Butterflies Galore! : Slate Flash
from Butterflies of Singapore
Giant Honey Bees at Pasir Ris Park
from Francis' Random Yaks, Articles & Photos
Yellow spots, red stripes: vivid new frog species discovered in Malaysia
from Mongabay.com news by Morgan Erickson-Davis
Alice Chia Channel NewsAsia 5 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE: Minister of State for the National Development Ministry Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman says the Government will take enforcement action against fish farms caught illegally dumping any waste into their waters. Nominated Member of Parliament Faizah Jamal had asked in Parliament on Tuesday (Aug 5) whether the ministry has an environment audit process of how offshore fish farms manage their daily disposal of trash, biological waste and human waste.
Dr Maliki said that under the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) fish farm licensing conditions, owners of offshore fish farms must properly dispose of the waste generated from their farms. The owners must also keep their premises in good condition and ensure that the waters in and around their farms are clean and pollution-free at all times.
Fish farmers in the western Johor Straits can use the waste collection points at the Lim Chu Kang jetty while those in the eastern Johor Straits can use the newly opened Lorong Halus jetty and its waste collection centre.
AVA carries out routine quarterly inspections on all fish farms, including those in the Southern and Western coastal areas to check for compliance with licensing conditions. Dr Maliki said: "AVA officers check on the types and amount of waste generated and disposed of, and their frequency of disposal, the use of proper waste disposal methods and the location of the waste collection point used by the farmers. AVA also conducts ad-hoc night raids on the fish farms to deter the illegal towing of fish farm waste to shore. AVA works closely with the police coast guards to keep a look out for fish farmers discarding waste into the sea and conducts regular briefings to remind fish farmers to maintain proper waste management."
- CNA/ly
Monica Kotwani Channel NewsAsia 5 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE: Parliament on Tuesday (Aug 5) passed a Bill that would impose fines of up to S$2 million on companies that cause or contribute to transboundary haze pollution in Singapore, but not before a lengthy debate in Parliament that saw Members of Parliament raise a multitude of questions and concerns over two days.
They ranged from the extraterritorial nature of the bill to what role the Government can play in ensuring palm oil in products is sourced sustainably and whether the fines are high enough to act as a deterrent.
Addressing these questions, Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said the Bill is "not a silver bullet", but a step that introduces novel elements into the law. On the question of extraterritorial application, Dr Balakrishnan clarified that under international law, while states have the sovereign right to exploit their natural resources in accordance with their policies, they also have a responsibility to ensure this does not cause damage to neighbouring states.
Dr Balakrishnan said Singapore also has the legal right under the Objective Territorial Principle to take action against those whose irresponsible actions elsewhere cause harm within Singapore. So the Bill gives Singapore the legal power to serve notices on entities, including those that do not have assets or a presence in Singapore.
Dr Balakrishnan said the notice would be served personally to an officer of the entity, when the individual or partner is in Singapore. He said the National Environment Agency would work closely with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority to know when the person is in the country.
MPs also asked if the penalties are sufficient, considering the cap of S$2 million is but a "slap on the wrist" for some companies that see profits in the billions of dollars. To this, Dr Balakrishnan said there is a need to tread carefully with the new legislation, as there is no precedence on how it will work in practice. He assured members that the Act will be reviewed when it comes into effect to see whether it works as a deterrent.
MP Christopher De Souza and Nominated Member of Parliament, Faizah Jamal, spoke about the role of consumers and how they can be empowered with the knowledge that products are made from oil palm that is sustainably sourced. This will allow them to put pressure on errant companies.
Dr Balakrishnan said while this should be encouraged by the Government, it should be led by consumer groups and non-government organisations.
After the session in Parliament wrapped, the minister posted on Facebook that he is glad that all MPs - opposition, nominated and PAP alike - supported the Bill. "This will create criminal and civil liabilities for errant companies that cause haze by burning forests and peatlands. We have to make companies accountable for the harm they inflict on our health and environment," Dr Balakrishnan wrote.
- CNA/ly
'Ground-breaking' law passed to fight haze
Adrian Lim and Samantha Boh My Paper AsiaOne 6 Aug 14;
A new law which targets firms responsible for haze pollution in Singapore will be ground-breaking, but must not overreach, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan, in response to calls for heavier penalties and for the Bill to have a wider scope.
Addressing concerns raised in Parliament yesterday that the maximum fine of $2 million may not be harsh enough, Dr Balakrishnan said it would be a start, and that the law would be reviewed to assess whether the amount would be "sufficient deterrence".
"This is new legislation. We don't know yet how this will work in practice. We want to be very careful that we don't overreach or have unrealistic penalties," he added.
Under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill, which was passed in Parliament yesterday, firms here or abroad can be fined up to $100,000 for each day of haze, up to a cap of $2 million. It may take effect in October or November, reports said.
The penalties have been upped from a previous cap of $300,000, spelt out in a draft Bill earlier this year.
Members of Parliament (MPs) said during yesterday's debate on the Bill that $2 million may be a slap on the wrist for large corporations responsible for the slash-and-burn practices.
Dr Balakrishnan noted that, besides criminal liabilities, civil suits may be brought against the errant entities. "And there is no limit to the civil liability except what the court decides to award," he said.
During the debate, MPs raised a number of concerns, including whether consumers can play a part and if the Bill should cast a wider net.
Nominated MP Faizah Jamal called on the Government to take the lead in identifying the source of palm-oil products and to deny support to companies with poor harvesting practices.
