wildsingapore news

Best of our wild blogs: 10 Feb 12

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:37:00 +0000

Berlayar Creek still has seagrasses! from wild shores of singapore Lunch of cattle egret 牛背鷺吞食青蛙 from PurpleMangrove Thoughts on the NCCS Public Perception Survey on Climate Change in Singapore from Low Carbon Singapore

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

More Singaporeans care about climate change

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:00 +0000

Poll shows greater awareness, sense of responsibility in dealing with issue Jessica Cheam Straits Times 10 Feb 12; THE first local survey on climate change shows that most Singaporeans are concerned about the issue and believe in taking action to address it. The findings, released yesterday by the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS), took civic and industry organisations by surprise and all agreed that the trend was encouraging. The NCCS conducted a face-to-face poll of about 1,000 Singaporeans aged 15 and above from October to December last year on issues relating to climate...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Malayan tapir’s days numbered if no action taken

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:50:00 +0000

The Star 10 Feb 12; I REFER to the report on the capture of the 200kg male tapir which somehow strayed into Kg Tun Abdul Razak, Bukit Katil in Malacca recently (The Star, Feb 2). The tapir is also the animal on the logo of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS). The Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus) is the largest of the four species of tapir in world, and the only one native to Asia. It is commonly referred to as “cipan” or “tenuk” by the Malay villagers. The animal has very poor eyesight, making it rely on its excellent sense of smell and hearing to go about in their every day lives....

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

High demand for sea turtles in China sends poachers toward Philippines

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:34:00 +0000

PRI 9 Feb 12; Chinese fishers have so badly depleted the population of sea turtles, many of them endangered, off the nation's coasts that poachers are traveling far and wide to nab the sea reptiles. As China and the Philippines argue over stretches of the South China Sea, turtle poachers have already moved in. China has a taste for turtle; turtle soup, turtle eggs, turtle bone ground up for use in Chinese medicine to promote longevity — for people, not for the turtles. But as Chinese waters are increasingly depleted of sea turtles, Chinese poachers are traveling farther to find them....

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

'Pyramids' planted to revive Philippine corals

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:30:00 +0000

(AFP) Google News 9 Feb 12; MANILA — Thousands of small "pyramids" are being planted off the Philippines' famous Boracay resort island in an effort to bring its nearly destroyed coral reefs back to life, an environment group said Thursday. Over 300 of the structures were planted this week off Boracay's coast and eventually about 5,000 will be placed in the sea, according to Sangkalikasan (Nature) which is behind the effort. "This is like putting garden soil for ideal growth on land. We are doing the same concept in the sea," Jose Rodriguez, vice chairman of the group, told...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Indonesia: Planting trees can prevent whirlwinds

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:20:00 +0000

Antara 8 Feb 12; Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - Whirlwinds will not happen in areas that have lots of vegetation, according to an expert at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). Waib Budi Lestari, a BMKG analyst, said here Wednesday whirlwinds always occur in flat areas where there was no vegetation. "That is why, it is important to plant big trees or other kinds of vegetation in open spaces, especially in urban areas, if we want to remain free of whirlwinds," Warih said. According to Warih, whirlwinds occur as a result of a process in which an increase in...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

UN wraps up year of forests by highlighting their social and economic value

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:10:00 +0000

UN News Centre 9 Feb 12; The United Nations today wrapped up its year-long campaign to raise awareness on the importance of forests and the people who depend on them with a series of events that spotlight their role and impact in socio-economic activities. “Each of us, all seven billion people on Earth, has our physical, economic and spiritual health tied to forests,” said Jan McAlpine, Director of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) Secretariat. Throughout 2011, the UN organized a series of events and activities to highlight the value of forests and the actions that people can take to...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Rio+20 shows little sign of living up to original Earth summit

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000

As Brazil prepares for the Rio+20 conference, there is little on the agenda to suggest any substantive action will be taken Fred Pearce for Yale Environment 360 guardian.co.uk 9 Feb 12; It is easy to be cynical. Back in 1992, more than 100 world leaders, including George H.W. Bush, showed up for the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It was a two-week mega-event that attracted huge attention, highlighted by the signing of two groundbreaking treaties on climate change and biodiversity and grand declarations about creating a future green and equitable world. To put it mildly, the subsequent...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Best of our wild blogs: 9 Feb 12

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:28:00 +0000

Fri 17 Feb 2012: 4pm, SBG Function Hall – Christina Colon on Ecology of the Malay Civet from Otterman speaks Tulostoma: Rare Fungus in Chek Jawa Coastal Forest from Flying Fish Friends Strange seagrass slug on Chek Jawa from wild shores of singapore Facilitating learning in the outdoors from Nature rambles All about Yellow Bittern 黄小鷺 from PurpleMangrove

