Best of our wild blogs: 30-31 Dec 17

Short Night Walk At Lower Peirce Reservoir Park (29 Dec 2017)
Beetles@SG BLOG

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5-year-old French girl bitten by otter at Gardens by the Bay

Chung Lyn-Yi Channel NewsAsia 30 Dec 17;

SINGAPORE: A trip to the Gardens by the Bay took an awful turn for a French family on Saturday (Dec 30) when an otter attacked their 5-year-old girl, leaving her with a bleeding foot.

The father of the family, Mr Julien le Tourneur D'Ison, said they had arrived at the attraction at 12.15pm and were approaching a little bridge at Satay by the Bay when they saw a “bunch of tourists really excited by a bunch of otters swimming back and forth”.

“We saw a bunch of otters swimming towards us. We were about 1 metre away and an otter jumped out and bit my daughter’s foot,” said Mr Le Tourneur.

The 45-year-old, who was also there with his wife and two other children – a 6-year-old boy and 5-month-old baby - described the incident as “really unlucky”.

The little girl who was bitten, Tess, was left screaming and crying. Her foot “bled for about five minutes”, he said.

Mr Le Tourneur also said his daughter’s screams attracted the attention of scores of people who came forth to offer help. “A lot of people came from the food court with a first aid kit,” he said.

The family rushed Tess to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in a taxi.

“An X-ray showed that fortunately the teeth did not touch her bone but the wound is deep enough that they have to perform a little surgery,” Mr Le Tourneur told Channel NewsAsia.

Tess had local anaesthesia administered and doctors in the emergency room cleaned up her wound.

Reflecting on the incident, Mr Le Tourneur said “it was too many people massing around” the animals. “The otters must have been scared or nervous with so many people pulling out their cameras.”

He suggested fencing up more of the area around the bridge, as otters known to inhabit the area are “wild animals” after all.

Mr Le Tourneur, who works in marketing for digital maps company HERE Technologies, was based in Singapore for two years, but has since relocated to Berlin. The otter attack was an “unfortunate start” to a two-week holiday, he said.

“The Gardens by the Bay is such a lovely place. I would recommend anyone to visit,” stressed Mr Le Tourneur.

“But if you see an otter swimming towards you, go the other way.”

GARDENS BY THE BAY TO PUT UP ADDITIONAL WARNING SIGNS

In a statement to Channel NewsAsia, a spokesperson for Gardens by the Bay said following the attack, its visitor services staff helped the family by helping them get a taxi to the nearest hospital.

It added that its staff will put up additional signage to remind visitors not to touch the otters.

"Otters are often spotted at Gardens by the Bay along the promenade area facing Marina Bay. While they may appear tame, they are nonetheless wild animals and may react if visitors get too close," Gardens by the Bay said. "As such, there is signage along the promenade to advise visitors not to approach them, and instead observe them from a distance."

"TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT": ACRES

Otter enthusiast Goh Mei Woon, who was in the area at the time, but did not witness the incident, said she noticed that there were "quite a lot of people" standing on the platform looking at the otters.

"I was a bit concerned that people were too near (the otters). The otters have occasionally jumped up on the platform. I was telling people to keep a distance as we don't want anything to happen to the little ones," she said.

She has been watching otters since April and has only seen an otter jump onto the platform once. "Very rarely do they even come up."

The Animal Concerns and Research Education Society (ACRES) said the incident appeared to have occurred due to "stress from the curious crowd approaching the otter family with pups - too close for comfort".

"For any wildlife including otters, it is important to learn wildlife etiquette and appreciate from a distance," its deputy chief executive Anbarasi Boopa told Channel NewsAsia. "Wild animals, just like us, will defend themselves and their family - particularly in this case, there were pups - if they feel threatened or cornered, and this has resulted in this unfortunate incident."

ACRES urged members of the public to keep a distance when encountering wildlife in their habitats. They should not feed the wildlife as well.

Source: CNA/ly/dl


Girl, 5, bitten by otter near Satay by the Bay
Sue-Ann Tan Straits Times 31 Dec 17;

Otters are cute, but it is best to watch them from afar, said otter enthusiasts after a five-year-old French girl was bitten by one at Gardens by the Bay yesterday.

The incident happened when Mr Julien le Tourneur D'Ison, his wife and their three children aged five months to six years, were near Satay by the Bay, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported.

There were some tourists who were "really excited by a bunch of otters swimming back and forth", the 45-year-old Frenchman told CNA. "We saw a bunch of otters swimming towards us. We were about 1m away and an otter jumped out and bit my daughter's foot," he said, adding that his daughter's wound required surgery as it was deep.

