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The world's forests are still soaking up billions of tonnes of planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) every year, a global study has found, despite millions of hectares being burned and cleared for agriculture.

The findings show that forests remain a key brake on the pace of climate change by locking away large amounts of CO2 from industry, power stations and cars even after decades of destruction.

But the analysis shows that some forests, especially in South-east Asia and the Amazon, are in trouble, becoming major sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

Unless land clearing and fires are rapidly reined in, global efforts to fight climate change could be undermined, scientists say.

The study, published in the Nature Climate Change journal, involved researchers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Centre for International Forestry Research and others.

To get a better idea of the role of forests in regulating global CO2 emissions, they came up with a method of calculating how much of the gas forests soak up naturally every year and how much of it is produced through deforestation, fires, draining of peatlands and so on.

They found that the world's forests sequestered about twice as much CO2 as they emitted between 2001 and 2019. This "carbon sink" totalled a net 7.6 billion tonnes a year, 1.5 times more than the United States emits annually.

In all, forests absorbed about 16 billion tonnes of CO2, or about 30 per cent of mankind's greenhouse gas emissions.

But deforestation, burning and other damage released more than 8 billion tonnes of emissions a year, the researchers found.

"Over the past 20 years, forests across South-east Asia have collectively become a net source of carbon emissions due to clearing for plantations, uncontrolled fires and drainage of peat soils," co-authors Nancy Harris and David Gibbs of WRI said in a blog post.

The region has the world's third-largest stretch of tropical rainforest, yet these now emit a net 490 million tonnes of CO2 a year.

For the Amazon too, the picture is grim. "The Amazon River basin, which stretches across nine countries in South America, is still a net carbon sink, but teeters on the edge of becoming a net source if forest loss continues at current rates," Dr Harris and Mr Gibbs said.

Over the past four years, clearing for cattle pasture and degradation from fires have caused a big jump in deforestation and degradation in the Amazon basin.

According to the study, the Amazon now locks away a net 100 million tonnes of CO2, or roughly twice Singapore's annual CO2 emissions, but is also a huge source of emissions. Of the world's three largest tropical rainforests, only the Congo Basin in Africa remains a strong net carbon sink, sequestering 600 million tonnes more CO2 a year than it emits.

"Protecting the remaining forests in all three regions is critical to mitigating climate change," Dr Harris and Mr Gibbs said.

Excerpt from:
Forests still major carbon store for now, but threats growing: Study - The Straits Times

Published on January 22, 2021

MARSHFIELD, MA:D.H. Smith & Sons (http://dhsmithandsons.com), a company which provides wood waste recycling, land clearing, mulch manufacturing, power equipment and retail landscape supplies, has further expanded its operations with the relocation of its headquarters to 887 Plain Street, Route 139, Marshfield.

Dan Smith Jr., who founded the company in 1997, said that the Marshfield location, the site of the former Copeland Lumber Company on Route 139, seemed the perfect solution for their needs when it became clear that they had outgrown the space at their Pembroke location. They first used the site for several years to manufacture mulch and then made the decision to build their new company headquarters there as well.

Smith and his team oversaw the design and construction of two buildings totaling 25,000 square feet, situated on the 16-acre parcel of land. In the last few years, the company has greatly expanded its offerings and now provides services to both the wholesale and retail markets.

One of the companys signature endeavors is its wood waste recycling, which began in 2015 but has greatly expanded in the last year. The company takes in stumps, logs, brush, woodchips, and other organic material from contractors, and then processes the materials through grinding, seasoning and color enhancing. Some of the logs which are brought in are sold to sawmills; the wood chips and grindings are made into premium mulch products and screened for loam. D. H. Smith & Sons has the onsite equipment to process all of the wood products right at their Marshfield location. Dan sees their location as ideal for contractors, landscapers, and residential tree service companies who are in need of a convenient location to dispose of and recycle their wood waste and compost.

In addition to taking in materials from contractors, the company also offers full land clearing and forestry services.

While the initial focus of D.H. Smith & Sons was the wholesale market, the company has added a retail component to their business with its power equipment sales and service division. The company is a full-service Husqvarna Power and Construction Equipment Dealer and Service Center. Additionally, the company sells firewood and landscape supplies to the public.

