Best of our wild blogs: 17 Jan 14

Seahorses and other spineless wonders!
from Pulau Hantu

Say hello to the brown anole
from Life's Indulgences

Strangling figs and their host trees
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Read more!

Man jailed 15 months for smuggling rhinoceros horns

Channel NewsAsia 17 Jan 14;

SINGAPORE: A Vietnamese man was on Thursday sentenced to 15 months in jail for smuggling rhinoceros horns worth S$1.7 million through Singapore.

The 22-year-old had eight horns, weighing almost 22 kilogrammes, in his luggage bag in January 10 when he passed through Changi Airport in transit to Laos from Dubai.

He was immediately arrested.

Investigations revealed that the accused had travelled to Mozambique to buy the horns to be brought back to Vietnam for sale.

To evade checks, he had also travelled to other African countries before taking a flight from Uganda to Vietnam via Dubai, Singapore and Laos.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore experts said the horns were taken from the African black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), which is a critically endangered species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act (ESA), permits are required for any import, export and re-export of CITES species, including their parts and products.

It is also an offence under the ESA if the species or their parts and products are not accompanied by proper CITES permits when they are in transit or being shipped through Singapore.

Penalties for infringing the Act include fines of up to S$50,000 per species (not exceeding a maximum aggregate of $500,000) and/or up to two years' imprisonment.

- CNA/ms

Read more!

Malaysia: Whale beaches in Bintulu

Dennis Wong New Straits Times 17 Jan 14;

SAVED: It swims back into the sea two hours later

BINTULU: A JUVENILE fin whale was found beached near Kampung Kuala Tatau here yesterday.
People were alerted about the stranded 12m-long calf about 10am after a villager saw it spouting water from its blowhole.

Masuhut Ayub, 55, who spotted the whale, said: "The water shot up 2m high. I decided to take a look, and only then realised the whale was stranded on the shore."

He alerted other villagers to help bring the mammal back into the sea, but their efforts were hampered by the low tide.

"All we could do was keep the whale wet, as its skin was showing signs of stress from being exposed to the sun.

"We believe that the whale could have found its way here during the low tide in the morning," said Masuhut.

Villagers took turns to pour water on the whale, while waiting for the tide to rise.

They believed that it may have lost its way, following bad weather the previous day.

The whale managed to swim back into the sea two hours later, at high tide about noon.

On Dec 28, the carcass of a short-finned pilot whale was found washed ashore at Pasir Panjang in Santubong, near Kuching.

The Sarawak Forestry department said it was the first discovery of the whale species in the state. The pilot whale's discovery marked the 16th species of marine mammal found in Sarawak.

Whale stranded in Bintulu
The Star 17 Jan 14;

BINTULU: A whale, which was still alive, was found stranded on the Kuala Tatau beach early Wednesday morning by a family who were out walking on the beach.

Rosmiros Mesral, 50, said she and her family members found the whale stranded motionless on the beach.

"Initially, I did not expect this large object on the beach to be a whale. I moved closer and realised it was indeed a whale. I immediately called my husband and children," she said when contacted Thursday.

The mother of three said the whale started to move after her son poured water on its head.

"The whale started to move and my family and I were shocked to see tears flowing from its eyes.

"Sympathising with its condition, we started pushing the whale towards the sea. It was difficult but we succeeded in pushing it back into the sea by 11 am," she said.

Rosmiros regarded the incident as strange because there had never been such an incident on the Kuala Tatau beach in the past.

"I was born in Bintulu. This is the first time this strange incident took place. It could be due to the weather and the condition of the sea which caused it to be stranded," he said.

News on the finding of the whale was disseminated widely on the social media since yesterday leading rise to various speculation among the local populace.

Among others, the fear of a recurrence of tsunami and there were others who connected the incident to monsoon season. - Bernama

Read more!

Beijing's mayor urges "all-out effort" to curb air pollution

Sui-Lee Wee PlanetArk 17 Jan 14;

Beijing's mayor pledged on Thursday to cut coal use by 2.6 million tonnes and set aside 15 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) to improve air quality this year as part of the city's "all-out effort" to tackle air pollution, state news agency Xinhua said.

