Malaysia officially complains over haze as Indonesia forests burn

Reuters New Straits Times 6 Sep 19;

JAKARTA/KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s science ministry will urge Indonesia to take immediate action to fight haze, it said on Friday, as Jakarta detected a spike in the number of hot spots indicating worsening forest fires across the archipelago.

During the dry season, Indonesian farmers use fire to clear land, often for palm and pulp plantations, but the flames can rage out of control to produce a choking haze that spreads to neighbours like Singapore and Malaysia.

A mild El Nino weather pattern this year has aggravated the impact of fires, with the number of hot spots rising to the highest since devastating fires in 2015.

In a statement, Malaysia’s ministry of science, technology and innovation said it would “send a diplomatic note to Indonesia, so immediate action will be taken to put out the fires and prevent repeated burning.”

Read more!

Indonesia: Air-polluting forest fire hotspots in Riau reach 154

Antara 7 Sep 19;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - The Pekanbaru meteorology station reported that 448 hotspots were observed throughout Sumatra Island, comprising 154 hotspots in Riau Province’s eight districts on Saturday morning, depleting the air quality in parts of the province.

Of the total figure, 60 were spotted in Pelalawan District, 42 in Indragiri Hulu, 34 in Indragiri Hilir, six in Meranti, five in Kuansing, three in Bengkalis, and two respectively in Kampar and Rokan Hilir, Ahmad Agus Widodo, analyst at the Pekanbaru meteorology station, remarked here on Saturday.

At least 97 of the 154 hotspots had developed into firespots, strongly suggestive of forest fires.

Read more!

Philippines: Whale shark population increases - WWF

Business Mirror 9 Sep 19;

More than 100 new ‘butanding’ (whale shark), including juveniles, spotted in Donsol, the highest number in several years.

DONSOL, Sorsogon—One-hundred-four new butanding (whale shark) individuals have been identified in Ticao Pass off the coast of Donsol, Sorsogon, between January and June 2019, according to a report from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines.

Whale shark, classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on their Red List of Threatened Species, is a filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest living fish species in the world.

Each whale shark can be identified based on the unique pattern of spots behind its gills, which serves as a “fingerprint” for identification. Just as no two human fingerprints are alike, no two whale sharks have the same spot pattern.

The addition of these new sightings puts the total number of whale shark individuals spotted in Donsol at 676 since the monitoring began in 2007, the WWF said in its news release.

Read more!

Stranded whales: Numbers on the rise around UK shores

Helen Briggs BBC News 6 Sep 19;

The number of whales and dolphins washing up around the UK coastline has risen, according to new figures.

In 2017 alone, 1,000 animals were stranded - more than in any year since records began.

A total of 4,896 whales, dolphins and porpoises died on beaches between 2011 and 2017 - up 15% on the previous seven years.

Scientists found a number of causes for the deaths, including infectious diseases, fishing and plastic.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 6 Sep 19

Changi Beach
Offshore Singapore

Read more!

100 hawksbill turtles released into the sea after rare hatching on Sentosa

JUSTIN ONG Today Online 4 Sep 19;

SINGAPORE — One hundred newly-hatched hawksbill turtles were released into the sea from Tanjong Beach in Sentosa on Wednesday morning (Sept 4). 

According to a Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) spokesperson, the eggs were hatched on Tuesday at approximately 10pm. SDC carried out measurements and checks on the hatchlings before they were released into the sea at about 7am on Wednesday. 

The hawksbill turtle nest was discovered at Tanjong Beach on July 14, said SDC.

Read more!

Accident with boar, chain collision cause jam in Mandai Road

Clement Yong Straits Times 5 Sep 19;

SINGAPORE - An accident with a wild boar and a separate chain collision involving four vehicles caused a major jam along Mandai Road on Thursday morning (Sept 5).

The accidents happened one after the other along the same stretch of Mandai Road towards the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) at 6.50am, causing traffic to slow for more than an hour during the peak period.

Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that the wild boar had been killed by an oncoming vehicle, and the motorist left the scene after the accident.

Read more!

FairPrice to charge for plastic bags, McDonald’s to stop providing plastic straws at some outlets

Clement Yong and Melissa Heng Straits Times 5 Sep 19;

SINGAPORE - Supermarket giant NTUC FairPrice and fast-food chain McDonald’s have jumped on the eco-friendly bandwagon.

Both companies announced on Wednesday (Sept 4) that they will be trialling initiatives to cut down on plastic bags and plastic packaging.

NTUC FairPrice will start charging 10 cents and 20 cents for plastic bags at seven outlets in a month-long trial, starting from Sept 16.

The "No Plastic Bag" trial will encourage shoppers to use their own bags, FairPrice said in a statement on Wednesday.

Read more!

MPs question Government’s stand on single-use plastics as Parliament passes new sustainability Bill

Ang Hwee Min and Aqil Haziq Mahmud Channel NewsAsia 4 Sep 19;

SINGAPORE: The issue of single-use plastics was discussed in Parliament on Wednesday (Sep 4), with some Members of Parliament (MP) reiterating a call for plastic bag charges.

This came as MPs debated the Resource Sustainability Bill, which was passed on Wednesday.

The Bill introduces regulations to reduce food, packaging and electronic waste, as Singapore’s only landfill at Pulau Semakau is expected to run out of space by 2035.

It will be mandatory for large food waste generators to segregate and treat their food waste by 2021.

Producers of regulated electrical and electronic products will be responsible for collecting and recycling e-waste like mobile phones, computers and large appliances through an extended "producer responsibility" framework that will be launched by 2021.

A similar framework for packaging waste will also be introduced. Companies that use packaging, like importers and supermarkets, will be required to submit an annual report on the amount of packaging in their products and their packaging waste reduction plans from 2021.

MPs lauded the Bill as a step in the right direction, but some felt that more could be done to tackle the excessive use of single-use plastics.

Read more!

BCA's green building innovation grant gets S$20 million top-up

Kelly Wong Channel NewsAsia 4 Sep 19;

SINGAPORE: The built environment sector received a S$20 million boost to go green on Wednesday (Sep 4).

This was announced by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong at the opening of the inaugural International Built Environment Week (IBEW), organised by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

Mr Wong said that the top-up of the funds will encourage more collaboration between the built environment industry and the research community. This is to support BCA’s drive toward Super Low Energy (SLE) buildings, which BCA has said will be the “next generation of green buildings".

Read more!

Malaysia: Elephants losing its tusks to live

Roy Goh New Straits Times 5 Sep 19;

KOTA KINABALU: Elephants in Sabah are evolving to lose their tusks to survive, a phenomenon that is also happening in other parts of the world.

Sightings of such tusk-less bull Bornean pygmy elephants are getting more common and a senior veterinarian believes more research needs to be done on the phenomenon and its implications.

Sabah Wildlife department assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said it used to be rare, seeing a tusk-less male, but these days it's becoming common.

"I have been involved in trans-locating elephants for more than 20 years and other senior colleagues dealt with the animal longer, more than 30 years, and now, we see this phenomenon becoming more common.

Read more!

Malaysia: Rare Bornean banteng falling victim to traps

KRISTY INUS The Star 5 Sep 19;

KOTA KINABALU: The banteng, the wild cattle of Borneo, are not just being poached but increasingly turning up as bycatch in snares set for other animals, say conservation groups.

In a joint statement, the Sabah Wildlife Department and the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) said the population of the animal, estimated to number fewer than 500 in the state, was already facing fragmentation due to deforestation, infrastructure development and human activity.

“Besides being targeted for bush meat, the mammal has often become a bycatch in snares meant for smaller animals like wild boar and deer,” said DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens yesterday.

Read more!