10 -14 May - Week 1 of Pesta Ubin
Pesta Ubin 2017
Terumbu Semakau Intertidal Trip
Offshore Singapore
Petai Trail with the BES Drongos (6 May 2017)
BES Drongos
Let Us Discover Yet Again
Love our MacRitchie Forest
American Bullfrog (Rana (Aquarana) catesbeiana) @ Tampines Quarry
Monday Morgue
WONG PEI TING Today Online 8 Apr 17;
SINGAPORE — The routine thermal fogging of chutes will become a thing of the past in Tampines come July, when the cockroach and mosquito population in public housing blocks will be kept in check with a more environmentally friendly method.
The new solution, involving an odourless and even edible form of liquid pesticide that is enzyme-based and made of soya bean, palm and tapioca extracts, underwent a month-long trial in four bin chutes in Tampines between October and November.
In that period, more than 1,200 cockroaches were killed within a matter of four seconds to five hours, said scientist Christo Niemandt, who devised the formula with Singapore-based company E-Organic Solutions.
And that is only “20 per cent of what we could count and see”, Mr Niemandt added, as the roaches would infect other roaches in their colonies, causing more to die.
Mr Anthony Goh, CEO of the product’s distributor, Isoteam, told TODAY the enzyme treatment would be more expensive, however, costing about S$10 per chute. Pesticide methods now cost town councils about S$5 to S$8 per chute, he said.
Noting that about six other town councils have expressed their interest, Mr Goh said prices will come down gradually when more town councils come on board.
At a demonstration of the new pest control method yesterday, Tampines Town Council chairman Baey Yam Keng said it would reduce annoyance for residents, since it does not set cockroaches on a “run and fly” frenzy.
He added that the method is not as noisy as fogging, and does not emit any fumes or odours.
The organic compound, made of good micro-organisms, attacks naturally occurring pathogens in pests such as cockroaches and mosquitoes, killing them by affecting their metabolism. It is “quite targeted” and does not act on dragonflies or bees, which do not have the pathogens, added Mr Baey.
The enzyme treatment will be rolled out in some 650 chutes in about 120 blocks in Tampines West from June 17, and extended to Tampines’ four other divisions a month later.
For a start, the enzyme will be sprayed twice a month. The frequency will be reduced when the situation “has stabilised”, said Tampines West property manager Albert Yee.
It could be “more cost-effective” in the long run, said Mr Baey, as spraying need not be as regular as the current fogging method, which is done nearly every quarter.
The solution is now being used only in Indonesia’s chicken and pig farms, but Isoteam chief strategy officer Albert Teng said he intends to also reach out to hawker centres here, where cockroach infestation could be better tackled in non-toxic ways.
The new method comes as a relief for Tampines resident Tang Wai Cheng, who squirms whenever she sees cockroaches near the chute at her home during thermal fogging. “The new method is better for the environment,” said the clinic assistant. “It’ll also help people with asthma, like me, who would close the windows whenever fogging is conducted.”
Tampines to use environmentally friendly anti-roach treatment from June
Vanessa Lim Channel NewsAsia 7 May 17;
SINGAPORE: Tampines estate from June will start a new environmentally friendly enzyme treatment to control the cockroach population, said Tampines Town Council in a release on Sunday (May 7).
Called Cockroaches, Mosquitoes and Odour Removal (CMO), the new water-based treatment uses enzymes from edible plants to attack pathogens in cockroaches. This will upset the pests’ metabolic system, resulting in carbon dioxide gas to be released in their bodies, killing them within five hours.
The treatment can also control the cockroach population as cockroaches infected by it can infect other cockroaches through contact. Resultant eggs from the infected cockroach will also be infected.
While deadly to cockroaches and mosquitoes, the solution is harmless to humans. In addition, it does not contaminate water as it does not contain any chemicals or pesticides.
In October 2016, a month-long trial of the enzyme treatment was conducted and was found to be effective. Tampines West will be the first to start the treatment in June. From July, it will be extended to all the other divisions in Tampines.
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Speaking to Channel NewsAsia at a demonstration of the new treatment, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tampines GRC Baey Yam Keng said that while the new treatment is more expensive, it will be more cost saving.
"With lesser frequency of having to spray this at the chutes, and expected better results in terms of controlling the number of cockroaches, we believe that this will end up being a better, more cost-effective method for us," said Mr Baey.
He added that Tampines Town Council will provide subsidies to its vector control operators to help kickstart the new treatment.
YEE XIANG YUN and NABILA AHMAD The Star 8 May 17;
ISKANDAR PUTERI: The Federal and state governments are expected to carry out several water supply projects starting next month as a long-term plan to ensure water sufficiency in Johor.
State Public Works, Rural and Regional Development Committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad said the first step is the Layang 1 Project, a raw water transfer project that would see 159 million litres per day (mLd) moved from the Seluyut Dam in Kota Tinggi to the Upper Layang Dam – enough to fill 64 Olympic-sized pools.
He said long-term plans included the Sungai Johor Water Resources Project, which could eventually yield 600mLd.
