News - February



	ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS January 2005 February 2005 Mac 2005 April 2005 28 February 2005: China Exporting Electricity to Southeast Asia The Regional Power Trade Operating Agreement for the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS) will be signed at the group's second summit meeting in July, China Business reported on February 20. ¤ Read News China 3 Major Rivers Heavily Polluted Three of China's major rivers, Haihe, Liaohe and Huaihe, are heavily polluted, according to the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) in a report released here Tuesday. ¤ Read News Indonesia ‘Escape hills’ mulled ‘for Aceh residents BANDA ACEH: Indonesia is mulling whether to build “escape hills” on Aceh's tsunami-hit coast for people to scramble up to high ground should another killer wave hit, an official said yesterday. ¤ Read News Japan Preparing for tsunamis: Will force work? OKUSHIRI ISLAND, Japan The sea walls run along 15 kilometers of this small island's 83-kilometer perimeter, including almost all the inhabited stretches of its eastern coast. ¤ Read News Malaysia Klang Valley air quality worsens PETALING JAYA: Intermittent rain brought some respite yesterday but the air quality in the Klang Valley worsened, with three more locations recording unhealthy Air Pollution Index readings. ¤ Read News Malaysia Air quality plunges amid dry season UNHEALTHY AIR: (Feb 25) The Department of Environment (DOE) is on high alert as the air quality in eight locations – mainly in the Klang Valley – plunged to unhealthy levels, worsened by the current drought. The air quality in Port Klang, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Kuala Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Nilai and Bukit Rambai was at an unhealthy level. The deteriorating air quality is caused by the forest fires as well as other local pollutants including vehicle smoke emission. ¤ Read News Philippines Anti-illegal fishing task force nabs ship's crew LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines -- The Quezon anti-illegal fishing Task Force Matatag arrested the crewmen of a commercial fishing vessel caught conducting illegal fishing operations on Saturday inside the territorial waters of San Andres town in Quezon province. ¤ Read News Philippines Environmental fears for 2005 THE recent government announcements to open mineral lands to foreign capitalists and to encourage exploitation of fishery resources by setting a higher capture fisheries production have caused fears that environmental damage will increase in 2005. People and organizations concerned with sustainable development point to the not-so-good past records of environmental protection as a basis for this fear. ¤ Read News Tsunami Tsunami devastates turtle conservation December's tsunami devastated efforts to save Indian Ocean turtles, with scores of conservation field staff killed or missing. ¤ Read News Tsunami Rebuild Differently After the Tsunami, UNEP Advises NAIROBI -- The destruction caused by the Asian tsunami to the environment offers an opportunity to rebuild in a manner that preserves natural resources for the benefit of the local communities who were hardest hit by the disaster, a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says. ¤ Read News World / General Ancient life thrives in the deep Our planet's murky deep sea sediments are a buzzing hotbed of life, according to a report in Nature magazine. ¤ Read News World / General As Arctic Ice Melts, Rush Is on for Shipping Lanes, More The melting Arctic ice is fueling a rush for the North Pole region's resources. ¤ Read News 21 February 2005: China 'Aliens' Hit 'Coconut Island' Most of South China's Hainan Province has been invaded by an alien species of coconut leaf beetle, which is posing an unprecedented threat to trees of the palm family in the province such as coconut palms. ¤ Read News Hong Kong HK to Launch New Anti-mosquito Campaign Hong Kong will launch a six-week anti-mosquito campaign from Feb. 21, to strengthen the control of Japanese encephalitis vectors and Dengue fever prevention. ¤ Read News Philippines Rare marine turtle freed NAGA CITY, Camarines Sur, Philippines -- A fisherman turned over on Saturday a 40-year-old female Olive Ridley marine turtle to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources after it was accidentally caught by a gillnet on Friday. ¤ Read News Philippines ADB: RP economic growth fails to substantially help poor Philippine economic growth since 1985 has had only a slight effect in reducing poverty levels while the absolute number of poor keeps increasing, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Saturday. ¤ Read News Tsunami Disquiet over Sri Lanka town plan It is a slow process, fixing the damage on the boats. Here in Hambantota, they are lined up at a makeshift yard where houses once stood. ¤ Read News Tsunami Ex-presidents