Two members of the OtterWatch group were there at the time. The group is an informal community that tracks otters in Singapore.

One of them was Ms Goh Mei Woon, a 50-year-old housewife. She estimated that more than 20 people were crowding around some 10 otters, five of which were pups. "I was going around telling people to give the otters space. Some were standing so close, they were within touching distance of the otters," Ms Goh told The Sunday Times.

"While I was still telling people to stand back, I heard a scream and saw a girl crying because she had been nipped in the foot."

She said someone with a first-aid box, who might be a Gardens employee, went to help the girl.

A spokesman for Gardens by the Bay said its visitor services staff got a taxi to take the family to hospital.

Veteran otter watcher Jeffery Teo, 46, said: "Animals can't talk, so they react when they get stressed. The otter's bite was a warning to humans to stand back."

Mr Teo advised people to stand at least 10m away, especially when there are pups. "We need to respect animals like humans. They're wildlife, not tame pets," he said.

Mr Le Tourneur also acknowledged that there were many people surrounding the otters then, and that the animals "must have been scared or nervous with so many people pulling out their cameras".

Another otter enthusiast, Mr Bernard Seah, 48, said the mammals add a "dimension to the experience of visiting Gardens by the Bay", and that it would be a pity if that were to change.

"Maybe we can have a group of otter watchers who informally help out at places like the Gardens where the otters are," he suggested.

The Gardens spokesman said people should remember that otters are wild animals.

"Otters are often spotted at Gardens by the Bay along the promenade area facing Marina Bay. While they may appear tame, they are nonetheless wild animals and may react if visitors get too close," he said.

"There is signage along the promenade to advise visitors not to approach them, and instead observe them from a distance," he added.

"But following this incident, we will be putting up additional signage to remind visitors not to touch the otters."

According to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's website, the public are, among other things, advised not to talk loudly nor use flash photography when they encounter otters. This is because noise and light may scare and provoke otters.

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Indonesia: Public must be vanguard of peatland protection - Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG)

BRG The Jakarta Post 30 Dec 17;

As it concludes its second year of operations in restoring peatland, the national Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) is ready to report what it has accomplished within its duties and functions throughout the year. In 2017, the BRG's activities involved wetting peatland ecosystems, aiding and empowering local economies, arranging, restoring and mapping the government's peatland hydrological area (KHG) map, building a model plot for integrated peatland farms and installing water surface level monitoring devices.

"The peatland restoration project is not simply about wetting peatlands and replanting in order to repair broken ecosystems. It also is about empowering communities to live on peatland," BRG chief Nazir Foead said. This message was delivered during a media discussion on Dec. 28, in which the BRG talked about its strategic plans for the years leading up to 2020. The agency noted how efforts for the protection and management of peatland are closely connected to economic, social and ecological goals.

According to Myrna A. Safitri, who is BRG's education deputy for socialization, participation and partnership, the BRG in 2017 worked together with 75 villages and subdistricts in seven provinces targeted for peatland restoration. The villages are located in Riau (11 villages), Jambi ( 10 ), South Sumatra ( 15 ), West Kalimantan ( 16 ), Central Kalimantan ( 10 ), South Kalimantan ( 10 ) and Papua (3).

"The combined size of all the villages and subdistricts is 1,180,441 hectares, with 878,326 ha being peatland managed by local communities. Out of all those peatlands, some 267,111 hectares have been targeted for peatland restoration. The BRG is carrying out its Villages Care for Peatland program, which has become the vanguard of peatland ecosystem maintenance."

The BRG's activities this year also involved efforts to revitalize the public's sources of income. Alue Dohong, the BRG's deputy for construction, operations and maintenance, reported that 101 community groups had been trained to maintain lands without burning them. These groups have also been trained to develop local commodities, develop freshwater fisheries, implement farming systems and cultivate honeybees. The number of people burning peatland is currently on the decline. Through this project to revitalize public sources of income, the BRG has helped to raise public awareness on peatland ecosystem preservation.

Throughout 2017, the BRG has also facilitated the development of infrastructure for peatland wetting in the form of wells and canals in six provinces: Jambi, Riau, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan. The total area of affected peatland is around 200 thousand ha, some 103,476 ha of which are wettened peatland managed by the BRG, with the other 98,978 ha being managed by BRG's partners. Some 60 percent of the BRG's project areas, or about 62,126 ha, are in Central Kalimantan. The wells drilled by BRG number around 5,900, while the number of canals built together with the public number 1,849.