Dr Balakrishnan replied that the challenge in doing this lies in the sheer number of products which have palm oil as an ingredient, which make up more than half of supermarket products.
"So the point is we shouldn't go on this wild goose chase of saying, 'I'm going to exclude and eliminate all palm oil from our consumer consumption'," he said.
While he noted the merits of pressuring companies to ensure that their supply chains are legitimate and derived from sustainable sources, Dr Balakrishnan said it should be done by consumer groups or non-governmental groups, rather than from a top-down approach.
Nominated MP Eugene Tan asked if the Bill was too narrow in scope, as it covered only transboundary haze involving smoke from forest or land fires.
Dr Balakrishnan, in reply, said the Bill was targeted and hence it did not go so far as to look at "factories and burning oil platforms".
Noting that the Bill would be breaking new ground, he said: "I think I'm a surgeon, I don't like making large incisions, so let's be targeted first.
"Let's get this surgical operation done, let's see how this works before you start taking adventures and liberties."
Singapore gets tougher laws to fight the haze
Neo Chai Chin Today Online 6 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE — Slightly more than a year after the authorities here began — in the midst of the region’s worst bout of haze — exploring legal options against parties causing the smog, the landmark Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill was passed yesterday with unanimous support from the House.
The new laws allow entities causing or contributing to unhealthy levels of haze here to be fined up to S$2 million. Victims who suffer illness or economic losses may also sue the culprits.
With procedures to be followed, such as assent from the President, the new laws are likely to take effect from next month or October, said a spokesperson from the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.
Seven Members of Parliament (MPs) spoke during the debate yesterday, joining two others who had participated the previous day. They cited issues such as complex land rights and laws in Indonesia that could impede legal action against wrongdoers, stressing the importance of cooperation with Singapore’s neighbours.
Marine Parade GRC MP Fatimah Lateef asked if the National Environment Agency would have a team of trained negotiators to investigate and verify data, while Nominated MP Eugene Tan wanted the scope of the Bill to extend beyond smoke from land and forest fires to include air pollution from factories or fires on offshore rigs or gas pipelines that affect Singapore.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said the scope of the Bill was deliberately kept narrow as it was breaking new ground. “I’m a surgeon, I don’t like making large incisions. So let’s be targeted first, let’s get this surgical operation done, let’s see how this works before you start taking ... liberties,” said Dr Balakrishnan, a former eye surgeon.
Last June, amid record haze levels, Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said he had directed the Attorney-General to look into actions Singapore could take. This set in motion the process that led to the drafting of the new legislation to bring to task firms whose activities overseas negatively affect Singapore’s environment and economy.
In response to MPs who felt the fines proposed were too low, Dr Balakrishnan said the Government wanted to be careful not to have unrealistic penalties for the new laws, but would review them after they take effect. He added that there is no cap to civil liabilities errant firms could face, “so that could potentially be a much higher sum” awarded by the courts.
On how extraterritorial provisions of the law could apply, Dr Balakrishnan said it would allow notice to be served on entities with no assets in Singapore when their officers enter the country.
“The National Environment Agency will work closely with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, so we will know when the person is in Singapore.” Prosecutors can seek court orders for individuals to remain in Singapore to assist with investigation.
On media reports in the past week that Indonesian President-elect Joko Widodo had backed Singapore’s plans to impose heftier fines on polluters as long as Indonesia’s sovereignty is respected, Dr Balakrishnan said he welcomed the views of the incoming Indonesian administration.
The role of consumers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) was also flagged by MPs such as NMP Faizah Jamal, who said consumers should reflect on their lifestyles and purchases that might be contributing to the problem. She and Associate Professor Tan urged the Government to procure goods and services from responsible sources.
Dr Balakrishnan said increasing product information available to consumers is something on which regulators and NGOs can collaborate. Non-governmental organisations have published concession maps and other data, he noted. “So, I think we need a full menu of options on the table. Not everything is best done through legislation or government action alone.”
Haze law passed; fines may go up if necessary
Grace Chua The Straits Times AsiaOne 6 Aug 14;
A NEW law to punish polluters who cause the haze was passed by Parliament yesterday, with Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan promising to stiffen the penalties further if necessary.
Dr Balakrishnan gave the assurance after listening to MPs insisting that the fines were too low compared with the size of the errant companies' profits and the harm caused by the haze. The fines are up to $100,000 a day, capped at a total of $2 million, for causing unhealthy haze, defined as a Pollutant Standards Index value of 101 or greater for 24 hours or more.
The culprits who often cause, contribute to and condone activities that raise the haze level are mainly large palm-oil companies based in Indonesia.
As a result, several MPs said the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act could be hard to implement as it would be difficult to nab firms based outside Singapore, without infringing on the sovereignty of another country.
Singapore is regularly plagued by haze, the result of deforestation by burning in Indonesia. The worst haze occurred last year when the three-hour PSI hit a record 401, in the "hazardous" range. This year, the dry season threatens to bring on the haze any time until next month.
All nine MPs who spoke on the Bill, including opposition Non- Constituency MPs, gave their support to Singapore's first legal move against polluters.
But most felt the penalties were not stiff enough.
Said Nominated MP Eugene Tan, a law don: "There must be sufficient deterrence in this Bill.
How was $2 million arrived at when one considers the profits to be made and the market value of the oil-palm business?"
Replying, Dr Balakrishnan said: "This is a new legislation... We want to be very careful that we don't overreach or have unrealistic penalties. So we'll start now at this level."
