wildsingapore news

Best of our wild blogs: 28 Jan 12

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:44:00 +0000

Chestnut Discoveries from Macro Photography in Singapore Sinar Mas Group seeks 'backdoor' public listing in Singapore from Mongabay.com news by Rhett Butler

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Singapore raises sea defences against tide of climate change

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:10:00 +0000

David Fogarty Reuters 27 Jan 12; * Low-lying Singapore preparing for rising sea levels * Takes climate "insurance" by raising height of new land * Will make tougher CO2 curbs if global climate pact agreed SINGAPORE, Jan 27 (Reuters) - A 15-km (10 mile) stretch of crisp white beach is one of the key battlegrounds in Singapore's campaign to defend its hard-won territory against rising sea levels linked to climate change. Stone breakwaters are being enlarged on the low-lying island state's man-made east coast and their heights raised. Barges carrying imported sand top up the beach,...

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Pasir Ris beach now safe to swim, says NEA

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Channel NewsAsia 27 Jan 12; SINGAPORE: It is now safe to swim at Pasir Ris beach. The National Environment Agency has declared the water quality at Pasir Ris beach as "good", more than three years after it advised the public not to swim, wakeboard or waterski in the water there due to pollution. NEA said the water quality at Pasir Ris beach has improved from "fair" to "good" according to the World Health Organisation's water quality guidelines for recreational use. The beach will be reopened on Friday. NEA said only 3 per cent of the collected water samples at Pasir Ris beach...

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Philippines: Sea Turtle Baby Boom on Turtle Islands Breaks 28-year Record

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:50:00 +0000

Conservation efforts deliver 1.4 million green turtle eggs, 14,220 nests, on priority Philippine beaches in 2011 Zambo Times 27 Jan 12; January 27, 2012 (Manila, Philippines)– More than one million green turtle (Chelonia mydas) eggs were laid last year on Baguan Island of Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi, achieving an all-time high since recording of nesting started in 1984, Conservation International (CI) Philippines, citing figures obtained from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), announced. A total of 14,220 green turtle nests were recorded in Baguan in 2011,...

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New taste for Thai elephant meat

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:44:00 +0000

Thanyarat Doksone Associated Press Yahoo News 27 Jan 12; BANGKOK (AP) — A new taste for eating elephant meat — everything from trunks to sex organs — has emerged in Thailand and could pose a new threat to the survival of the species. Wildlife officials told The Associated Press that they were alerted to the practice after finding two elephants slaughtered last month in a national park in western Thailand. "The poachers took away the elephants' sex organs and trunks ... for human consumption," Damrong Phidet, director-general of Thailand's wildlife agency, said in a telephone...

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DEA, NGOs Battle With Rhino Poaching

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:40:00 +0000

AllAfrica.com 27 Jan 12; Cape Town — The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs has revealed that 232 suspects were arrested in connection with rhino poaching last year. The suspects consisted of 194 rhino poachers, 24 receivers of rhino horns, 12 couriers and two exporters. No buyers were arrested. Deputy Director General on biodiversity and conservation in the department, Fundisile Mketeni, told MPs on Thursday that the crime was grossing about R160 billion annually. He said that between 2009, 2010 and last year, 122; 333, and 448 rhinos were poached respectively. He...

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Rio summit must yield new model: Brazil minister

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

Yana Marull (AFP) Google News 27 Jan 12; PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — The upcoming Rio summit on sustainable development must yield a new model to tackle the planet's economic, environmental and ethical crises, according to Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira. The so-called Rio+20 gathering "is a an exceptional opportunity in a world in which people are searching for new ideas and new processes... to implement a new development paradigm," she said in an interview with AFP in Porto Alegre Thursday. "The economic, ethical, cultural and environmental crisis which the planet is...

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Best of our wild blogs: 27 Jan 12

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:35:00 +0000

Sign up for the first year-round coastal cleanup @ Tanah Merah! from Through The Backyards Chinese New Year Intertidal Escapade from Singapore Scene Gone Natural Birders Behaving Badly from G33k5p34k's Blog Singapore Green Landscape 2012 from Green Business Times Asian Green Youth Challenge Recruitment Drive‏ from ECO @ COP

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Malaysia: Habitat loss keeps orang utan on the 'danger list'

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:58:00 +0000

Roy Goh New Straits Times 27 Jan 12; A WILDLIFE sanctuary and three forest reserves stretch over the Lower Kinabatangan area in Sandakan, but still the number of orang utans has been declining over the years. Experts put the slide at 30 per cent of its estimated 1,000 population in the last eight years within the area of about 100,000ha. The main reason behind this is the loss of habitat because of fragmented forests. Policies on land use, public attitude and awareness have been identified as key factors that could ensure survival of the species. However, the message does not...