Other accomplishments this year include the Peatland Ecosystem Restoration Plan (RREG) for seven targeted provinces as well as mapping the government's peatland hydrological area (KHG) map. The mapping has been done for KHGs in the Lalan-Merang rivers and the Sugihan-Lumpur rivers (which are in South Sumatra), the Tapung Kiri-Kiyap rivers (in Riau), the Ambawang-Kubu rivers (in West Kalimantan), the Utar-Serapat rivers (in Central and West Kalimantan) and the Barito-Alalak rivers and the Maluka-Martapura rivers (in South Kalimantan). Previously, the BRG had mapped KHGs at the Saleh-Sugihan rivers and the Cawang-Air Lalang rivers in South Sumatra and the Kahayan-Sebangau rivers in Central Kalimantan.

To further support the monitoring of peatland ecosystems, the BRG has set up water surface level observation points in various peatland areas. Data on the water surface levels can be accessed in real time. The BRG installed 40 of these observation devices in 2017. Eight of these units were set up in South Sumatra, while Riau and Jambi each received seven. There is only one in West Kalimantan and seven in Central Kalimantan.

Monitoring peatland areas is important for identifying the risk of land and forest fires. Dried peatland can be prone to fires. In 2015, peatland fires led to trillions of rupiah worth of losses and a regional smog disaster.

To better supervise peatland areas, the BRG has also established a series of guidelines. The BRG welcomes government efforts to direct concession holders to complete recovery plans. In 2018, the BRG will supervise companies as they carry out peatland restoration activities. As many as 1.4 million ha in targeted peatland restoration areas are in forest and farm concession areas.

All of the BRG's restoration activities are comprehensive and inclusive in nature in that they involve all stakeholders. The BRG doesn't simply wet the peatland, but it strives to make the public the vanguard of peatland management and efforts to prevent peatland fires.

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Best of our wild blogs: 29 Dec 17

What’s in the Lab?
Mei Lin NEO

Soxy sea creatures: Crustacean edition
wild shores of singapore

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Looking Ahead to 2018: To tackle climate change, all hands needed on deck

SIAU MING EN Today Online 28 Dec 17;

As the year draws to a close, TODAY kicks off a series looking at key issues on the local and foreign front in the next 12 months. In Singapore, we look at what lies ahead in areas ranging from political succession, the terrorism threat and public transportation, to electronic payment, the property market and sports. Beyond our shores, the focus will be on the Malaysian general election and Singapore’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. In the sixth instalment of the series, we look at the Republic’s efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.

SINGAPORE – From calls to avoid plastic packaging to campaigns to cut food waste, the message for everyone to help fight climate change will be amplified next year.

2018 will be the Year of Climate Action for Singapore, declared Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli last month.

His ministry wants the public to know “the government alone cannot tackle climate change”, and will be rallying Singaporeans to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint with the help of various partners.

On the ground, there is no lack of enthusiasm among environmental activists, who already have plans lined up to get people to take little steps to make a difference – bring their own bags, eat less meat and use fewer plastic straws, for instance.

Some funding for their efforts and the government’s endorsement of various campaigns would help in scaling up their efforts, various groups told TODAY.

“I think continued moral support will be great. Sometimes when we talk to businesses, they still look at whether we have government support or not,” said Mr Tan Yi Han, co-founder of the People’s Movement to Stop Haze (PM.Haze).

The group is behind the #GoHazeFree campaign that seeks to get eateries to make the switch to sustainable cooking oil, derived without deforestation or the use of fire to clear land.

Plastic-Lite Singapore founder Aarti Giri plans to roll out a mobile app that calculates the amount of plastic used by individuals, but said funding remains a problem.

This year, the non-profit worked with several schools to get them to go without drinking straws once a week. Its Bring Your Own Bag Shoppers initiative also saw volunteers distributing reusable bags at supermarkets and shopping malls, and conducting surveys on plastic-bag usage.

NEW IDEAS TO TACKLE WASTE PROBLEM

The question on whether to charge consumers for plastic bags continues to be a touchy one, and reports in September of four major supermarket chains in talks on whether to impose a plastic-bag surcharge sparked a fresh round of debate.

Noting the argument that many Singaporeans use supermarket plastic bags to bag their waste, Ms Giri suggested tackling the problem in a different way: Getting retailers that offer bags less likely to be reused to impose a charge, for a start.

“These are bags that are not going to be used for lining their bins and are part of their retail purchase,” she said.

Plastic waste has become an enormous problem worldwide, with an estimated eight million tonnes entering the oceans each year, entrapping and being ingested by marine creatures and eventually ending up in the food chain.

The National Environment Agency is doing a life-cycle assessment of single-use carriers and disposable food packaging materials commonly used in Singapore.