The announcement by Wang Anshun came as the capital was blanketed in its worst smog in months. An index measuring PM2.5 particles, especially bad for health, reached 500 in much of the capital in the early hours.

A level above 300 is considered hazardous, while the World Health Organisation recommends a daily level of no more than 20.

Coal-burning boilers inside Beijing's fifth ring road - covering the built-up area of the city - will be eliminated and measures taken against coal burning in the capital's periphery, Xinhua quoted Wang as saying.

The city also aims to ban all heavily polluting vehicles this year, cut new car registrations and promote new energy vehicles, Wang said.

Beijing reported 58 days of serious pollution last year, or one every six to seven days on average, Xinhua quoted Zhang Dawei, director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center, as saying.

Separately, Xinhua said China had shut down 8,347 heavily polluting companies last year in northern Hebei province, which has the worst air in the country, as the government moves to tackle a problem that has been a source of discontent.

Local authorities will block new projects and punish officials in regions where pollution is severe due to lax enforcement, Xinhua cited Yang Zhiming, deputy director of the Hebei provincial bureau of environmental protection, as saying.

High pollution levels have sparked widespread public anger and officials concerned about social unrest have responded by implementing tougher policies.

Hebei, the country's biggest steel producer, is home to as many as seven of its 10 most polluted cities, Xinhua said, citing statistics published monthly by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Pollution in Hebei often spreads to neighboring Beijing and Tianjin.

Some small high-polluting plants are being relocated to remote areas to avoid oversight, Xinhua quoted Yang as saying. He said the government would "beef up the industrial crackdown".

China has drawn up dozens of laws and guidelines to improve the environment but has struggled to enforce them in the face of powerful enterprises.

On Wednesday, China's commercial capital, Shanghai, introduced emergency measures, allowing it to shut schools and order cars off the road in case of severe smog.

Hebei plans to slash crude steel output by 15 million tonnes in 2014 and cut coal consumption by the same amount as part of anti-pollution measures.

(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Alison Williams)

Read more!

Hotter longer, Australian heat wave pressuring commodities

Matt Siegel and Colin Packham PlanetArk 17 Jun 14;

Australia can expect even longer and hotter heat waves than the one now scorching wide swathes of the country, a climate research group said on Thursday, raising questions about its long-term position as an agricultural powerhouse.

A blistering heat wave has settled over Australia's south and southeast for nearly a week, with soaring temperatures causing worry after players and fans alike collapsed at the Australian Open Tennis Tournament in Melbourne.

Temperatures on Thursday continued to rise, with the mercury in Melbourne set to tick over at 44 Celsius (111 Fahrenheit), two degrees higher than Wednesday when one player, Canadian Frank Dancevic, hallucinated the cartoon dog Snoopy before fainting during a match.

Adelaide's expected 46C, though, will earn the distinction of being the world's hottest city on Thursday, according to the U.N. World Meteorological Organisation.

The privately run Climate Council, which includes former members of a government-funded climate change watchdog shut by Prime Minister Tony Abbott's conservative government last year, warned in a report that Australia had only begun to feel the impact of climate change.

The heat wave, says the report's author, Will Steffen, follows the felling of a host of temperature records in 2013, including the hottest year on record.

"Australia has always had hot weather. However, climate change is loading the dice toward more extreme hot weather," Steffen said.

Hoping to do avert disastrous climate change, Australia aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 5 percent below 2000 levels by 2020, a target that requires a cut of 431 million tonnes of CO2 between now and 2020.

The government released details of a A$1.55 billion ($1.37 bln) Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) last month but some experts say design flaws and a lack of clarity mean it is unlikely to meet its climate targets.

Phil Cohn, co-founder of clean technology project developers Ramp Carbon, told Reuters the biggest problem with the ERF is that it sets no overall cap on emissions for Australia, meaning there would be no mechanism to ensure pollution doesn't spiral.

"If we emit more in sectors that don't participate much in the ERF auctions, we are going to miss the target," he said.

MORE CATTLE GO TO MARKET

Prolonged heat waves would threaten Australia's agricultural production and undermine its policy of being the "food bowl of Asia", analysts said.