To further ensure water security, Hasni said the Layang 2 Project would be undertaken next year to transfer about 159mLd of raw water from Sungai Ulu Sedili Besar to the Upper Layang Dam.
He added that Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB) would build a new water treatment plant near Upper Layang Dam that was capable of supplying 318mLd.
“The Sungai Johor Water Resources Project, Layang 2 Project and new water treatment plant are still in the discussion stages, although they are expected to be implemented next year,” Hasni told the state assembly sitting here yesterday.
He said the Federal Government had also suggested that a barrage be built at Sungai Muar to prevent seawater from entering existing water treatment plants during high tide, and that PAAB was expected to undertake the project next year.
Water supply projects, he said, were also expected to be carried out in Mersing, Segamat and Kluang.
These include transferring raw water from Sungai Lenggor to Mersing’s Congok Dam, upgrading the Pemanis water treatment plant and piping system in Segamat, and building a new water treatment plant in Kahang, Kluang.
The state currently supplies treated water to 99.7% of its residents via a network of pipeline stretching 21,910km.
“The state government also makes sure that all the water treatment plants in all districts have a reserve margin of between 10% and 15% to cope with demand,” he said.
SIM LEOI LEOI The Star 8 May 17;
PETALING JAYA: The Ulu Muda Reserve in Kedah, which is already facing risk as a water catchment area, is in danger of having its wildlife poached.
Poachers and hunters from as far as Laos and Myanmar have been detected in the forest, which is one of two places in Peninsular Malaysia where the spotted leopard is found.
Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) from Oxford University have found evidence of poaching during their recent 18-month study on the population of clouded leopards in the area.
In an open letter urging the Kedah government to accord official protection to the area, WildCRU said its researchers had encountered multiple signs of illegal poaching and harvesting activities.
“In total, we found 20 gun shells and probably, six to seven felled agarwood trees.
“Our camera traps have revealed multiple detections of people from Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, armed with harvesting and hunting tools,” it said.
Pictures of poachers caught in WildCRU’s camera traps were also attached with the letter.
The destruction of salt licks, on which animals depended for their essential mineral nutrients, would also negatively disrupt their population, said WildCRU.
“Opening up logging roads will increase accessibility for the already existing illegal activity,” it said, adding that this would further decimate the wildlife population and jeopardise the ecosystem as well as ecotourism activities in the Ulu Muda area.
It was recently reported in The Star that almost a year after rampant logging near the Ulu Muda Reserve that affected the water catchment area and left the dam there exposed, a new trail for timber lorries had been found.
The new trail at the catchment area in the forest reserve near Sik is believed to have been used by loggers since early this year.
Stretching from the Malaysian border with Thailand at Yala to Baling in the north of Perak and about twice the size of Singapore, it is said to be a paradise for nature and wildlife lovers.
However, logging is legal.
The 163,000ha Ulu Muda forest complex, covering seven forest reserves, is an important water catchment forest for Perlis, Kedah and Penang.
WildCRU is part of the Zoology Department in Oxford University, founded in 1986 with members from more than 30 countries.
Asked how they knew that the poachers were foreigners, its main researcher Dr Cedric Tan said they had found packages of instant noddles with Thai language as well as based on personal communication with local villagers.
“There was no report lodged,” he said to a question whether WildCRU had reported such intrusions to the authorities.
An e-mail of the letter was sent to the Department of Town and Country Planning in Kedah on April 20, added Dr Tan.
Hymeir Kamarudin, operator of Earth Lodge in Ulu Muda, said he had bumped into poachers several times and even cornered a few, in the presence of his guests.
“They tried to run away. I’ve cornered them before but they kept mum. We also had pictures of poachers in our camera traps,” Hymeir said, adding that it had some 10 cameras within 3km from the lodge.
He said he could understand it if the local people were to harvest agarwood, bamboo, rotan and herbs from the forest for their own use.
“It’s when people harvest for commercial use for sale in the foreign market that they take more than they need,” he said, adding that he had reported to the Forestry Department as well as Perhilitan about the poachers.
Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/05/08/ulu-muda-wildlife-under-threat-poachers-from-as-far-as-laos-and-myanmar-detected-in-forest-reserve/#iStcx0DFHHi8l2CW.99
WildCRU: Conserve area for spotted leopards’ sake
The Star 8 May 17;
PETALING JAYA: The Ulu Muda Forest Area is only one of the two known places in Peninsular Malaysia where the spotted leopard can be found, said the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU).
In an open letter to the Kedah government, the research team from Oxford University in England said the area has the potential of becoming one of the major players as Malaysia’s flagship protected areas.
The Endau Rompin National Park is the other one.
“Camera traps at other forest sites have only detected the melanistic leopard (commonly known as the black panther),” said WildCRU.
The rarity of the spotted leopard in areas south of the isthmus of Kra – the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula in southern Thailand and Myanmar – increased the importance of the Ulu Muda forest reserve as a valuable conservation area, it said.