Mr Masagos said in Parliament last month the results of the study on single-use carrier bags would be released by the end of this year, while the study on disposable food packaging materials would be released in the first half of next year.

Consumers do not have to wait for the findings to take action, said Member of Parliament (Nee Soon) Louis Ng.

He is in talks with a green group to roll out a bag-sharing point in his constituency by the first half of next year – similar to umbrella-sharing and book-sharing initiatives already introduced.

Residents can leave reusable bags at the collection point, which will be located near the wet market and retail stores, for others to pick up, use and return, said Mr Ng.

The public is generally more environmentally conscious than before and awareness levels have “shot up tremendously”, he added.

MEWR said businesses, communities, non-governmental organisations, schools and individuals have a part to play. The public could, for instance, opt for energy-efficient appliances and switch them off when not in use, take public transport and reduce food waste, it said.

“While most people may be aware of climate change at a global level, we want to bring into the national consciousness Singapore’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change; and the urgency of reducing our carbon footprint – to build a sustainable future for generations to come,” said a spokesperson.

Climate change could mean higher temperatures, more intense rainfall and a rise in sea level for Singapore, which would have knock-on effects on quality of life and infrastructure.

This year, the Government announced plans to introduce a carbon tax on large emitters in 2019, tightened emissions standards for vehicles and implemented the first of two rounds of water price hikes. And under an inaugural three-year sustainability roadmap unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean in June, the public sector will use less electricity and water. Some of the measures are aimed at meeting Singapore’s commitment under the Paris Agreement on climate change to cut emissions intensity by 36 per cent, from 2005 levels, by 2030.

With Singapore assuming chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, Energy Studies Institute research fellow Melissa Low said she would be looking out for ways in which the Republic drives the climate agenda with its neighbours. It could have technical exchanges and expand capacity-building programmes, for instance.

DON’T FORGET GREEN ISSUES

But amid the focus on “brown” issues – such as reducing air pollution and the adoption of cleaner energy such as solar – conservationist Ho Hua Chew said “green” issues must not be left behind. These include the preservation of biodiversity and wildlife habitats.

“I must say Singapore is rather laggard in its action on green issues – the conservation of natural habitats and biodiversity… more could be done here to rope in unprotected nature areas into the Singapore Green Plan,” said Dr Ho, vice-chairman of the Nature Society (Singapore)’s conservation committee.

Setbacks this year include the clearance of the Lentor-Tagore forest for residential developments and the decision to develop areas adjacent to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, on both sides of Mandai Lake Road, for tourism, he said.

On the positive side, the authorities are backing efforts to enhance the biodiversity and rusticity of Pulau Ubin and plan to leave a larger-than-usual green corridor for wildlife movement and dispersal at Tengah Forest, said Dr Ho.

He reiterated the call to make Environmental Impact Assessments mandatory before any development project, and to formalise a public feedback mechanism and publicise the findings.

The shrinkage of natural habitats is a factor behind human-wildlife conflicts – such as with macaques, wild boars and even monitor lizards and pythons.

Mr Ng hopes for a more proactive approach on the issue. “Our actions cannot be based on complaints, which is what we’ve been doing,” he said.

Proper data and research should be the basis of management plans for monkeys, wild boars, crows and pigeons, he said.


*On Saturday (Dec 30), look out for our report on the terrorism threat.

What to look out for in 2018:

• Year of Climate Action

• Findings of NEA’s study on the life-cycle assessment of single-use carriers and disposable food packaging materials commonly used in Singapore

• Completion of Singapore’s Biennial Update Report for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

• Second round of water price hikes to kick in in July

• Singapore taking up the role of the Asean Chairmanship

• Zero growth rate for cars and motorcycles from February

• Changes to the Energy Conservation Act to come into effect

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'Forgotten' baby otters rescued, reunited with family by volunteers

Melissa Zhu Channel NewsAsia 28 Dec 17;

SINGAPORE: A pair of 11-week-old otter pups that were "forgotten" and left without food were reunited with their family on Thursday (Dec 28), with the help of a dedicated team of volunteers.

Mr Jeffery Teo, from the community group OtterWatch, said the family of smooth-coated otters was first spotted without two of their pups at about 6am on Wednesday.

The family, which is known to have six pups, took four of them to Gardens by the Bay but two of them were lost along the way.

On Wednesday evening, the two missing pups were sighted near Nicoll Highway, but their family was across the water at Gardens by the Bay.

The pups are too young to swim across the deep water and would have had "zero" chance of survival if left alone, Mr Teo said.

He explained that the pups are beginning to eat fish, but cannot catch fish on their own and they were still suckling.

The volunteers considered the option of keeping the baby otters alive in captivity but were "quite confident" that they could reunite the family.