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Malaysia: 'Don't keep leopard cats as pets'

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:50:00 +0000

Nicholas Cheng New Straits Times 27 Jan 12; THE leopard cat may look like an everyday domesticated feline but cat lovers are warned not to keep them as pets. People rearing this wildlife species can be fined up to RM100,000 or jailed up to three years or both, according to Wildlife and National Parks Eco-tourism Department director Dr Sivananthan Elagupillay. "Under the recently amended Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, the leopard cat is a fully protected species in Peninsular Malaysia. "People should avoid keeping them as pets to prevent any interbreeding between leopard cats...

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World's only venomous primate 'under threat from pet trade'

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:44:00 +0000

BBC News 25 Jan 12; An Oxford anthropologist has warned that the world's only venomous primate is under threat from the pet trade. The slow loris is nocturnal and native to south-east Asia. They secrete venom from their elbows, which they mix with saliva resulting in a toxic bite. Videos of the creatures as pets have attracted millions of hits online because of their cute appearance. Dr Anna Nekaris, Oxford Brookes University primologist, said growing numbers were caught for the pet trade. She said they were easy to catch because they often slept in the day and did not run or...

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Indonesia: Almost 1,500 pig-nosed turtles “crammed like sardines” into suitcases

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:42:00 +0000

TRAFFIC 26 Jan 12; The 1,495 turtles were concealed inside two suitcases en route to Jakarta, the nation’s capital and a major hub for illicit wildlife trade. Valued as pets, and possibly consumed as meat in some countries, Pig-nosed Turtles are smuggled out of Indonesia by the thousands. Sources allege that shipments such as this one are common, with dealers in Jakarta buying the turtles from hunters and agents in Papua, then selling them on to dealers and retailers abroad. Many are destined for the pet markets of East Asia, to places such as Hong Kong, where demand for this...

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Indonesia to revoke mining permit after Bima protests

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:40:00 +0000

Reuters 26 Jan 12; * Sumbawa island operations hit by local protests * Company Sumber Mineral Nusantara planned gold mining * In joint venture with Arc Exploration * Minister says permit revocation will take time JAKARTA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The Indonesian government said on Thursday it will revoke the exploration permit of mining company Sumber Mineral Nusantara whose operation on Sumbawa island has been hit by violent protests by residents in which two people have died. Thousands of people rioted and burned a government office on Sumbawa on Thursday to demonstrate their rejection...

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Australia: Loggerhead sea turtle baby boom

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:30:00 +0000

Fleur Bainger ABC News 26 Jan 12; Ningaloo Marine Park on Western Australia's Coral Coast is preparing itself for a baby boom. But not of the human kind - the World Heritage Listed strip is on track for a larger than expected hatching of loggerhead turtles, one of the most endangered species of sea turtle in the world. Environmental scientists volunteering at the Gnaraloo Turtle Conservation Program, 150kms north of Carnarvon, say turtles started laying earlier than expected late last year. Kimmie Riskas, from the USA, says this points to a likely increase in baby turtle...

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Only Civil Society Can Save Rio+20, Say Activists

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:24:00 +0000

Mario Osava IPS News 24 Jan 12; RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 24, 2012 (Tierramérica) - Large-scale social mobilisation, including street protests and parallel activities, is the only thing can save the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) from ending in nothing but frustration, according to activists and analysts. A repeat of the failure of recent conferences to negotiate an international climate change pact seems inevitable, said Cândido Grzybowski, the director general of the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analysis (IBASE) and one of the founders of the...

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Europe: Biodiversity Loss Costs EU 450 Billion Euros a Year

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:20:00 +0000

Environment News Service 26 Jan 12; BRUSSELS, Belgium, January 26, 2012 (ENS) - A silent crisis of biodiversity loss is costing the European Union 450 billion euros (US$590 billion) a year, adding to the stress of the ongoing financial crisis, the European Parliament heard on Tuesday. The loss estimate was presented in a draft report to the Environment Committee by Dutch MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Special Rapporteur on Biodiversity of the European Parliament. He represents the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, ALDE, the third largest political group in the European...

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Even worse Thai flood crisis this year unless govt is decisive

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:14:00 +0000

The Nation/Asia News Network AsiaOne 26 Jan 12; Water experts yesterday urged the government to be decisive about flood-prevention measures in order to prevent a repeat of last year's severe flooding, as the La Nina phenomenon is expected to bring early rains and more storms this year. They expressed concern that a lack of clear decisions from the government would leave the flood-prevention efforts in disarray. Seree Supharatid, director of Rangsit University's Centre on Climate Change and Disaster, warned that due to the La Nina climatic phenomenon, early rainfalls were expected...

