No ordinary walk in the park
from Love our MacRitchie Forest
Greenbeans Walks @ Macritchie
from The Green Beans
Life History of the Common Five Ring
from Butterflies of Singapore
Some Butterflies@Lower Peirce Reservoir Park
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature
Night Walk At Venus Drive (21 Feb 2014)
from Beetles@SG BLOG
muguntan vanar The Star 23 Feb 14;
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is deciding whether to move a herd of Borneo pygmy elephants deep into its central jungles in efforts to ensure the safety of villagers and also to protect the animals.
The translocation of two of the herd’s more aggressive elephants to Dermakot Forest Reserve was completed over the last two days.
Now, wildlife rangers are studying the possibility of relocating the remaining 17 jumbos.
According to State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun, the relocation would protect the elephants as well as villagers and plantations that they encroached into.
A herd of about 30 elephants prowled into orchards and farms belonging to villagers at Kampung Bauto in Telupid, about 300km from here, last week.
Sabah Wildlife Department rangers were able to calm the herd after they tranquilised two “aggressive” females that were later restrained with chains.
The two females were relocated to the Dermakot forest 80km away after rangers fitted them with GPS collars.
Within the last week, at least 10 elephants returned to the Tangkalup forest, while 17 other elephants stayed around. (Tangkalup is linked to the Dermakot Forest Reserve.)
There have been concerns raised by conservationists over human-elephant conflict due to the shrinking natural habitat of the endangered pygmy elephants.
According to Datuk Laurentius Ambu, director of the Sabah Wildlife Department, human-elephant conflict had been on the rise over the last three years.
He also reminded villagers and plantations that they should not kill the protected elephants.
In January last year, a total of 14 elephants were found dead by poisoning in the Gunung Rara forest reserve area.
Marauding elephants sent back to forest reserve
Avila Geraldine New Straits Times 23 Feb 14;
TRANSLOCATION: Animals part of herd that entered Kampung Bauto, destroyed crops
TELUPID: TOURISTS and passers-by got a bonus wildlife sighting as they witnessed the translocation of elephants by the roadside near Kampung Bauto here.
The Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) of the state Wildlife Department translocated three elephants to the Deramakot forest reserve yesterday.
Bystanders watched in awe as rangers brought the elephants into a cage and transported them in a truck. Tourists who were passing by the area took the opportunity to snap photographs during the translocation.
The mammals were part of a herd of 30 that had repeatedly entered the village, 12km from here, and destroyed crops.
Department assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said WRU rangers were still in the area to monitor the movement of elephants.
"There is a smaller group of elephants in the village area. The animals may need to be translocated, too.
"More than half of the herd returned to the Tangkulap forest reserve, 15km from the village, which is connected to the Deramakot forest reserve, where they are originally from."
The presence of the 30 elephants had spooked Kampung Bauto villagers living near the forest reserve. The animals had been spotted roaming close to the villagers' houses over the past week.
On Monday, WRU rangers had approached the herd to chase it away.
Baby elephants adapting well to temporary home in Sepilok
ruben sario The Star 25 Feb 14;
KOTA KINABALU: Two male elephant calves rescued from plantations in Sabah’s east coast on Feb 12 are adapting well to their temporary home at Sepilok in Sandakan district.
Sabah Wildlife Department assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said one of the calves, Jimbo, had gained 9kg and now weighed 88.6kg.
“Jimbo is now drinking 2.5 litres of milk at a time,” he said, adding that the navel of the recently-born calf was almost completely dry.
He said the other calf, Tun Tan, was consuming slightly more milk at three litres in one go.
Dr Sen said Tun Tan’s weight had increased by 7kg and it now weighed 117.8kg.
He said both calves had been placed in a new enclosure at the department’s rehabilitation centre in Sepilok as Jimbo had found a way to get out of the smaller holding area near the veterinary clinic.
The calves were found at separate locations in Kinabatangan.
Jimbo was found at an estate in Sg Lokan after wildlife rangers received a report from the plantation manager.
Tun Tan was found in a plantation near Sukau and followed a tractor driven by a plantation worker back to the kongsi area where it was picked up by rangers.
Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu had said they were uncertain of the fate of Jimbo’s and Tun Tan’s mothers.
Rangers have been scouring areas in Kinabatangan to locate the elephant cows but until now have not found any traces of them.
There were growing concerns that the calves’ mothers may have been poisoned as part of efforts to stop the herd from marauding in farms or plantations.
Another possibility is that the calves were separated from their herd when people or plantation workers tried to shoo them away.
Fazleena Aziz and Balqis Lim New Straits Times 23 Feb 14;
RAINFALL: Operation will commence once weather condition is right, says NSC
KUALA LUMPUR: THE cloud seeding plan to induce rainfall is set to go once the right atmospheric condition presents itself, said National Security Council (NSC) secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abd Wahab.
He said the Royal Malaysian Air Force was on standby to begin the operation.
He dismissed claims that the NSC was waiting for a crisis to occur before embarking on the exercise.