"From our observations, this is not intentional abandonment by the families," Mr Teo said.

RESCUE OPERATION

The operation involved three teams - one to follow the otter family, another to stay with the pups, and the last to make sure there were no adult otters in the area where the two pups were, Mr Teo said.

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) led a rescue operation at about 10.30am on Thursday.

ACRES deputy chief executive Kalai Vanan with one of the rescued otter pups. (Photo: OtterWatch)
Mr Kalai Vanan, deputy chief executive of ACRES, said OtterWatch contacted the animal welfare group after they determined that the two otter pups had been left behind at the Kallang riverside area.

ACRES and OtterWatch initially wanted to let the family find the pups but as the amount of time that the baby otters had been alone approached the 30-hour mark, they feared the otters might become weak and potentially drown in the water. Hence, they decided to rescue them, Mr Kalai said.

The two otters were initially hiding in their holt, a small den Mr Teo estimated was about 30cm wide, and rescuers had to wait patiently for them to emerge onto a grass patch so they could be trapped.

Rescuers tried to attract the otters' attention and lure them into a trap, but the pups did not fall for it as they "may have been scared of the foreign object", Mr Kalai said.

So they resorted to using pole nets to catch the animals on foot.

The first pup was caught at around 11.30am. As it was showing signs of stress, it was brought back to be returned to his family first, OtterWatch said in a Facebook post.

However, its sibling slipped through the net and rescuers had to wait for the pup to settle down before trying again, eventually catching it at 1.15pm, Mr Teo said.

On the difficulties of the rescue operation, Mr Teo said: "The pups were very alert ... There were a lot of attempts to make sure the pups don't run back so easily into their holt."

OtterWatch estimated that as of noon at Thursday, the pups had gone without food for about 42 hours, since their last meal on Tuesday evening. Thankfully, both were reunited with their family.

"We are really happy with the outcome because time was about to run out for these two pups," the community group said in a Facebook update after the rescue.

The entire rescue operation took about three and a half hours, Mr Kalai said.

"ACRES would like to extend their appreciation to Otterwatch for their tireless efforts to observing the movement of the otters to make the operation a successful one," the wildlife rescuer added.

One of OtterWatch's long-time members, Mr Teo said he felt that otters in Singapore should be cherished.

"With clean water come otters. These natural creatures are direct endorsements of Singapore's decades of efforts in our green and blue projects; they are a beautiful outcome of the government and people's years of effort."

The group also saved two otter pups after they were separated from their families last year, and helped to remove an o-ring which was hurting a young otter this year.

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Indonesia: Bali declares ‘garbage emergency’ amid sea of waste

AFP Today Online 28 Dec 17;

KUTA (INDONESIA) — Bali’s palm-fringed Kuta beach has long been a favourite with tourists seeking sun and surf, but nowadays its golden shoreline is disappearing under a mountain of garbage.

Plastic straws and food packaging are strewn between sunbathers, while surfers bobbing behind the waves dodge waste flushed out from rivers or brought in by swirling currents.

“When I want to swim, it is not really nice. I see a lot of garbage here every day, every time,” Austrian traveler Vanessa Moonshine explains.

“It’s always coming from the ocean. It’s really horrible,” she adds.

Often dubbed a paradise on earth, the Indonesian holiday island has become an embarrassing poster child for the country’s trash problem.

The archipelago of more than 17,000 islands is the world’s second biggest contributor to marine debris after China, and a colossal 1.29 million metric tons is estimated to be produced annually by Indonesia.

The waves of plastic flooding into rivers and oceans have been causing problems for years — clogging waterways in cities, increasing the risk of floods, and injuring or killing marine animals who ingest or become trapped by plastic packaging.

The problem has grown so bad that officials in Bali last month declared a “garbage emergency” across a six-kilometre stretch of coast that included popular beaches Jimbaran, Kuta and Seminyak.

Officials deployed 700 cleaners and 35 trucks to remove roughly 100 tons of debris each day to a nearby landfill.

“People with green uniform were collecting the garbage to move it away but the next day I saw the same situation,” said German Claus Dignas, who claimed he saw more garbage with each visit to the island.

“No one wants to sit on nice beach chairs and facing all this rubbish,” he added.

Bali’s rubbish problem is at its worst during the annual monsoon season, when strong winds push marine flotsam onto the beach and swollen rivers wash rubbish from riverbanks to the coast, according to Mr Putu Eka Merthawan from the local environment agency.

“This garbage does not come from people living in Kuta and nearby areas,” he told AFP.

“It would be suicidal if Kuta people were doing it.”

