19 May: Registration opens for FREE St. John's Island tour on 23 Jun (Sun)
Celebrating Singapore Shores!
Singapore Raptor Report – March 2019
Singapore Bird Group
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Best of our wild blogs: 17 May 19
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Malaysia: Don't harm wandering tapir, Negri Sembilan Perhilitan tells residents
Abnor Hamizam Abd Manap New Straits Times 16 May 19;
JELEBU: Negri Sembilan Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) today urged residents not to harm a stray tapir which had wandered into the Pertang residential area recently.
The advice came following a viral post shared by netizens on various social media platforms yesterday.
State Perhilitan director Wan Mat Wan Harun, said the department would investigate the matter although no official complaint has been received so far on the incident.
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Malaysia: Poachers fined RM1.56mil, the biggest yet for wildlife crime
The Star 16 May 19;
PETALING JAYA: The Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court has meted out a whopping RM1.56mil fine on two Vietnamese nationals caught poaching, making it the biggest fine ever imposed for wildlife crime.
The two men, Hoang Van Viet, 29, and Nguyen Van Thiet, 26, were also sentenced to two years in jail after being convicted on 20 charges under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 for illegal possession of threatened and protected animal parts, including leopard, tapir and sun bear.
According to Traffic South-East Asia, the men pleaded guilty to charges under four sections of the law for illegal use of snares, illegal possession of totally protected species as well as protected species.
Judge Azman Mustapha also ruled that athe duo would be jailed a further 16 years if they failed to pay the fines.
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Malaysia: Melaka begins cloud seeding as dam drops to critical levels
r.s.n.murali The Star 16 May 19;
MELAKA: Melaka has begun cloud seeding on Thursday (May 16) as the Durian Tunggal Dam, the main water source for the state, is almost at critical levels.
State Transport, Works and Public Amenities Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Sofi Abdul Wahab said the cloud seeding would continue till Saturday (May 18).
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Indonesia: Biak district bans use of plastic bags
Antara 16 May 19;
Biak, Papua (ANTARA) - The Biak Numfor district government in the easternmost Indonesian province of Papua plans to ban the use of plastic bags in shops and markets, as of June 1, 2019, as part of efforts to reduce plastic trash.
"The ban on the use of plastic bags is a follow up on the regional strategic policy of managing garbage based upon the regional regulation of 2018 on garbage and government regulation number 81 of 2012 on the management of garbage," second assistant to regional secretary Ferry Betay said on Thursday, at an event to familiarize the public with the ban on the use of plastic bags.
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Dozens of gray whales are dying on the West Coast as they make their epic Alaskan migration
Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY Yahoo News 17 May 19;
SAN FRANCISCO — At least 53 dead or dying gray whales have washed up on West Coast beaches this spring, a death rate that’s only been seen once before. The great mammals are starving to death and scientists have theories as to why but so far no full explanation.
The number of deaths is likely much higher because it’s estimated that only 10% of dead whales actually end up on shore, said John Calambokidis, a research biologist with the non-profit Cascadia Research in Olympia, Washington, who studies whale populations on the West Coast.
That could mean as many as 530 whales have died, a large number for a population that is estimated to be just over 20,000 and that only began to rebound in recent decades after being hunted almost to extinction in the late 1800s.
The strandings have occurred up and down the West Coast, on major public beaches and in sheltered coves. What they have in common is the heart-wrenching image of these giants of the sea dying as they try to reach their feeding grounds, but not making it.
Whales that wash ashore offer a window in the health of marine ecosystems, said Kyle Van Houtan, chief scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California.
“They’re great indicators for what’s happening in the ocean and the animals are telling us what’s going on right now,” he said.
What they're saying is that something's wrong.
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Best of our wild blogs: 16 May 19
1 June (Sat): Want to learn how to be a nature guide? Come join the Chek Jawa Familiarisation Tour with the Naked Hermit Crabs!
Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs
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Waterspout off Singapore coast sparks climate debate
Experts say unusual and extreme weather events occur due to climate change and also by chance
CHERYL TEH The New Paper 16 May 19;
A waterspout developed off the southern coast of Singapore on Saturday.
The phenomenon, as well as unseasonably cold or warm spells around the world, have people asking yet again: Are more unusual and extreme weather incidents here and around the world because of climate change, or an unexpected confluence of factors?
It is a bit of both, climate experts say.
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Schools, Education Ministry can do more for the environment
ANG ZYN YEE Today Online 15 May 19;
It is heartening to see the attention that the Government is giving to tackling excessive waste production and raising awareness of proper recycling habits.
Designating 2019 as the Year Towards Zero Waste, the authorities are sending a strong message that combating climate change and environmental destruction is a key priority.
More can be done, however, especially in schools and educational institutions.
Schools are integral to shaping the character and outlook of our youth and there is no better place to begin instilling environmental awareness in our people.
Climate change is a pressing problem and how schools are run should reflect that urgency.
I have several suggestions for the Ministry of Education and schools on the larger role they can play in Singapore’s efforts to preserve our planet.
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Indonesia: East Nusa Tenggara to conduct research on Komodo dragons
The Jakarta Post 15 May 19;
As Komodo Island will be closed to the public as of January 2020, the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) administration in cooperation with Nusa Cendana University (Undana) in Kupang will conduct research on the habitat of Komodo dragons in the Komodo National Park, West Manggarai.
"Our cooperation with Undana's research team will be an important part of the NTT administration's efforts to preserve the animals," the administration's secretary, Benediktus Polo Maing, said in Kupang on Wednesday as quoted by Antara.
Benediktus said his office had met with representatives of relevant agencies, including Undana's research team.
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Single-use plastics a serious climate change hazard, study warns
Production must end now, says first ever estimate of plastic’s cradle-to-grave impact
Sandra Laville The Guardian 15 May 19;
The proliferation of single-use plastic around the world is accelerating climate change and should be urgently halted, a report warns.
Plastic production is expanding worldwide, fuelled in part by the fracking boom in the US. The report says plastic contributes to greenhouse gas emissions at every stage of its lifecycle, from its production to its refining and the way it is managed as a waste product.
This plastic binge threatens attempts to meet the Paris climate agreement. It means that by 2050 plastic will be responsible for up to 13% of the total “carbon budget” – equivalent to 615 coal-fired power plants – says the research published on Thursday.
The contribution of plastic production and disposal to climate change has been largely hidden, say the authors of the report by the Center for International Environmental Law, which estimates the greenhouse gas footprint of plastic from the cradle to the grave for the first time.
While plastic pollution in the oceans has become a high-profile concern, the effect on climate change of the ubiquitous use of plastic has not been a focus.
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