Best of our wild blogs: 8 Jun 18

8 Jun: Celebrate World Oceans Day in Singapore
wild shores of singapore

A nigrescens Ashy Drongo at Punggol Waterfront
Singapore Bird Group

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Indonesia: BMKG satellites detect 78 hotspots across Sumatra

The Jakarta Post 7 Jun 18;

The Terra and Aqua satellites have detected 78 hotspots across Sumatra, indicating the possible occurrence of forest fires.

Sukisno, head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Pekanbaru, Riau, said the satellites detected the most recent hot spot at 6 a.m. local time on Thursday.

Based on the satellites’ images, the hot spots are spread out across Sumatra. Most were detected in Riau, with 23 hot spots, followed by Bengkulu ( 18 ), Aceh ( 10 ), Jambi (four) and West Sumatra (two). Four were detected in Jambi and one Bangka Belitung and the Riau Islands.

“The weather in Riau is cloudy with a possibility of mild rain,” Sukisno said as quoted by tempo.co on Thursday.

The Riau administration previously declared an emergency for forest fires to prevent further flare ups from affecting the upcoming 2018 Asian Games in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Edward Sanger said the emergency status would end on Nov.30.

“The President has instructed the National Disaster Mitigation Agency to prevent any haze disasters caused by forest fires during the Asian Games,” he said. (dpk/ebf)

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Volunteer divers remove 110kg of litter from sea around Raffles Lighthouse

Noel Low Straits Times 7 Jun 18;

SINGAPORE - It was hardly diving for treasure, but when 20 volunteers emerged from the waters around Raffles Lighthouse with plastic and glass bottles, ropes and an old tyre it was a small battle won in the war against sea pollution.

The divers collected 110kg of marine litter during last Saturday's (June 2) event, organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) to mark World Oceans Day, which falls on Friday (June 8).

The rubbish was sorted and brought back to mainland for proper disposal.

Data gathered on the types and sources of marine debris collected will be included in a global survey which hopes to understand and tackle the source of marine pollution.

The divers also organised a second dive to photograph the marine biodiversity in the area.

NParks and experts from community group Friends of Marine Park will then identify the different species and log them in a biodiversity database. Four categories of marine animals were documented - molluscs, echinoderms (such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers), fish and coral.

Among the volunteers was marine biologist and recreational diver Desmond Ong, 32. He said that clean-up dives have picked up traction over the past year due to an increasing awareness of marine pollution, adding: "I love the environment. This is one way for me to do my part."

He added that there was a "fair bit of trash found", despite the dive site being a relatively untouched area. "The coral reefs around Raffles Lighthouse are some of the most protected in Singapore. They are home to rich marine biodiversity", Mr Ong said.

Mr Andrew Tan, chief executive of the MPA, said that keeping our waters clean is a shared responsibility. He added: "We can show the world that Singapore can be both a busy port as well as a marine environment rich in biodiversity."

The MPA deploys boats to collect rubbish from ships anchored in the port as well as floating debris along the common channels, fairways and anchorages.

Members of the public can also help during the quarterly Clean-Up on Kayak event, where volunteers remove and sort floating litter.


Diving Raffles Lighthouse: An underwater hunt for trash and treasure
Chew Hui Min Channel NewsAsia 9 Jun 18;

SINGAPORE: Diving in Singapore waters is usually like jumping into a massive bowl of miso soup due to the toll that land reclamation and rapid industrialisation has inflicted on the island's reefs and seas.

Specks of sediment swirl around you and the visibility ranges from less than 1m on a bad day, to perhaps 5m on an exceptionally good day.

This particular Saturday (Jun 2), there was a downpour in the morning and we felt lucky we could see beyond our outstretched hands in the murky depths.

Twenty volunteer divers, myself included, had sailed southwest from Singapore out to Raffles Lighthouse on Pulau Satumu for an underwater cleanup and marine BioBlitz organised in conjunction with World Oceans Day, which falls on Jun 8.

The first dive involved hunting for trash; the second, for marine life, which we were to document with our cameras for experts at the National Parks Board (NParks) and community group Friends of Marine Park to sieve through, and add to NParks’ database on marine biodiversity.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been a number of such events organised in Singapore waters. This particular dive trip, organised by the Marine and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), was a little different as Raffles Lighthouse is normally a restricted area.

Other than marine biologists, who conduct their field research here, few dive at this southernmost islet in Singapore waters.

Marine biologist Neo Mei Lin, who has dived extensively in Singapore for her work, told Channel NewsAsia it was her favourite local dive site, as it has a plethora of coral.

"It is also home to numerous marine life such as a nurse shark, pink dolphins and giant clams!” she said.

But for our first dive on Saturday, we were looking for rubbish, not sea creatures. Armed with mesh bags, baskets, shears and gloves, four groups of divers scoured the reef for things that should not be there.

We picked up about 110kg of trash, comprising plastics, netting, fishing lures, ropes and more.

