Replanting coastal forests destroyed by last December’s tsunami sounds like a good idea — especially if they protect against future storms. But such plans need nurturing if they are to succeed, Erika Check discovers. On a cloudy, humid day last month, 250 people gathered near the beach in the small Indonesian village of Kajhu. Local…
SEVERAL residents associations and Rukun Tetangga sectors in Petaling Jaya have been roped in to help in monitoring water quality at lakes in Taman Aman, Section 19 and Bukit Kiara. Test kits for the purpose were presented to them on Saturday following a talk on river rehabilitation by Global Environment Centre (GEC) senior programme officer…
Editor’s summary: A study released in late October shows that areas buffered by coastal forests, like mangroves, were less damaged by the 2004 tsunami than areas without tree vegetation. Last week the FAO reported that 20% of the world’s mangrove forests have disappeared since 1980. (27-Oct-2005) A new study released today in the journal Science…
KAMPALA, Nov. 15 (Xinhuanet) — Wetlands, an essential part of the earth’s ecosystem got more spotlight as delegates from 147 countries convened in Ugandan capital Kampala for the past week onhow to protect and wisely use its resources. Experts, conservationists and policy makers ended up the meeting with call for more efforts to protect wetlands,…
Finn Danielsen,1* Mikael K. Sørensen,2 Mette F. Olwig,2 Vaithilingam Selvam,3 Faizal Parish,4 Neil D. Burgess,5,6 Tetsuya Hiraishi,7 Vagarappa M. Karunagaran,3 Michael S. Rasmussen,2 Lars B. Hansen,2 Alfredo Quarto,8 Nyoman Suryadiputra9 The scale of the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was almost unprecedented. In areas with the maximum tsunami intensity, little could have prevented catastrophic coastal destruction. Further away, however, areas with coastal tree vegetation…
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 (Bernama) — Environmental groups have lauded the government’s move to allocate a whopping RM1.9 billion to preserve the nation’s environment. Of the RM1.9 billion allocated, RM1.3 billion was for solid waste management, Global Environment Centre Director Faizal Parish said Friday. He said the move was timely as solid waste was the…
(AP) – KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia-Mangroves that bore the brunt of last year’s tsunami in Indonesia and other places have been replaced with hurriedly and improperly planted trees that may wither soon and leave coastal communities vulnerable, experts warned Tuesday. Saplings were planted in areas where their survival is precarious because species have been wrongly matched…
Yet another Non-Governmental Organisation has been launched here and this time to save a green lung in Kelana Jaya. The “Friends of Kelana Jaya Park” was launched to ask the State Government to gazette the Taman Tasik Bandaran Kelana Jaya as a recreational park. The Friends of Kelana Jaya Park was launched by Petaling Jaya…
SAFELY hidden among the peaks and valleys of Bukit Kiara’s recreational park in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) is the Sungai Penchala, which we have set out to discover. We do not know what to expect as we drive past the commercial area of TTDI compact with its eateries, the infamous wet market and office…
Repairing the ecosystems damaged by the Asian tsunami should be a priority, say environmental organizations, if the longterm livelihood of devastated communities is to be secured. They are urging the international community to ensure that marine parks are maintained, some communities are shifted inland, and defensive buffer zones of mangrove are planted against future erosion…