Best of our wild blogs: 10 Jan 14

Interpretation of Red Junglefowl Crow And Its Sound Analysis from Bird Ecology Study Group

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Republic Poly opens aquaculture centre

Nur Isyana Isaman and Shahidah Adriana Channel NewsAsia 9 Jan 14;

SINGAPORE: Republic Polytechnic has opened an aquaculture centre, the first of its kind at a polytechnic in Singapore.

The Aquaria, as it is called, is a technologically-advanced learning facility for students in the new Diploma in Marine Science and Aquaculture course, where they will conduct research in outdoor and indoor laboratories.

The centre will also support research in marine science and aquaculture technologies, supporting Singapore's goal to boost the local food fish production.

Three agreements were also signed with industry partners to conduct collaborations on research projects and student internships.

Ashley Chua, deputy director of School of Applied Science at Republic Polytechnic, said: "We also have a long, 16-week internship programme where they (the students) will be sent out to the farms to be exposed to farm operations."

Minister of State for National Development Dr Maliki Osman said: "The new course -- the Marine Science and Aquaculture course -- is a move in the right direction. We are supportive of this because it meets the needs of the country. It provides opportunities for the industry to work with educational institutions like Republic Poly to develop R&D (research and development) capabilities."

- CNA/gn

Aquaculture centre opens at Republic Poly
Today Online 10 Jan 14;

SINGAPORE — An aquaculture centre has opened for Republic Polytechnic students in its new Marine Science and Aquaculture diploma programme, which aims to take in 50 students this year.

The centre will conduct research in areas such as fish-feed formulation and identifying more cost-effective fish-health management methods in aquaculture facilities.

The Government aims to increase the local production of fish from about 7 per cent to 15 per cent of local consumption. Approximately half the fish and shellfish consumed around the world are produced through aquaculture, also known as aquafarming.

The 180-sq-m facility on the polytechnic’s premises has five outdoor circular fibreglass tanks for a wide array of fresh and saltwater fishes. It also has 48 experimental tanks indoors with ultraviolet light and temperature-control capabilities for sea and freshwater teleost and crustaceans, as well as another tank for coral conservation studies and research.

Polytechnic Principal and Chief Executive Officer Yeo Li Pheow said: “It is important to ensure that our students are kept abreast of modern aquaculture technologies so that they can act as conduits, translating advanced techniques and technologies into the industry, thus accelerating the growth of our local aquaculture industry.

Speaking at the launch event yesterday, guest of honour Maliki Osman, who is Minister of State for National Development, said the government is supportive of the new diploma course because it meets the needs of the country.

“It provides opportunities for the industry to work with educational institutions such as Republic Polytechnic to develop research and development capabilities,” he said.

Three agreements were also signed with industry partners to conduct collaborations on research projects and student internships.

Mr Ashley Chua, Deputy Director of the School of Applied Science at the polytechnic, said: “We also have a long 16-week internship programme where (the students) will be sent to the farms to be exposed to farm operations.” Nur Isyana Isaman and Shahidah Adriana


Speech by MOS Maliki Osman at the opening ceremony of Republic Polytechnic Aquaculture Centre
Ministry of National Development 9 Jan 14;

1 It is my pleasure to be here this morning at the opening of The Aquaria, Republic Polytechnic’s Aquaculture Centre.

2 Today is also Republic Polytechnic’s Open House 2014, which will showcase a new Diploma in Marine Science and Aquaculture. I believe these new developments will help support, nurture and grow Singapore’s aquaculture industry.

Ensuring food supply resilience
3 Singapore imports more than 90% of its food supply. Hence, our key strategy to ensure our food supply resilience is to diversify our overseas sources of food. We import various food items, be they fresh, chilled or frozen, from more than 100 countries. In the case of food fish, we import from more than 60 countries, and as far as Norway.

4 At the same time, we complement our source diversification strategy by locally producing key food items, namely, leafy vegetables, food fish and eggs. As we are not an agricultural country, and with limited land for farming, local production is expectantly on a small scale. Nevertheless, during supply disruptions, our local produce can help meet our local demand to some extent.