Mr Jeremy Seaward, a regular volunteer at MPA’s marine conservation programmes, said: “The trash that we found were mainly nylon ropes, glass bottles and fishing lines. We also saw some interesting marine life that we don’t usually see elsewhere in Singapore waters."

On the second dive, we looked for fish, sea slugs, coral, sponges and crustaceans, among other marine life. The purpose was to log as many species as possible to aid scientists in their scientific surveys.

The trick, in such low visibility, was to go slow. Then steadily, as we got used to the dimness, the reef gave up its wealth of sea creatures to our searching eyes.


A school of yellow-tailed fusiliers zipped around us as we finned, shy angelfish and damselfish darted into holes when we got close, a large grouper glared with baleful eyes from under a coral overhang and clownfish squirmed in their anemone homes.

Look even closer and you will see the colourful nudibranchs (or sea slugs), slender pipefish, translucent clingfish, pygmy cuttlefish and, at times, the wary eyes of an octopus peeking out from its hideout like periscopes.

MORE CLEANUPS IN LOCAL WATERS

A series of marine cleanups and BioBlitzes were started this year, the International Year of the Reef, with the aim of spreading awareness about biodiversity in Singapore waters and conservation of the environment.

MPA is organising multiple marine cleanups this year, to collect trash underwater and to pick up surface flotsam from kayaks. The BioBlitzes organised by NParks were also started this year.

NParks has also rolled out a new citizen science programme called Beach Patrol where volunteers help look out for certain species along Singapore’s shores, such as sea turtles and their nests, and horseshoe crabs.

For some of their cleanups, MPA works with community group Our Singapore Reefs, which organised Singapore's first community-led underwater cleanup effort in July last year.

Started by marine biologists Sam Shu Qin and Toh Tai Chong, it now works with various partners to run regular cleanups and conservation activities. It has also gathered volunteers to clean up the reefs at the Sisters' Island Marine Park on Sunday.

Besides these efforts, a community group started by Mr Lim Teck Koon, 31, also holds monthly marine and beach cleanups at Lazarus Island, where they have picked up between 100kg and 200kg of trash each time.

Mr Lim started the group, named Small Change, in April 2017 and organised their first cleanup last October. Boat owners have lent their vessels to the group at no cost.

“We pick up lots of plastic cups which are likely from the party boats. The beach clean-up team usually picks up lots of plastic bags and food packaging,” he said.

THE UNDERWATER TREASURE HUNTERS

Underwater photography enthusiasts have also been actively promoting local dive sites such as the reefs at Pulau Hantu, right by the oil refineries of Pulau Bukom.

Mr Kelvin Pung, 40, started the Sg Underwater Macro Photographers Facebook group in 2016 along with Dr An Ng, a former Hantu regular. Mr Pung started diving in Indonesian waters but is now hooked on local diving.

“I dived into Hantu without expectation, but I saw so many nudibranchs I had never seen in my first two years of diving," he said.

While there are no manta rays and a turtle sighting is rare and momentous, there are many tiny gems in local waters, in particular, a large variety of luridly-decorated nudibranchs, which are manna to the underwater photographers.

“Our shores are under-appreciated. Our goal is to discover more new species and photograph them then show it to everyone, create awareness for local diving,” Mr Pung, who is also a para-badminton coach, said.

He hopes that this increased awareness will boost the local scuba diving industry and preserve Pulau Hantu from future reclamation.

Many regulars sign up for trips via another Facebook group, the quirkily named Weird Divers@Singapore. There are now about 100 active divers in the group, according to Mr Pung.

Their effort to dispel the notion that there's "nothing to see" in Singapore waters appears to be gaining some traction.

According to Mr Francis Yeo, who has been running dive operations in Singapore for 25 years, there has been a small surge in interest recently.

He was pleasantly surprised to have dozens of new divers signing up for local dive trips on the Dolphin Explorer, the only large-sized dive boat that takes divers out to local waters regularly.

According to NParks, there is much life yet on our shores and beneath the waves.

“We have seen improvements in our coastal and marine habitats, despite Singapore’s busy waters,” said Dr Karenne Tun, director (coastal & marine) of NPark’s National Biodiversity Centre.

For example, the corals here have shown signs of recovering from coral bleaching events that happened in 1998, 2010 and 2016, she added.

Source: CNA/hm

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Fogging not very effective, says dengue expert

Fght against dengue needs newer methods
LINETTE LAI The New Paper 8 Jun 18;

Mosquito fogging may look like the authorities are cracking down on the airborne pests but it is not actually very effective, dengue expert Duane Gubler said yesterday.

Professor Gubler added that countries need to move away from such "easy approaches" and examine newer methods with more potential, such as introducing sterilised mosquitoes and using new pesticide compounds.

"It doesn't mean we won't spray," said Prof Gubler, who chairs Singapore's Dengue Expert Advisory Panel and is founding director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School.

"There will continue to be a place for spraying... What we have to do is get away from the easy approach of spraying and find out what really works."