The penalties had, in fact, been raised after public consultation over the draft law earlier this year. The cap on fines was initially set at $300,000.
Beyond fines, Dr Balakrishnan said the new law lets people or companies sue the haze culprits, with no limit set on the amount of damages they can ask for.
On enforcing the law, the minister said legal notice can be served on the companies' representatives when they are in Singapore. The National Environment Agency will work with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority on it.
"Where necessary, the public prosecutor could apply for a court order to require the person to remain in Singapore to assist in investigations," he said.
He also urged consumer interest groups and non-governmental organisations to help the cause, by tracking agricultural supply chains and monitoring the fire situation on the ground.
One such group is the homegrown People's Movement to Stop Haze, a youth group founded by 29-year-old Tan Yi Han, who felt the new law is a good step. "It will put companies under the spotlight to encourage them to continue zero-burning practices."
Haze Bill penalties not large enough, say MPs
Grace Chua The Straits Times AsiaOne 7 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE - Penalties in the proposed Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill may not be large enough to deter big firms, and should be increased for repeat offenders, said the first two MPs who debated the new Bill before Parliament was adjourned on Monday.
The Bill - an earlier version of which was up for public consultation earlier this year - was introduced in Parliament in July and holds entities liable for activities inside or outside Singapore that cause unhealthy haze here.
Its aim is to help combat the haze that blankets Singapore from time to time, especially during the dry season, due to illegal land clearing by burning in Indonesia.
Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Chris de Souza pointed out that the financial penalties, which go up to a maximum of $2 million, may represent only a small sum to large agroforestry firms.
Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah said the fines should be doubled or even tripled. "The fines in the Bill may not be sufficient deterrent against offenders who will weigh the cost of fine if they are caught, against the profits they will gain." Monitoring and locating hot spots takes up government resources, while haze also incurs economic and personal health losses here, she added.
In addition, the new law should contain a provision for whistleblowers, she said.
Mr de Souza urged that errant companies' use of illegal slash-and-burn land clearing methods be exposed, and for consumers to pressure them economically.
"Until and unless consumers are made aware that certain products they purchase are the product of these actions...companies will continue undeterred," he said.
At least seven more MPs are scheduled to debate the Bill, and it is expected to be passed on Tuesday.
Separately, the Government said it had offered the Indonesian government the use of a helicopter with a specialised heli-bucket to help fight fires there. This adds to its earlier offer in June, of satellite pictures, Singapore Civil Defence Force assistance, and other aircraft for cloud-seeding.
MPs concerned over how to implement haze law
Grace Chua The Straits Times AsiaOne 8 AUg 14;
WITH the threat of haze looming over Singapore until next month, MPs debating a new law yesterday to nab and punish the polluters were especially concerned with the practicality of implementing it.
Uppermost on their minds was the difficulty of pinpointing the culprits responsible for setting fires to clear agricultural land, amid Indonesia's complex, often overlapping land ownership and usage rights.
Dr Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade GRC) asked how Singapore would obtain objective data on land ownership, as "the owners of the land may subcontract it out to others to manage and run".
The Transboundary Haze Pollution Act targets those responsible for causing or condoning such fires if burning results in unhealthy levels of haze, defined as a PSI level of 101 or more for at least a day.
Replying, Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan acknowledged that the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, which Parliament passed yesterday, had several presumptions.
"We had to have presumptions on the validity of maps, we have to have presumptions on control, we have to have presumptions on indirect control... Because this depends on circumstantial evidence at best, we needed to get the balance right between presumptions and at the same time providing adequate defences and providing opportunities for the companies to rebut it," he said.
Circumstantial evidence that can be used includes satellite data and weather information about where winds are blowing from and how strong they are.
As well, databases of land concessions cobbled together by non-government groups like environmental research organisation World Resources Institute.
Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong wanted to know how the Government came up with the initial total fine of up to $300,000 for a polluter, an amount that was raised to $2 million after public consultation.
Dr Balakrishnan, however, did not address the question.
The law also lets companies and individuals sue and claim damages from the polluters.
But Nominated MPs Eugene Tan and Faizah Jamal, both trained in law, said an average person may find it too onerous to file a civil suit against the errant companies which have deep pockets.
They asked if there could be government support for class-action suits to allow groups to sue.
Dr Balakrishnan was non-committal, saying Singapore's court rules allow a form of group litigation called representative action, in which one person may represent all in a group.
MPs also made several suggestions, including offering incentives for companies to behave well, helping consumers choose sustainable palm oil and other products, using the fines collected to control fires, and expanding the scope of the new law to include haze from other sources such as oil rigs at sea or factories.
Dr Balakrishnan said the law was deliberately kept narrow as it already breaks new ground.
He also feels consumer groups, not the Government, should push companies to be more transparent about their supply chains. "Not everything is best done through legislation or through government action alone."
But going palm-oil-free is a wild goose chase, he added. "I asked my colleague in my ministry, please go to the supermarket and identify all the products with palm oil. He came back and said: 'I can't give you that list because more than half the products on the shelves have palm oil, including - you'd be surprised - Swiss chocolates of the highest quality."
As for the fines collected by government agencies, they all go into the Government's consolidated fund as a matter of public policy and are not earmarked for specific purposes.
Still, "if we need money to safeguard our population's interest, money to embark on cooperative action, money to work with civil society and other consumer groups in pursuit of these objectives, we will do so", said Dr Balakrishnan.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), however, feels "the greater long-term concern is not the haze but the large amount of carbon released into the earth's atmosphere".