Both the spotted and the melanistic leopards are of the same species (Panthera pardus), which has been listed as vulnerable by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Besides acting as an important wildlife corridor connecting the forests in Thailand to the Pedu Forest Reserve in Kedah, researchers have also found Ulu Muda to be a highly suitable habitat for the clouded leopards due to its good forest cover and high elevation.
“Yet, the density of the population is estimated to be at one individual per 100km sq, lower than that of any other intensively studied sites in Malaysia.
“This could be attributed to illegal hunting and ongoing logging,” it said.
The clouded leopard is also categorised as vulnerable under IUCN.
During the research, scientists came across 54 species within just 120km sq of their camera grid, including 37 mammals, 15 birds and two reptiles.
Forty-three per cent of the mammals detected (16 species), four bird species and one species of reptiles are considered as near threatened, vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.
On April 21, a group of 10 non-governmental bodies including WWF Malaysia, the Malaysia Nature Society from Penang, Kedah and Langkawi and Water Watch Penang, said the area was also home to species such as the Asian elephant, the Malayan tapir, the Malayan sun bear and the serow as well as more than 300 species of birds.
“It is one of the only two areas in Malaysia where all 10 species of Malaysian hornbills are found, including the rare and endangered plain-pouched hornbill,” it said.
Group warns against poaching activities in Ulu Muda Reserve
The Star 11 May 17;
PETALING JAYA: A group of 11 conservation bodies are voicing concern over the future of the Ulu Muda Reserve in Kedah as a wildlife refuge following the recent discovery of poaching activities.
The group said it was clear that poaching and encroachment activities were present in the area, one of only two places in peninsular Malaysia where the spotted leopard could be found.
“Based on studies, poaching can be facilitated by easy access into forests via roads, including logging roads, and this needs to be curbed by immediate attention and intensifying enforcement efforts.
“Failure to do so can lead to localised extinction of many rare and endemic species, the loss of wildlife based eco-tourism and ultimately may result in disrupting the whole balance of the ecosystem services these forests provide,” it said in a joint statement yesterday.
The group, which included WWF-Malaysia, the Malaysian Nature Society from Kedah, Penang and Langkawi, Water Watch Penang, Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam (Peka) and Treat Every Environment Special (TrEES), is responding to poaching activities discovered by the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) from Oxford University.
WildCRU had come across evidence of poaching during their recent 18-month study on clouded leopards in the reserve.
“It is also a water catchment area of national significance,” the group said, adding that it also supplied water to industries and rice fields.
It was recently reported in The Star that a new trail of timber lorries had been found, believed to be in use since early this year. Logging is legal.
FERNANDO FONG New Straits Times 7 May 17;
Nature lover Ramakrishnan Ramasamy’s goal to save Cameron Highlands is filled with challenges. As the president of the non-governmental organisation, Regional Environment Awareness Cameron Highlands, he faces constant threats from those who want him to back down.
FOR Brinchang boy Ramakrishnan Ramasamy, life is inextricably intertwined with an uphill battle to save Cameron Highlands from environmental degradation.
The third child of four siblings, his love for nature started when he was young, having been a Boy Scout and later a King’s Scout — the top grade and honour in scout training.
He is an avid mountaineer, and was part of the expedition which saw the first Malaysian mountain climber, Datuk M. Magendran, conquering Mount Everest in 1997.
Ramakrishnan, who runs his own business supplying groceries and cooking gas to residents and businesses, also leads the local chapter of the Malaysian Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association (MVFRA) in Cameron Highlands.
But to the public, he is known as the president of the non-governmental organisation, Regional Environment Awareness Cameron Highlands (Reach), since 2000.
This is his story:
“I could not bear to see Cameron Highlands in shambles.
“The region is still reeling from negative environmental impact from unsustainable farming practices and commercial over-development.
“These actions have resulted in a host of problems, from falling ground temperatures to landslides, dying rivers, traffic jams, littering and polluting of the water supply.
“Disorder was the order of the day. This was not the Cameron Highlands we all know.
“Reach was established in 1999 at the suggestion of the Malaysia Nature Society and WWF Malaysia.
“I was made the president the following year and have been leading the organisation ever since.
“At that time, the public didn’t care about the woes besetting the natural environment in Cameron Highlands.
“Despite the economic growth spurred by tourism and agriculture, the local community seemed to have become more self-centred on their material needs and ignorant of the needs of Mother Nature.
“So, I turned to the media to try to turn things around. I speak out in my capacity as Reach president.
“Over the years, I have enjoyed a cordial relationship with the press, including TV3 personality Datuk Karam Singh Walia, who is famous for his environmental exposes.
“One of the first issues we raised was about water shortages in Cameron Highlands.
“We then moved on to highlight other problems such as corruption, illegal forest clearing, unsustainable farming practices, water pollution, the influx of illegal migrant workers and the need for reforestation.
“My crusade for a greener environment inevitably incurred hatred and enemies from among those with vested interests in the rapidly growing agricultural activities and commercialisation of Cameron Highlands.