We continue to look for additional ways to serve the public, said Smith, adding, We have always done a brisk business with our wood waste recycling, and its great to see these products repurposed to their highest and best uses. As we have expanded our work with contractors and wholesale customers, we have also seen the benefit of offering the products and services to the public. We are pleased to add this retail component to the services and products that we offer.

The company plans to hold an open house later in the year, dependent on when COVID-19 restrictions make it feasible and safe to do so. Dan says, Were looking forward to inviting friends, neighbors, customers and the community to come and see our operation. We are proud of how it has turned out and are eager to show it off!

More:
D.H. Smith & Sons relocates to 887 Plain Street, Marshfield; new headquarters has 25,000 square foot of buildings, and 16 acres to accommodate...

By ANNEMARIE SCHUETZ

Amongst the general chaos of January news, there was a topic that didnt really make it to the top of the story pile: In the plague year of 2020, greenhouse gas emissions went down 10 percent.

There are photos out there of clean water, empty streets and smogless skies. By September, air pollution in New York dropped 50 percent, according to Tanjena Rume in Heliyon. Cars and airplanes contribute 72 percent and 11 percent of the transportation sectors emissions respectively, and lockdowns pushed the use of both into a steep decline.

And we arent in the office as much, meaning big buildings dont need to be heated or cooled.

The sharp drop means we can start to think about the future. For decades now, theres been a push to reduce our production of greenhouse gases.

Were following the framework created by Project Drawdown because its useful and understandable, and you can dig deeply or just skim the surface, depending on how much you want to know.

Drawdown is the point when greenhouse gas emissions have climbed their highest and begin shifting downward. This is the point when we begin the process of stopping further climate change and averting potentially catastrophic warming, Project Drawdown writes. It is a critical turning point for life on Earth.

Human activities, from burning heating oil to plowing soil to driving a car, release carbon dioxide into the air. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have been steadily rising from approximately 315 ppm (parts per million) in 1959, states science journal Nature, to 409.8ppm in 2019, according to Climate.gov.

Landfills, electric plants and growing rice all release methane. Nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases come from cities, refrigeration systems and farmland. All of them trap heat in the atmosphere.

Processes like photosynthesis can trap carbon dioxide in the earth, in plants, or in the ocean. Creating more sinks for greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, is one of Project Drawdowns major efforts.

But creating sinks isnt the whole focus of their efforts. You have to cope with greenhouse gases from all angles: managing the sources of the gas, reducing existing gas and dealing with the social conditions that result in countries adding to the problemand in countries who least add to the problem yet are most affected.

Well focus on carbon dioxide, which accounted for 81 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in 2018, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. (Methane constituted 10 percent, and nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases made up the rest.)

Burning fossil fuels for energy and transportation produces the most carbon dioxide equivalents. That includes running power plants for electricity.

Drawdown wants to bring emissions to zero. To get there, theyve targeted these areas:

The goal is to shift production and enhance efficiency, Project Drawdown says. Their solutions outline the cutting edge of power production. Alternative sources of electricity range from biomass to ocean power to geothermal to wind power. And they include nuclear energy, acknowledging the complicated dynamics.

Last year, River Reporter covered a hydropower project in Sullivan County, NY, currently in development, that can generate up to 45 percent of the countys electrical load.

And in Wayne County, PA, SEEDS (Sustainable Energy Education and Development Support) is full of advice on solar energy, its cost and savings. Solar farms are springing up everywhere because we have the land and the will to use it. The Highlights Foundation is on a mission to reach either net-zero or net-positive energy usage at its Boyds Mills campus. Stourbridge Project in Honesdale, PA is going solaralso covered by River Reporter. Back in Sullivan County, the government building in Liberty, NY uses solar panels.

Check out Cornell Cooperative Extension in New York and Penn State Extension in Pennsylvania for even more information.

Agriculture is central to Wayne and Sullivan counties. People have farmed here for centuries, and traveling indigenous people found food growing (and running around) as they passed through.

Even in 2020particularly in 2020farmers markets connected people with the farmers that grew their food, simplifying and localizing the food supply chain.

Wayne Countys Food Relief Fund added local produce, along with instructions on how to cook it, to their food drive. Catskill Mountainkeeper has been exploring ways to make quality farm-grown food more available while ensuring that workers are treated equitably.