5 Today, our consumption of live and chilled fish is 52,000 tonnes, of which 3,200 tonnes, or 6% of the total fish consumption is produced by our food fish farming industry. The rest is imported.

6 Currently, our local supply comes mainly from coastal fish farms in north-east and north-west of Singapore. They produce marine food fish species like seabass, grouper, and snapper as well as green mussel and crustacean. There are also freshwater food fish farms producing tilapia, snakehead, catfish and carp. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has set a target of 15% of fish to be produced locally. At the farm level, there is also a minimum production level of 17 tonnes of fish per half-hectare space per year

Challenges ahead

7 To meet these ambitious targets of increasing local food fish production, our local fish farming industry faces significant challenges. For a start, both land and sea space for farming is limited in Singapore due to many other competing uses such as housing, industry, defence, transport, port and maritime activities. The farms also face a shortage of manpower, and in particular, there are not many Singaporeans who are keen to work in this sector. Third and not the least, there are also high risks of fish and seafood related disease outbreaks at the farms, especially in the coastal fish farms.

8 To address these challenges, AVA is actively collaborating with various stakeholders, namely, the farms, educational and research institutions. Let me briefly elaborate three broad areas.

9 First, there is scope for more research and development (R&D) in the field of aquaculture. In 2003, AVA set up its Marine Aquaculture Centre to develop and harness technology to facilitate the development and expansion of large-scale hatchery and fish farming production in Singapore and the region. AVA’s Aquaculture Centre, in collaboration with Rong-Yao Fisheries Pte Ltd, was successful in spawning pompano, or golden pomfret, fry in tropical waters on a commercially viable scale. I visited the Rong-Yao Fisheries facilities recently and was very impressed at their clear vision and passion to succeed in this field. I encourage companies to also invest in aquaculture R&D. There are many areas of research focus, including stock enhancement, selective breeding for faster growth or disease resistance, fish nutrition and feeding. Such R&D will help boost our local food fish production.

10 Second, we must take bold steps to boost the productivity of our fish farms. To this end, AVA has been working closely with fish farmers to develop farm productivity improvement plans, conducting R&D and technology transfer, and advising them on good farm management practices like fish health and feed management protocols. Farmers are encouraged to leverage on AVA’s Food Fund, which is now in its third tranche of $10 million. The Fund supports R&D of farming technology with direct practical industry application, so as to maximise local farm productivity to help ensure food supply resilience. For example, one fish farm off the coast of Lim Chu Kang tapped on the Food Fund to purchase a water quality monitoring system that can monitor the dissolved oxygen levels in the fish nets and alert the farmer through SMS when low levels are detected.

11 Third, we should aim towards attracting and nurturing more younger Singaporeans to join the sector. It is important to develop the manpower capability to help transform the industry and achieve higher productivity. I am glad that Republic Polytechnic supports and nurtures the aquaculture industry by training a pool of skilled professionals for the future. The polytechnic’s Aquaculture Centre as well as its new Diploma in Marine Science and Aquaculture offer an excellent opportunity to attract and train young Singaporeans. As the Principal and CEO of Republic Polytechnic has earlier mentioned, this new centre will not only train students, but also facilitate collaborative projects with Republic Polytechnic’s partners. The MOUs that Republic Polytechnic is signing with Temasek Lifesciences Laboratory (TLL), the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) and Resorts World Sentosa Marine Life Park (MLP) today, as well as the Joint Lab Agreement with James Cook University (JCU), will value add to the students’ learning experience by opening up more opportunities in areas such as internships, scholarships and industry related final-year projects. The staff exchanges and joint R&D projects will also forge closer ties with the players in this sector. The joint laboratory with James Cook University on marine research and conservation is a case in point. We must continuously develop new aquaculture technologies and ensure a sustained pipeline of skilled manpower to support the growth of the sector.