“On many occasions, there were unknown individuals who issued warnings and even death threats to me.
“They wanted me to stop speaking out against issues that plagued Cameron Highlands.
“There’s too much at stake here.
“People have been far too engrossed, for a long time, in amassing wealth regardless of the environmental consequences.
“The laws are there, but there is lack of enforcement on the ground.
“Despite the threats, I remain steadfast in my mission.
“I even had to change my mobile phone number a few times because of constant harassment. Even my vehicle had been vandalised on several occasions.
“In 2003, we gained another milestone with the setting up of a biodiversity centre in Gunung Brinchang to promote and support the teaching of environment and science topics.
“We work with schools, universities, the corporate sector and also the local community to learn and engage in biodiversity.
“Down the road, Reach continues working on new ideas such as recycling programmes and the publication of books on the flora and fauna in Cameron Highlands.
“A great deal of our work relies on working closely with the locals as they are the eyes and ears for effective monitoring of all that is happening in Cameron Highlands.
“At times, we got so much information from them — some of which are damaging to the reputation of local agencies and town councils — that I was accused of having moles planted.
“As the president, I’m aware of my responsibility to make the correct statement based only on facts.
“Due to my outspoken nature, I have been asked to join a political party.
“However, I declined because this has never been part of my goals.
“I am well aware that despite my constant struggle in championing the environment, Cameron Highlands will not be able to return to how it was.
“But I hope, at the very least, we have done our part in outlining the steps for the future generations to undertake as we define and build the culture of quality tourism.
“Even if we can get more people who want to save Cameron Highlands to come on board, our mission is already a success.”
Antara 6 May 17;
Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia will seek the support of the United Nations to declare illegal fishing as a transnational organized crime, Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Susi Pudjiastuti said here on Saturday.
"With it being declared as a transnational crime, it will be easier for all countries to conduct coordination to deal with it," she said after speaking at a national seminar on "Innovation, Technology and Social Entrepreneurship" at Muhammad University.
She stated that she planned to raise the issue of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing as a transnational organized crime at a side event of the UN General Assembly.
"We will be facilitated by Mr. Peter Thomson (President of the UN General Assembly) to hold a side event through which we can call on the UN to support us in declaring the IUU fishing as a transnational crime," she noted.
Like terrorism, illegal fishing will be able to be tackled internationally if categorized as a transnational crime, she explained.
"It is because the activity is transnational with regard to countries involved, crews who are from various countries, and the flags flown, which are also from various countries," she remarked.
It often involves other crimes too such as smuggling, human trafficking, narcotic drug smuggling, slavery, and smuggling of rare animals.
"Therefore, international cooperation is indeed needed to deal with the IUU fishing," she asserted.
Susi revealed that the Indonesian initiative has actually been supported by many UN member countries such as Norway, Papua New Guinea, and many European countries. (*)
Indonesia seeks global support against poaching
Imanuddin Razak The Jakarta Post 13 May 17;
With illegal fishing practices extending beyond the country’s territorial borders, Indonesia is seeking international assistance in tackling the multi-dimensional problem.
It is to campaign for her zero-tolerance approach on illegal fishing that Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti attended conferences in the United States.
“We have to push for more action against illegal fishing. Sharing with all of you here of what we have done in the last two years, the results are remarkable, as we have managed to increase our catches,” Susi told the Global Leadership Symposium in Washington DC on Thursday.
Addressing a gathering of maritime scientists, activists and enthusiasts at the Pew Charitable Trusts headquarters, she said the sinking of 380 foreign boats caught poaching in Indonesian waters had had a significant deterrent effect on illegal fishing activities and subsequently increased local fishermen’s catches. She said that local fishermen had caught 2.6 million tons of fish in 2006. That figure had more than tripled to 9.9 million tons in 2016 and was expected to reach 12 million tons this year.
Adding more data to her presentation at the symposium, the minister revealed her ministry’s findings on yellowfin tuna and 20 other types of fish that had reportedly vanished from Indonesian waters in the last 15 to 20 years due to uncontrolled and illegal fishing activities.
“The recovery rate of our fishes has gone beyond logical thinking. All of this is the result of our seriousness in combating illegal fishing,” Susi said.
Yet, combating illegal fishing alone was not enough, especially when poachers had become more creative and aggressive in conducting illegal fishing activities in Indonesian waters, exploiting the limited infrastructure and the limited capacity of maritime authorities to monitor and safeguard the seas.
“Indonesia does not have enough patrol boats and surveillance systems to oversee our waters,” she told the audience.
In her meeting with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of the US Senate Oceans Caucus later in the day, Susi brought up the issue of complicated documentation practices by foreign poachers.
“One of the foreign vessels sunk by us was a vessel that had 32 flags in its compartment and had changed ownership 12 times, making it difficult to [track down] the true owner in charge,” she said.
In addition to Indonesia’s limited capacity to protect its waters against the increasing capacity of poachers to steal fish within its territory, Susi called for US assistance in equipping Indonesia with coastal radars that could provide satellite images on the presence of such poachers.