"It is not true that the NSC is waiting for a full-blown emergency before going ahead with the cloud seeding."
The Meteorological Department had earlier said that it was not suitable to carry out cloud seeding at the moment because of stable wind conditions. The best conditions for it are light and variable winds at a minimum altitude of 5,000km
Thajudeen said the authorities were focusing on catchment areas for the exercise.
"The cost for this exercise would be shared by the agencies involved, including the Meteorological Department, the Selangor Water Management Authority (Luas) and others."
Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Bhd (Syabas) said the demand for water brought on by the dry spell was among the reasons for the shortage of supply to several parts of the capital and Petaling.
Its communications and public affairs department assistant general manager Priscilla Alfred said more consumers could be affected if the situation persisted.
"We have mobilised static tanks and water tankers to affected areas. However, the supply is limited and we may not be able to fulfil everyone's needs.
"We urge the public who are taking water from the tankers to be prudent and to use the supply wisely."
She said Syabas' role was to distribute treated water, which is bought from the treatment plant and not directly from the dams.
"The dams and rivers come under Luas. The treatment plant and balancing reservoir come under Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd and Konsortium Abass Sdn Bhd while the pump house, service reservoir and pipes come under Syabas.
"Under the concessionaire's agreement, the state government is responsible for making sure there is enough water supply. Syabas is only the distributor."
Checks by the New Sunday Times revealed that while supply had resumed in some areas in Kuala Langat and Hulu Langat, many were still affected by the shortage.
Elfie Masrom, 25, who lives with his family of five in Kampung Bukit Changgang, Hulu Langat, said his area had been affected for almost two weeks.
His family waits in front of their house every day for the water tankers to come after dawn.
"We bought a water storage tank for RM400 just to store enough water for the family," he said, adding they were sharing the storage tank with relatives who live next door.
Muhammad Ikhwan Ridzwan, 24, said there was still no water supply in Cheras Perdana.
"It has been a week now and I have not seen any water tankers around my area."
Executive Shaun Dhwana from Sungai Long in Kajang said his family opted to stay at a relative's house.
"We could not cope with the situation so I suggested to my mum that we stay at my aunt's house in Cheras," he said, adding it had been a week since their water supply was disrupted.
Ticketing assistant Muhammad Shahir Noor Azman, 24, said water supply in Bandar Tun Hussein Onn had resumed but the pressure was still low.
In Seremban, Bernama reported that the National Water Services Commission (Span) had confirmed there was no water crisis in Negri Sembilan.
Syarikat Air Negri Sembilan Sdn Bhd (Sains) corporate services division head Norzita Ismail said the water supply situation in the state was under control.
"This was stated personally by Span chief executive officer Datuk Teo Yen Hua after a working visit to the Sains headquarters to check on the water supply in Negri Sembilan."
She said the hour-long discussion between Sains and Span officers was followed up by visits to the Sungai Terip Dam, Ngoi-Ngoi water treatment plant, Triang Dam and the water intake at Petasih.
The state government opened a disaster operations room last Sunday following the drying up of the source of raw water in Sungai Batang Benar, Pantai, which disrupted supply to Seremban Barat, particularly Taman Nusari Bayu, Taman Nusari Aman, Taman Sendayan Indah, Taman Cederawasih, Mambau, Taman Kelab Tuanku and Bukit Sendayan.
Supply to the area was restored after Sains activated its contingency plan by sending tanker lorries and stationing static water tanks in the affected housing estates and channelling water from the Kuala Sawah treatment plant.
Norzita said consumers who needed help could contact Sains' toll free line, 1-800-88-6982.
In Kuantan, Pengurusan Air Pahang Berhad (Paip) offered to send its tanker lorries to help distribute water in affected states.
Paip public relations officer Jaafar Abdullah said the corporation, which handles water treatment and distribution in Pahang, could dispatch at least five water tanker lorries to Selangor and Negri Sembilan
"We can help distribute water from the source to affected residents, especially those in critical areas. We can also send treated water to ensure consumers are not exposed to water-borne diseases."
He said Paip tanker lorries could also help provide clean water to important premises, such as hospitals and clinics.
"There are a lot of affected areas and I believe that they need more tanker lorries to distribute water. We are willing to help if there is a request from the state governments involved."
Jaafar said Pahang was not facing any water shortages. Additional reporting by Hamzah Jamaludin
Read more: Air force on standby for cloud seeding exercise - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/air-force-on-standby-for-cloud-seeding-exercise-1.490862#ixzz2u6wM4usw
Rizal Harahap The Jakarta Post 22 Feb 14;
The Riau provincial administration has formed a forest and peatland fire mitigation task force to cope with the haze blanketing the province for the past month.
“Response remains sluggish and it must be accelerated in an organized manner,” Riau Governor Annas Maamun said on Friday.
According to him, the task force had prepared two mitigation plans, namely aerial and land firefighting. Aerial firefighting will be carried out through water bombing via helicopters or planes.