12 AVA also supports the industry in capability development. I understand that there are currently two students from Republic Polytechnic on internship at AVA who are involved in projects to study parasites in locally farmed food fish as well as feed nutrition for guppy growth and maturity. I am confident that their project findings would come in handy for the industry.

Conclusion
13 Let me conclude by saying that for Singapore’s food security, ensuring a sustainable supply of food for Singaporeans, all of us – the industry, educational and research institutions, and the Government – must work hand-in-hand to raise farm productivity with more R&D and technology adoption. Each of us cannot achieve this on our own. I look forward to greater collaboration amongst all the stakeholders in the years ahead.

14 On this note, let me congratulate Republic Polytechnic on the opening of the new Aquaculture Centre and launching the new Diploma in Marine Science and Aquaculture. I look forward to seeing your graduates infuse new and exciting ideas and innovation into the aquaculture industry. All the very best. Thank you.

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Malaysia: Carcass identified as that of pilot whale

New Straits Times 10 Jan 14;

KUCHING: The carcass of a sea creature that washed ashore at Pasir Panjang in Santubong two weeks ago has been identified as a short-finned pilot whale (globicephalamacrohynchus).

Sarawak Forestry managing director Datuk Ali Yusop said they had confirmed with the National Task Force for Marine Mammal Stranding Network that this was the first discovery of a short-finned pilot whale here.

"The discovery marks the 16th species of marine mammals found in Sarawak."
Earlier, the 3m-long carcass was misidentified as a Bryde's whale (balaenopteraeden) because of the poor-resolution photographs.

The correct identification was made after an examination on the skull by experts from Sarawak Forestry, as well as the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

"The species identification was based on the presence of tooth sockets on the upper rostrum of the skull and the number of socket counts.

"The pronounced tooth sockets and wear-and-tear on the rostrum indicate that it was an adult whale," Ali said, adding that the short-finned pilot whale was a marine mammal commonly found in tropical marine waters.

"Although the carcass was too decomposed to determine the cause of death, accidental entanglement in fishing gear is one of the main human-related causes of mortality in marine mammals worldwide."

Ali said they had also examined carcasses of finless porpoises and Irrawaddy dolphins that were trapped in fishing gear here.

"It is important that fishermen know how to respond when they find dolphins trapped in their nets."

All marine mammals are listed as totally protected species under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998. The local community, especially those living near water bodies, plays an important role in ensuring the safety of marine mammals.

The Marine Mammals Stranding Network, launched in Sarawak last October, is aimed at providing quick and effective response to rescue stranded or trapped marine mammals and carrying out research on the causes of marine mammal stranding. The task force is also responsible for enhancing public awareness about marine mammal conservation.

The final four of the total 11 Marine Mammal Rescue Zones in Malaysia have been assigned to Sarawak, namely Zone 8 (Kuching, Samarahan and SriAman); Zone 9 (Sibu, Sarikei, Betong and Mukah); Zone 10 (Bintulu and Kapit); and Zone 11 (Miri and Limbang).

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Indonesia: Aceh Court Orders Palm Oil Firm to Pay for Environmental Damage

Nurdin Hasan Jakarta Globe 9 Jan 14;

A court in the Aceh district of Meulaboh has declared palm oil company Kalista Alam guilty of clearing Rawa Tripa peat forests in Aceh by burning land.

“Based on trial evidence, we declare PT Kalista Alam guilty of having burned peatlands in Rawa Trip forest, which has caused environmental damages,” chief judge Rahmawati said, during a seven-hour reading of the verdict that ended on Wednesday night.

The Meulaboh District Court also ordered for the confiscation of 5,769-hectare land run by Kalista Alam in Aceh, and for the company to pay fines and restoration fees.

“We order PT Kalista Alam to compensate material losses worth Rp 114 billion ($9.45 million) and pay environment restoration fees totaling Rp 251 billion.”

The ruling also sets a Rp 5 million daily fine for each day the company delays paying the compensation and restoration costs.