He was speaking at a conference organised to commemorate Asean Dengue Day on June 15. The conference, which ends tomorrow, drew 150 participants from 24 countries.

They are discussing pest control methods and how well pilot projects to reduce the mosquito population have fared.

The National Environment Agency has pointed out previously that the "severe limitation" of mosquito fogging is that it also kills insects that prey on mosquitoes.

It also noted that outdoor fogging and indoor spraying and misting are effective only if the chemicals come into direct contact with the mosquitoes.

"Thus, (they) have to be repeated frequently as new batches of mosquitoes will continue to emerge until all breeding habitats are found and removed," it said.

Dengue numbers have remained relatively low since the start of last year, with fewer than 100 new cases a week.

There were 2,772 dengue cases reported for the whole of last year. In comparison, during Singapore's worst dengue epidemic in 2013, more than 22,000 people were infected.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli told the conference: "This is a never-ending war... To keep winning this war, we must innovate, invest in new technology, and collaborate and share knowledge."

He also stressed that the general public must be "continually alert".

1,113 dengue cases reported so far this year
Singapore's two largest dengue clusters are in the east, with one in the Bedok North area responsible for 64 cases.

A smaller one of 11 cases is in Tampines, with 10 other clusters scattered across the island, each with fewer than 10 dengue victims.

A cluster refers to at least two cases reported within 150m of each other over a two-week period.

There have been 1,113 dengue cases reported so far this year, with 54 surfacing last week.

This is relatively low: During the worst dengue epidemic - in 2013 - more than 22,000 people came down with the disease.

But Singapore cannot afford to be complacent, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli said yesterday.

"We must keep the public continually alert to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds all year round, for the sake of their loved ones," he added. - LINETTE LAI

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Malaysia: Underwater cleanup at Redang Island

ZULKIFLY AB LATIF New Straits Times 7 Jun 18;

At a marine conservation event on Redang Island, Zulkifly Ab Latif stays at the luxurious Taaras Beach & Spa Resort while cleaning up the sea of driftnets

FAMED science writer Arthur C. Clarke, the author of the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, is often attributed for the quote: “How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when clearly it is Ocean.”

And indeed, with more than 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface covered with water, Arthur C.Clarke’s quote makes for a sound argument. Having said that, what is truly inappropriate is how humans treat the ocean, since despite its important role in sustaining our lives, we treat it with disregard.

It is no surprise then that when the opportunity to attend Redang Island Conservation Day (RICD) in Terengganu waters came, I saw it as a personal means to contribute something beneficial back to the ocean, however small.

A joint collaboration between Malaysia New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, Aquaria KLCC, Reef Check Malaysia and The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort, the Redang Island Conservation Day was a four-day marine conservation event aimed at preserving the marine environment, in particular the nearby waters and coastal areas of Redang island.

RESPLENDENT REDANG

With a total coastline of 4,675km, fringed with hundreds of tropical islands and bordering both the South China Sea and Andaman Sea, Malaysia is a country that is inextricably intertwined with the ocean. This deep connection is perhaps best exemplified by Terengganu, with its stunning coastline that stretches some 200km, picturesque fishing villages and, of course, its dazzling tropical islands.

I am on a speedboat heading towards Redang Island, one of Terengganu’s crowning island getaways. Departing from Merang Jetty, some 40 km away from Kuala Terengganu, the boat ride is a 45-minute journey.


Breathtaking view of Taaras' private beach
With the sea calm and almost without waves, it feels as if the boat is gliding smoothly on the water’s surface. Seven kilometres long and 6km wide, Redang Island is part of Redang Island Archipellago that includes nine other smaller islands, and has been gazetted as a protected marine park since 1991.

My point of arrival on Redang Island is the jetty of Kampung Baru, the main village on the island. The jetty is abuzz with activity as boats and public ferries from Kuala Terengganu Lining arrive and depart.

As I lean against the jetty’s hand rail waiting for the resort’s transfer van, a large sack suddenly lands near my feet with a thump. Looking up, I spot a man standing on top of the deck of a nearby docked ferry. He puts up his hand and offers me an apology and then a young boy comes and heaves the heavy sack, which is full of corn, onto a beat-up pushcart. I assume the corn will be prepared and sold at one of the many small wooden stalls that line the main road near the jetty.

A white passenger van takes me to The Taras Beach Resort & Spa, a luxurious residence tucked away at the secluded bay of Teluk Dalam on the north side of Redang Island. Featuring a breathtaking private beach of powdery white sand overlooking azure waters, the resort is without a doubt, the first choice for visitors looking for lavish accommodation when visiting Redang Island.

Checked in and registered for the Redang Island Conservation Day event, I make my way towards my lodgings for the next three nights: a garden deluxe chalet situated close to the main reception building. As the name implies, the chalet is nestled amidst a tropical garden, with a raised wooden walkway that enhances the aesthetically pleasing landscape.