“We have received assistance from Australia and Norway for the satellite monitoring of poachers mooring their vessels at high seas and [exploiting] our limited capacity to constantly monitor our seas to steal our fish,“she told Whitehouse.
Indonesia needed at least six radars to be stationed at Sabang Port in Aceh, Natuna in Riau Islands, Saumlaki and Morotai in Maluku, Biak in Papua and in waters near Timor-Leste.
In response, Senator Sheldon said he would bring up the issue at a bipartisan congressional meeting in September.
Ending her US campaign on Thursday, Susi attended and addressed the 2017 Peter Benchly Ocean Awards at the Smithsonian National History Museum. Being selected as this year’s recipient of the award in the national stewardship category, Susi called for international support and cooperation to combat rampant illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
She said IUU fishing was not only a problem for Indonesia, but for many countries of the world, adding that it should become a global concern for food sustainability.
Butterfly of the Month - May 2017
Butterflies of Singapore
Night Walk At Punggol Promenade Nature Walk (05 May 2017)
Beetles@SG BLOG
VNA Vietnam Plus 6 May 17;
Hanoi (VNA) - Preserving biodiversity in Vietnam was the main topic of discussion at a workshop on May 5 in Hanoi.
Nguyen Quoc Dung, from the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development emphasised the need for a strategic framework and action plan for the Core Environment Programme (CEP)’s phase 3 (2018-2022), building a legal framework for biodiversity corridors in Vietnam.
Marine protected areas and mangroves in Vietnam are smaller than in other nations so biodiversity corridors will help develop biodiversity.
“It is necessary to set up detailed projects for coastal provinces in the context of Vietnam being affected by climate change,” Dung said.
"Forests have been planted in the country to cope with climate change, with 42 projects in coastal provinces. [But]we have no national-scale project for the restoration of coastal forests and biodiversity preservation, although Vietnam has high biodiversity,” he said.
“Restoring and preserving biodiversity is very difficult and costly here.”
Problems and disagreements between agencies on biodiversity preservation hamper the work, harming scientific research and environmental protection projects.
Pham Hung Cuong, from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, said developing ecosystems in remote areas owned by local people should be based on saving the native ecosystem.
“Biodiversity in traditional farming must be associated with natural landscape,” he said.
“Vietnam should learn from developed countries like Japan to maintain and restore the traditional ecosystem.”
An expert from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said a shortage of financial resources for environmental protection, limited staff capacity, ineffective international co-operation and poor State management were issues they face when building legal documents on biodiversity corridors.
Sumit Pokhrel, deputy chairman of the Bangkok-based Environment Operation Centre, the unit responsible for coordinating the CEP in the region, detailed three main targets of CEP Strategic Framework and Action Plan: green growth and reducing carbon emissions, climate change adaptation and disaster risk management and biodiversity landscape and natural resources.
At the workshop, Pokhrel said a great challenge was building biodiversity in all six CEP nations.
CEP’s phase 3 will have four main tasks: facilitating regional collaboration and the management of natural resources; providing policy advice and technical support for member nations, supporting information management, and supplying financing and investment services.
Prof. Nguyen The Chinh, director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment said the Vietnamese Party and Government affirmed their commitment to addressing challenges of natural resources, the environment and climate change through promulgating many policies to ensure sustainable development.
The CEP, funded mainly by Asian Development Bank, has been implemented in the six nations of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (The GMS countries are Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam), for ten years.-VNA
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Water Quality in Singapore
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Herpetological Society of Singapore
Despite its size, Singapore is teeming with animal and plant species. Conserving them is an ongoing challenge. In this five-part series leading up to the National Parks Board's Singapore Biodiversity Week starting on May 20, The Straits Times highlights some which have been saved from the brink of extinction. Today, we look at the inspiring story of the Hopea sangal, and efforts to save other critically endangered trees.
Audrey Tan Straits Times 5 May 17;
In a quiet corner of southern Singapore, a ray of hope is growing slowly. A Hopea sangal in Pasir Panjang's Hort Park is only 15 years old - a mere infant of a tree.
But on its branches and those of its few "siblings" lies the responsibility of populating the country with the forest giant, which can grow up to 40m tall. They are descendants of what was believed to be the last tree of its kind here, a 150-year-old specimen felled illegally in 2002.
However, in a fortunate turn of events, five more have been found since then - three in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in 2005, and two others in Nee Soon Swamp Forest in 2014. All are believed to be more than a century old.
Yet, there are still fewer than 20 known mature Hopea sangal trees in Singapore. But with more young specimens being nurtured, they could one day help fill forests here.
At first glance, though, the 4m-tall plant in Hort Park, with its scrawny trunk and sparse foliage, looks nothing like the towering sentinel it will one day become.
But it will not have to depend solely on the winds to spread its seeds (pictured below). The National Parks Board (NParks) is lending a hand, with some tender loving care in its nurseries.