“The task force will continue coordinating with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency [BMKG] to design an artificial rain program by using weather modification technology,” said Annas.
Land firefighting, on the other hand, will be carried out by a firefighting team consisting of members from the Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Social Services Office, Indonesian Military (TNI) and police units. “I will immediately meet with the regents and mayors to discuss the plan that has been prepared by the task force,” said Annas.
“BNPB [National Disaster Mitigation Agency] will disburse the budget only after the regencies and municipalities have set an emergency response status, hence the need for coordination with regents and mayors,” he added.
Riau BPBD head Said Saqlul Amri said the task force would effectively start working on Saturday. It will be divided into three teams and assigned to seven regencies and municipalities where hotspots have been detected over the past several weeks.
Besides relevant agencies in the province, private companies operating in the respective regencies and municipalities will also help put out the fires.
“Should there not be enough firefighting equipment, the governor and regents will request companies to supply more equipment so action can be taken immediately on the field,” said Amri.
According to the latest observations by the Pekanbaru BMKG on Friday morning, hundreds of hotspots were still detected in seven regencies and cities across the province.
As many as 88 of them were found in Bengkalis regency, 30 on the Meranti Islands, 17 in Pelalawan, 16 in Indragiri Hilir, nine in Siak, six in Rokan Hilir and three in Dumai city.
“Today, rain fell in a number of areas in Riau, including Pekanbaru and the eastern coastal areas, but there won’t be much rain. The sun will be out tomorrow so the chance of rain is small,” said Pekanbaru BMKG Data Analysis Section staff member Ibnu Amiruddin.
Meanwhile, the Riau Health Office is running low on dust masks and has asked the central government for an additional supply of 100,000.
“We currently only have 3,000 dust masks,” said Riau Health Agency’s Environmental Health and Disease Control and Prevention Division head Erdinal.
“We will continue to ask for dust masks as long as the haze is present in Riau. The air quality in a number of regions is poor so we must be prepared for the impact on residents,” added Erdinal.
One of the areas that was in need of additional masks was Dumai city, he continued. Over the past couple of days, air polllution in the port city has reached alarming levels of between 437 PSI and 503 PSI.
“Yesterday we distributed 25,000 dust masks and the local health office only has a reserve of around 30,000 dust masks, far from the ideal number of 100,000 masks,” said Erdinal.
takver Independent Media Centre Australia 22 Feb 14;
Marine heatwaves are having a marked impact on coral reef systems off the Pilbara coast. A CSIRO and University of Western Australia study in progress found bleaching and decimation of ancient porite corals - many up to 400 years old - in a recent visit to Barrow Island. The oceans around Australia were unusually warm in 2013. Globally the deep oceans are also continuing to warm.
“We suspect this bleaching event was due to marine heatwaves that occurred in the region over the past few summers, and to see it up close was sobering,” said Dr Russ Babcock, CSIRO lead scientist, “But to offset this loss, some reefs only a short distance north showed much less damage and will continue to contribute to a healthy ecosystem."
A marine heatwave extreme bleaching event ocurred in 2011 that was widely spread along the Western Australian coast. Preliminary results from the study show that further damage was done in the 2012-2013 summer with elevated water temperatures.
"There had been coral bleaching in the region that occurred in, not just 2011 when there was an extreme heatwave, but also earlier this year and we found that virtually all of the staghorn and tail corals had been killed and even some of the extremely old giant mass of porites corals had died. So these recent conditions have probably been some of the most extreme experienced there for several hundred years." said Dr Babcock.
Porite corals were thought to be resiliant to variations in the marine climate and are regularly buffeted by tropical cyclones that hit the Pilbara.
"This region in the West Pilbara is right in the middle of an area of very high biodiversity value." said Dr Babcock.
The West Pilbara region is also a focus of major industrial development from oil and gas, and exporting of iron ore. The study is funded by the Gorgon Project’s Net Conservation Benefit Fund, which is administered by the Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. The Gorgon Project is a joint venture of the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (47.3 per cent), ExxonMobil (25 per cent), Shell (25 per cent), Osaka Gas (1.25 per cent), Tokyo Gas (1 per cent) and Chubu Electric Power (0.417 per cent).
“To see them badly damaged, or completely dead, as a result of bleachings that happened over previous years, and likely the one in 2013, was surprising,” lead scientist Dr Babcock said in a Guardian report.
University of Western Australia professor Malcolm McCullough comented, “It’s almost unprecedented. These corals were living for hundreds of years. And they died in the summer of 2012-13.
Corals already need to battle ocean acidification, nutrient pollution, as well as warming waters. High sea surface temperatures damage the algae that lives in symbiosis with the coral polyp, which is then ejected from the coral, turning it white.
“Bleaching is not unusual, it’s been occurring now for about 20 years,” McCullough said. “But by looking at the longer records the bleachings appear to be more common.”
Sea surface temperatures continue to be unusually warm around Australia in 2013.