He said: "The fires are the single largest contributor to Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions."
When contacted, Dr Nigel Sizer of World Resources Institute said: "The law sends a very strong signal to companies that Singapore is going to do its best to hold them accountable."
The maximum $2 million fine is "not a significant deterrent" to large firms, he added. "The deterrent to them is damage to their reputation" if they are found guilty under the Act.
Borneo Post 6 Aug 14;
KOTA KINABALU: A Universiti Malaysia Sabah researcher-lecturer has expressed his concern about the rapid decline in turtle population in Sabah.
According to Dr James Alin, nesting records collected by the Kudat Turtle Conservation Society (KTCS) and sightings by artisanal fishermen and recreational divers’ show that Green and Hawksbill turtles in these areas are rapidly declining.
“What we are now observing is a consequence from decades of human predation. Slaughtering of turtles and poaching on eggs has taken its toll on the sea turtles population.
“Although, today, Rungus people – one of the natives in the area, no longer slaughter it for food at least in the open, turtles are still under serious threats,” he said.
Sea turtles are hit by boat engine propellers, he said, adding that the community patrolling teams under KTCS can only protect turtles while they are nesting and laying eggs but not before or after the landing.
Once they leave the white sandy beach and head back to open sea, they are in great danger of being hit by boat engine propellers, he pointed out.
According to Dr Juanita Joseph, a sea turtle expert working with Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, while underwater, sea turtles can hear the sound of boat engines, especially noisy pump boats, but cannot tell which direction it is coming from, Dr James disclosed.
During high tide, submerged coral reefs and sea grasses which happen to be sea turtles’ foraging and habitat areas, are busy navigation routes for passengers and fishing vessels.
“The unlucky turtle is sucked up by the turbulence created by the spinning propellers; causing it to tumble again and again while being hit by the blades which cause holes or deep cuts impressed on its carapace.
In fact, nine out of ten dead turtles washed ashore from September 2009 until August this year had signs of physical injuries.
“Most had grotesque deep cuts on either or both limbs (flippers), neck and head. While others had broken, cracked or deep scratch marks and gaping holes on the carapace or plastron.
However, none of the carcasses were entangled in fishing nets or had ropes tied on its body like the cases of dead turtles found in Semporna and Labuan, he said.
He also said that sea turtles are incidental catch of fishermen as according to previous studies on dead turtles in Peninsula Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia, carcasses washed to shore with these types of visible marks of injuries are either victims of boat engine propellers or fishing nets.
Sea turtles caught accidentally by gill net, trammel net, drift net, trawlers and purse seine will be severely injured, he pointed out, adding that once caught in a trawl, the turtle will be drowned and pushed to the back of the net, and during hours of dragging near sea bottom, its body will be crushed or squished under the massive weight of shrimps and other targeted species.
“This is a plausible cause of badly damaged carapaces and plastrons. Some of the 654 fishermen working under 121 trawling licenses in Kudat are definitely responsible for disposing of evidence, we just don’t know who and when.
“The cases presented have two more interesting trends. One is that, most carcasses were found during the nesting months of May to September. Second, there are more reports during these months of sea turtles incidentally caught by trammel, gill and drift nets – three popular fishing gears used by artisanal fishermen in the areas,” Dr James said.
He was of the opinion that some purse seiners had been doing such wrong things for so long.
“While almost all the trawlers fish day time, purse seines are nocturnal activities. According to KTCS patrollers, purse seiners encroach into artisanal fishing ground all year round.
“But during good weather, purse seiners can be seen fishing from dusk to dawn, at least eight vessels per night during dark moon and at least three vessels during full month (less fish).
“Most of them fish quite near to the turtle rookeries – the white sandy beaches all the way from Bak-Bak, Bavang Jamal, Kulambu up to Sampang Mengayau (tip of Borneo). The powerful spotlights used by the purse seiners could scare away approaching turtles from landing.
“Some purse seiner crews told me, during “Ikan Banjir” (bounty harvest season), turtles returning to the sea after nesting were caught in the purse seines because they were following the food i.e. aggregation of fish attracted by the lighting,” he said.
According to Dr James, the case against these encroachers is stronger.
“Not because we can find out who among the 660 fishermen working under 35 licensed purse seines in Kudat disposed the dead turtles but because purse seiners are encroaching into artisanal (traditional) zone.
“Purse seine fishing within three nautical miles from shoreline is illegal, therefore unregulated and unreported (IUU),” he said.
He said sea turtles were on the verge of extinction and that the Green turtle is globally listed as “Endangered” in IUCN Red list and are in Appendix 1 -CITES, while the Hawksbill turtle is “Critically Endangered” according to the same list.
“How soon will these threatened, charismatic and migratory species ultimately disappear? The answer is ‘very soon’ particularly when there are more delays in the gazettement of Tun Mustapha Marine Park.
“We conclude with the story of the Morong. My interviews with elders of the Ubian Bajau in Kudat and search on archival records for marine turtle trading in North Borneo, shows that ‘Morong’ is in fact the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys Olivacea).
“Today, Olive Ridleys are globally ‘Endangered’ according to IUCN Red list and listed in Appendix 1 –CITES. Sadly, in Kudat it is already extinct. In the past, according to my respondents, the Tip of Borneo was like their place of origin, the village of Nagbalong in Morong town, Bataan Peninsula, Philippines where the Arribadas was found in abundance.