The panel of judges at the court rejected all the company’s defense arguments. They said Kalista Alam’s activities in Rawa Tripa destroyed as many as 1,000 hectares of land in the peat forest, more specifically the sections situated in Darul Makmur subdistrict in the Aceh district of Nagan Raya.

The civic lawsuit was filed by Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment in 2012, following intense protests from environmental activists against the company’s activities in the peatland forest.

The ministry originally demanded that Kalista Alam pay Rp 300 billion in compensation.

The Banda Aceh Administrative Court in May last year ruled in favor of Kalista Alam in its lawsuit against the Aceh governor’s revocation of its permit to clear and operate on a 1,605-hectare land in Rawa Tripa, a forest and peatland region in the province’s Nagan Raya district.

Kalista Alam obtained the permit to open the plantation from then-Governor Irwandi Yusuf in August, 2011. But the governor’s decision was met with protests by environmental activists who said that the area was the habitat of critically endangered Sumatran orangutans and other rare animals.

The Aceh chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) attempted to drag the governor to the Aceh state administrative court, but the court rejected Walhi’s suit on April 3, 2012. Walhi then appealed the ruling to the Medan High Court. On Aug. 30, 2012, the Medan High Court ordered the governor, now Zainal Abdullah, who was elected in April 2012, to revoke the permit.

Kalista Alam’s lawyer, Alfian C. Sarumaha, told journalists after the hearing that his client would appeal the case.

“The judges [based the verdict] merely on several samples, and didn’t examine all the 1,000-hectare land allegedly [destroyed],” he said.

Kalista earlier argued that its burning of land in Rawa Tripa was already in line with existing regulations.

A director of Kalista Alam, identified only as S. R., and a subordinate are standing a separate trial in the same court in Meulaboh over a criminal lawsuit concerning the same case.

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Preserve Malay cemetery as green lung

Sutari Supari Straits Times Forum 9 Jan 14;

THE Malay cemetery in Jalan Kubor should be preserved because of its historical significance and ecological value (“NHB project to document Malay cemetery”; last Saturday).

The 33,900 sq m plot dates back to the 1800s and is the oldest Malay cemetery here.

It is the resting place of notable personalities and community leaders such as Haji Ambok Sooloh and Syed Alwi Ali Aljunied, and the walled-up part of the compound is the Old Malay Royal Graveyard.

In March 2012, the Nature Society (Singapore) and some others conducted a bird and plant survey at the cemetery, and found the site to be rich in plant, insect and avian life.

Of particular interest was a huge fig tree. Its fruits attracted many birds such as the black-naped oriole, Asian glossy starling and golden-bellied gerygone. The uncommon oriental magpie-robin was also spotted.

The cemetery forms a green lung and oasis amid the urban sprawl of Rochor/Kampung Glam, and I urge the Government to preserve it.

Sutari Supari

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Best of our wild blogs: 9 Jan 14

Launch of the Faith & Nature Eco-Guide!
from The Green Bush

Welcome Swallow adult picks up faecal sacs from chicks
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Butterflies Galore! : Common Palm Dart
from Butterflies of Singapore

Requiem or recovery?: the Sumatran rhino 200 years after its description from Mongabay.com news by Jeremy Hance

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Govt to review priorities, plans related to environmental sustainability

Monica Kotwani Channel NewsAsia 8 Jan 14;

SINGAPORE: The government will embark on a national exercise this year to review Singapore's priorities, plans and projects related to environmental sustainability.

It will do so in two phases, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan at the inaugural Singapore Sustainability Symposium on Wednesday.

The symposium is organised by the Nanyang Technological University's Sustainability Earth Office.

The two-and-a-half day symposium will see some 120 local and international participants discuss sustainable solutions to overcoming challenges faced by cities.

The first phase is expected to begin by March and will involve public consultation to set out the country's vision and common values.

Dr Balakrishnan said the exercise aims to involve all Singaporeans, and the government will also be working closely with non-government organisations.

He said the next phase will take place from the middle of the year and will involve mapping out projects and programmes. This will contribute to the revised Sustainable Singapore Blueprint by the end of the year.