The future does not bode well for coral reef ecosystems. Controlled experiment show coral reefs are in peril in a high CO2 world. Scientific modelling shows that atmospheric warming of 2 degrees celsius is too much for nearly all the world's coral reef ecosystems.
Sources:
CSIRO, 13 February 2014 - Pilbara marine health check - good and bad news
Michael Safi, The Guardian, 13 February 2014 - Coral off WA suffers shocking damage from marine heatwaves, scientists say
Image: CSIRO - Dr Tim Langlois, UWA, with a 400 year old Porites coral head that has succumbed to coral bleaching, off Montobello Island.
Trees for Birds: 1. Ficus benjamina (Waringin, Weeping Fig)
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Friday, 28 Feb 2014, 4.00pm @ CR1: Luke Gibson on “Deforestation and tropical biodiversity: What is lost, and what survives?” from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS
Channel NewsAsia 21 Feb 14;
SINGAPORE: The Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) will try to balance the welfare of monkeys with the feedback it receives about the nuisance they cause, said Minister of State for National Development Maliki Osman in Parliament on Friday.
Dr Maliki said the AVA takes the matter seriously.
He explained: "We want to strike a balance between the nuisance that's created by monkeys and the way we treat (them), in relation to how we manage the coexistence of the monkeys and human beings.
"We hope that they can continue living in the nature reserves, but they do come out of that space and intrude on the space of our residents, and we're quite concerned about that."
The AVA received more than 1,800 complaints from the public about monkeys last year.
Dr Maliki said the AVA will work with animal welfare groups to help manage some of the challenges involved.
At the same time, he added residents must learn how to manage the nuisance created by monkeys.
Referring to media reports about a contractor who used rubbish bins to trap monkeys, Dr Maliki said the AVA is investigating the incident, but added that the authority allows such methods.
He said rubbish bins are no different from other equipment such as cages, and could be more effective in capturing monkeys which have grown wary of cages.
He said all contractors engaged by the AVA must comply with its guidelines on the capture, handling and transportation of the monkeys.
"They can only carry out control operations at designated areas, and use methods and equipment approved by AVA.
"During these operations, they must be on-site to monitor the trap and to remove the trapped monkeys as soon as possible."
Dr Maliki said the AVA also conducts random checks on its contractors to ensure that they comply with the guidelines.
- CNA/fa
[wildsingapore update: These were the written question submitted by NMP Faizah Jamal:
To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether AVA and its contractors follow a set of protocols with regard to monkey-trapping activities; (b) if so, what are these protocols and approved methods and how are they enforced; and (c) whether trappers who are recently found using rubbish bins as traps at nature reserve borders are trappers given permits by AVA.
Channel NewsAsia did not carry a video clip of this exchange in Parliament
The official transcript will be available on Parliamentary Reports Hansard 7 working days after the event. This post will be updated with the official transcript when it is available.]
Government’s Monkey-trapping Protocols
from Singapore Parliament Reports (HANSARD)
2 Ms Faizah Jamal asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether AVA and its contractors follow a set of protocols with regard to monkey-trapping activities; (b) if so, what are these protocols and approved methods and how are they enforced; and (c) whether trappers who are recently found using rubbish bins as traps at nature reserve borders are trappers given permits by AVA.
The Minister of State for National Development (Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman) (for the Minister of National Development): Mdm Speaker, all contractors engaged by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) must comply with AVA’s guidelines on the capture, handling and transportation of the monkeys. They can only carry out control operations at designated areas, and use methods and equipment approved by AVA. During these operations, they must be on-site to monitor the trap and to remove the trapped monkeys as soon as possible. AVA also conducts random checks on its contractors to ensure their compliance to the guidelines.
AVA is investigating the case involving its contractor who used rubbish bins as monkey traps, as reported in the media. AVA allows the use of rubbish bins as traps as they do not cause any harm to the monkeys during the capture. The bins are no different from other equipment such as cages, and could be more effective in capturing monkeys which have grown wary of cages.
Ms Faizah Jamal (Nominated Member): Mdm Speaker, I have three supplementary questions. Given the fact that the recent incident actually happened near Upper Pierce Reservoir, which is a nature reserve, whereas the actual reason for culling is meant for residential areas, does it mean then that the permit lacks clarity as to what they can and cannot do? Perhaps they are to be given proper oral instructions from AVA?
If I could get some clarification as to how much does AVA each trapper and if there is any indication that I can get on how many monkeys have been culled over the last year. Finally, what is the long-term strategy that AVA is planning instead of culling? Particularly in this case, where if you think about it, rubbish bins are actually a lot more cruel than cages, which at least have some kind of ventilation, and which provides some safety for the animal as well as for the public at large who happened to be passing by these public areas.
Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman: Madam, I think there were several questions there. First, on the safety of the animals and the bins, the bin is one of the approved methods and that is not the only one that has used in Singapore; we use cages. As I have said, monkeys do get familiar and cages are a lot more apparent to them when you put the baits around the cage. The bin traps are also used by the authorities in Hong Kong and they have proven to be affective.