The tropical atmosphere is also reflected in the interior of the chalet, with natural hues and deep brown wood flooring. Having gone through a six-hour land and sea journey from Kuala Lumpur, I find the warm and soothing ambiance a much welcome respite.

REDANG ISLAND CONSERVATION DAY

As a certified scuba diver, I am participating in RICD as a diver volunteer in the event aimed at preserving the marine environment, in particular the nearby waters and coastal areas of Redang island.

Split into groups with other diver volunteers of the programme, my first task is an underwater cleanup near the waters of Teluk Dalam Kecil, the bay that the resort faces. Descending to a depth of 10 metres, our group of divers reaches a vibrant fringing reef of coral. Underwater visibility is exceptional, making my task of searching for and collecting marine debris between the coral formations a little bit easier.


Coral planting by affixing coral fragments to an underwater structure
Although more of a snorkelling spot rather than a sought-after dive site, the reefs of Teluk Dalam Kecil are a pleasure to behold. As I scour and peer into the nooks and crannies of the coral formations, I cannot but notice the abundance of giant clams, their mantles covered in unique patterns and bright colours.

A more challenging underwater task comes in the form of clearing entangled driftnets and rope near Teluk Dalam Besar, which is Teluk Dalam Kecil’s equally beautiful and larger sister bay. Lost and abandoned driftnets are a threat to marine life, as they trap and kill whatever that is unfortunate enough to get entangled in them.

As we cut through the tangled mess of algae covered net and rope, I notice a large green turtle gracefully swimming towards us, as if curious about what we are doing. It is by no coincidence then that turtles are also one of the animals threatened by driftnets, in which they are trapped with no access to the surface to breathe, and this results in drowning.

I spot another smaller green turtle swim past a fellow diver before abruptly ascending to the surface. Also called Turtle Bay by local travel operators, Teluk Dalam Besar is a popular tourist spot for spotting and perhaps even swimming with sea turtles.

Although scuba diving tasks make up a substantial bulk of the marine conservation activities during Redang Island Conservation Day, other activities have also been arranged to involve non-diver volunteers such as beach cleanups, coral planting and environmental talks aimed at educating and creating awareness.


A diver with a net full of trash collected from the reef
One such talk is by Dr Teo Eng Heng, co-founder of the Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia and whose efforts helped pave the way in the establishment of Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary, a protected and important sea turtle breeding ground found on Redang Island. Sitting through her talk, I find her passion for turtle conservation truly heartfelt and endearing.

Framed against the backdrop of Redang Island’s innate natural beauty, and choreographed with varied activities that are at the same time personally rewarding, educational and environmentally beneficial, Redang Island Conservation Day is a commendable effort, and something that should be continued for many years to come.

FAST FACTS

The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort

Pulau Redang, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu

Tel: 09-630 8888, 09-221 3997-9, 03-2141 0088 (KL Office)

WhatsApp: 018-220 3222

Fax: 09-630 8880

Email: rsvn.manager@thetaaras.com, klso.rsvn@berjayahotel.com

Website: www.thetaaras.com

STAY One hundred and ninety units of stylish suites and rooms plus a stunning five-bedroom Private Villa. The resort sets itself as a “home away from home”, complementing the high-end resort facilities with a dedicated and interesting staff

EAT The resort’s all-day dining/buffet restaurant serves a spread of International as well as Asian and Fusion-inspired dishes while its Beach Brasserie offers Western cuisine set in an intimate beachside surrounding. For something a little more local and casual, try Aima Grill Fish Restaurant within walking distance of the resort’s gate entrance.

DO Plenty to do — from relaxing by the beach to going all out with adventure-packed water activities. But for those who prefer to stay indoors, there are a fitness centre, a cooking class, an X-Room (visual games), a pool table and indoor board games.

GO Go on a short trekking trip to the beach at Teluk Dalam Besar. The trail starts next to the resort’s gate entrance. Or go exploring the nearby village of Kampung Baru on rented motorcycles.

HIGHS The upscale resort offers privacy and luxury set in a tropical landscape.

LOWS Due to its

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Malaysia: Bring your own containers to Ramadan bazaars

The Star 8 Jun 18;

KUALA LUMPUR: Make a difference this Hari Raya by bringing your own containers to Ramadan ba­­zaars, environmental activists EcoKnights urged.

The movement organised a Beg2Bekas campaign at the Rama­dan bazaar in Jalan Raja Uda, Kampung Baru.

The campaign encourages consumers to bring their own reusable shopping bags and food containers when buying buka puasa food.

EcoKnights programme officer Emirul Redzuan Mohd Khali said this year’s campaign saw the distribution of 1,000 reusable bags along with a food container distributed at the Ramadan bazaar.

This year’s campaign will be spread over 16 days until June 10.

“Last year’s campaign was held for only a day at the Ramadan bazaar in Taman Segar, Cheras, with some 150 bags with food containers distributed,” he told Bernama.