Dr Balakrishnan said: "If you look at the global climate change, the impact on our weather, you look at epidemics, you look at floods, droughts, trans-boundary haze -- these are all early warning signs.

“I believe we need to get ahead of that, and we need to embark on a consultation exercise because the solutions cannot just lie with the government.

"The solutions have to be generated in laboratories; they need to be upscaled so they become economically viable. Policies and legislation may need to be adjusted.

“By the end of the year, you will see a revised Sustainable Singapore Blueprint, one which will sketch our priorities (and) plans, and will provide guidance for the projects in the years to come."

- CNA/ec

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Malaysia: Massive plans to develop Sipadan

Muguntan Vanar The Star 9 Jan 14;

KOTA KINANABALU: A China-based company is looking at a massive RM2.5bil integrated tourism development project in an area around the world-renowned diving haven of Pulau Sipadan.

The company – China’s Diving Best – is in discussion with Sabah Economic and Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA) to facilitate their proposed development of a large scale development of a tourism project in the Semporna area.

SEDIA chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohd Yaakub Johari said they had met the officials of the company a second time on Monday as follow up to the first meeting in June last year.

He said the China group had expressed strong interest in developing a large area in Sipadan into tourism-based resort, commercial and high-end residential areas with a focus on marine activities.

Under their proposal, he said that the project would be developed under five zones - residential area; commercial development; high-end resort; diving school and administrative centre at total investment cost of RM2.5bil.

He said under the proposal of the company they expect to receive one million tourists annually; provide 4,000 employment opportunities; house a population of 12,000 people; and have a construction scale of 700,000 square metres.

Dr Yaakub said that the meeting with the company’s delegation involved SEDIA, Tawau Municipal Council, Sabah Tourism Board, and Immigration department.

The meetings served as for SEDIA to answer key enquiries from the foreign investors, including fiscal incentives; immigration policies; real estate and land policies; available resources; advantages of investment in Sabah; and project construction management policies.

Diving Best, is known more for its Sanya Diving Training Centre business in Sanya City of China’s Hainan Province.

It has been certified by the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS), Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) and International Scuba diving school (SSI), with qualified professional divers engaged in diving tourism and leisure sport.

The company is also known for working with various international hotel brands such as the Ritz Carlton, Hilton, Sheraton, Marriott, and also China’s Horizon Resort and Spa group in opening several sea tourism-based hotels and resorts in China.

Sabah is well-known in China as an eco and marine-based tourism destination that has raised interest in the company to to enter Sabah.

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Malaysia: Weatherman forecasts strong winds, rough seas up to Monday

The Star 9 Jan 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: The Category Two strong winds and rough seas occurring in the waters off Kelantan and Terengganu are expected to prevail up to Monday, according to the Meteorological Department.

It said in a statement that the winds of between 50 and 60 km per hour and waves exceeding 4.5 metres in height were dangerous for all beach activities and shipping, including ferry services.

It also forecast Category One strong winds and rough seas in the waters off Pahang, eastern Johor, Sarawak, the federal territory of Labuan and Sabah (in the Interior, West Coast, Kudat and Sandakan divisions).

The winds of between 40 and 50 km per hour and waves as high as 3.5 metres were expected to prevail from tomorrow up to Monday, it said, adding that this situation was dangerous for small boats and sea sports and recreational activities. - Bernama

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Indonesia: Rethink needed on turtle conservation

University of Queensland 9 Jan 14;

Green turtle populations have expanded so much in Indonesia’s east coast islands marine protected areas that they are adopting new feeding habits, degrading the ecosystem and threatening their own conservation.

Scientists and conservationists had believed that marine protected areas would be key to enhancing the recovery of protected species and ecosystems.

But a new international study by The University of Queensland and Radboud University Nijemegen in the Netherlands has shown this conservation method may have the opposite effect.

Lead scientist Dr Marjolijn Christianen from Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands and her collaborators, including Professor Peter Mumby from The University of Queensland, have shown that destructive grazing of high numbers of green turtles concentrated in a small number of marine protected areas leads to on-going degradation and imminent collapse of seagrass habitat.