"It will be much harder to maintain production if you have such extreme weather events," said Paul Deane, senior agricultural economist at ANZ Bank.

"Higher temperatures tends to lead to more evaporation of any rain, all of sudden the water availability for crops is reduced, which will have a big impact on crops like wheat and sugar."

Australia is the world's second largest wheat exporter and the third largest raw sugar exporter.

While the wheat harvest is now complete for the 2013/14 season, saving broadacre farmers from the brunt of the current heat-wave, livestock farmers across the east coast are struggling.

Benchmark Australian beef prices, the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator, have fallen almost 10 percent in the last month as farmers, struggling to find sufficient water and food for animals, send increased numbers to slaughter.

Australia's cattle herd will fall to 25 million head during the 2013/14 season, the lowest since the 2009/10 season, due to increased slaughtering, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences said in December.

Australia, the world's third largest beef exporter, is forecast to sell 1.085 million tonnes in the current season, buoyed by increased slaughter rates and strong Chinese demand.

Australia must invest in greater research to understand how the intensifying heat waves will have an impact across a wide range of infrastructure, Steffen says.

"It is essential that we understand the influence of climate change on heat waves to ensure that health services, transport providers, farmers and the community are prepared for what is happening now and what will happen increasingly in the future," he said.

(Additional reporting by Stian Reklev; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Read more!

UN climate report urges quicker switch to low-carbon global economy

Emissions still increasing, according to leaked IPCC findings, with urgent action required to avert worst effects
Associated Press theguardian.com 17 Jan 14;

Delaying action on global warming will only increase the costs and reduce the options for dealing with its worst effects, according to a draft report by UN experts.

The final draft of the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says global warming will continue to increase unless countries shift quickly to clean energy and cut emissions.

A leaked version circulating with media outlets and news agencies says that despite national policies and international efforts emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are warming the planet grew 2.2% per year on average between 2000 and 2010, compared with 1.3% per year from 1970 to 2000.

The two main drivers were a sharp rise in economic growth and a steady growth in the world's population, the report said. The largest contributor to global emissions was the burning of oil and coal and the draft report says its contribution is expected to rise. Unless "explicit efforts" are made to reduce emissions, the experts warn, increased conservation and efficiency will not be enough.

With increasing demand for energy and the growing use of coal to generate electricity, the experts say emissions from the sector are projected to double or triple by 2050 from the level in 2010 unless improvements in clean energy are "significantly accelerated".

International climate negotiators agreed at the 2009 UN climate change conference in Copenhagen that global warming this century must increase by less than 2C to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Scientists say that target requires atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, to stay below 530 parts per million (PPM). The level recently surpassed 400PPM.

The report said the majority of scenarios to stay below 530PPM throughout the 21st century would require reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40-70% of 2010 levels by 2050. The experts call for new patterns of investment and a transformation into a low-carbon economy.

The global total annual investment in the energy system is presently about US$1.2tn. The experts estimate that in order to stabilise the atmospheric concentration of CO2 between 430 and 530ppm investment in fossil fuels would have to decline by $30bn a year between 2010 and 2029, while investment in non-carbon producing energy sources would have to rise by $147bn a year.

The report argues many renewable energy technologies are increasingly efficient and cost-effective but need support if their market share is to increase.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 16 Jan 14

Singapore's only marine station - Tropical Marine Science Institute, St John's Island from Psychedelic Nature

Butterflies Galore! : Rustic
from Butterflies of Singapore

Set in the sea
from The annotated budak

Leopard cats in the news: human-wildlife conflict and poaching/pet trade from Through the Eyes of the Leopard Cat

Read more!

Giant US trade deal might weaken shark fin ban

Matt McGrath BBC News 16 Jan 14;

Environmental campaigners are "extremely concerned" that a new trade deal involving the US could weaken a global ban on shark finning.

The first steps to outlaw the practice were agreed at a meeting in Bangkok last March.

But the leaked draft text of the new deal involving 12 Pacific countries has no binding commitment to curb finning.

The long-running negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement are due to conclude in April.

The TPP is being billed as a critical part of President Obama's strategy of engaging with Asia. He's called it his "top trade priority."

But green groups are disturbed over the direction the negotiations are taking. They are worried that concessions are being made on critical environmental issues in order to secure agreement.