Emirul Redzuan also referred to the River Of Life, a project initiated by the Irrigation and Drainage Department and the Federal Territories Ministry.

“We explain to bazaar visitors the impact of their plastic usage and we draw the connection with river conservation so that they no longer view rivers as a rubbish dumping ground,” he said.

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Indonesia: Authorities team up to combat illegal logging in Papua

Kharishar Kahfi The Jakarta Post 7 Jun 18;

Relevant state agencies are set to collaborate to establish better forestry management in Papua in order to curb rampant illegal logging in the easternmost province, among other things.

The institutions involved are the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the Environment and Forestry Ministry, the Papua Police and the Papua Forestry and Conservation Agency.

“Collaboration with other agencies is part of our focus on graft prevention by improving natural resources management, this time in relation to forestry,” KPK deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif said after a meeting between the agencies in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Among measures to be taken by local authorities is forestry-related permit improvement. The joint team will also work to curb the harvesting of forestry products in the province, Papua Forestry and Conservation Agency head Yan Ormuseray said.

“We will also continue to crack down on individuals who violate forestry laws, especially illegal loggers,” Yan said.

In an attempt to tackle the problem, the Papua Police have formed a task force that will cooperate with other agencies to focus on law enforcement against illegal logging. The police have handed over at least 17 forestry-related cases to the court since January.

According to the Papua Forestry and Conservation Agency, the rate of illegal logging in the province has increased recently, especially in Sarmi regency where the cost of environmental damage could reach billions of rupiah.

Papuans depend on forests for a livelihood, Yan pointed out, suggesting that the government consider allowing indigenous people to manage their own forests. (swd)

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Heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels in air hit another high

SETH BORENSTEIN, Associated Press Yahoo News 8 Jun 18;

WASHINGTON (AP) — The amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the air peaked again this year at record levels, scientists reported Thursday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday that carbon dioxide levels averaged 411.25 parts per million in May at the federal Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii, up from 409.65 a year ago.

The Scripps Institution for Oceanography, where scientists first started tracking the gas, found a similar increase.

May is traditionally the highest month for carbon dioxide levels; in late spring and summer, plants suck the heat-trapping gas out of the air.

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air has increased nearly 26 percent in 50 years. Burning coal, gas and oil emits carbon dioxide, which is a major greenhouse gas.

NOAA greenhouse gas monitoring chief Pieter Tans said the rate of increase from last year is a little less than past years but much more than it was in the 1990s.

"The emissions that we are causing today will still be in the atmosphere-ocean system thousands of years from now," Tans said. "We are as a global society making an extremely long climate change commitment."

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Best of our wild blogs: 7 Jun 18

Waves of Change Poster Design Competition 2018 - closes 6 July
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

A 'citizen journalism' video on seagrasses in Singapore
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

80% of Singapore consumers ready to ditch plastic straws
eco-business.com

Sea cucumbers = healthy shores!
wild shores of singapore

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In Singapore, where trash becomes ash, plastics are still a problem

John Geddie Reuters 6 Jun 18;

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - As countries around Southeast Asia struggle to cope with growing piles of plastic and other waste on land and in their waters, Singapore is one country in the region that appears to have things figured out.

Singapore’s streets are glistening clean, its parks and beaches mostly free from the trash that plagues neighboring countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. Almost all of Singapore’s non-recyclable waste is incinerated, with the ash and some solid waste shipped to a man-made island nearby that doubles as a nature reserve.

But that solution looks as if it is running short on time.

The tip on Semakau island was supposed to meet Singapore’s dumping needs until as late as 2045, according to environment ministry documents. But with the use of disposable products growing at a rapid rate, the ministry’s most recent estimates show that Semakau could be full a decade earlier.

Plastics was the largest category of waste disposed of in Singapore last year - 763,400 tonnes - according to data from the National Environment Agency (NEA). Only 6 percent of the 815,200 of plastic waste generated was recycled.

Analysis of the NEA data by Reuters shows that plastic waste per capita has increased nearly 20 percent over the last 15 years.

A report by the local Straits Times newspaper in March said each person in Singapore threw away an average of 13 bags a day in 2016.

So far, the government has not adopted any bans or charges on plastic bags or single-use plastic items like straws and plates. It has also not disclosed any plans to replace the Semakau dump.

“More needs to be done to prolong the life of Semakau landfill beyond 2035,” the NEA said in an email when asked about plans for the dump.

The agency said that recycling initiatives had helped stabilize the amount of trash sent for incineration, despite increases in waste generation caused by population and economic growth.

HARDER LINE

Southeast Asia is home to four of the world’s top marine plastic polluters, a trend some think will be exacerbated by last year’s waste import ban in China, which used to be the world’s top destination for recyclable trash.

The recent death of a pilot whale in Thailand with 80 pieces of plastic rubbish in its stomach has also drawn global attention to the problem.

Singapore, which plays host to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, is planning a special ministerial meeting on climate action in July.