The study found that when the turtle numbers increased to about 20 turtles per hectare their foraging habits changed from eating only seagrass tips to digging up and consuming the roots and rhizomes, creating abundant bare gaps and increasing erosion and reducing seagrass regrowth.

Dr Christiansen said the study used a combination of experiments, monitoring and computer models to determine that the increasing grazer density of the turtles would cause a sudden collapse of their own habitat.

“We discovered that turtles adopted a new grazing strategy and started to dig for roots after they had already removed 100 per cent of the plants that lie above the seabed,” Dr Christianen said.

“This is primarily because turtles from the area concentrated inside the reserve and reached unprecedented population densities.”

UQ’s Professor Mumby said recent protection efforts had been successful in many areas worldwide, but green turtles still remained highly threatened.

“The protection of major nesting beaches, tightened hunting restrictions, and additional conservation measures have led to population increase, including inside marine protected areas,” Professor Mumby said.

“At the same time, however, their feeding grounds – sea grass meadows – have been declining worldwide at a fast rate as a result of poor management of coastal pollution.

"As a result, seagrass beds – the turtle’s favoured habitat – have declined."

He said it was alarming to see turtles using such desperate strategies to find food and that the real conservation problem was not the marine protected areas but the lack of good seagrass habitat in unprotected areas.

“We really need to do more to protect coastal areas and the quality of their habitats, and this means controlling development and agricultural chemicals, and preventing mud entering rivers,” he said.

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Nature Society slams land-use plan

Feng Zengkun The Straits Times 8 Jan 2014;

THE Nature Society (NSS) has taken issue with the Government's latest land-use draft masterplan, calling it "embarrassingly negligible" in its commitment to conserving biodiversity.

In a strongly worded document posted on its website last Friday, the society said that only 4.4 per cent of Singapore's projected 76,600ha land area in 2030 was seriously committed to preserving the country's wealth of plants and animals.

This falls well short of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, which Singapore ratified in 1995. The UN recommended that by 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas should be conserved.

A draft of the Urban Redevelopment Authority's masterplan, which guides land use over the next 10 to 15 years and is revised every five years, was unveiled last November. It will be finalised by June after taking in the public's feedback.

It included a pledge to expand green spaces, introduce more than 60km of "nature ways" by next year to link green spaces for birds, butterflies and small animals, and build a new eco-corridor through the future Tengah town to connect the Western Water Catchment and the Bukit Timah and Central Catchment Nature Reserves.

While plans to create more public parks are laudable, they cannot count towards serious efforts to preserve flora and fauna, as parks are created mainly for people, said NSS.

"With the exclusion of the public parks and the so-called nature areas... we have only 4.4 per cent of Singapore's total land area (in 2030) committed seriously to biodiversity conservation."

The NSS's 4.4 per cent figure includes nature reserves, which are protected from development by law, but excludes reservoirs as well as previously announced "nature areas", such as a 20ha natural greenery patch in Admiralty Park, which are left alone only if there is no need for development.

Although ratification of the UN convention does not mean "total adherence" to it, Singapore's 4.4 per cent is a "shocking, niggardly contribution" to the benchmark, NSS said.

Government Parliamentary Committee for National Development and Environment chairman Lee Bee Wah said Singapore is a country and city with competing land uses. "We should not harp on the percentages. It is more important to strike a balance," she said, adding the 17 per cent target may be more achievable in other places with more land.

The URA said it has received NSS' feedback and is assessing the suggestions.

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Best of our wild blogs: 8 Jan 14

Sat 11 & Sun 12, Jan : Morning Guided Walks
from a.t.Bukit Brown. Heritage. Habitat. History.

Workshop on Free Web Tools for Green NGOs (19 Feb 2014)
from Green Future Solutions

Blue-winged Pitta and the Changeable Lizard
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Butterflies Galore! : Lesser Darkie
from Butterflies of Singapore

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