AVA gives clear guidelines to its contractors and there are guidelines for the capture, the handling and transportation of the animals. We try to minimise the discomfort to the animals when the animals are captured. The contactors are expected to be onsite. The moment they set up the traps, the way the bin trays work, is that the spring is at the bottom of the bin. We put baits there and when the animal goes in, and they press on the string, the cover is closed. The contractors are nearby. They are supposed to immediately bring the monkeys to the AVA for inspection.
We are very mindful of the welfare and the well being of the animals. At the same time, on the question on where they site the traps, the Member is right. We do not send them to the nature reserves. Some of these monkeys are very fast. The contractors are giving the site where the feedback was given, and oftentimes, this is near the residential areas. They will not go into the nature reserves but they set up traps where there are feedback of the sighting of monkeys and the nuisance that has been created by the monkeys.
To the question of how many has been captured by AVA, I think in the region of about 500 has been captured. In 2013 alone, AVA received about 1,800 feedback from the public related to monkeys. I do not think that is a small number. On average, that is about five feedback a day. I think we take it quite seriously.
We want to strike a balance between the nuisance that’s created by monkeys and the way we treat the monkeys in relation to how do we manage the co-existence of the monkeys and human beings. We hope that they continue to be in the nature reserves and continue to be there. The more they come out of that space and intrude on the space of our residents - and our residents are giving us those feedback – we get concerned about that.
In the longer term, we have to try to work with animal welfare groups to ask for their cooperation also to help us mange some of these challenges. Our residents need to also understand how to manage the monkey nuisance, but really, it is very tough. We live in an urban environment. Many of our youngsters grow up in an urban setting, not quite used to such intrusions, if I may call it.
The Member also asked about the long-term plans of AVA. AVA looks at it on both perspective: looking at the welfare and well being of the animals, at the same time, understanding the concerns and responding to the feedback that I have received by the residents when it comes to the monkey nuisance.
Channel NewsAsia 21 Feb 14;
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) take a serious view of any oil spill in Singapore waters.
Under the Prevention of the Pollution of the Sea Act (PPSA), MPA will take the necessary enforcement measures to bring the responsible parties to task if investigations reveal that an oil spillage resulted from a culpable act or an omission.
Depending on the circumstances of a case, the responsible party may be prosecuted.
Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said this in Parliament on Friday.
He was responding to Nominated Member of Parliament Faizah Jamal, who wanted to know the steps that the authorities are taking against those responsible for oil spills in Singapore waters.
Associate Professor Faishal also said that MOT and MPA have worked with various stakeholders to take swift action in cleaning up the oil spill caused by the three vessel collisions in late January and early February this year.
MPA is conducting thorough investigations to determine the circumstances leading to the collisions and the subsequent oil spills, and will take appropriate actions against the responsible parties.
Findings of the investigations and the lessons learnt will be disseminated to the shipping community to prevent such incidents from recurring.
In the interim, measures are being taken to reinforce safety in Singapore waters, including briefings to the shipping community.
The authorities are also working with a few countries and organisations to develop a safe passage guide for mariners navigating the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
Dr Faishal said Singapore reports every incident in its waters to the International Maritime Organisation.
It also works closely with other countries and organisations that promote marine life and the environment.
- CNA/xq
The clip uploaded under the heading "Measures by coffeeshop, supermarket operators to minimise noise in HDB estates"
Channel NewsAsia 22 Feb 14;
[wilsingapore update -- These were the written question submitted by NMP Faizah Jamal:
To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what steps does MPA take to bring parties responsible for oil spills in our waters to task; and (b) whether reports of the actions taken against such parties may be open for public scrutiny.
[wildsingapore update -- The following is our transcript of the above video clip. The official transcript will be available on Parliamentary Reports Hansard 7 working days after the event.
4:40 Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: The Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) take a serious view of any oil spill in Singapore waters. Under the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act (PPSA), MPA will take the necessary enforcement measures to bring the responsible parties to task. If investigations reveal that an oil spillage resulted from a culpable act or an omission under the ACT, depending on the circumstances of each case the responsible parties may be prosecuted. Such offences carry a fine of up to $1 million, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or both.
More recently MPA and MOT have worked together with various stakeholders to take swift action in cleaning up the oil spillage caused by three vessels collisions on 29 Jan, 30 Jan and 10 Feb 2014. MPA is conducting thorough investigations to determine the circumstances leading to the collision and subsequent oil spillages, and will take appropriate action against the responsible party. Findings of the investigations and lessons learnt will be disseminated to the shipping community so that we can prevent such incidents from re-occurring.
6:08 Nominated Member of Parliament Ms Faizah Jamal: I have three supplementary questions. Thank you for saying that the report will be given to the shipping community. What about it being made public as well so that there will be better cooperation between say MPA as well as the volunteers, nature activists who have been down on the ground, looking at what's happening.
And secondly does MPA have rapid environment monitoring response team to conduct EIAs on the marine habitat. Because the press releases seem to show that whilst the ships have been contained and there seems to be no health impact to the public, there is no response or no indication on what it does to the marine and coastal environment.