make tsunami plea FORMER US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Sr came close to tears on their tour of tsunami-wrecked Asian coasts yesterday after meeting Thai children orphaned in the disaster. ¤ Read News Tsunami Australians help rehabilitate tsunami-damaged reefs North Queensland marine experts are on the ground in Thailand helping to rehabilitate tsunami damaged coastal regions. ¤ Read News World / General Greenhouse gases 'do warm oceans' Scientists say they have "compelling" evidence that ocean warming over the past 40 years can be linked to the industrial release of carbon dioxide. ¤ Read News World / General Seafloor Still About 90 Percent Unknown, Experts Say The U.S. nuclear submarine San Francisco crashed into an uncharted underwater mountain in the South Pacific last month, killing one submariner and injuring dozens of others. ¤ Read News World / General Oceans of evidence for global warming The first evidence of human-produced global warming in the oceans has been found, thanks to computer analysis of seven million temperature readings taken over 40 years to depths of 700 metres (2,300ft). ¤ Read News World/ General After 7 yrs of waiting, Kyoto Protocol finally comes into force After seven years of discussions, the Kyoto Protocol finally came into force on Feb. 16. Formed through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the protocol binds 141 parties to an international framework that aims to reduce the global discharge of greenhouse gases by at least five percent based on their 1990 emission levels. ¤ Read News 14 February 2005: China Blooming Bamboo Causes Pandas to Go Hungry About 100 giant pandas in northwest China's Gansu Province are suffering from hunger because large tracts of arrow bamboo have bloomed and died ¤ Read News China China Opens New Navigation Line Linking Inchon of ROK China has opened a new ocean navigation line linking one of its port cities in the east with Inchon, the second largest port city of the Republic of Korea. ¤ Read News China 7.87 Million Hectares of Land Rehabilitated into Forests in West China By the end of 2004, local people in China's western regions had rehabilitated and cultivated 118 million mu (7.87 million hectares) of land into forests and had planted about 170 million mu (11.3 million hectares) of trees on barren land and mountains, according to the State Council's Office of the Leading Group for Western Region Development. ¤ Read News Indonesia Tsunami Zone Spared Major Disease Outbreaks JAKARTA, Indonesia, February 11, 2005 (ENS) - Health officials are breathing a sigh of relief that early fears of disease outbreaks in Indian Ocean nations after the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami have not been realized. It was feared that poor living conditions amidst the devastation and lack of clean water and sanitation could lead to outbreaks of cholera, dysentery and other communicable diseases. ¤ Read News Philippines Young lawmakers support efforts to conserve RP eagle DAVAO CITY — A group of young lawmakers threw their support behind efforts to conserve the endangered Philippine eagle whose population has continued to dwindle in the past years. ¤ Read News Philippines Haribon flexes its muscle HARIBON Foundation may turn to sports and games when it simply wants to call attention to its wildlife conservation projects. But when problems begin to hover dangerously near for anyone's comfort, it makes a tough stand. ¤ Read News Philippines ADB hosts gathering of air quality experts Experts on air quality management from over 35 countries convened recently for the Better Air Quality Conference to share experiences on management of urban air quality and discuss ways to improve air quality in Asian cities. ¤ Read News General / World Females Seek Multiple "Valentines" in Some Species Many people will be looking forward to a candlelit table for two on Valentine's Day. But how many men would reconsider their romantic intentions if they knew they could end up holding the baby? ¤ Read News General / World Global warming: Mountains face tsunami risk GRENOBLE, France - Mountain areas have long been recognised as being vulnerable to global warming, with rising temperatures damaging a fragile habitat for wildlife and threatening the future of low-altitude ski resorts. . ¤ Read News General / World Environmentalists discuss energy matters in Kyoto KYOTO -- Green-party politicians and activists from around the Asia-Pacific region gathered here Friday for a three-day conference to discuss regional issues, ranging from renewable energy to human rights. ¤ Read News General / Worl Experts seek setting up of marine safety areas KARACHI, Feb 12: Marine scientists and coastal zone management experts have identified at least 11 potential sites for the establishment of marine protected areas (MPA), stressing that all stakeholders, including government agencies, should move