad that the government in Kuala Lumpur declared a state of emergency in parts of the country where air pollution index readings reached a critical 750 on June 23, well above the “hazardous” level of 300.
Malaysian citizens were advised to stay indoors, while Singaporean authorities cancelled outdoor summer activities as panicked residents emptied stores of their supply of protective masks.
The average air pollution index rating in both Malaysia and Singapore now hovers at over 100, a dramatic increase from the preceding decade, which “could contribute to climate change and is seriously detrimental to the health of people in the region,” Gurmit Singh, a renowned Malaysian environmentalist, told Inter Press Service (IPS).
Blame has been bandied about, with governments, corporations and even local communities named as culprits, but public censure has failed to prompt concrete action.
Environment ministers representing five members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) flew to Malaysia’s capital last week in search of a lasting solution to what has become a predictable annual crisis, but the talks concluded on July 17 with no firm agreement on the table.
All that officials from Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand approved was a plan for Indonesia to refer Asean’s 2002 Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution to its parliament by 2014 — hardly a promising solution, since the accord appeared before Indonesia’s legislature in 2009 but was not mentioned once during the entire session.
The outcome of the high-level meeting comes as no surprise to T. Jayabalan, a public health consultant and adviser to Friends of the Earth-Malaysia.
“For almost 20 years these governments have adopted a lackadaisical attitude towards resolving the problem [of forest fires]” he told IPS.
“No concrete measures have been taken because any measure imposed will impact the profits of palm oil companies,” he added.
A quick look at the stakes involved in palm oil production supports Jayabalan’s claim: according to Cifor, crude palm oil brought in $12.4 billion in foreign exchange in 2008, while the government bagged another billion dollars in export taxes alone that same year.
The sector employs around 3.2 million people every year —not something insignificant in a country where 30 million people live below the poverty line.
Earlier this year, the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association unveiled an ambitious plan to grow the sector by 5.4 percent by the year 2020, adding another four million hectares to existing plantations around the country.
With such zealous plans in the pipeline, a solution is urgently needed, “rather than more talk and postponement of key decisions,” Jayabalan stressed.
He and other experts believe the first step must entail recognizing the role palm oil companies play in creating fires.
Data published last month by the Washington-based World Research Institute (WRI) shows that the number of fires per hectare, is “three to four times higher within oil palm concession boundaries than outside of them.”
The research also suggests that there are significant discrepancies between maps issued by the ministry of forestry and those being used by oil palm companies.
According to WRI, Company Business Land Use Rights license boundaries are generally nested within, and are smaller than, the concession boundaries the government is using. This creates confusion about responsibility for fires found on land thought to be within concessions but outside areas the companies fully control and are directly developing.
With more fires expected in the months between August and October, environmentalists are urging governments to “come to terms with the haze and its root causes because people in the region suffer from the pollutants,” Singh said.”Various studies have shown that haze pollution leads to an increase in the number of people suffering from upper respiratory tract infections, asthma and rhinitis.”
Countries in the region are also being called upon to cooperate in the development and implementation of prevention mechanisms, monitoring and early warning systems, information-sharing networks and other channels for providing mutual assistance.
Unfortunately, these steps have currently been stalled by Indonesia’s refusal to ratify the AseanHaze Pollution Agreement.
Inter Press Service
Posts
visitors since Nov 07