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Don’t Flush Tiger Forests: Toilet Paper, U.S. Supermarkets, and the Destruction of Indonesia’s Last Tiger Habitats

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:24:00 +0000

WWF finds US grocery retailers stocking toilet paper linked to rainforest destruction WWF 8 Feb 12; WASHINGTON, DC: American companies and consumers are inadvertently contributing to Indonesian rain forest and tiger habitat destruction by buying toilet paper and other tissue products made with fiber from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), according to a World Wildlife Fund report released today. Don’t Flush Tiger Forests: Toilet Paper, U.S. Supermarkets, and the Destruction of Indonesia’s Last Tiger Habitats finds that APP, the fifth-largest tissue producer in the world, is rapidly expanding...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Indonesia: US Report Casts Doubt On Palm Fuel Benefits

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:20:00 +0000

Fidelis E. Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 8 Feb 12; Indonesia has come under greater scrutiny over its policy to encourage palm oil development, following a report by US authorities that fuels derived from the commodity were not as environmentally friendly as initially believed. Last month, the US Environmental Protection Agency put out a notice that palm oil-derived biofuels such as biodiesel and renewable diesel fell short of its threshold for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings of 20 percent compared to regular diesel. Biodiesel was found to cut GHG emissions by just 17 percent of...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Big boost for wildlife conservation: 23 new SOS projects

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:10:00 +0000

IUCN 9 Feb 12; Beginning in January 2012, top species conservation experts from around the world have determined the allocation of $US 3.3 million to 23 species conservation projects. Gorillas, cockatoos, and frogs are just a few of the multitude of threatened species that are receiving a helping hand from SOS (Save Our Species), a global species conservation fund initiated by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the World Bank and the GEF (Global Environment Facility). Drawing on species conservation knowledge accrued over decades by IUCN, for the first call for...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Scientists melt mystery over icecaps and sea levels

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

David Fogarty Reuters 8 Feb 12; (Reuters) - U.S. scientists using satellite data have established a more accurate figure of the amount of annual sea level rise from melting glaciers and ice caps which should aid studies on how quickly coastal areas may flood as global warming gathers pace. John Wahr of the University of Colorado in Boulder and colleagues, in a study published on Thursday, found that thinning glaciers and icecaps were pushing up sea levels by 1.5 millimeters (0.06 inches) a year, in line with a 1.2 to 1.8 mm range from other studies, some of which forecast sea levels...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Best of our wild blogs: 8 Feb 12

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:09:00 +0000

Mangrove Pitta handling crabs from Bird Ecology Study Group bathing collared kingfisher @ chek jawa - Jan2012 from sgbeachbum

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

18 endangered dolphins spotted off Borneo: WWF

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:40:00 +0000

Angela Dewan (AFP) Google News 7 Feb 12; JAKARTA — Conservation group WWF said it spotted 18 critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins in Indonesian waters off Borneo island Tuesday and called for greater protection of the species' habitat. The tail of a critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin spotted off the coast of Borneo's West Kalimantan (AFP/WWF-INDONESIA/SYAHIRSYAH) There is little data on the Irrawaddy dolphin -- which resembles the common bottlenose dolphin but has no beak and a snub dorsal fin -- and no comprehensive survey has been conducted to measure its global...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Orangutan 'exterminators' on trial in Indonesia

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:34:00 +0000

(AFP) Google News 7 Feb 12; TENGGARONG, Indonesia — Three Indonesians and a Malaysian went on trial Tuesday for killing endangered orangutans and other protected primates as a means of pest control at a palm oil plantation on Borneo island. Prosecutors said the plantation manager, Malaysian national Phuah Chuan Hun, and his employee Widiantoro paid two men between 2009 and 2010 to kill the primates. The plantation employees and the two killers, Imam Muhtarom and Mujianto, were charged with killing endangered species and all face five years in jail. "The two men were paid one...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Indonesia: Can the jungle law save orangutans?