National Parks Board's (NParks) Mr Ang Wee Foong (left) and Dr Adrian Loo are among staff responsible for increasing the long-term survival chances of critically endangered plants in Singapore. For instance, NParks staff salvage seeds from plants and
WINGS OF HOPE
NParks' efforts have borne fruit.
Seeds salvaged from the Hopea sangalin Changi have been nurtured into saplings and some have taken root in various places. For instance, visitors to the Singapore Botanic Gardens' Learning Forest may spot two Hopea sangal saplings along the SPH Walk of Giants.
The Hopea sangal is a critically endangered tree usually found in pristine forests, said Dr Adrian Loo, director of the terrestrial division at NParks' National Biodiversity Centre. It has been found in peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. In 2002, Singapore was added to the list - botanists found one tree growing in Halton Road in Changi.
Before scientists had time to study the tree, which was 35m tall with a girth of 3.3m, it was chopped down by DTZ-Debenham Tie Leung Property Management Services. The reckless act had members of the public, as well as nature and heritage groups, up in arms.
Known commonly as chengal pasir or chengal mata kuching, the tree is believed to have given Changi its name.
"Luckily, some of the seedlings and fruits were collected from where they had sprouted and fallen around the tree, and passed to Pasir Panjang Nursery, where we managed to propagate them," said Dr Loo. Before the tree was felled on Nov 20, 2002, botanists had collected some seeds from the ancient tree, without knowing they would be among the last.
One of the seedlings grew. Late last year, about 15 years after it was "rescued", it bore fruit - marking the beginning of a third generation of Hopea sangal trees in Singapore.
Its seeds were sown again in Pasir Panjang Nursery. They have now grown to become 30cm seedlings. In a way, these are the "grandchildren" of the original Hopea sangal tree at Changi, said Mr Ang Wee Foong, deputy director of nursery management at NParks.
He hopes there will be many more generations to come.
OTHER THREATENED PLANTS
The Hopea sangal is one of the plants for which NParks is carrying out recovery efforts to increase their long-term survival chances.
Many trees in Singapore have become critically endangered due to habitat loss, said botanist Wee Yeow Chin. "During the years immediately after Raffles founded Singapore, large tracts of rainforests were cleared by immigrants for the cultivation of pepper, a spice, and gambier, which was used for leather tanning," he said.
HIGH DIVERSITY OF TREES, BUT MANY ARE LAST OF THEIR KIND
Nanyang Technological University's Asian School of the Environment botanist Shawn Lum said the situation remains critical.
Dr Lum has been monitoring trees with diameters of more than 30cm in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve over the past decade. While species diversity is high, many appear to be the last of their kind, he said.
"Of the roughly 500 different species of large trees in Bukit Timah, about 60 have but one individual. This is not good," said Dr Lum, who is also president of the Nature Society (Singapore).
While many crop plants, such as corn, for example, can self-fertilise, many of the critically endangered native species are "self-incompatible". This means that one tree can only be pollinated by a different tree.
"If two trees of the same species are too far apart to be effectively pollinated, then that tree's future is not bright," added Dr Lum.
CONSERVATION STRATEGIES
That is why habitat protection, or "in-situ" conservation, is a key strategy for NParks. This entails making sure the whole habitat is protected and unaffected by developmental works, said Mr Ang.
"For instance, a dead branch hanging over a plant could potentially damage it. So we will arrange for the branch to be removed."
Growing plants in nurseries - or "ex-situ" conservation - is another strategy. This involves collecting seeds or taking cuttings from plants in parks and nature reserves.
Said Dr Lum: "For most animals, you can't cut off a piece to grow a new one. However, you can sometimes chop off part of a tree to propagate another tree. The cutting is a clone of the plant from which it was taken, but it can keep a species going, at least in the short term, to keep it from disappearing."
But prolonged inbreeding in plants could expose genetic weaknesses in that population, just like in animals. So the longer-term strategy would be to introduce genetic variation into a population, said Dr Lum.
One way to do this is to facilitate cross-pollination across the island, by connecting habitats with groves of native endangered trees that have been carefully selected to minimise inbreeding. This would allow pollinators, such as insects, to move between natural and planted populations of native trees, linking them up and enhancing their genetic resilience, said Dr Lum.
On the ecological value of native trees, NParks' Dr Loo said they contribute to the structure of Singapore's forests and provide food for rare animals such as the Raffles' banded langur - a shy, black and white monkey.
Agreeing, Dr Wee noted how trees - part of the Republic's rich natural heritage - fit into the complex food web that exists in local forests. Insects feed on plants and, in turn, they are eaten by other predators. This is why growing exotic trees from far away countries will not help much in drawing in biodiversity, he said. "We only import the tree but not the fauna associated with it."
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CHANGI TREE?
SEPTEMBER 2002
•Botanists find an old tree growing in a tree conservation area in Changi, where permission must be sought from the National Parks Board (NParks) before it can be cut down. It is identified as the Hopea sangal, once thought to be extinct here.
NOVEMBER 2002
•Mr N. Sivasothi - a research officer at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research in the National University of Singapore (NUS)- discovers the tree has been felled when he comes across its stump.