And cooperative extensions in both states have plenty of information on agriculture, food and nutrition.

On a global level, Project Drawdown looked at land use, exploring conservation agriculture and improving nutrients in the soil and in food. Plant-heavy diets are covered, as well as ways to reduce food waste: All topics that apply here.

Its not really something we think about. Were rural. Industry seems far away. But to Project Drawdown, industry also encompasses recycling, composting, refrigerants, methane capture in landfills and more.

County waste services in both Wayne and Sullivan recycle, and trash hauler Waste Management picks up recycling, too. (Here's more information on what people threw out in lockdown).

Both counties have information online about solid waste disposal (www.bit.ly/waynewaste, http://www.bit.ly/sullivanwaste). You can also ask about how methane is being dealt with.

Its one thing if you live in a place with public transport (never mind that its in upheaval due to the pandemic). Public transportation certainly reduces the number of cars on the road, whichremember the dramatic drop in greenhouse gas emissions in 2020makes a big difference.

Here, while MOVE Sullivan is operating in the Liberty/Fallsburg/Monticello area, and the shopping bus is still running, that still leaves a lot of the county without a public transportation option yet. This is even more true of Wayne County, where the only public transportation is a van that offers limited transport for the elderly and non-drivers.

Establishing buses is a complicated and expensive undertaking. This might be why Project Drawdown emphasizes bicycling, carpooling and teleworking (which relies on quality broadband, and both counties are working on that.)

Granted, right now its winter and were focused on heating our homes. Come summer, well be trying to stay cool. Heat pumps are a significant solution. Proper insulation means that the heating and cooling bills go down.

The materials we build with matter, too. Modern synthetics, including in furniture, burn much more quickly than hardwoods and plaster do, so you have less time to escape in a fire emergency. For example, fibreboard, a common synthetic, ignites after 50 seconds, according to the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services. They also contribute to health problems from asthma to heart conditions.

Drawdown examines three kinds of greenhouse-gas sinks: land, water and engineered.

Land sinks include soil and plants, which both store an enormous amount of carbon dioxide. To help them grow, we should try to reduce food waste and eat more plants, follow sustainable agricultural practices, reclaim abandoned land and protect our ecosystems.

Oceans cover 71 percent of the Earths surface and have absorbed at least 90 percent of the excess heat generated in recent years, Project Drawdown reports. But this has consequences: Water temperatures are rising and oceans are becoming more acidic. Work is ongoing to find ways to address these problems.

Relying on human-created sinks may be the quickest way to trap more carbon, Project Drawdown says. Pull it out of the atmosphere and trap it in something or bury it. Scientists have created a liquid metal catalyst that can turn carbon dioxide into a carbon-containing solid.

It seems non-sustainable to rely on people to come up with ways to deal with the overheating atmosphere. But as we plant more trees or clean up the oceans, the work of scientists proceeds apace and provides an alternative. The more help, the better.

It starts with health and educationespecially educating girlsand, Project Drawdown says, promoting family planning. Honoring the dignity of women and children through family planning is not about governments forcing the birth rate down (or up, through natalist policies). Nor is it about those in rich countries, where emissions are highest, telling people elsewhere to stop having children. When family planning focuses on health care provision and meeting womens expressed needs, empowerment, equality and well-being are the results; the benefits to the planet are side effects.

Theres still more to be done, of course. How do war-torn countries embrace sustainability? Can poverty be eliminated at the same time? Can sustainable solutions be presented in America as a non-partisan good?

In River Reporters sustainability coverage throughout 2021, well tackle some of these questions and pose others. Its January. Think of this as a resolution: Were working out how sustainability looks here, talking about whats being done and looking to what the future holds.

Original post:
Clearing the air - The River Reporter

Lakeway city council voted Jan. 19 to annex and zone land off Tomichi Trail for use as a future park. (Greg Perliski/Community Impact Newspaper)

Lakeway City Council unanimously approved Jan. 19 the annexation and zoning of 11.03 acres in the Lakeway Highlands subdivision, clearing the way for the property to be developed at some point as a city park.

Council members approved the measures after hearing from some residents living in the neighboring Crosswind community in Spicewood.