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:30:00 +0000

Panut Hadisiswoyo and Gunung Gea, Medan Jakarta Post 7 Feb 12; There have probably been at least 2,800 confiscations of illegally kept orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra since the early 1970s. In the same period, millions of hectares of orangutan forest have also been destroyed for plantations and other uses, and thousands of orangutans killed, starved and burned to death in the process. This species cleansing has occurred despite the fact that the orangutan has been legally protected in Indonesia since 1924. Quite simply, in the last 40 years the number of legal cases brought against pet...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Malaysian Department mulls 'crocodile net' ban

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:26:00 +0000

New Straits Times 8 Feb 12; JITRA: The use of "crocodile nets", which have been found to be a threat to marine life may be banned, said Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Wira Mohd Johari Baharom. He said the Fisheries Department had been directed through a circular to carry out a study on the enforcement of the ban. "A crocodile net traps fish, including small ones," he said, when met at a gathering by the National Rice Agency with the Siamese community at Kampung Kota Giam here yesterday. According to Johari, the crocodile net -- a dragnet that is...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Ancient Seagrass Holds Secrets of the Oldest Living Organism On Earth

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:10:00 +0000

ScienceDaily 7 Feb 12; It's big, it's old and it lives under the sea -- and now an international research collaboration with The University of Western Australia's Ocean's Institute has confirmed that an ancient seagrass holds the secrets of the oldest living organism on Earth. Ancient giant Posidonia oceanica reproduces asexually, generating clones of itself. A single organism -- which has been found to span up to 15 kilometres in width and reach more than 6,000 metric tonnes in mass -- may well be more than 100,000 years old. "Clonal organisms have an extraordinary capacity to...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Harder to breathe easy in Asia?

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:08:00 +0000

Nicholas Fang and Henrick Tsjeng Today Online 8 Feb 12; Even as the smoke clears after this year's Lunar New Year festivities, governments around the region are feeling the heat over rising air pollution and concerns over clean air, or the lack of it. The setting off of fireworks on the eve in Beijing led to sharp rises in airborne particles early on the first day of the New Year. And while this was soon cleared by favourable air currents, pressure is mounting for the government to get tough on air pollution. In January, over 150 flights to and from the Chinese capital were cancelled...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Plantings Of Biotech Crops Grow Globally In 2011: Report

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Carey Gillam PlanetArk 8 Feb 12; The United States remained the primary backer of biotech crop technology in 2011, but adoption spread internationally as the total global planted area of genetically modified seeds grew 8 percent from a year ago, according to a report issued Tuesday. Roughly 160 million hectares, or 395.2 million acres, were planted with biotech crops in 2011, up 8 percent from 2010, said the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) in its annual report on biotech seed use. The biotech crops were planted by 16.7 million farmers in...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Best of our wild blogs: 7 Feb 12

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:17:00 +0000

New baby civets coming soon? from Life of a common palm civet in Singapore The sound of your moves from The annotated budak racket-tailed drongo @ Bukit Brown - Jan2012 from sgbeachbum Dancing in the Wind @ Pasir Ris Park Part 1 from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature Ecological Mangrove Rehabilitation Seminar by Dr. Ben Brown from Mangrove Action Squad Planning a Campaign to Reduce, Redistribute and Recycle Food Waste in Singapore from Green Future Solutions Vampire and bird frogs: discovering new amphibians in Southeast Asia's threatened forests from Mongabay.com...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Use Rio+20 to overhaul idea of growth, urges EU climate chief

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Connie Hedegaard says GDP model of growth causes overconsumption, drives up commodity prices and ignores the environment Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk 6 Feb 12; The world must use a landmark environmental summit this year to change forever the current damaging model of economic growth, Europe's climate chief has warned, or face future crises as severe as the one currently enveloping the eurozone. Overconsumption of critical resources, and the rising prices of key commodities such as food, energy and natural materials as a result, risk derailing the world economy – but these problems will...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Malaysia: Endangered wildlife can have easier migration

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:54:00 +0000

Muguntan Vanar The Star 7 Feb 12; KOTA KINABALU: A move is under way to connect the country's largest wildlife forest reserve, Tabin, with adjacent fragmented forests through wildlife corridors in Sabah's east coast Lahad Datu. The move will facilitate the migration of critically-endangered wildlife through the newly established Segama Corridor Conservation Area. Conservationists hope it would eventually lead to a narrow but continuous corridor from Tabin to Kulamba Wildlife Reserve, another important refuge for endangered species on the northern side of the Dent peninsular in Lahad...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog

Malaysia: Eye in the sky on crocodiles

noreply@blogger.com (ria tan) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:50:00 +0000

Satellite tagging of crocs to help reduce number of attacks Avila Geraldine New Straits Times 7 Feb 12; OVER the past 10 years, there have been 25 fatal crocodile attacks in the east coast of Sabah, including three last year in the Kinabatangan river. This has led Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) to initiate a satellite tagging project aimed at tackling human-crocodile conflict. DGFC director and leader of the Kinabatangan Crocodile Programme Dr Benoit Goosens said it was believed that a lack of food could have forced these reptiles to attack humans. The project, funded by DGFC...

this is a summary, for the full version visit the wild news blog