Some 72km from Kuta, Mount Agung has been threatening to erupt for two months, prompting tourists to cancel visits and displacing tens of thousands of villagers living within a 10km-radius of the volcano’s crater.

But the island’s waste problem is no less of a threat, said Mr I Gede Hendrawan, an environmental oceanography researcher from Bali’s Udayana University.

“Garbage is aesthetically disturbing to tourists, but plastic waste issue is way more serious,” he told AFP.

“Microplastics can contaminate fish which, if eaten by humans, could cause health problems including cancer.”

Indonesia is one of nearly 40 countries that are part of United Nations Environment’s Clean Seas campaign, which aims to halt the tide of plastic trash polluting the oceans.

As part of its commitment, the government has pledged to reduce marine plastic waste by 70 per cent by 2025.

It plans to boost recycling services, curb the use of plastic bags, launch cleanup campaigns and raise public awareness.

Still, the scale of the problem facing Indonesia is huge, due to its population of more than 250 million and poor waste processing infrastructure.

Mr Hendrawan, who says both locals and tourists are responsible for the island’s rubbish problem, urged authorities to invest more resources to tackle the problem.

“The Bali government should spare more budget to raise people’s awareness to take care of local rivers, not to dump waste,” he said.

“The central government should boost the campaign to reduce use of plastic packaging and ban free plastic bags at convenient stores.” AFP

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Indonesia: Pregnant elephant 'poisoned' in Indonesian palm plantation

AFP Yahoo News 27 Dec 17;

Banda Aceh (Indonesia) (AFP) - A pregnant elephant has been found dead in a palm oil plantation on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, in what authorities suspect was a deliberate poisoning, an official said Wednesday.

The animal's body was found near the remote Seuneubok Bayu village in Aceh on December 22, after authorities received a tip off from locals, Aceh conservation centre head Sapto Aji Prabowo told AFP.

"The 25-year-old elephant had been dead for around 10 days when we got there," he said.

"From the autopsy, we saw that its digestive organs turned black which the doctor said was a general indication of poisoning."

The Sumatran elephant was carrying 13-month old male foetus and was at least six months short of giving birth.

Locals have told authorities that several days before the carcass was discovered farmers had complained an elephant ate their fertiliser.

Sumatran elephant are critically endangered and a protected species, but rampant deforestation for plantations has reduced their natural habitat and brought them into conflict with humans.

At least 11 wild elephants died in Aceh this year, most of them killed by humans, according to Prabowo.

In January, authorities found a dead elephant without tusks in Aceh, along with its abandoned 11-month-old calf.

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Best of our wild blogs: 28 Dec 17

Diving with sea turtles
Hantu Blog

20 Jan 2018 (Sat): "Our Mangroovy Mangroves" - Workshop at Pulau Ubin
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

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Malaysia: Benefits of KL-Singapore high-speed rail outweigh potential environmental costs: Report

Channel NewsAsia 27 Dec 17;

SINGAPORE: The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project will have several short-term environmental concerns, but the long-term benefits on commuter safety and carbon emissions provide a "strong justification" for the project, an environmental impact assessment report showed on Wednesday (Dec 27).

In a report commissioned by MyHSR Corporation, the group responsible for the development and implementation of the project, it was noted that air, water and noise impacts, soil erosion and sedimentation are among the short-term environmental concerns.

Among these concerns are also carbon dioxide emissions that will be generated from the burning of fossil fuels to provide enough electricity to power the HSR system. By 2060, 646,000 megawatts hr/yr of electricity is needed to support the HSR system. This hourly figure is about 140,000 times the electricity per capita consumed in Malaysia in 2014.

However, the report added that mitigating measures have been put in place to ensure that these environmental effects do not adversely affect people.

For example, pathways used to transport soil and biomass will not be located near residential areas.

The report also added that "the duration of the construction period is relatively of short term" and that the "impacts will be intermittent".

As a result, the findings from the study indicate that "on an overall basis, the HSR project is expected to induce net positive environmental impacts" the report said.

POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL EFFECTS

When operational, the HSR will offer three services - the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore direct service , a one-stop service from Iskandar Puteri to Singapore and a domestic service stopping at seven stations - and operate between 6am and midnight daily.

Annual ridership is expected to reach about 15.2 million in 2030 and increase to 37.8 million in 2060.

These ridership figures will translate into fuel and carbon dioxide emissions savings, the report said. It is projected that by the 10th year of operation, about 19 million litres of fuel will be saved from fewer vehicles on the roads.

Additionally, the electric-powered HSR will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and this can amount to up to 55 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions saved.

With the HSR, commuter trips between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore will likely be serviced predominantly by the rail service, rather than by air or cars, the report said.