positively. ¤ Read News General / World Cobras Spit Venom at Eyes With Nearly Perfect Aim If you're smart, you'll never come within six feet (two meters) of a spitting cobra. If you're unlucky and by some horrible chance you do, a word of advice: Close your eyes. ¤ Read News General / World Marine park plan worries aquaculture, aquarium industries The aquarium industry say some people could lose up to 70 per cent of their income under the proposed Great Sandy Marine Park. ¤ Read News General / World Octopus Arms May Point Way to New Robot Designs Octopuses, those boneless, brainy, denizens of the deep, use their arms for some tasks in much the same way humans do, according to a new study. ¤ Read News General / World U.S. Oil, Gas Threatened by Louisiana Wetlands Loss Louisiana's wetlands are being washed away—an area the size of a football field disappears every 35 minutes. Their erosion is more than just an environmental concern, as it exposes a the U.S. oil, gas, and fishing industries to harmful flooding and shifting waterways. ¤ Read News Tsunami 1,400 bodies recovered Indonesia: Workers trudging through tsunami debris in Indonesia recovered more than 1,400 bodies, officials said yesterday, while the British military announced it will pull its troops out of the area - a sign that much of the emergency relief work has been done . ¤ Read News Tsunami WHO assists 40,000 pregnant women affected by the tsunami New Delhi/Geneva, 10 February 2005: An estimated 40,000 pregnant women were among those left homeless as a result of the earthquake and tsunami in South Asia. As part of its emergency response, WHO quickly dispatched medical professionals and essential supplies to the area affected for care of these women. Now, WHO is collaborating with respective national authorities and other international agencies to ensure pregnant women, particularly those who were displaced, have access to safe child birth services. ¤ Read News 03 February 2005: China New program to preserve marine biodiversity BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- China launched an eight-year program Wednesday to protect marine biodiversity in the coast of China's South Sea, which is with first focus on four sites in southeastern coastal cities. ¤ Read News China Raising Awareness of 'Green GDP' While the National Bureau of Statistics Director Li Deshui announced the country's gross domestic product (GDP) achieved 9.5 percent growth in 2004, he stressed that the figure had been double checked and approved by a group of experts after it was calculated by the provincial and central statistics departments. ¤ Read News Philippines Status of Philippine biodiversity THE Philippines is one of the countries of the world that have outstanding biodiversity. An estimated 13,500 species of terrestrial plants, 8,000 of which are flowering species with 40 percent endemism are found in the country. Among the most important families of trees is the Family Dipterocapaceae which comprises 39 species, the source of Philippine mahogany which the country used to export. ¤ Read News Singapore Elite unit to boost ocean security SINGAPORE has launched an elite police maritime unit to increase security of the city-state's busy commercial shipping lanes and ports against potential terrorist attacks. ¤ Read News General/World Hotspots Revisited Nine new biodiversity hotspots are added to list of high priority conservation targets. ¤ Read News General/World African poor to bear brunt of global warming EXETER. - Africa's poor millions, already suffering grinding poverty and rampant disease, risk bearing the brunt of the global warming crisis unless urgent action is taken now, a leading Nigerian scientist said on Wednesday. ¤ Read News General/World Lost city believed found in Johor PETALING JAYA: A 1,000-year-old lost city, possibly older than Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Borobudur in Indonesia, is believed to have been located in the dense jungles of Johor. ¤ Read News Tsunami Ecological cost of the tsunami Beyond the horrific loss of human life, the Dec 26 devastating earthquake and resulting tsunami incurred US$675mil (RM2.56bil) in environmental damage in Indonesia. ¤ Read News Tsunami Tsunami leaves behind soil-damaging sea salt A small, grassy field that once held 200 broad-leafed banana trees now has only a dozen, and their owner is sure they will die soon. The Dec 26 tsunami swept away coastal crops and poisoned fields with salt, leaving tens of thousands of farmers homeless and snatching away the livings they scraped from the soil. ¤ Read News Tsunami Asia still counting the tsunami death toll FORTY days after the tsunami devastation of seven southern Asian countries, resulting in 280,000-plus deaths to date, there are still no plans to clean up the rubble and disinfect the affected areas. Dust, rarefied air and the smell of corpses have become part of daily life. ¤ Read News