Residents asked Lakeway City Council to delay action on the parcel of land, which lies east of Crosswind Drive and west of the Tomichi Trail in an area adjacent to the Rough Hollow Elementary School. Crosswind residents said time is needed to study the parks potential impact on water quality in nearby Little Rough Hollow Cove. Residents also asked the land be zoned as a greenbelt rather than parkland.

Before voting, council members said a park with amenities such as sports fields is needed, and city staff could ensure park plans consider environmental impacts.

There have been people buying homes there since 2006 that expected that park to be built, Lakeway Council Member Louis Mastrangelo said. I also have faith in our building and development team that they will make sure that these [park plans] meet the water quality requirements and that this park will be built to the standards we expect.

Exact details of the parks features and topography have yet to be decided but are included as part of Lakeways larger master park plan. A draft of the park plan is under evaluation by city staff and council members.

Council reviewed a draft of its master park plan at the meeting. The draft includes a proposal for park amenities at the Lakeway Highlands site that council annexed. The draft plan names the area annexed as Butler Park, and among the proposed amenities are sports fields, basketball courts, natural areas and playground equipment catered to people with disabilities.

Crosswind is a community of about 85 homeowners whose lots are situated in an unincorporated area of Spicewood. The community has a lakefront park along Little Rough Hollow Cove.

Crosswind resident Christy Muse told council members during the public hearing portion of the council meeting that keeping the land in a more natural state would be better for the water quality in Lake Travis.

"We ask that you consider zoning this tract as greenbelt," Muse said. "It will be much better for the water quality in the lake; more sports fields are not necessary; and it will be a much gentler and neighborhood friendly transition between Crosswind and Lakeway."

In other business, council members heard a report on the deer population within Lakeway from Kolbe Ranches & Wildlife. The report stated a survey of deer undertaken last November and December showed the population has changed very little in the past four years and is more likely to decline in number than grow.

See the original post here:
Lakeway council votes to annex and zone land for park to be near Crosswind community - Community Impact Newspaper

PENANG has recorded the highest number of open burning cases in five years despite being under a movement control order since March last year.

Penang Environment Department (DOE) director Sharifah Zakiah Syed Sahab said the state recorded 670 cases of open burning last year, compared with only 478 cases in 2019.

Sharifah said the northeast district registered the most cases with 241 reported incidents.

This is followed by the southwest district with 165 cases, central Seberang Prai with 151 cases and north Seberang Prai with 72 cases.

South Seberang Prai had 41 cases.

Most of the complaints received by DOE were about open burning of rubbish in residential areas, empty plots and bushes.

Complaints about open burning are consistently increasing every year.

This rise may be influenced by increased public awareness of environmental care, she said in a statement.

Sharifah said the sudden increase in open burning started three years ago with 284 cases recorded in 2018.

We discovered open burning of solid waste in industrial areas and construction sites plus open burning of plantation and garden waste in residential areas.

Other cases involved land clearing.

Open burning is especially hazardous during prolonged dry seasons because it contributes to haze which affects public health and reduces visibility.

The state DOE will increase patrols in areas that registered frequent complaints.

We will also use drones to monitor areas that are difficult to access, she said.

Sharifah said they had issued a total of 34 compounds that can go up to a maximum of RM2,000 besides delivering 163 warning letters.

Open burning is an offence under Section 29A of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 which carries a jail term of up to five years or a maximum fine of RM500,000 or both.

We urge all relevant parties to cease open burning and opt for environmental-friendly methods to manage domestic and garden waste, she said.

Those who come across open burning are urged to report to DOE through its toll-free number at 1-800-88-2727 or via email to aduanpp@doe.gov.my.

Original post:
Open burning hazard on the rise - The Star Online

The trainwreck of 2020 was not limited to a global community hit by the worst pandemic in a century. The Australian environment fared no better.

The year started amid the continents most widespread bushfires on record. As the Guardian revealed, an estimated 3bn animals were killed or affected. Subsequent major government reports outlined the extent to which the countrys unique environment was in decline long before the fires hit.

The damage from the fires could not be divorced from the climate crisis, which also triggered a third mass bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef in five years. But political debate on these pressing environmental issues specifically, the need to transform conservation laws or introduce a climate plan to live up to the Paris climate agreement remained stuck as the Morrison government resisted meaningful action on both fronts.