“Although Arribadas or Olive Ridleys are no longer in abundance nevertheless their rookeries in Morong are protected by Pawikan Conservation. The Olive Ridley turtles in Kudat were not that lucky. The only record of its existence in the area was a carcass found washed ashore at Kulambu beach in September 2009,” he disclosed.
Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/08/06/alarm-over-unabated-turtle-carnage/#ixzz39ZUcUlOZ
The Star 5 Aug 14;
PETALING JAYA: While air quality in most areas nationwide remained “good” and “moderate”, the Air Pollutant Index (API) in Sungai Petani hit “unhealthy” levels yesterday.
The API readings there reached 106, which falls under the “unhealthy” category, before improving to 97 later in the day.
Air quality in Sri Aman remained at unhealthy levels, with a steady reading of 117 throughout the day.
Readings in Batu Muda, Kuala Lumpur, nearly reached the unhealthy level, with the highest touching 100 yesterday, but stayed in the “moderate” category.
An API of up to 50 is considered good; 51 to 100 moderate; 101 to 200 unhealthy; 201 to 300 very unhealthy; and 301 and above hazardous.
Natural Resources and Environ-ment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said satellite imagery by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration detected 15 hotspots in Sumatra and 150 in Kalimantan on Wednesday.
In a statement, he added that there had been 4,419 cases of open burning locally from January until Aug 3.
Of this, there were 1,436 cases on agricultural land, 899 in forested areas and 1,011 in bush areas.
“There have been 820 cases of small open burning incidents, 137 in construction areas, 80 at dump sites and 34 in industrial areas,” he said.
He said 45 investigation papers were opened and compound notices sent to those involved in 315 open burning cases, adding that warning letters were sent out in 101 other cases.
Antara 6 Aug 14;
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan reported that perpetrators had started forest and land fires in Riau provincial districts and cities on a massive scale.
"I strongly condemn the perpetrators of the (forest and land fires)," the minister told the press here on Tuesday.
Zulkifli had visited Riau to directly monitor the land and forest fires in several regions, including the Rokan Hilir district. The minister had also witnessed the prosecution for the perpetrators of forest fires by the regional police.
According to him, the forest and land fires had affected a large number of Indonesian people.
Zulkifli further stated that many people especially in Riau have been suffering from diseases, such as shortness of breath, which had been caused by smoke pollution, and even children have failed to go to school.
"Millions of people have been undergoing hardship and airplanes have been cancelled due to the criminal acts of the perpetrators," he added.
(KR-FZR/B003/INE)
Job Opportunity: Scientific Officer (Outreach & Education)
from News from Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
New restrictions to some State Land sites – Zone Captains will inform Organisers
from News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore
Ho Ai Li The Sunday Times AsiaOne 5 Aug 14;
Kusu, Sudong and Lazarus. Even if you have never set foot on these outlying islands of Singapore, chances are you would have heard of them. More so Ubin, Tekong and Sentosa.
Children posing amidst a rustic setting during the final days of the kampung at Pulau Seking.
But what about Rabbit Island or Pulau Sakra, Sebarok or Sekudu? They don't even exist "on the margins of our mental landscapes", as organisers of the ongoing Balik Pulau (Return To The Islands) exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore so piquantly put it.
Many of the outer islands didn't exist for me until I visited the exhibition recently. Yet, Singapore once had as many as 77 islands, and still has about 40.
Before Singapore became a key node in Britain's global shipping empire, its identity was anchored in a network of islands in the Riau Archipelago.
A series of heritage activities and a Drama Box play this year have helped Singaporeans to reclaim some of these forgotten isles - dozens of which have been lost to the tides of history - and to reimagine Singapore's identity and position.
One significant island lost to us is Pulau Seking. As big as 10 football fields, it was home to the last southern island kampung community before it gave way to a landfill.
Many islanders were said to be descended from the nomadic Orang Selat, or People of the Straits. For centuries, they fished or built boats, although many later became wage-earners as technicians on nearby Pulau Bukom.
Seking had a Malay primary school that closed in the early 1980s, after which its pupils had to commute by motorised sampan to the main island for classes.
By 1994, the last residents - nearly 200 in all - had been relocated from their sea-facing kampung houses on stilts to high-rises on the main island. On their island, there had been no roads, no cars, just a lot of goats.
Provision shopkeeper Teo Yan Teck, 83, was one of the few Chinese on Seking. Interviewed on camera by organisers of the mu- seum exhibition, he was asked how he felt about leaving the island. His face crumpled, and he could only utter a silent cry.
Seking has since been joined to an adjacent island to form Pulau Semakau, a huge landfill for rubbish.
I knew nothing of Seking until I attended a recent talk at the mu-seum, held as part of the Singapore Heritage Festival.
Temasek Polytechnic lecturer Normala Manap, who did an anthropological study on Seking in 1982, said at the talk: "The fact that we have let Seking become a landfill (means) we have lost a big opportunity to get insights into Singapore's roots and history."
Old and young, the islanders had a deep sense of the history of Seking, which got its name from a fable about its founder Yang Meleking. Goats were released by Chinese devotees as an offering to the benefactress, who is said to have battled pirates to found the isle.
As documented in The Sea Nomads by cultural geographer David Sopher, the Riau Archipelago was home to nomadic seafarers, who lived with their families on boats and sailed from one mangrove coast to another. Some were also pirates.
As Ms Normala put it, Seking's residents looked to a wider Malay world than Singapore.