And lastly, the fact that 3 collisions happened in a span of 2 weeks does it mean that our waterways are stretched beyond its sustainable capacity. And would MPA consider using other methods beyond dispersants because as I understand it, studies show that this method where oil and dispersants are mixed together is actually 52 times more toxic when combined. So is MPA doing any other studies to overcome this kind of problems.
07:20 Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: I'd like to thank the Member for the three questions. Firstly I'd like to share with Member that every incident we report to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), so it important for Members to keep track of developments in this area.
Secondly, we work very closely, not only with IMO, within IMO we have many other organisations, countries that also promote marine life, looking at the environment. So I want to assure Member that we will certainly take that into account. We want to not only keep our waters safe, but we want to keep our water clean as well. So it is most important to keep it safe so that there won't be any incidents that will result or affect either marine life and so forth. In doing so, I'd like to assure Member that we have the POCC whereby it is a control centre where we look at how we are able to help and advance the ships and vessels that navigate along our area. I must say that all the instances that we have the POCC have been able to provide advice to the vessels involved. Even the three collisions that we have last month and early this month, we were able to provide advanced info to the vessels.
And I'd like to assure that while investigations are going on, we have taken interim measures. First being that we also conducted briefings to the shipping community. Why? Is to enforce the importance of safety of navigation in the Singapore waters. In fact we just had one on the 13th of February. We are also proclamating the odd marine and shipping circulars to the shipping and harbour craft communities, emphasising the importance of navigational safety and maintaining vigilance while navigating. And the POCC also broadcasts messages to these vessels at any point in time when necessary to remind them of safety aspects while they are navigating. At the same time, we are working with a few organisations and countries to develop a safe passage guide for all mariners navigating in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. And this will make it safer and will keep on reminding the message that safety is key. As soon as it's ready, we will share with the shipping community.
Actions against Parties Responsible for Oil Spills
from the Singapore Parliament Report (HANSARD)
Ms Faizah Jamal asked the Minister for Transport (a) what steps does MPA take to bring parties responsible for oil spills in our waters to task; and (b) whether reports of the actions taken against such parties may be open for public scrutiny.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport (Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim) (for the Minister for Transport): Mdm Speaker, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) take a serious view of any oil spills in Singapore waters. Under the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act (EPSA), MPA will take the necessary enforcement measures to bring the responsible parties to task if investigations require that an oil spillage resulted from a culpable act or an omission under the Act. Depending on the circumstances of each case, the responsible parties may be prosecuted. Such offences carry a fine of up to $1 million, imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.
Most recently, MOT and MPA have worked with various stakeholders to take swift action in cleaning up the oil spillages caused by the collisions of three vessels on 29 January 2014, 30 January and 10 February 2014. MPA is conducting thorough investigations to determine the circumstances leading to the collision and the subsequent oil spillages, and will take appropriate actions against the responsible parties.
In accordance with Singapore’s international maritime obligations, MPA submits its marine safety investigation reports to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). MPA also shares the findings of the investigations and the lessons learnt from such investigations with the shipping community. MPA will continue to reinforce the importance of preventive measures so as to minimise the risks of such incidents.
Ms Faizah Jamal: I have three supplementary questions. I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for saying that the reports will be given to the shipping community. What about them being made public as well so that there will be better cooperation between say MPA and the volunteer nature activists who have been down on the ground looking at what is happening? Secondly, does MPA have rapid environment monitoring response teams to conduct Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) on the marine habitats? The press releases seem to show that whilst the ships have been contained and there seems to be no harm to the public, there is no response or no indication of what it does to the marine coastal environment. Lastly, the fact that three collisions happened in a span of about a couple of weeks: does it mean that our waterways are stretched beyond their sustainable capacity, and so would MPA consider using other methods beyond dispersants? As I understand it, a study showed that this method where oil and dispersants are mixed together is actually 52 times more toxic when combined. Is MPA doing any other studies to overcome this kind of problems?
Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Madam, I thank the Member for the questions. Firstly, I would like to share with the Member that every incident is reported to the IMO, so members of the public can keep track of the developments through the IMO. Secondly, we work very closely not only with IMO, but with other organisations and countries that also promote marine life and looking at the environment. So I want to assure the Member that we certainly would take that into account.
We want to not only keep our waters safe, but also keep our waters clean. It is most important that we keep the waterways safe so that there will not be any incidents that will affect marine life.
I would like to assure the Member that we have the Port Operation Control Centre (POCC) which advises vessels on how they can safely navigate in our waters. For all the instances that we have, the POCC has been able to provide advice to the vessels involved. Even for the three recent collisions that we had last month and early this month, we were able to provide advance traffic information to the vessels.