Hence, commuter safety is also expected to improve.

The report stated that 6,872 fatalities were recorded on Malaysian roads in 2010, especially during festive seasons with high traffic figures. As commuters switch to using the HSR instead of driving, this could "reduce the exposure of commuters to safety incidents with significant benefits to the economy and society".

However, the report does take into account that although certain impacts are mitigated in the long run, social impacts may extend into the future as well.

The HSR alignment is set to start from Bandar Malaysia Station in Kuala Lumpur and pass through Putrajaya, Seremban, Malacca, Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri before terminating in Singapore.

As such, eviction and relocation of businesses and households in these areas may take place, said the report.

A social impact study has been commissioned to assess the impacts and potential social benefits of the HSR.

IS THE HSR JUSTIFIED?

Despite the short-term and long-term negative impacts, the Malaysian government believes there is "a strong justification" for the HSR as it will "contribute significantly towards the country's future economic growth" and help transform Malaysia into a "high-income, developed nation".

In order to achieve the World Bank's requirements for a high-income nation, Malaysia expects to raise its per capita income from US$6,700 to US$15,000 by 2020.

Furthermore, the HSR is also expected to create 111,000 jobs.

In terms of convenience, commuters can enjoy an increased speed of travel between cities, especially cities in the south-west coast of the Malaysian peninsula.

Additionally, pick-up and drop-off facilities for passengers will also be included at the HSR stations, allowing easy access for passengers arriving or departing by buses and taxis. Those driving will also have about 8,400 parking facilities across all Malaysian stations.

The HSR, slated to be ready by 2026, is also expected to shorten the travel time from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore to 90 minutes.

Source: CNA/aa


HSR will be good for environment in the long term
The Star 29 Dec 17;

PETALING JAYA: The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) is expected to be good for the environment in the long term, according to an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report.

The report noted that the chosen HSR alignment is not expected to lead to environmental disturbances which could affect the health and safety of residents in surrounding areas.

In addition, the alignment would not have any significant impact on ecology along with surface and ground water systems.

The report stated that the project could also reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases generated by the local transportation sector, improve or increase connectivity through time saved, reduce traffic and create jobs.

However, the amount of emission reduction depends on the relative fuel efficiency of a transport mode and the HSR.

The HSR’s annual ridership is expected to increase from approximately 15.22 million in 2030 to 37.8 million in 2060.

The report noted that there would be permanent loss of forest areas and associated environmental services from forest reserves due to the project.

A small part of the Sungai Pulai Forest Reserve (mangrove forest) in Gelang Patah would be affected.

The size of the affected mangrove forest area is 25ha and the total estimated environmental value from the mangrove area is RM27,001.44 per hectare per year.

Another 1,141ha of oil palm plantations and a total of 902ha of rubber estates would be affected.

The report said minimal water quality impact is expected because of mitigation measures such as site-specific erosion and sediment control measures along with planned construction of bridges at river crossings.

HSR operations are not expected to cause adverse noise and vibration on surrounding land areas as the alignment is routed primarily through plantation areas.

The report noted that potentially adverse environmental impactcould occur during the construction phase due to land clearing and earthwork operations for tunnels, elevated structures, stations and depots.

“However, the resulting soil erosion and sedimentation impacts are short term and can be effectively controlled by adopting tried and tested mitigation measures,” it said.

The EIA report was posted on the official website of MyHSR Corp, a company wholly owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated, on Dec 27.

The Department of Environment Malaysia is currently reviewing the EIA Report.

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Malaysia: Advanced breeding techniques to save Sabah's wildlife

muguntan vanar The Star 27 Dec 17;

KOTA KINABALU: With the Sumatran rhino facing extinction, Sabah is looking to advances in breeding technology to ensure such wildlife is saved.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said that rapid advances in animal cell and molecular biology has made it possible to create sperm and eggs of mammals from their skin cells.

These efforts would help in the conservation of endangered wildlife including banteng (wild cattle), sun bears, the clouded leopard, pangolin, and orangutan.

He said his department has already kicked off programmes to use advanced reproductive technology to save endangered species in Sabah with the support of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

The genome of all four of the last Sumatran rhinos in Malaysia are being kept in living cell cultures both overseas and locally, he said.

He said that Puntung – the female who was euthanised in June – was still “alive” in cell culture in Malaysia.

“We are building up Malaysian expertise in other essential skills such as conducting safe general anaesthesia for large mammals, collection of semen and eggs, and in-vitro fertilisation.

“Semen of sun bears and macaques was collected and stored in liquid nitrogen in 2017. The same will be done for the clouded leopard and proboscis monkey in 2018,” he said in a statement issued here Wednesday.