But climate groups have urged the government of the wealthy city-state, which enjoys broad support from its electorate, to spend more political capital on tackling waste in a convenience culture where deliveries and take-out meals are common.

Singapore says it aims to become a “zero waste” nation, meaning it will eventually not send any waste to landfill. However, it has yet to set a date for achieving that goal.

The NEA said it was implementing initiatives aimed at increasing recycling rates and reducing waste at the source. These have included increasing the number of recycling bins and awareness campaigns.

It said Singapore was offering research grants for companies and organizations to develop sustainable waste management technologies, and planned to make it mandatory for large generators of packaging waste to report the types and quantities they use and their reduction plans by 2021.

Slideshow (5 Images)
The local recycling industry has yet to feel the pinch of China’s waste ban, the NEA said, adding that for now it was still able to find overseas markets for recyclables.

Kim Stengert, chief communications officer for WWF Singapore, said the group would like to see Singapore adopt measures like mandatory charges for plastic bags or requiring firms to either pay for or participate in the collection and recycling of plastics.

Singapore’s senior minister of state for the environment and water resources, Amy Khor, said in March that unlike other countries with mandatory plastic bag charges, Singapore incinerates plastic waste before putting it in landfills.

“We do not face the land and water pollution issues that plague those countries,” she said. She added that plastic bags were “necessary for responsible and hygienic bagging of waste” in Singapore’s hot and humid climate.

Neighboring Malaysia has said it aims to introduce a nationwide ban on plastic bags within a year, while some local authorities in the Philippines already regulate their use.

“There is no rubbish piling up in the streets, so Singaporeans don’t perceive a waste problem or feel personally responsible to reduce waste,” said Sonny Ben Rosenthal, an academic who specializes in environmental issues at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

Reporting by John Geddie, additional reporting by Dewey Sim; Editing by Philip McClellan

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Malaysia: Help save the Tioman reefs

ZULKIFLY AB LATIF New Straits Times 7 Jun 18;

Find out how you can contribute towards Tioman island’s environmental sustainability efforts, writes Zulkifly Ab Latif

HERE I am again on one of Tioman island’s familiar blue and white ferries headed towards Kampung Tekek — its main hub and administrative area, from Mersing, the gateway to the island.

With its powdery beaches, framed by swaying palm trees and crystal clear waters of the South China Sea, the island located some 30km off the coast of Pahang truly warrants a visit, if not return visits. And, I have revisited the island many times. Over the course of these jaunts, I’ve begun to feel alarmed by the many changes on the island: a new jetty here, a new passenger waiting hall there or a new resort chalet somewhere along the beach that used to be pristine coastline.

Although change is perhaps the only constant in this world, over development and environmental impact from tourism are valid concerns to a fragile ecosystem that cannot be taken lightly.

Partly due to these concerns (and the fact that I get to visit the island again), I enrolled in a three-day programme that aims to effect a different and more positive change on the island.

STRAIGHT TO BUSINESS

The open aired shuttle mini-bus rolls through the main road of Kampung Tekek towards Berjaya Tioman Resort, the island’s largest hotel establishment. The minibus is a wonderful opportunity to take in the sights of the island’s largest town, where one can see stalls sporting colourful hand painted signs and restaurants as well as other choices of accommodations lining the roadside.

At the main lobby of the hotel, I meet Alvin Chelliah, a marine scientist who also acts as programme manager for Reef Check Malaysia, a non-profit organisation that strives to protect, restore and revive coral reefs in Malaysia by engaging the local communities. Since 2014, Alvin has been managing Reef Check’s long term programmes on Tioman.

“Thank you Abang for coming,” Alvin greets me as he shakes my hand. I half-heartedly expect him to ask about my journey when he abruptly adds: “There will be two activities today, transplanting of coral at the Coral Rehabilitation Garden near the Marine Park jetty for scuba divers and volunteering at a local community centre for non-divers.”

Feeling a little spent from the journey to Tioman, I choose the community centre volunteer task.

It is barely two hours since my arrival on the island, and I am already into my first task with 40 other participants of the Tioman Island Reef Rehabilitation Project, a conservation programme organised by Reef Check Malaysia in cooperation with the Royal Bank of Canada.

Well into its fourth year, the programme is part of the bank’s greater RBC Blue Water Project, which is a 10-year global charitable commitment to provide access to drinkable, swimmable, fishable water, now and for future generations. Launched in 2007, the project has pledged CAD 50 million (RM153.98 million) to 770 charitable organisations worldwide that works toward protecting water.

Converging at the aptly named Rumah Hijau which means Green House in Malay, I meet local islander Hisham Uyub, a passionate surfer and somewhat of a role model that many of the island’s youth look up to.

For the past eight years, Hisham has steadily got more involved with Tioman’s environmental issues, culminating in the setting up of the Rumah Hijau community centre which educates and promotes sustainable practices such as recycling and repurposing discarded items into commercially viable tourist souvenirs.