I would like to assure the Member that while investigations are on-going, we have taken interim measures. First, we have conducted briefings to the shipping community to reinforce the importance of safety of navigation in Singapore waters. We had the first briefing on 13 February. We are also promulgating the Port Marine and Shipping Circulars to the shipping and hovercraft communities, emphasising the importance of navigational safety and maintaining vigilance while navigating. The POCC also broadcasts messages to these vessels at any point in time when necessary to remind them of safety aspects while navigating. At the same time, we are working with a few organisations and countries to develop a safe passage guide for all mariners navigating in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. These efforts will make our waters safer for navigation and we will keep on bringing home the message that safety is key. As soon as our investigation findings are ready, we will share it with the shipping community.
Mr Speaker: Order. I propose to take the break now. I suspend the Sitting and will take the Chair at 3.30 pm.
Sumita d/o Sreedharan Today Online 22 Feb 14;
SINGAPORE — Vehicle owners will be given further incentives to go green, after Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced tweaks to two schemes rolled out last year.
The Early Turnover Scheme, an incentive scheme aimed at encouraging fleet owners to replace old, smoky diesel vehicles with “cleaner” models, will see an enhancement to the bonus Certificate of Entitlement (COE) period, to further incentivise owners to replace their vehicles early.
Under the scheme, vehicle owners can transfer the unused period of COE from their existing vehicle to the replacement one. They will get a bonus COE period for their replacement vehicle. This is derived from a proportion of what is left of their existing vehicle’s 20-year lifespan when it is de-registered.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan will announce the details in next month’s Committee of Supply debate.
The Carbon Emissions-based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS), which offers rebates or taxes to owners based on vehicle emissions, will be extended for six months until June 2015, with a view towards continuing the scheme thereafter. Mr Tharman said he was “encouraged” by the results of this scheme.
More than 50 per cent of the new cars registered last year received rebates, an improvement from 2012, where only about 40 per cent would have been eligible for rebates, he said.
“As the CEVS was introduced last year amidst other changes to the COE system and the introduction of tiered ARF (Additional Registration Fee), we should observe the full impact of CEVS before making refinements. Hence, I will extend CEVS by six months until June 2015, with a view towards continuing the scheme thereafter,” Mr Tharman said.
Sumita Sreedharan
New Straits Times 22 Feb 14;
KUALA LUMPUR: The punishing heat that is sending the mercury soaring is threatening another set of problems for Malaysians.
The Fire and Rescue Department is bracing for "more critical" peat and bush fires in the days ahead, as more areas dry up.
Their hope for a reprieve looked bleak as the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD) said yesterday the dry spell was expected to persist until next month.
Its director-general Datuk Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim said areas marked as "extreme" (areas with very high fire intensity in grass) had been recording an "unusually drastic increase" in fires since the end of last month, with an average of 300 cases daily.
The department had, since Jan 29, recorded 6,996 cases of fires. Currently, there are 11 peat land fires burning, with firefighters working round the clock to put them out.
"Peat land takes a longer time to dry, so if there's no change in the weather pattern in the next seven to 14 days, we could be seeing more fires here. This will pose a serious problem as peat fires can't be put out easily. This will, in turn, cause the haze situation to worsen."
He said his 14,000-strong men in the field were on standby in case of a fire break out at peatland areas in Batu Arang and Johan Setia (Selangor), Dungun, Kemaman (Terengganu), and Pekan (Pahang) as well as areas surrounding Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang.
Johor recorded the highest number of peat fires with 69 cases, followed by Selangor (63) Malacca (40) Kedah (33), Perak (21), Perlis (13), Pahang (nine), Terengganu (nine), Sarawak (eight), Penang (four), and Sabah (three). There were seven cases each in Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan.
MMD commercial and corporate services division director Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said the hot and dry season would persist until the middle of next month and this could result in more peat fires and a critical haze situation for the country.
He said Malaysia could also expect another round of haze in June, if open burning is conducted in Sumatera, as this would be when the wind direction would turn this way. Currently, the wind is blowing from the South China Sea.
Hisham said several places in Kedah and Malacca had not had rainfall for more than 40 days now because of the dry spell, a result of the northeast monsoon coming to an end.
"This happens periodically, but this counts as one of the worst. The worst dry season that the country experienced was in the 1980s, where some places did not have rain for more than 70 days."
He said more peat and bush fires were occurring in the northern region because of the high temperature and minimal moisture in the air.
He also attributed the haze in the Klang Valley to the large amount of combustion and emissions from various sources, including open burning and development.
This, he added, was compounded by the light and low levels of wind over most parts of Peninsular Malaysia.
"The wind in many areas has caused dry haze particles in the atmosphere to remain almost stationary," he said adding that satellite images on Thursday showed a sharp rise in hot spots in Sumatera.
On Tuesday, there were 46 such hot spots. The number increased to 80 on Wednesday and 111 on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Department of Environment said it was monitoring the situation in 338 "hot spots" nationwide.
It was also preparing for the impact of the fire at 1,977 hot spots in Sumatera and another 1,048 in Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Cloud seeding ops to begin
patrick lee, sarban singh, ivan loh, s. puspadevi, AND nicholas cheng The Star 22 Feb 14;
PETALING JAYA: Cloud seeding is expected to take place from next Tuesday over water catchment areas in four states hit hard by the dry weather.