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First report on UK climate impact

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:10:00 +0000

David Shukman BBC News 25 Jan 12; Climate change this century poses both risks and opportunities, according to the first comprehensive government assessment of its type. The report warns that flooding, heatwaves and water shortages could become more likely. But benefits could include new shipping lanes through the Arctic, fewer cold-related deaths in winter and higher crop yields. The findings come in the Climate Change Risk Assessment. This 2,000-page document has been produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It forms part of the...

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How Climate Change, Urbanization Are Changing Disaster Aid

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Katie Nguyen and Megan Rowling PlanetArk 27 Jan 12; Picture this: a terrible drought forces you to abandon your meager plot of farmland, so you migrate to a city where the jobs are, only to end up living in a slum regularly submerged by floods. It's a scenario that's going to become more and more familiar in coming years as climate change and rapid urbanization play an ever-greater role in shaping humanitarian crises, according to an AlertNet poll of the world's biggest aid organizations. To adapt to the new reality, aid agencies will need to invest more in disaster prevention and...

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Best of our wild blogs: 26 Jan 12

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:55:00 +0000

Chinese New Year Intertidal Escapade from Singapore Scene Gone Natural Lunar New Year's Eve @ LT from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature Clammy evening at Changi from wild shores of singapore two little grebes @ lorong halus - Jan2012 from sgbeachbum Year of the Dragon: The "Dragon Cats" from Lazy Lizard's Tales

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Work may start soon on two petrochemical projects at Jurong Island

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:00:00 +0000

Investments for Lanxess and PCS plants may add up to $500m Ronnie Lim 26 Jan 12; DESPITE eurozone concerns, the go-ahead is expected soon for two planned petrochemical investments totalling over $500 million on Jurong Island. The first is Lanxess' 200 million euro (S$330.7 million) Nd-PBR plant - the German group's second synthetic rubber facility here to supply to China and other Asian markets - which is looking 'very positive' to proceed, BT understands. The second is Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore's planned C4 downstream plant, costing US$100-150 million, to supply...

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Indonesia: Orangutan Rehab Slow but Thorough

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:30:00 +0000

Fidelis E. Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 25 Jan 12; Samboja Lestari, East Kalimantan. If a rehabilitation center meant to prepare orangutans for release into the wild is still packed with the apes, then the effort to protect the species has not been good enough, a leading conservationist says. “If the rehabilitation center takes in more orangutans than it releases, that means we’ve failed,” Aschta Boestani Tajudin, the East Kalimantan regional program manager for the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, said during a recent visit to the BOSF rehabilitation center in Samboja...

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Save the Apes and You Save the Forests: Scientists

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:20:00 +0000

Ronna Nirmala Jakarta Globe 25 Jan 12; Developing primate conservation projects, particularly for great apes, can contribute toward the long-term health of forests and to carbon sequestration schemes, scientists contend. Ian Redmond, a tropical field biologist and conservationist, said primates and other fruit-eating animals were crucial to forests because of their role in seed dispersal. “Fruit-eating animals have been long known to play a very important role in the life cycle of tropical forests, with between 75 to 95 percent of tree species having their seeds dispersed by such...

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Only 4 percent of Philippines coral reefs in excellent health

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:16:00 +0000

GMANet 24 Jan 12; Most of the country's coral reefs are in dire condition, putting the Philippines' food security at risk, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) officials said on Tuesday. Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau director Mundita Lim said only 4% of the country’s coral reefs, estimated at 26,000 square kilometers, are in “excellent condition.” “The rest are candidates for restoration,” she said in a forum at the United Nations Environment Programme’s Land-Ocean Connection Conference. Of the 800 coral species in the world, 500 can be found in the...

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Great Barrier Reef on ice in Aussie Outback

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:10:00 +0000

Amy Coopes (AFP) Google News 25 Jan 12; DUBBO, Australia — The arid plains fringing Australia's desert centre are more suited to camels than blooms of coral but here, hundreds of miles from the coast, a piece of the Great Barrier Reef has been put on ice. Suspended in a liquid nitrogen chamber of minus-196 degrees Celsius (-320 Fahrenheit), the 70 billion sperm and 22 billion coral embryos are part of an ambitious Australian-first project to preserve and perhaps one day regenerate the world-famous reef. "We know the Great Barrier Reef is in deep, deep trouble because of a number of...

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