AP: Indonesia's coral reefs dying at alarming rate

AP: Indonesia's coral reefs dying at alarming rate

18 August 2010

Coral that survived the 2004 tsunami is now dying at one of the fastest rates ever recorded because of a dramatic rise in water temperatures off northwestern Indonesia, conservationists said, warning Wednesday that the threat extends to other reefs across Asia.

The Wildlife Conservation Society deployed marine biologists to Aceh province, on the tip of Sumatra island, in May when surface waters in the Andaman Sea peaked at 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius) — a 7 degree Fahrenheit (4 degree Celsius) rise over long-term averages.

The teams discovered massive bleaching, which occurs when algae living inside coral tissues are expelled. Subsequent surveys carried out together with Australia's James Cook University and Indonesia's Syiah Kuala University showed 80 percent of those corals have since died.

Though the scientists have yet to submit the data for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, they and others say the speed and extent of mortality appears to exceed that of other bleachings in recent history. The cause appears to be the warming seas, which to some degree can be blamed on global warming.

"This is a tragedy not only for some of the world's most biodiverse coral reefs, but also for people in the region," said Caleb McClennen, the New York-based group's marine program manager for Indonesia, noting that many depend on the rich marine life for their food and money earned through tourism.

Coral formations were severely damaged by El Nino-linked warming in 1997 and 1998.

They were just bouncing back when a Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries. The disaster damaged more than a third of Aceh's reefs, but scientists said they recovered faster than expected, thanks largely to natural colonization and a drop in illegal fishing.

"It's a disappointing development, particularly in light of the fact that these same corals proved resilient to other disruptions to this ecosystem," Stuart Campbell of the Wildlife Conservation Society wrote on their website.

"It is an unfortunate reminder that international efforts to curb the causes and effects of climate change must be made if these sensitive ecosystems and the vulnerable human communities ... that depend on them are to adapt and endure," Campbell wrote.

The high water temperatures — which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Hotspots website indicates have affected the entire Andaman Sea and beyond — also occurred soon after the sun was at its zenith and at time of little cloud cover or wind.

Clive Wilkinson, a coordinator at the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network in Australia, called it a "lethal combination" for coral, especially when it continues for more than a month, as was also the case in 1998.

The hotspot has affected reefs across Indonesia as well as in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, and it is now pushing its way northward.

"We are in a major heating period, it's breaking all records, and there are very furious worries now about the Philippines and eventually Taiwan and probably southern Japan," Wilkinson said. "This is really quite serious."

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Reuters: Food supplies most at risk in Afghanistan and Africa

18 August 2010

Afghanistan and nations in sub-Saharan Africa are most at risk from shocks to food supplies such as droughts or floods while Nordic countries are least vulnerable, according to an index released on Thursday.

"Of 50 nations most at risk, 36 are located in Africa," said Fiona Place, an environmental analyst at British-based consultancy Maplecroft, which compiled the 163-nation food security risk index.

Maplecroft said that it hoped the index could help in directing food aid or to guide investments in food production.

Upheavals in 2010 include Russia's grain export ban from August 15 spurred by the country's worst drought in more than a century.

Afghanistan's food supplies were most precarious, based on factors such as rates of malnutrition, cereal production and imports, gross domestic product per capita, natural disasters, conflicts and the effectiveness of government.

It was followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Angola, Liberia, Chad and Zimbabwe, all of which suffer from poverty and risk ever more extreme weather because of climate change.

At the other end of the scale, the survey said that Finland had the most secure food supplies, followed by Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Canada and the United States.

Among nations with unreliable supplies, Pakistan -- which ranked 30th most at risk on the list -- is struggling with floods that have killed 1,600 people and badly damaged its agriculture-based economy.

"Pakistan and sub-Saharan Africa which are dependent on food imports are going to be all the more vulnerable," Alyson Warhurst, head of Maplecroft, told Reuters.

She said the Russian export ban would add pressure on China to supply more food to world markets at a time when its domestic wheat and meat consumption were rising.

Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures hit a 2-year in early August on worries about Russia's drought. Prices have since fallen more than 20 percent but are still well above levels before the surge.

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AP: Greenpeace pushes for renewable energy in SAfrica

18 August 2010

South Africa has renewable resources that can provide solutions to the country's energy problems and create jobs — while fighting global warming, Greenpeace officials said Wednesday.

"Greenpeace's estimate that 78,000 green jobs could be created is conservative," Glen Mpufane, who heads a development group, who joined a Greenpeace forum on green jobs on Wednesday.

Unemployment is around 25 percent in South Africa, which was hard hit by the global recession.

Environmental groups in South Africa are campaigning for a major move toward renewable energy rather than nuclear and coal energy. The government says it needs coal and nuclear energy now to grow, but plans to move toward renewable energy later.

"South Africa needs a paradigm shift in terms of renewable energy," said Olivia Langhoff, director of the Greenpeace jobs campaign.

Eskom, South Africa's state-owned electricity supplier, experienced a supply crisis in 2007 due to ailing infrastructure. That led to power rationing that hurt economic output.

"We are asking from the government to be more ambitious in their targets of generating electricity from renewable energy," said Melita Steele, a Greenpeace energy and climate campaigner. "A minimum of 36 percent of the country's electricity should come from renewed energy sources by 2030."

Richard Worthington, the climate change program manager for the World Wildlife Foundation, agreed with the Greenpeace initiative. He said up to 55 percent of the country's power can be generated from renewables as South Africa has very rich renewable resources.

In April, the World Bank approved a $3.75 billion loan to help South Africa build a major coal-fired plant in the north, though the United States and environmental groups have expressed worries about its impact.

South Africa is the only African nation among the 20 countries that emit nearly 90 percent of the world's greenhouse gases. South African environmental officials have a long-term plan to reduce emissions, but say that in the short term the country needs polluting technologies to develop.