Last March, delegates at the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) meeting in Bangkok agreed to end shark finning for a number of species.

In finning, the fish are left to die after their fins are cut off, to supply a lucrative trade in shark fin soup. It's estimated that millions of sharks die this way every year.

But the leaked draft text of the environmental chapter of the new agreement is "very weak" on this issue according to campaigners.

"We've been calling for a ban on shark finning, which should be in this chapter," said Ilana Solomon from the Sierra Club.

"All we got in the text was a suggestion that countries should come up with fish management plans that may include, as appropriate, measures to address shark finning."

Toothless agreement

In 2007, President George W Bush reached an agreement with Congress that any future free trade agreements would include a list of environmental treaties that all the signatories would agree to uphold.

But the proposed new deal simply acknowledges that countries have made commitments under agreements like Cites. It does not insist that the commitments be honoured.

"If the environment chapter is finalised as written in this leaked document, President Obama's environmental trade record would be worse than George W Bush's," said Michael Brune, also with the Sierra Club.

"This draft chapter falls flat on every single one of our issues - oceans, fish, wildlife, and forest protections - and in fact, rolls back on the progress made in past free trade pacts."

The US negotiators say they are pushing hard for strong environmental protection in the deal. But since the nations they are negotiating with are huge exporters of natural resources including timber and fish, environmentalists are concerned that free trade will mean a free for all in endangered but valuable species.

"This peek behind the curtain reveals the absence of an ambitious 21st Century trade agreement promised by negotiating countries," said Carter Roberts from WWF.

"The lack of fully-enforceable environmental safeguards means negotiators are allowing a unique opportunity to protect wildlife and support legal sustainable trade of renewable resources to slip through their fingers."

Read more!

Taiwan seizes seven tonnes of dolphin meat

Channel NewsAsia 14 Jan 14;

TAIPEI: Taiwanese authorities said Tuesday they had confiscated 7.65 tonnes of dolphin meat in one of the largest hauls of its kind.

Officials seized the meat while searching a frozen goods factory in the southern city of Kaohsiung over the weekend.

Tests confirmed the product was dolphin, and it is estimated 150 of the animals were slaughtered to create the stockpile, the Pingtung Forest District Office said.

The factory owner, who said he bought the meat from local fishermen, faces up to five years in jail and a maximum fine of NT$1.5 million ($50,000) for violating wildlife protection laws, said the agency which organised the search.

An investigation is ongoing and it is not clear where the dolphins were caught and sold.

Eating wild animals, including whales and dolphins, has long been a tradition for residents in some coastal areas of Taiwan, who believe they are good for health.

All species of whales and dolphins have been protected by Taiwan's conservation law since 1989.

It is illegal to buy protected animals for any purpose.

- AFP/fa

Read more!

UN climate chief urges investors to bolster global warming fight

Author: Valerie Volcovici PlanetArk 16 Jan 14;

Institutional investors managing trillions of dollars should shift their portfolios away from fossil fuel investments toward cleaner energy sources to put a stop to the dangerous rise in global temperatures causing climate change, the United Nations' climate chief said on Wednesday.

Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, told an investors conference at the United Nations that their investment decisions should reflect the latest scientific evidence of dangerous climate change to protect the health and financial savings of ordinary citizens well into the future.

"The pensions, life insurances and nest eggs of billions of ordinary people depend on the long-term security and stability of institutional investment funds," she said in prepared remarks.

"Climate change increasingly poses one of the biggest long-term threats to those investments and the wealth of the global economy," Figueres added.

She said the private sector will need to play a crucial role to ensure that global temperatures do not rise more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), a threshold that UN scientists have said would avoid catastrophic climate change even as nearly 200 countries continue to negotiate a global deal to rein in global greenhouse gas emissions.

"No matter how many efforts we make... that is not enough to put us on track to the 2 degrees," she told a news conference.

The fraught UN climate negotiations have a 2015 deadline to agree in Paris on a global plan to address climate change set after an eleventh-hour agreement at the last UN summit in November in Poland.

The 2015 deal will consist of a patchwork of national plans to curb emissions that could blur a 20-year-old distinction between the obligations of rich and poor nations.