Will 2021 bring a change? Adam Morton and Lisa Cox look at some of the major climate and environmental questions the country will face this year.

Scott Morrison ended 2020 notably isolated on climate change, having been embarrassed when the British and French governments rejected his push to be given a speaking slot at a global leaders climate ambition summit.

The prime minister appeared surprised by the snub, which left him in climate pariah territory with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Russia. If he was surprised, he shouldnt have been: the invitation to the summit made clear only leaders offering substantial new commitments would be given a slot, and Morrison had merely flagged that Australia may not follow through on a widely condemned plan to use a carbon accounting sleight of hand to meet national emissions targets.

A major political and diplomatic question will be how the government responds to what is certain to be escalating pressure. The US will be key. The Biden administration has no shortage of problems needing its attention, but has made clear climate is near the top of its priorities. The new president has pledged to use every tool of American foreign policy to push the rest of the world to do more. His climate envoy, John Kerry, set out the scale of the challenge for business leaders at a G20 forum, including that coal needed to be phased out five times faster than it is now.

More than 120 countries, including the major powers of America, Asia and Europe, have mid-century net zero emissions or carbon neutrality goals, but Morrison despite calls and rising action from business leaders, investors and state governments continues to resist, and deny that Australia is out of step.

The expectation is this can only last so long, but the message from the incoming US leadership and the climate ambition summit is that moving on the 2050 target alone will not be enough.

The focus ahead of the November climate conference in Glasgow will increasingly be on what Australia with no meaningful policies to reduce emissions from transport or major industry and which is still promising a gas-led recovery and approving new coal projects will do before 2030 to live up to the commitment it made in Paris five years ago.

Relying on the states to increase support for renewable energy, as many did last year, will not be enough.

In the wake of the fires, last years official assessment of the state of Australias natural environment by Graeme Samuel, the former competition watchdog chief, could hardly have been more dire.

An interim report in July found Australias environment was in an unsustainable state of decline, and that the national conservation laws the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act were ineffective and needed substantial change.

Meanwhile, the auditor generals office found the government and federal environment department were failing in their duty to protect nature.

Conservation groups were not surprised on either front. Australia has the worlds highest rate of mammal extinction due to what is widely agreed to be the failure of successive governments to protect the wildlife for which the country is renowned. Funding for environment programs was cut by more than a third after the Coalition was elected in 2013. Some was restored last year, much of it directed to congestion busting increasing the pace at which industry and business development proposals were assessed.

The governments response was to try and fail to ram through legislation to transfer responsibility for approving major developments that affect the environment to the states and territories, barely giving lip service to the need to strengthen environmental protection.

It is still yet to release Samuels final report, which it has been sitting on since October. That will have to change when parliament returns next month if the government lives up to its legislative requirements. It is also expected to release the national environmental standards that Samuel said were needed to accompany the devolution in assessment powers to the states.

Several questions will follow. Will the standards be designed to not just maintain but improve the state of the Australian environment? Will they be specific enough that they can be meaningfully and legally tested?

And, given the government has rejected the push for an independent environment regulator, can the public be confident the new standards will be enforced?

Attention will also turn to whether the Senate crossbenchers will continue to oppose the governments legislation if there are not steps to improve the monitoring and health of the countrys growing list of threatened species at least 170 of which still have no plan for their recovery.

Australias most globally recognisable natural landmark suffered through its third major coral bleaching event since 2016 last year. Most of the damage was near the southern end around Mackay an area that was mostly left untouched in 2016 and 2017. It means reefs along the full length of the 2,300km wonder have been severely affected over the past five years.

There are still healthy and vibrant areas and some damaged coral will recover, but a significant amount of shallow water coral died.

As recently as a few weeks ago, there were concerns this summer might be a fourth year of severe bleaching out of six. But Prof Terry Hughes, from James Cook University, says the risk has reduced since Christmas thanks to cooler, cloudier and wetter weather, in part due to the cooling La Nina over the Pacific.

An assessment by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggests the risk of bleaching is greatest north of Cairns, and a warmer than expected February could still change projections, but Hughes says the chance of a non-bleaching year is pretty good.

It is a less positive story in the west. The CSIRO has forecast a marine heatwave for the Western Australian coastline early this year, with temperatures expected to hit the highest level in a decade.