Anthropologist Vivienne Wee, who studied Seking previously and was a panellist at the same talk, said many of its residents would go by sampan to Pulau Pangkil in Bintan to attend relatives' weddings.
Most younger Singaporeans do not know about Seking, partly because there was hardly any public discussion about whether it should be preserved - unlike in the case of Pulau Ubin, home to Singapore's last surviving village community.
Dr Wee noted that former Nominated Member of Parliament Kanwaljit Soin was the only one to question the move to destroy the settlement in Seking, in Parliament in 1993. Dr Wee said turning the island into a landfill was a "demolition and rubbishing" of its history.
Another significant isle whose history could be better known is Pulau Senang. Now known largely as the location for military live-firing exercises, it was a penal settlement from 1960 to 1963, and the site of a bloody riot that took place in 1963.
Older Singaporeans know the incident well, but most younger people do not. I certainly didn't before May this year, when I watched the Drama Box play Senang, about the experimental prison without bars.
In this dramatic retelling, British warden Daniel Dutton experiments with hard work as a way to reform the detainees on Senang. But he becomes increasingly severe in his demands, forcing them to build a jetty in harsh weather on one occasion. An uprising by the detainees on July 12, 1963, led to the deaths of four officers, including Superintendent Dutton, and brought the shutters down on the experiment.
Senang is a reminder of how the islands were natural sites for imprisonment and exile.
Sentosa the tourist magnet used to be called Pulau Belakang Mati and was once a military base.
In 1970, it was renamed Sentosa, which means "peace and tranquillity", from the Sanskrit word Santosha. Long-time political detainee Chia Thye Poh, arrested in 1966, was confined to Sentosa from 1989 until his release in 1992.
Sentosa as we know it today is an amalgamation of several smaller isles, just as petrochemical hub Jurong Island is made up of islands in the Ayer Chawan archipelago.
A short film shown along with the exhibition sums it up well, noting: "The story of Singapore's islands is one of growth, in size and economic significance, and loss, in numbers and nature, as habitats and homes give way to the needs of a modern city."
In 1998, long after many of Singapore's islands had disappeared, then Indonesian president B.J. Habibie dismissed Singapore as being no more than a little red dot.
Singaporeans have since embraced that nickname, using it to underline how this little island nation has transcended size to take its place on the world stage.
But a red dot doesn't show context. Zooming in on our many islands past and present allows us to see mudflats and porcelain shards, and ways of life long forgotten, yet still part of our history.
Channel NewsAsia 4 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency has conducted nearly 2 million dengue inspections this year, and deployed more than 1,000 Gravitraps in dengue clusters for mosquito-control purposes, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said in Parliament on Monday (Aug 4).
There have been more than 12,000 reported dengue cases so far this year, Dr Balakrishnan said. This dengue epidemic, which has been ongoing since 2013, was driven by three factors:
There was a switch in the predominant dengue serotype to DENV-1 last year. This strain of DENV-1 virus spreads more rapidly than other strains in Singapore and now accounts for about 90 per cent of the current infections.
Singapore's general population lacks immunity to dengue due to cumulatively low incidence over the last two decades.
The mosquito Aedes aegypti is still endemic in Singapore despite efforts over the years.
Dr Balakrishnan said the National Environment Agency (NEA) has increased the frequency of inspections and taken enforcement action against errant contractors, whose sites have seen the breeding of mosquitoes. So far this year, 57 Stop Work Orders have been issued and 14 contractors prosecuted in court, he said.
Penalties have also been levied on homeowners, town councils and other landowners when breeding is found within their premises, he added. This year, the fines levied ranged from S$200 for home owners to S$39,000 for construction contractors.
BIOLOGICAL INTERVENTION
When it comes to developing new tools to tackle dengue, Dr Balakrishnan said NEA's Environmental Health Institute (EHI) is working with local researchers to utilise the Wolbachia bacteria.
"We are currently studying the feasibility of using Wolbachia-carrying male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to suppress the mosquito population in Singapore. A Dengue Expert Advisory Panel consisting of international and local experts has been appointed to provide scientific advice on the safety and effectiveness of this technique in our context. As this is a novel biological intervention, we will not embark on any field trials unless it is clear that safety is totally assured."
Responding to questions from Members of Parliament on whether the Government will approve the Sanofi vaccine, Dr Balakrishnan said more needs to be done to ensure its efficacy. "It showed some promise, but to be honest with you, my frank opinion is that it is not good enough. Why do I say that? It showed reasonable effectiveness, about 75 per cent for Type 3 and Type 4 serotypes of dengue," he said.
"Against Type 1, which is the current problem we are having, it is only about 50 per cent effective. Against Type 2, which is the predominant dengue serotype which circulates in Singapore, it was only about 35 per cent effective. Those rates of efficacy are not, in my opinion, good enough."
Dr Balakrishnan said that Singaporeans must continue to stay vigilant and keep their homes free of breeding habitats. He said since January, more than 4,000 breeding sites have been found in residential premises.
- CNA/ac
Dengue vaccine ineffective against main S’pore strains
Paul Lim Today Online 5 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE — A highly-anticipated vaccine being developed for dengue that is in the advanced stages of clinical trials is not effective against the strain that is dominant in Singapore, said Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday.
Referring to the drug being developed by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur, the minister said that while it showed some promise for Type 3 and 4 dengue, it is only about 50 per cent effective against Type 1 — the dominant strain here — and 35 per cent effective against the next most common strain here, Type 2.
“Those rates of efficacy are not, in my opinion, good enough,” said Dr Balakrishnan.