Figueres said she expects the first of the national contributions to trickle in around September, when U.N. Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon hosts a United Nations climate change summit that will involve heads of state, business and civil society groups.

She said she is already aware that some countries will need until the first part of 2015 to ready their national plans.

Figueres said the September summit will "prime the pump" for what she hopes will be a successful outcome in Paris in 2015.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 15 Jan 14

OWL and Grand Hyatt stop kopi luwak sales
from Project LUWAK SG

mass murder @ SBWR 12Jan2014
from sgbeachbum

Ashy Tailorbird feeding on apple snail eggs
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Seaworts
from The annotated budak

Read more!

Stronger measures on animal protection needed: Shanmugam

Eileen Poh Channel NewsAsia 14 Jan 14;

SINGAPORE: Singapore needs to adopt tougher measures to safeguard animal welfare, says Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

This can be in the form of heavier penalties and more education.

Mr Shanmugam was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Asia for Animals Conference on Tuesday morning.

Currently, animal abusers face a fine of S$10,000 and a jail term of up to a year, or both.

In April last year, the Animal Welfare Legislative Review Committee (AWLRC) recommended to increase the maximum penalty to S$50,000 and or three years' jail.

The AWLRC is chaired by Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for National Development, and comprises representatives from the animal welfare groups, pet industry, and the veterinary profession.

Mr Shanmugam noted that the number of animal welfare and cruelty cases handled by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) increased by more than 65 per cent in half a decade -- from 292 in 2007 to 484 in 2012.

He added that enforcement is challenging, as finding witnesses who are willing to come forward, is not easy. And education may just be the answer to that.

Mr Shanmugam said: "The larger issue is if you educate society, the whole tenor of the society changes and people are much more aware, and on the look-out -- then I think it is easier to identify who was responsible. We are on the right track, we are moving, and we need to move further."

The Asia for Animals Conference is hosted by the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES), and it saw some 320 participants from over 30 countries and territories.

One of the highlights is the keynote speech by 10-year-old Megan Tan, a volunteer with ACRES.

The Maha Bodhi School student shared her motivations and efforts in animal welfare advocacy, that include designing covers for notebooks, which are up for sale at the conference.

- CNA/nd

Rise of animal abuse cases demands stronger measures: Shanmugam
Today Online 14 Jan 14;

SINGAPORE — More can be done to prevent cruelty against animals and encouraging responsible pet ownership, said Law Minister K Shanmugam at the Asia for Animals Conference this morning (Jan 14).

In his speech as guest of honour, Mr Shanmugam shared that Singapore has taken many “substantive measures” in advancing the cause of animal rights here, including changing the law and nurturing compassion for animals in children by introducing it in the education syllabus.

This year, a Bill to increase the penalties for animal abuse will be introduced in Parliament, to increase the current fine of S$10,000 to $50,000 for repeat offenders who abuse animals.

Said Mr Shanmugam: “We will develop stronger measures, more penalties and focus a lot more on education.”

Citing statistics from the AVA and SPCA, he noted that “there has been a worrying growth in the number of animal welfare and cruelty cases” over the years.

“The changes to the legislation that have been proposed, which will substantially enhance the penalties, will send a strong deterrent message,” he added.

Bill to increase penalties for repeat animal abusers to be tabled
Woo Sian Boon Today Online 15 Jan 14;

A Bill will be tabled in Parliament this year to increase the penalties for animal abuse, with the current fine of S$10,000 for repeat offenders to be raised to S$50,000, in line with recommendations made by the Animal Welfare Legislative Review Committee last year, which was accepted by the Ministry of National Development.

Law Minister K Shanmugam, who spoke at the Asia for Animals Conference yesterday, commented on changes to the legislation yesterday, saying it would send a strong message of deterrence.

“We will develop stronger measures (and) more penalties and focus a lot more on education,” he said, noting that enforcement is challenging as finding witnesses who are willing to come forward is not easy.

By educating society, “the whole tenor of society changes and people are much more aware and on the lookout”, making it easier to identify those responsible for animal abuse.

“We are on the right track, we are moving and we need to move further,” he added. WOO SIAN BOON

Read more!