The Ningaloo Coast and Shark Bay, both world heritage listed areas, are threatened by warming ocean temperatures that could affect ecosystems and fisheries that have not recovered since a marine heatwave in 2011.

The capriciousness of New South Wales politics was on full display last year when the deputy premier, John Barilaro, threatened, but failed to resign ostensibly over a policy designed to protect koalas, just months after the iconic species was devastated by the summer bushfires.

A compromise deal between the governing Liberal and National parties over the koala state environmental planning policy failed. Instead, NSW reverted to an old koala policy, from 1995, with a promise to develop a new one this year.

It meant that, despite a state inquiry finding the species was on track for extinction in NSW by 2050, nothing new has been done to improve its protection.

Whether that can be addressed will be a test for both state and federal governments. It is linked to the broader issue of ongoing habitat destruction, one of the main threats to not just the koala, but Australian wildlife generally.

Sussan Ley, the federal environment minister, has set an October deadline for the threatened species scientific committee to assess whether east coast koala populations have been affected enough to warrant a national endangered listing a step that should trigger greater protection.

Meanwhile, the government continues to sanction clearing of the forests that koalas rely on. Late last year Ley approved a quarry proposal that would clear 50 hectares of koala habitat near Port Stephens in NSW.

It is a similar story at state level. The NSW environment minister, Matt Kean, has set a target to double the states koala population by 2050, but forestry operations and mining proposals in koala and other threatened species habitat continue, and the state government has continued to weaken land-clearing laws.

Analysts say the shift to EVs is inevitable, with new models forecast to match fossil fuel vehicles on price by as early as 2025, but Australia trails other countries in their uptake, with fewer affordable models available.

A long-delayed Morrison government electric vehicle policy now rebadged as a broader future fuels strategy was due late last year, but has yet to be released. A leaked draft suggests it will not include direct incentives for consumers to switch to battery-powered cars.

Other countries have seen a climate and economic advantage in moving now. Britain and Japan major countries that, like Australia, use right-hand-side drive cars announced late last year they would ban the sale of new petrol cars by 2030 and 2035 respectively and introduce incentives to drive the change.

Australia appears headed in the other direction with no significant incentives, and with some states planning to introduce road-user charges on EVs and hybrids. Victoria and South Australia are heading down this path, and NSW is considering it.

Academic analysis has suggested this would further deter uptake of the technology unless offset by other support. Meanwhile, national transport emissions continue to rise.

Court decisions loom large over native forest logging in two Australian states this year, and an industry that spent much of last year under siege.

A judgment is due next month in a case brought by the Bob Brown Foundation against Tasmanias state-owned forestry agency, arguing its native forest logging is inconsistent with federal laws. Conservationists argue the forest agreement in the state is not valid as it lacks a legally enforceable requirement that the state protect threatened species.

It follows a similar case in Victoria last year, when a federal court judgment banned logging in 67 coupes in Victorias central highlands on the basis that the states agency, VicForests, had breached a regional forestry agreement between the state government and Canberra.

In basic terms, the ruling challenged a controversial effective exemption from environmental laws granted to logging under the agreement. The agency is appealing.

Major retailers are increasingly refusing to sell paper logged by agencies without forest stewardship council, or FSC, certification - and both the Tasmanian and the Victorian agencies have failed to get it.

It means the court decisions could have significant ramifications for plans to continue native forest logging at current levels until 2030, in Victorias case, or indefinitely in Tasmania. And they could have major ramifications for threatened species protection.

Read this article:
Net zero, saving koalas and forest wars: the crucial environment battles looming in Australia - The Guardian

Bung, seen with Edward (left) after the press conference, said the construction of the dam is crucial, otherwise, the future generation of Sabah will suffer.

KOTA KINABALU: The controversial Papar dam must be constructed if there is to be a solution to the water shortage problem at the States west coast.

Works Minister, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said the dam will be moved further upstream and at the Kaiduan area since the water condition at Mandalipau situated near the mouth of the Papar river has been polluted by forest/land clearing activities for farming in Kaiduan.

He said massive land clearing has been taking place and that serious water pollution has ensued leaving the Water Department with no choice but to shut down its water treatment plant in Kogopon for four consecutive times since December until now.