However, the authorities are studying the feasibility of using Wolbachia-carrying male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to suppress the dengue virus-carrying mosquito population, he said.
An advisory panel consisting of international and local experts has been appointed to provide scientific advice on the safety and effectiveness of this technique in the Singapore context, said Dr Balakrishan, who stressed that “unless it is clear that safety is totally assured”, there will be no field trials.
More than 12,000 dengue cases have been reported here this year, leading to questions about whether the Sanofi drug will be made available, despite mixed results in the latest study conducted among more than 10,000 children aged between two and 14 in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Noting that efforts have been stepped up to curb the number of breeding sites — more than 1.9 million inspections have been conducted and more than 1,000 Gravitraps deployed this year — Dr Balakrishnan stressed that the community still had to play its part to combat dengue.
“We can have 850 National Environment Agency officers and 1.9 million inspections, but it is not possible for officers to be everywhere all the time. This is where I really require the assistance of home owners, contractors, town council officers and even Members of Parliament. It does make a difference,” he added.
Nevertheless, Dr Balakrishnan said it was worth considering some of the calls that have been made to enhance penalties.
Suggestions mooted in the House yesterday included pegging penalties to the size and scale of the mosquito breeding ground, or publishing the list of pest control companies looking after sites that were found to have mosquitoes breeding.
Minister: Dengue vaccine not good enough
Dr Balakrishnan, a trained medical doctor, explained that the vaccine was not effective enough against the two most common types of dengue virus here, type 1 and type 2.
Grace Chua The Straits Times AsiaOne 5 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE - A new dengue vaccine, to be marketed by French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi next year, is "not good enough" for Singapore, said Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in Parliament yesterday.
He was responding to queries from Members of Parliament on when the vaccine and other new drugs would hit the shelves here.
Dr Balakrishnan, a trained medical doctor, explained that the vaccine was not effective enough against the two most common types of dengue virus here, type 1 and type 2.
The vaccinated group's risk of developing dengue is reduced by 50 and 35 per cent respectively for type 1 and 2, compared with an unvaccinated group.
"Until further clinical data is available for us to be sure that the benefits outweigh the risks, I don't think the Ministry of Health or Health Sciences Authority will rush into approving the vaccine," he said.
Meanwhile, celgosivir, an anti-viral treatment derived from plant seeds, has not been proven to be more effective than a placebo though it is found to be safe, Dr Balakrishnan added.
Members of Parliament also asked if the fines for mosquito breeding could be scaled based on the risks that the breeding poses to the public. For instance, Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zaqy Mohamad wanted heftier fines for construction firms found to have mosquitoes breeding on worksites.
Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah suggested that pest control firms that fail to control mosquito breeding at worksites be blacklisted.
Dr Balakrishnan said the ministry will study the suggestions on raising penalties but warned that pinning a specific case of dengue on a specific incidence of mosquito breeding would be hard.
To date, 62 stop-work orders have been issued and 14 contractors prosecuted this year for allowing mosquito breeding on their premises.
The number of weekly dengue cases for the last week was 640, down from a record high of 891 cases at the end of June and start of last month.
Channel NewsAsia 4 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE: The inadequate enforcement to deter illegal land land clearing, which is a cause of transboundary haze, is why the Government is tabling the Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill, said the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday (Aug 4).
READ: Up to S$100,000 fine for every day of transboundary haze
Dr Balakrishnan, speaking in Parliament, said that transboundary haze pollution has been a perennial problem in the region for the past two decades. "The root of this problem is misaligned commercial interests where companies burn forests and engage in unsustainable degradation of land because of short-term profits," he said.
There is, therefore, an urgent need for governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), responsible companies and local communities, to collaborate more effectively, to insist on transparency and to pursue investigations in order to hold the culprits accountable for their actions, he said.
However, there is inadequate enforcement on the ground to deter such illegal land clearing and Singapore cannot "simply wait and wishfully hope for the situation to resolve on its own".
This legislation will make it an offence for any entity – Singaporean and non-Singaporean - to cause or contribute to transboundary haze pollution in Singapore, he stated.
"The Singapore Government, and this Parliament, wants to send a strong signal that we will not tolerate the actions of errant companies that harm our environment and put at risk the health of our citizens," Dr Balakrishnan said.
"Given the very strong economic incentives today for companies to adopt, quite frankly, the cheapest methods of clearing land for plantations, we need to tilt the playing field in favour of businesses that do the right and responsible thing, and to deter against those who do not."
He added that the Bill is not intended to replace the laws and enforcement actions of other countries, but to complement their efforts to hold companies to account.
The Ministry of The Environment And Water Resources said in a statement on Monday that it will provide additional haze assistance to Indonesia in the form of a helicopter equipped with a heli-bucket to fight fires. This is in addition to the haze assistance package offered to Indonesia in June, the ministry said.
- CNA/kk
Fine imposed if PSI hits 101 under proposed anti-haze law
Neo Chai Chin Today Online 5 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE — The air quality threshold at which parties will be taken to task for causing transboundary haze affecting Singapore was spelled out yesterday, but Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan cautioned that the proposed law would be challenging to implement.
An offence would be deemed to have occurred if the Pollutant Standards Index in any part of Singapore hits 101 or more — venturing into the unhealthy range and beyond — for a 24-hour period or longer, Dr Balakrishnan said.