It is here that all the participants, all of whom are Royal Bank of Canada employees learn to make hand-crafted recycle bins as well as artificial reefs from crushed glass bottles mixed with cement. Thanks to the tropical sun and humidity, the work is tedious.

The glass bottles have to be soaked in order to remove its labels. They are then dried and finally, placed into a machine to be crushed. Spearheaded by the locals and situated within Kampung Tekek next to Tioman Cabana, a lively beachside accommodation and bistro, Rumah Hijau is worth a visit for those wanting to learn and contribute towards the island’s environmental sustainability efforts.

UNFORTUNATE HUNT

Together with the other scuba diver participants at Berjaya Tioman Resort’s dive centre, I listen to Alvin as he explains the tasks at hand. He holds up what looks like a water jet gun fixed with a long pointy steel rod.

It is actually a purpose designed injector, normally utilised in forestry and agricultural work. Interestingly, the injector is the ideal tool when culling Crown of Thorns, a type of starfish with poisonous spikes that eat healthy coral.

Left uncheck and due to a lack of natural predators, the COT as it is popularly known, can threaten coral reefs. Culling of the COT is done by injecting it with vinegar. As Alvin hands out the “ weapons” and bottles of vinegar, he quips, “Please be careful with these. Do not stab yourselves and do not stab the coral!

Our first hunting ground for the day is Batu Malang, a popular diving and snorkelling spot near the smaller uninhabited island of Tulai. The diving spot is a 40-minute boat ride from the beach of Tekek, and is identifiable from the surface as a mass of huge boulders rising up from the sea.

Descending to a depth of 15 metres, a magnificent stretch of fringing coral welcomes our hunting party. We circulate the reef counter-clockwise, making sure it is on our left side as we search for the Crown of Thorns.

Batu Malang means Unfortunate Rock in Malay, and I wonder how apt the name is as I ascend towards the ocean’s surface after a half hour of fruitless searching.

“Maybe the COTs didn’t get the memo that we’re coming today,” I joke with Abdul Manap, affectionately called Pak Manap, a certicfied scuba instructor and Reef Check Eco-Diver trainer as we wait for the dive boat to come near us.

“Maybe other dive groups already collected them. Or maybe it’s just a sign of a healthy reef,” Pak Manap shrugs.

Whichever the case, the lack of COTs is a good thing. The second culling attempt at Renggis Island, another popular snorkelling and diving spot that lies just off the pier of Berjaya Tioman Resort proves to be less disappointing.

In total, 43 COTs are culled. Back at the dive centre, I see an impressive sight: mounds and mounds of plastic trash bags being unloaded from the speed boats by the non-diver participants.

Concentrating on the mangrove area of Tulai Island and the beach of Kampung Tekek, the group collected 350kg of trash. According to Reef Check Malaysia, from the collected trash that included over 1700 bottles, the populated data will help identify the source of trash and its impact on the marine ecosystem.

PASSION AND PERSEVERANCE

It is the last night of the trip and all the participants have gathered at Berjaya Tioman Resort’s Sri Nelayan, an open-aired restaurant featuring Malaysian styled furnishing and intricate wood carvings. A small troop of Tioman’s children, garbed in various forms of traditional attire are on the brightly lit stage, performing Malay folk dance.

Our group and some of the resort guests begin clapping our hands rhythmically when the children performs the Joget accompanied by an upbeat music tempo. I find it thoroughly amusing as well as heartwarming, watching a form of Malaysia’s culture being kept alive and shared with others by such young children.

Alvin asks if I enjoyed the three-day programme on the island. My answer is a resounding Yes. He further adds that this three-day trip involving the 40 Royal Bank of Canada employees is only the kickstart to the rest of the year’s activities.

Through Reef Check Malaysia’s cooperation with the Royal Bank Of Canada, more projects will be carried out throughout the year. This includes Reef Check Surveys, recycling programmes, coral plantings, ghost net removals, installation of mooring lines and buoys to protect shallow water reefs, beach and underwater cleanups as well as rapid responses to environmentally effected areas.

Having met people such as Alvin and his Reef Check team, I begin to consider the possibility that despite whatever changes this island goes through, Tioman island’s grace and beauty will endure.


REEF CHECK

Founded in 1996, Reef Check’s mission is to protect and rehabilitate reefs worldwide. It is the world’s largest international coral reef monitoring programme involving volunteer recreational divers and marine scientists and is active in 82 countries and territories.

As a local chapter of the bigger Reef Check network, Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) is a non-profit organisation that was registered in 2007 to engage with the local community to raise awareness for the importance of, and threats to, coral reefs.

The Cintai Tioman Campaign is initiated by Reef Check Malaysia and EcoKnights, with the support of The GEF Small Grants Programme(GEF SGP), implemented by UNDP, Yayasan Sime Darby and HSBC Amanah Takaful.

From activities on coral reef rehabilitation to community-based engagements, Cintai Tioman aims to help reduce the impact of human activities on coral reefs around Tioman Island, and also empower the local communities to get involved in the management and conservation of the island’s resources.