The people (of Kaiduan) have promised to look after the river. They have failed to do this with the land clearing, said Bung during a media conference held at his office today. Also present was Sabah Water Department director, Edward Lingkapu.

He added that the construction of the dam is crucial, otherwise, the future generation of Sabah will suffer.

Bung also explained that aside from the pollution issue, the other reason why it is better for the State government to construct the dam upstream at the Kaiduan area is because it can last between 85 and 100 years, whereas a dam downstream at Mandalipau will only last 60 years.

The cost (of building the dam) is the same, he said, hinting why a dam at Kaiduan is the better choice.

Bung added that the area selected has already been surveyed and that it has been done for quite some time.

We only need to review it, he said.

He also said that the next step would be to bring it to the cabinet for its decision and after that, a public engagement will be held to be fair to the people.

But there is no way out. We have to move on, he pointed out.

Bung mentioned that the plan was part of the third phase of a 30-year plan for the supply of water for Kota Kinabalu which will include the dam, piping works and water plants.

This is part of the last plan. So, 100 years from now we could depend on the dam, he said.

The project will roughly cost around RM3 billion.

It was also revealed that the water supply could reach up to Kuala Penyu and to Menumbok.

With regards to the number of houses and families that would be affected by the construction of the dam at Kaiduan, Bung said there are around 27 to 30 families.

We will meet with them, and we will relocate them, provide them with electricity and other needs, raise their way of living from traditional to a better way. We are not kicking them out with nothing, he reminded.

He added that the affected villagers will be given places to stay and land to replace the ones they have lost.

The government has a lot of land reserves, he said.

He urged for the matter not to be politicised because this is a problem affecting the state.

If it wasnt politicised, we would have moved on. So many people are lamenting about not having water. Everyday they contact me about not having water.

Bung said the water shortage in Kota Kinabalu alone is 30 percent, while for the State of Sabah, the percentage is 45 percent.

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Excerpt from:
Dam project at Kaiduan to proceed - Bung - The Borneo Post

By Ou Su-mei and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The government should help people manage risks posed by wild animals, bear expert Hwang Mei-hsiu () said yesterday, after a Formosan black bear was caught in a trap twice in less than two months, possibly the fourth time it has been trapped.

In October last year, the bear, later codenamed No. 711, was rescued from a trap by the Dongshih Forest District Office. It was treated, fitted with a tracker and released to the wild on Taichungs Dongmao Mountain () on Dec. 3.

However, the office on Saturday found via the tracker that the bear had not moved since the night before and sent a team to investigate.

Photo courtesy of Dongshih Forest District Office

The team found the bear caught in a trap in a bamboo grove and sent it back to the Endemic Species Research Institute Low Altitude Experimental Station in Taichung for treatment and relocation.

Based on the animals scars, it was likely the fourth time it has been caught in a trap meant to ensnare macaques or wild boars, Hwang said on Facebook.

Some people believe that bears should not enter the low-elevation mountains in Taichung, as it is densely populated, but it is actually farmland interspersed with forest that is 1km above sea level, she said, adding that based on No. 711s activity, the bear spends most of its time in uninhabited areas.

Formosan black bears require a broad territory without much human interference, she said.

Since bears are highly intelligent opportunists, the best way to prevent them from becoming a nuisance is to stop giving them positive reinforcement in the form of food, she said.

Hwang recommended that the office use satellite positioning during the day to devise a strategy and deploy a team, clear human food from the area, and after nightfall hold the line and step up intermittent harassment.

Authorities must look out for potential hazards to wildlife, as well as assist the public in dealing with potential damage wrought by wild animals to make sure that traps targeting other animals, such as macaques or wild boars, do not accidentally ensnare black bears, she added.

Based on her correspondence with older residents of Taoyuans Taoshan Village (), where bear No. 711 had been stealing food, Hwang said that people are relatively tolerant of black bears.

However, some people are afraid of them and lack sufficient knowledge, so without education about how to manage the threat, residents have failed to notify authorities or take appropriate measures, such as clearing food or pruning vegetation around farmland, to prevent black bear encroachment, she said.

This is likely the first case of human-bear conflict that has gained considerable attention from people, conservation groups and the media, Hwang said. I hope the authorities will communicate with the public in a professional, wise and patient manner to create a beneficial balance between humans and bears, and establish a model for Formosan black bear conservation.

