April 29, 2009 
That’s right. Things are back to normal again at Pulau Hantu after a month of great visibility in March. Finally the water has gotten worthy of its namesake and is once again MUCKY! It wasn’t easy taking the above picture of myself. The camera kept focusing on the particles floating in the 2 feet of water between my face and the lens!
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April 23, 2009 
The Draft Blue Plan is a proposal to the Government and people of Singapore from the members and organizations that form “International Year of the Reef (IYOR) 2008 Singapore” – interested members of civil society concerned about the conservation and management of Singapore’s coral reef heritage. Contributions and advice from the leading marine biologists in Singapore have been incorporated. It was released on 23 April 2009. Members of the Public can download a copy of the Draft Blue Plan here.
Comments and suggestions from members of public are invited. You may email us at blueplan.singapore@gmail.com before the closing date, 14 May 2009. The Blue Plan will presented to the Government with the collated and edited comments in late May 2009.
Please note that blueplan.singapore@gmail.com is designed to receive emails only. While we will give every opinion/comment due consideration, due to human resource constraints, we are unable to respond to queries and may not be able to include every comment into the final Blue Plan due to editorial considerations. Please contact the Marine Conservation Organisations Listed in Annexes B & C of the Draft Blue Plan if you are keen to find out more about the wide range of activites and programmes that are being organised. We apologize for this inconvenience.
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March 31, 2009 I hope you got lots of time of your hands because this is going to be a long post! Even if you haven’t got much time, I promise that if you look through this post it’s going to be extremely worth your while. Better yet, it might convince you to drop us an email to book yourself a place and come diving with us. Thank you for your support all these years! More than just diving, we hope that the more is known and understood about this island and our reefs, the better our capacity to protect it. [above: asian bornella]
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March 31, 2009 As a prelude to the blog post from our Fifth Anniversary dive, here’s an assortment of videos from the waters of Pulau Hantu.
Yellow prawn-goby
Six banded Angelfish
Janss’ pipefish
Blue-speckled prawn-goby
Flatworms penis fencing
Java rabbitfish
Reef cuttlefish
More reef cuttlefish
Even more reef cuttlefish!
Tomato clown Anemonefish
Star puffer
Peacock anemone
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March 25, 2009 
Yesterday the Hantu Blog commemorated 5 years of show casing local waters by going on the air with 938 Living Room host Pamela Ho. It was a fun 15 min on the air with Pam who’s also a diver. She visited Pulau Hantu several years ago and had heaps of questions about local marine life before the show started and kept them coming even after the show ended! It was such a pleasure to have the live interview with someone who’s so curious and eager to learn about what local waters have to offer.
“My friend went diving in Pulau Hantu and they said they saw a Giant barracuda! One of those big ones!” She exclaims first off the air, then reiterates when they mics are on.
This is the 3rd time that The Hantu Blog has gone on the air with 938 LIVE, and radio has certainly proved to be a very effective medium for promoting the work of the blog and to discuss the biodiversity of local waters with some listeners who might not actively go out to seek such information.
The first time we went on the air, The Hantu Blog received a total of 4000 hits at our website over 2 hours! It was mind blowing!
To think that several years back, we’d be calling up friends to fill up our dive boats because there weren’t enough people who knew about us or who were convinced that there was any good diving in Singapore, fast forward to today where we are booked out 3 months in advance and refusing people still… I think we’ve certainly come a long way.
Things can only get better for local marine areas and coasts because of the collective effort and immense energies that are being channelled to educate and inspire the older and newer generations. And with increasing global awareness about the need to protect and safeguard the future of our environment, I look forward to seeing the future.
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February 23, 2009
This Carpet eel-blenny was spotted by diver Lam Pei Min on Sunday’s dive at Pulau Hantu. When first spotted it kept still and remained cautious but within a couple of seconds, it began sneaking its way around the rock where it found a hole in the reef. It stood there and gazed into the hole and seemed ready to strike forward should something emerge. Perhaps it wasn’t very patient because it didn’t take long for it to continue scouting around the same boulder where it was spotted, for something new to get busy with.
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February 23, 2009 
Reef goby
The first dive of 2009 was a cold one! At least underwater it was! Above sea level, the temperature out at Hantu was a scorching 35degC at noon!
Ceratosoma nudibranch (juvenile)
With a boat full of divers and a volunteer trainee (very exciting times indeed!) we got down to the depths to send our New Year greetings to our little finned friends on the reef. With it being the tail end of the monsoon season, and that dive season is still closed in most areas around the region, Hantu’s reef has had little time to rest with local divers finding their way to local waters to conduct courses. We hope who divers take their dive courses at Hantu realise the value of our local reefs and don’t forget them once they’ve been certified.
Carpet eel-blenny
What we’ve forgotten or missed for awhile is the splendour that Hantu can be sometimes! Today’s reef was dotted with all sorts of interesting creatures and an array of nudibranches!