Visit www.reefcheck.org.my

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Malaysia: The joys and benefits of observing nature

ROZANA SANI New Straits Times 6 Jun 18;

IMAGINE yourself as a child with low-speed Internet connection at home. You can’t play online games or watch videos. What do you do to keep yourself entertained?

For Universiti of Malaya (UM) undergraduate Tan Kai Ren, the answer was to join his neighbourhood friends explore their backyard every evening after school.

“I have always had an interest in nature and the environment since I was in primary school. My backyard truly opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of biodiversity as it is connected to the Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve, a 1,182.07ha forest under the management of Universiti Putra Malaysia.

“After taking my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia exams, I became involved in several environmental non-governmental organisations, such as Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT), WWF-Malaysia and EcoKnights, which gave me a better understanding of environmental conservation and further fuelled my motivation to pursue this field,” said the third-year ecology and biodiversity student at UM.

Tan’s latest foray in biodiversity-related activities not only satisfied his love for nature but gave him global recognition in the world of urban biodiversity conservation.

At Malaysia’s maiden showing at City Nature Challenge 2018 — an international effort for people to find and document plants and wildlife in cities across the globe — Tan came out as top observer.

Besides Tan, three other Malaysians made the world Top 5 observers at City Nature Challenge 2018. Second place went to Thary Gazi, a PhD candidate and entomologist at UM, fourth place went to Affan Nasaruddin, founder and project officer of Water Warriors, a UM Living Lab; while Benjamin Ong of UM’s Rimba Project took fifth place.

“Observations basically means the number of observations that have been made throughout the four days of the challenge. I made 4,872 observations throughout the period,” he said.

The City Nature Challenge 2018 was carried out from April 27 to 30 in almost 70 cities around the world, all mobilising their residents and visitors to go out and document nature.

The Klang Valley was the first Malaysian and Southeast Asian urban metro area to participate in the challenge. Coorganised by the Rimba Project and UM’s Water Warriors, the Klang Valley City Nature Challenge (KVCNC) aimed to reconnect urban communities with nature and advocate for urban wildlife and biodiversity conservation.

A total of 685 Malaysians participated. At least 300 of these were school students. The event spanned the entire Klang Valley, defined as the sum of 10 municipalities: Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Klang, Sepang, Putrajaya, Ampang, Selayang and Kajang.

To enter the challenge, participants had to download an app, snap a photo of flora or fauna and post it on a specified website.

There were three types of participants: observers, species finders and identifiers. Observers are those who have contributed images or records of flora or fauna. Species-finders are those who are able to find different types of species, while identifiers could identify or name observations made by not only themselves, but also others.

“When Rimba Project founder Benjamin Ong approached me to be part of the team to organise the Klang Valley City Nature Challenge 2018 in Malaysia, he said the goal of the event was to give us baseline data of urban biodiversity in the Klang Valley.

“The data we have collected can now serve as a complimentary checklist of species composition as it is collected by many amateur scientists, which might be useful for actual research work,” he said.

Recalling the effort he put in during the four-day challenge, Tan said despite juggling his final year project with the preparation, it was well worth it.

“During preparation, KVCNC team members were already aware of the goals we needed to achieve for this year, even though this will be our first year participating. Therefore, months before the event, I started to practice using the iNaturalist app to observe and record the flora and fauna around me. The practice gave me a certain advantage compared with other users as I am more familiar with the user interface.

“Nonetheless, the reason for my success is when our team realised that we can upload observations in bulk onto iNaturalist on the second day of the challenge. This allowed us to make more observations in the field by reducing the time needed to upload individual observations.

“Besides that, by minimising my travel on the last day of the event, I managed to do intensive observations around University of Malaya, and recorded almost 3,000 observations on that day alone. This is essentially aligned with the core idea behind the City Nature Challenge, which encourages citizens to map the flora and fauna surrounding them instead of entering the wilderness,” he said.

On whether the challenge had a significant impact in terms of biodiversity and conservation in Malaysia, Tan said it would be an overestimation to say so.

“However, with the help of the Association of Science, Technology and Innovation (ASTI), we managed to organise an interschool competition as a pilot project to encourage students’ involvement in biological science, with an endorsement from the Education Ministry. We envision that the partnership between ASTI and the Rimba Project will have larger influence towards more schools from cities all over the country in the upcoming year.

“Only then can we evaluate the impact of citizen science towards the conservation of biodiversity and determine its pros and cons,” he said.

On future plans, Tan said he would like to be involved in sustainable living and educating people on possible sustainable lifestyles.

“I believe that when people are better informed about the harm we can do towards the environment in our daily lives, we can indirectly save many vulnerable habitats that are prone to pollution and destruction.

“I really hope that I could one day contribute to changing certain policies to strengthen enforcement against wildlife trafficking. Championing urban farming and sustainable food sources will also be in my plans, as it will reduce farm land needed in the future, which will reduce deforestation and wildlife habitat loss,” he said.

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