•DTZ Debenham Tie Leung Property Management Services claims it chopped down the tree in view of public safety as it was termite-infested and had been struck by lightning.
•Botanist Shawn Lum, then vice-president of the Nature Society (Singapore), refutes DTZ's claims, saying the tree had still been healthy.
•NParks takes DTZ to court for flouting the Parks and Trees Act as well as for failing to secure a permit to fell a rare tree in a gazetted conservation area.
MARCH 2003
•DTZ is ordered to pay $76,035 to the state as compensation for the loss of the Hopea sangal tree. The company is also fined another $8,000 for illegally felling the tree.
APRIL 2003
•NParks sets up a volunteer group to decide how the wood from the tree can be used.
•The committee decides nine pieces of wood will be sculpted into artworks by artists from the Sculpture Society.
APRIL 2004
•Sculptures find a home at the Singapore Zoo.
NOVEMBER 2004
•Then Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew plants a 1m-tall Hopea sangal sapling in his Tanjong Pagar constituency. This sapling is one of several presented to NParks' Pasir Panjang Nursery by the Nature Society (Singapore) after the tree is felled.
JANUARY 2005
•Amendments to the Parks and Trees Act to introduce stiffer fines to protect trees are passed in Parliament. Those found guilty of cutting down any tree with a girth exceeding 1m in a designated tree conservation area, vacant land, national parks and nature reserves, could be fined up to $50,000, up from $10,000.
TODAY
•Sculptures made from the logs of the original Changi tree can still be seen at the zoo entrance. Cross-sections of the trunk can also be viewed at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in NUS and at the Changi Museum.
•Sources: Infopedia, ST Archives, Habitatnews
Trees in Singapore threatened with extinction
Audrey Tan Straits Times 5 May 17;
KOPSIA SINGAPURENSIS
Conservation status: Critically endangered
This tree has "patriotic flowers" that bloom with a red heart surrounded by white petals. It can be found growing naturally in the Nee Soon Swamp Forest within the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. There are fewer than 50 known individuals growing here.
MARGARITARIA INDICA
Conservation status: Critically endangered
There is only one individual growing in Singapore, at the National University of Singapore's University Town. It was discovered in 2012, after surveys of the site were done. The species is a new record for Singapore. It is also the first plant from the genus Margaritaria to be recorded here. Saplings have been successfully propagated by cuttings.
ALSTONIA SPATULATA
Conservation status: Vulnerable to extinction
This plant can be found within the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Also known as the marsh pulai, it is common in freshwater swamp forests and can grow up to 25m tall.
It can also be seen at the Singapore Botanic Gardens Learning Forest.
Its latex can be used in medicine for sores and skin ailments, as well as for filling a tooth.
Its wood is commonly used for making household items, carvings, floats and plywood.
Its plywood is used for coffins in peninsular Malaysia, and for floats that are used with nets in Thailand and Indonesia's Sumatra.
ORANIA SYLVICOLA
Conservation status: Critically endangered
This palm was thought extinct till it was rediscovered a decade ago. It can be found in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, and there are fewer than five trees in the wild. A few fruits have been collected and successfully germinated.
PARISHIA INSIGNIS
Conservation status: Vulnerable to extinction
Found in Central Catchment and Bukit Timah nature reserves, this tree flowers and fruits before the leaves sprout, and appears red against a backdrop of green.
Audrey Tan
Yesenia Amaro Phnom Penh Post 5 May 17;
Taiwan officials yesterday confirmed that a ship by the name of Deryoung Sunflower – a vessel that this week appeared in a viral video released by NGO Mother Nature claiming that it was loaded with sand for export despite a ban – is expected to arrive today at Taiwan’s Port of Taichung.
However, the officials said, the ship is actually carrying silica sand, which the Cambodian Ministry of Mines and Energy says is not subject to the ban.
Irene Tang, of the Port of Taichung, told The Post that the ship’s last registered port is in Cambodia and that it was carrying silica sand. The Post could not confirm what kind of sand a second ship, identified by Mother Nature as being named Ocean Beauty, was carrying.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy last November banned sand exports after controversy arose from huge discrepancies between Cambodia’s recorded sand exports and Singapore’s recorded sand imports from the Kingdom.
In the video, which the group said was taken on April 29, Mother Nature showed the Deryoung Sunflower being loaded with white sand.
Meng Saktheara, spokesman for the Ministry of Mines and Energy, said after the video was released that it was “very likely” the ship was loaded with silica sand, which is exempt from the ban. Silica sand is mined on land, he added, rather than pumped from the sea, and is used for industrial purposes like for making glass.
Alex Gonzalez-Davidson, a founder of Mother Nature, said that when the government banned sand exports it made “no allusion whatsoever to exceptions” to the ban.
“For them to now say that silica sand can continue being exported is nothing but a pathetic lie that no one is going to believe,” he wrote in an email.
When asked what led Mother Nature to believe sea sand was being loaded on the ship, he called distinction between types of sand “totally irrelevant”.