This place is our traditional land, but it is also the black bears traditional land, Hwang quoted a resident as saying. This understanding is the precondition for living and thriving together.

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Expert urges better protection of bears -

IOWA CITY Some 70 to 80 years ago in the days of Nile Kinnick, Tennessee Williams and Virgil Hancher the University of Iowas School of Art and Art History began hosting exhibitions and collecting contemporary works, including Max Beckmanns Karneval and the swirling abstraction that is Jackson Pollocks Mural.

The UI opened its first Museum of Art in 1969, expanded it in 1976 and for decades featured and grew its collections until torrential flooding devastated the campus and its exhibition space in 2008.

Staffers and volunteers managed to save most of the artwork although hundreds of pieces and objects needed treatment in the aftermath. But administrators determined the swamped building couldnt again house the campus famed collections, and they began angling for a safer space.

Unlike other flood damaged UI buildings, however, the old museum deemed viable for other purposes didnt qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency funds. So while the fragmented UI collection jumped from traveling exhibits to temporary housing in the Iowa Memorial Union or the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, administrators initiated creative pursuits to finance a new museum.

The path forward wasnt immediately clear. And it has curved along the way like in 2015, after the UI entered a public-private partnership to construct a new museum on leased property near downtown.

UIs then-new President Bruce Harreld scrapped the plan and charged his team to come up with a less-expensive option. It did, and in early 2016 the university pitched construction on a UI-owned plot near the Main Library, an idea that quickly won Board of Regents approval.

Aiming to finance half the $50 million effort with private donations, the UI received a big boost in 2017 with a $10 million gift from Dick and Mary Jo Stanley earning the couple naming rights for the new Stanley Museum of Art.

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The 60,000-square-foot, three-story project celebrated a ceremonial groundbreaking in summer 2019, starting construction that fall with plans to finish in 2022.

Should the museum materialize on time, the achievement will be a long time coming after years of changing costs, locations, construction plans and schedules.

When the Stanley gift was announced, the university had planned to begin construction in 2018 and finish by 2020. Before that, in 2016, the project had been planned to wrap up by 2019 in time to mark the UI Museum of Arts 50th anniversary.

But now that debate over the site, size, scope, schedule, cost and funding has subsided, even a historic pandemic hasnt slowed progress, said UI Art Museum Director Lauren Lessing.

The construction has gone smoothly, and there have been no significant delays due to COVID, she told The Gazette. The building is scheduled to be completed in December 2021, after which it will need to be conditioned, giving construction materials time to off-gas for several months and letting the HVAC system flush the interior before the collection is moved in.

Because of those special needs, the museum remains slated for public opening in fall 2022.

A webcam documenting live progress on the re-imagined art home overlooking the Iowa River although sitting outside the 500-year flood plain by 4 feet shows a buzzing hive of activity.

A recent UI building update reported much of the work is happening inside the now-enclosed building shell with workers as of December installing 6,500 linear feet of ductwork weighing 70,000 pounds. On tap is installation of drywall and plywood for second-floor galleries.

The project has passed the 60 percent completion mark, according to the UI update, noting the finished product will boast 16,500 square feet of exhibition space and 2,200 square feet of outdoor gallery space.

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The building will accommodate all the UI art collection allowing a sort of homecoming after so many nomadic years. Among the long-awaited returns to campus is Pollocks Mural which has attracted hundreds of thousands of eyes internationally over its years away from UI.

It will be on display in one of the second-floor galleries, an update on the Pollocks future in Iowa City says.

In the interim, though, collections will remain in their temporary locations with Mural currently at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. And given COVID-19 the UI has created several online programs aimed at sustaining connection with a wide range of audiences.

Many of these will continue in the new building, Lessing said, elaborating on one example of a successful online pivot.

The UIs art education program for seniors, Connected for Life, was among a small percentage of applicants to receive a federal CARES Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to recreate and expand the program online.

We are particularly proud that we are able to continue serving this important audience that has been so affected by COVID-19, Lessing said.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com

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Pandemic hasn't curtailed progress on University of Iowa Museum of Art - The Gazette

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Repair phones, tablets, computers, and more with this #1 best-selling precision kit at under $11 - 9to5Toys