Tuuga said the Sabah Wildlife Department was working with Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture in Sandakan, where an advanced reproductive technology laboratory is being developed.

The department is also working with the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Germany), the Agro-biotechnology Institute Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, and the International Islamic University Malaysia in Kuantan.

“Other specialist institutions which are helping us are Morula IVF (Indonesia), Avantea (Italy) and the Zoological Park Association of Thailand,” he said.

Tuuga added that the Bornean banteng or tembadau, with about 400 left in the wild, was the most endangered wildlife species in Sabah after the Sumatran rhino.

He said it was definitely a species suitable for captive breeding and for the application of advanced reproductive technology, with a view of reintroducing them into plantations in the longer-term.

“We would be interested to partner with one of the big oil palm plantation companies for this work,” he added.

Tuuga said rare wildlife species would keep going extinct and there was a need to use new and supportive means to save them.

“If these new technologies had been available 20 years ago, we could have produced Sumatran rhino embryos in-vitro and potentially implant these embryos into surrogate mother rhinos in another country,” he said.


Breeding Bornean banteng with modern tech
KRISTY INUS New Straits Times 27 Dec 17;

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Wildlife Department has identified that the highly endangered Bornean banteng is suitable to be bred in capitivity and reproduced through advanced technology.

Director Augustine Tuuga said Sabah had implemented a programme to use advanced reproductive technology to conserve certain endangered species since 2010.

He said banteng could also be reared in oil palm estates as part of its conservation programme in the future.

“We would be interested to partner with one of the oil palm plantation companies on this,” he said in a statement here.

Bornean banteng or Tembadau is the second most endangered wildlife species in Sabah after the Sumatran Rhinoceros,

In recent reports, wildlife experts had raised worry about the future of endangered species in Sabah such as the Borneo pygmy elephant, sun bear, orang utan and pangolin.

Director of research facility Danau Girang Field Centre, Dr Benoit Goossens had reportedly suggested the use of new technologies including assisted reproduction and for studies on captive breeding to be done for species like banteng and pangolin, as their population was declining rapidly.

Augustine said rare species would continue to become extinct if there were no efforts to find new and supportive means to conserve the animals.

However, he said assisted reproduction and captive breeding were not “fashionable” among wildlife conservationsits here and globally.

“One important point is that setting aside protected areas is absolutely necessary, but this will never be enough, anywhere in the world, to save every species from extinction.”

He said when the population of a species became very small, the concern should not only be with reducing deaths as more importantly, it should be increasing its birth rate.

“The Sumatran rhino case also has shown us that about 80 per cent of over 20 female rhinos captured in Indonesia and Malaysia since the 1980s, had significant reproductive pathology which prevented them from the ability to conceive,” he said.

Augustine said the department had an engagement with non-governmental organisation Borneo Rhino Alliance for the rhino conservation programme.

“The genomes of all four of the last Sumatran rhinos in Malaysia are kept in living cell cultures both overseas and locally.

“Puntung, the female which was euthanised in June 2017, for example was still ‘alive’ in cell culture in Malaysia.

“We are also building up Malaysian expertise in other essential skills such as conducting safe general anaesthesia for large mammals, collection of semen and eggs, and in vitro fertilisation.”

Augustine said semen of sun bears and macaques were collected and stored in liquid nitrogen in 2017.

“The same will be done for clouded leopard and proboscis monkey in 2018,” he said, adding that the works included local and international collaborations.

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Malaysia: FRI using herbs to treat wounded and sick sea turtles

The Star 28 Dec 17;

DUNGUN: The Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) in Rantau Abang here, dubbed as “turtle hospital”, has been using herbs to treat in­jured turtles.

Its Marine Mammal Branch chief, Mohd Tamimi Ali Ahmad, said the institute received eight reports on injured turtles and managed to save them all after using the method.

“Normally, we receive turtles that suffer from natural illnesses. However, some are also injured after being trapped in trawl and ghost nets used by foreign fishermen.

“In fact, the Endangered Marine Species Rescue Team comprising the Rantau Abang FRI, Terengganu Fisheries Department and the Johor Veterinary Services Department recently treated two three-year-old Hawksbill turtles which were injured after being trapped in such nets,” he said.

After that turmeric and aloe vera are used in the healing process.

Mohd Tamimi said in order to restore the loss of nutrients, the thin and starving turtles were fed with specially formulated food made of blended banana, papaya and brown sugar using a silicone tube three times a day.

“Behavioural observations and wound healing changes are monitored round the clock and recorded.

“However, the treatment differs depending on the severity of the injury,” he said. — Bernama

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