The Bill proposes a maximum fine of S$2 million for a party’s conduct that causes haze pollution here, from fines of up to S$100,000 for each day of pollution. Those who do not comply with notices to implement preventive measures could be fined up to S$50,000 a day.
Culprits need not have started the haze-causing fires to be liable — they need only be involved in managing the offending parties.
The Bill also allows notice to be served on firms that do not operate here to assist the National Environment Agency in investigations. Those made ill or who suffer economic loss from the haze may also sue the culprits.
Dr Balakrishnan said he does not anticipate an overwhelming number of prosecutions against companies when the law kicks in. This is because the Bill introduces new legal concepts to the law here. He also assured responsible businesses that they had nothing to fear.
Singapore’s proposed law is to complement other countries’ enforcement efforts and to deter firms from acting irresponsibly, he said. “It is only one of a slate of measures that we must put in place in order to tackle the transboundary haze that has plagued our region for many years.”
The Singapore Government has also told Indonesia that the Republic can provide a helicopter equipped with a heli-bucket to transport and discharge water to help fight fires. This is in addition to the haze assistance package offered in June — consisting of fire-fighting teams, a cloud-seeding aircraft, satellite images and planning assistance — that has not been taken up by Indonesia.
Two Members of Parliament yesterday backed the Bill but questioned if the financial penalties were a sufficient deterrent. Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah said the fines should be doubled or tripled, with higher fines for repeat offenders.
Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Christopher De Souza said economic pressure should be applied on companies with slash-and-burn activities. He questioned how consumers could be made more aware about products made by errant companies. The debate on the Bill continues today.
AsiaOne 4 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE - Singapore has offered to provide additional assistance to Indonesia in the form of a helicopter equipped with a heli-bucket to fight fires, in order to help combat the haze situation.
This information was conveyed to the Indonesian government today, according to a statement to the NEA.
Singapore had earlier offered Indonesia a haze assistance package on June 9 this year, which comprises:
(i) One C-130 aircraft for cloud seeding operations;
(ii) Up to two C-130 aircraft to ferry fire-fighting assistance teams from Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF);
(iii) A team from SCDF to provide assessment and planning assistance to our Indonesian counterparts in their fire-fighting efforts; and
(iv) High-resolution satellite pictures and hotspot coordinates.
According to the statement, the offer complements Indonesia's fire-fighting capabilities in anticipation of an extended dry season due to the El Nino phenomenon this year.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/singapore-offers-additional-assistance-combat-haze-indonesia#sthash.E26dAftv.dpuf
Judith Tan The New Paper AsiaOne 5 Aug 14;
PEOPLE National Day Discount Booklet offers 0 per cent instalment voucher for puppies
Puppies for sale at zero per cent instalment.
This is what a voucher in this year's National Day Parade (NDP) funpack is offering.
It has drawn flak from animal activists here, especially in light of recent national efforts to promote responsible pet ownership.
The issue has gone viral on Facebook, Twitter and some social media sites.
Dog lovers have also expressed their displeasure on NDPeeps, the NDP Facebook page itself.
The voucher, issued by Pet Arena, is part of the National Day Discount Booklet that is usually distributed during the parade.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has written to both the NDP organisers and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to express its "extreme disappointment" that they had chosen to "close an eye to the predicaments of the shelters which continue to grapple with throw-aways, abandonments and surrenders", SPCA's executive director Corinne Fong said.
She adds that by this, the NDP organisers and, by extension, the MSF have encouraged impulse buying of puppies. "The credit card zero instalment payment is but a marketing gimmick by the card issuer," she says.
Chief executive of Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (Acres) Louis Ng says: "In celebration of our nation's birthday, we should be promoting the adoption of animals rather than treating them as commodities."
Dog rescuer Sharon Oh asks: "I'm all for adopting. I totally do not agree with getting a dog through instalment payment. It is not a car. What if the client defaults? What is going to happen to the dog?"
"I wonder what values we are teaching our kids. You can't buy love in any instalment plan!" dog lover Dhurga Devi Ramasamy writes on her Facebook page.
They believe that this flies in the face of recent efforts such as the Codes of Animal Welfare formulated by the Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration Committee for Animal Welfare.
The proposed code is being reviewed by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).
This year, rules to reduce impulse buying by children and abandonment of pets came into force - those under the age of 16 can buy pets only when accompanied by their parents or a legal guardian, and the shop must do a pre-sale screening.
In response to The New Paper on Sunday's queries, Colonel Teo Cheng Leong, deputy chairman of the NDP 2014 executive committee and chairman of the parade's sponsorship committee, says they worked through "a vendor which has a set of internal guidelines for compliance by its partners".
"These guidelines include ensuring that NDP-related publications do not carry religious, obscene or offensive materials. The NDP 2014 exco supports responsible pet ownership and believes that the coupon does not dilute such support."
Also responding to queries, Mr K C Wong of Pet Arena says the shop has previously received "countless requests" for the 0 per cent instalment plans from customers who wished to make their payments by credit cards.
"We adopted the plan to ease payment and absorb the interest imposed by the bank, for our customers," he says, adding that his business was started "out of love for animals".
"Our objective is to provide healthy pets for lifetime companionship. We take great effort in educating our customers - particularly walk-ins - on the vital need to be responsible pet owners. We do not advocate impulse buying."
I totally do not agree with getting a dog through instalment payment. It is not a car. What if the client defaults? What is going to happen to the dog? - Dog rescuer Sharon Oh
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/dog-lovers-riled-over-voucher#sthash.DYe3xXf2.dpuf
Posts
visitors since Nov 07