He added his NGO would continue its investigation into whether dredged sea sand was still being illegally exported.
Ministry officials declined to comment yesterday, but said the ministry will release the findings of its investigation into the case today.
Two companies – Mong Reththy Group Co Ltd and Silica Services Cambodge – are licensed and had recent approval for exports of silica sand, although the locations of departure and the names of the boats did not match those of Ocean Beauty and the Deryoung Sunflower.
Cambodia Dismisses Claims of Illicit Sand Exports Despite Ban
Radio Free Asia 5 May 17;
Cambodia’s government on Friday dismissed accusations by an environmental group that the country is still exporting sand, despite a national ban, saying a vessel seen loading the material in a video the group posted on social media was doing nothing illicit.
On May 1, the NGO Mother Nature Cambodia posted a video to its Facebook page purportedly showing a vessel named the Deryoung Sunflower loading white sand for export in Sihanouk province’s Stung Hav district two days earlier.
On Friday, Cambodia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy said in a statement that Mother Nature did not accurately identify the vessel or its location in the video, and also gave the wrong time for when the video was taken.
It said the video claimed the vessel could carry up to 30,000 tons, while the Deryoung Sunflower can only load up to 8,679 tons, and that the Deryoung had left Cambodia on May 1 after gathering silica sand for producing glass, while the video was likely filmed afterwards.
The ministry banned sand exports in November 2016 after public outrage over large inconsistencies between Cambodia’s recorded sand exports and Singapore’s recorded sand imports from Cambodia, but has recently said that silica sand was not part of the ban.
Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, director of the NGO Mother Nature Cambodia, on Friday told RFA’s Khmer Service that the ministry’s response was “an excuse” and suggested that sand exports are continuing, despite the ban.
“We have collected ample evidence and I will absolutely not stop posting the videos on Facebook as the ministry has asked,” said the Spanish environmentalist, who was expelled from Cambodia in February 2015 after leading a campaign against a controversial dam and placed on a black list that prevents his return to the country.
“If we report sand exporting activities to the ministry, it will tell the owner of the vessels to destroy the evidence. The ministry has a record of collusion with criminals to destroy natural resources,” he said.
“By posting such activities on Facebook, we hope we can keep people informed and that it will lead to some sort of resolution.”
In the meantime, Gonzalez-Davidson said, the Deryoung Sunflower had arrived in Taiwan Friday with its cargo.
“The Taiwanese authorities told reporters that the sand was imported from Cambodia,” he said.
“We believe that the Deryoung Sunflower has stolen sand from Cambodia and we will do our best to pressure the Taiwanese authorities to take action against such illegal activities.”
The Phnom Penh Post quoted officials in Taiwan on Thursday confirming that the Deryoung was carrying sand to the country’s Port of Taichung, but said the sand was silica.
The Post was unable to confirm what kind of sand a second ship, identified by Mother Nature as being named Ocean Beauty, was carrying.
The paper also quoted Gonzalez-Davidson calling the government’s recent claim that silica sand was not part of the ban on exports “a pathetic lie,” adding that the type of sand on the Deryoung was “totally irrelevant.”
Mong Reththy Group Co Ltd and Silica Services Cambodge are two licensed companies that received recent approval for exports of silica sand, but the Post reported that the locations of departure and the names of the boats did not match those of Ocean Beauty or the Deryoung Sunflower.
Reported by Sonorng Kher for RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Ministry denies illegal sand exports
VEN RATHAVONG Khmer Times 8 May 17;
The Energy Ministry has responded to an NGO’s claims that illegal sand exports are continuing in Preah Sihanouk province, despite a government ban.
Cambodian NGO Mother Nature posted a video accusing the Deryoung Sunflower ship of illegally exporting sand.
However the ministry clarified that the ship was carrying silica sand which is not affected by the ban. Silica is used as a raw material to manufacture glass. It is different from ordinary sand as for royalty and tax applied.
It said the silica sand being shipped by the Deryoung Sunflower belonged to Mong Reththy Group Co Ltd, which has the appropriate licence for the work.
Mother Nature activist Lim Kimsor, who featured in the video, said she was not aware that silica was not part of the ban but she remain unconvinced by the government’s response and would discuss the issue further with colleagues.
After the controversial claim of NGOs and opposition party on the discrepancy of import and export figure of sand from Cambodia to Singapore based on UN Comtrade data base, the ministry has decided in November 2016 to temporary suspend the export of refill sand and construction sand until a new export procedure can be formulated.
But many environmental groups say sand dredging companies never stopped and may have even increased their intake of sand. According to a report from the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, millions of tonnes of sand have been dredged and exported to Singapore from Koh Kong’s estuaries since 2009.
Facing those recurrent accusations from NGOs, the ministry has called on those NGOs to provide relevant, useful and timely information or evidence of any suspicious illegal sand exports, via the ministry hotline 095727727, so that officials can jointly investigate and take timely legal action. “But it seems that Mother Nature prefers to work with the press, instead of collaborating directly with the ministry,” said Mr. Tina the ministry spokesman.
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