Meteorological Department senior meteorologist Azhar Ishak confirmed that the cloud seeding exercise was likely to occur over catchment areas of dams in Selangor, Johor, Malacca and Negri Sembilan from Feb 25 or 26 onwards.
“It’s not certain, but there’s a good chance that cloud seeding will be done on those days,” he said, adding that the seeding was dependent on suitable weather conditions.
He said that up to this point, it had not rained in dam catchment areas but in isolated areas instead.
Azhar said the Royal Air Force would take charge of cloud seeding operations once weather conditions permitted, adding that the material used for the operation was safe and that ordinary salt would be used to seed the clouds.
In a related matter, water levels at dams across Selangor were reduced, with the Sungai Selangor Dam – the state’s largest – the hardest hit, at 51.39% capacity Friday morning.
The dam, which serves 60% of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur’s water needs, recorded 57.63% capacity on Feb 12. Other dams’ capacity yesterday were: Tasik Subang (96.26%), Sungai Tinggi (80.68%), Semenyih (89.06%), Langat (76.10%), Klang Gates (55.22%), Batu (91.69%).
Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) said consumer water usage had not dropped despite warnings that resources were depleting.
Its corporate communications and public affairs assistant general manager Priscilla Alfred said there was barely enough treated water in Selangor’s pipes for everyone.
“We have a water reserve margin of 0.73% of the total supply,” she said.
Malaysian Water Association president Syed Mohamed Alhabshi said there needed to be a minimum reserve margin of 10%, calling it a “security of supply”.
“If you have that kind of margin, then if a treatment plant shuts down, other plants can help send water,” he said.
He said the construction of the Langat 2 treatment plant, along with raw water from Pahang, would help to increase the buffer up to 10%
Two water treatment plants have shut down due to high levels of ammonia in the Langat river, affecting 27,000 households.
A further 83,000 households are facing low water pressure and service disruptions due to high water use in the state.
Moderate API readings in central peninsula
The Star 22 Feb 14;
KUALA LUMPUR: Healthy air levels were recorded in the north and south of the peninsula, while the central region recorded moderate levels on the Air Pollutant Index (API).
The Department of Environment said yesterday that Port Klang recorded a reading of 65 while Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam recorded 52 and 57 respectively.
Air quality in the city centre and Federal Territories was healthy, with Cheras at 30 and Batu Muda and Putrajaya at 36.
API readings of 101 to 200 are considered unhealthy. Those between 201 and 300 are deemed very unhealthy. Readings above 301 are classified as hazardous.
Fruit growers hit hard by dry spell
The Star 22 Feb 14;
IPOH: The hot and dry spell is wreaking havoc on farms in the state, with many fruit growers lamenting that the lack of rain is stunting the growth of their produce.
Pomelo grower Chan Chuen Fatt, 51, said it had not rained in his area in Ulu Piah, near Ampang here, for about three weeks.
He said he had expected the hot weather since Chinese New Year and had been prepared to overcome the lack of rainwater to tend to his orchard.
“I have a water-pumping machine to water the trees. It was working fine but it broke down last week. Now I have to source for water from nearby ponds for my trees but the weather has already stunted the growth of some of the fruits,” he said.
Another farmer, Lau Poon, said he was worried about the fruits at his orchard in Bidor.
Lau, who grows guava and rose apples, said the fruits needed a lot of water for them to develop fully.
“We are just entering the fruiting phase and I am really worried that this batch will be affected,” he said.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department website has forecast a week of cloudy weather and rainfall in the state. It noted that there would be isolated rainfall during the afternoon beginning today.
Antara 21 Feb 14;
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - Four districts in the Riau Province have declared a state of emergency due to the haze arising from forest, plantation and peatland fires.
"A state of emergency has been declared in the districts of Pelalawan, Bengkalis, Dumai city, and Meranti islands," Saqlul Amri, the chairman of Riaus disaster mitigation office (BPBD) stated here on Friday.
Uncontrollable, massive fires have been raging due to the dry climate, northern winds, and lack of facilities for extinguishing the fires, he added.
The other factors taken into consideration while declaring the emergency status were the large number of people reportedly having health problems due to exposure to the haze and the high standard pollutant index.
The Riau administration has estimated that the fires have spread across a total area of six thousand hectares and affected the health of fifteen thousand people.
The NOAA 18 satellite detected 111 hotspots of forest, plantation, and peatland fires across Sumatra Island, including 88 in the Riau province, on Thursday evening.
In the Riau province, 23 hotspots were found in Bengkalis, 18 in Dumai City, 15 in Siak, 10 in Pelalawan, 8 in Rokan Hilir, one in Meranti Islands, five each in Indragiri Hulu and Indragiri Hilir, and 3 in Kampar.
In Dumai, the hotspots were detected in Bukit Kapur, West Dumai, and East Dumai subdistricts.
The Dumai city administration has declared an emergency status due to the haze arising from the forest fires since last week.
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