Glossodoris nudibranch: This beautiful nudibranch is a real treat for divers in local waters. Its beauty is just breath-taking. 5 years ago I went all the way to Sulawesi to find this critter. Who'd have thought I'd be able to say I can see it at home too. What pride!
Ceratosoma nudibranches were sticking out behind every rock and on top of the silty sea bed surface. I ran into veteran Hantu Blog diver Chay Hoon at one point during the first dive to ask her if she’d seen a Ceratosoma, she wrote down on my slate where I could go to find it. I said thanks, turned around, and there was one! Right underneath my nose! Sometimes things show up when you’re not looking for them.
Tigertail seahorse
Then on the second dive it was one seahorse after another. Small ones, white ones, brown ones, yellow ones, but whatever their appearance, they all had the diagnostic striped tail that telltale of their species.
Tiger cowrie
It was a big reunion with all the reef critters. It’s been a LONG time since we’ve seen so many creatures out at once. total variety of animals we saw today was an amalgamation of animals we’ve seen over about 4 years. So it was a really special dive, and a lucky one for first timers!
Go to our gallery to see the rest of the pictures. I seem to be able to look at them over and over again!
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February 13, 2009 Is a reef better than a barrage for the Severn?
Peter Bunyard 10/02/2009
The Severn Estuary, earmarked as a potentially huge source of energy, has been met with increasing concerns over serious environmental damage. A report from 2008 by Frontier Economics found that justification for the Severn Barrage is slim – both economically speaking and on environmental grounds. Peter Bunyard takes a look at an innovative solution that has similarities with a tidal reef.
The Severn estuary has long attracted the attention of engineers and various governments, who see the ebb and flow of its tides – reckoned to be third highest tidal range in the world – as a potential major contributor to the UK’s use of renewable energy. By building a barrage across the estuary, engineers estimate that the seven to eight metre average tidal range could provide up to 2 gigawatts of energy, equivalent to some 17,000 gigawatt-hours of electrical energy per year. This would therefore make an extremely useful or indeed necessary component of the UK’s renewable energy mix, given concerns that greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels in power plants must be eliminated over the next 40 years.
Yet, since the Severn Barrage scheme, with an estimated cost of £15,000 million, was first proposed many decades back, it has triggered environmental concerns among a wide range of groups. A 2008 report, commissioned from Frontier Economics by the RSPB, WWF-UK, the Anglers’ Conservation Association, the National Trust, as well as fishery interests, such as the Wye Salmon Fishery Owners’ Group, concluded that the costs of the barrage could not be justified on economic grounds, let alone on the grounds of the environmental devastation that its construction and operation would cause.
In its final form, and after a massive undertaking, the Severn Barrage would not only have to be big enough to extract the potential energy from the tidal head of some 8 or more metres, but it would have to cope with powerful weather events, such as storm surges, and even sea level rise, now projected to be rising faster than estimated a few years ago. In essence electricity would be generated by a series of 40 megawatt underwater turbines during both extremes of the tide, thereby putting a considerable strain on the central grid which would somehow have to balance a single point surge in generation with demand twice over the course of 24 hours.
As pointed out in the Frontier Economics report, the barrage would lead inevitably to the loss of hundreds of square kilometres of mudflats and salt marsh – home to waders and other coastal birds, as well as to a host of migratory species. Furthermore, on account of the delay in the natural tidal rhythm from penning in the water and then from the surge of water over each of the turbines when the gates were opened, its construction and use would alter drastically the currents in the estuary, playing havoc with the deposition of silt and having a profound impact on estuarine life, including fisheries and salmon runs.
Cornish hydraulics engineer Rupert Armstrong Evans believes the Cardiff-Weston Barrage across the Severn Estuary (as currently planned) to be massively ill-conceived. Instead, he has proposed a substantially different concept that he claims would generate as much electricity, but far more steadily than the big barrage and which would simultaneously have a much reduced environmental impact, in particular in leaving most of the mudflats and salt marsh intact.
Having pioneered electronic control systems that revolutionised the use of mini-hydro in the 1970s, and having installed low-head hydraulic turbines which he designed for use in different parts of the world, from Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, to Nepal, India and South America, Armstrong Evans has come up with the innovative idea of a structure that has parallels with a tidal reef and so is designed to extract the energy from no more than two metres of tidal head.
In his tidal reef concept, Rupert has proposed a semi-floating set of caissons to stretch across the Severn Estuary, thereby avoiding the massive high head structure implied in the construction of the Severn Barrage. The fundamental difference between the barrage and reef is that, in the latter, the 1000 turbines of some 10 metres in diameter would be housed within the floating caissons, themselves designed to ride over a fixed base structure on the estuary floor. By using a moveable ‘crest gate’ to track the tide level and therefore to maintain a small head difference, irrespective of the stage of the tide, the turbines would operate for long periods, and for at least double the generation period compared to the proposed big barrage. In addition, the reef would be far less vulnerable under adverse conditions than the barrage, on account of its smaller size and lower operating ‘head’. In that respect, storm surges would easily top the structure rather than battering it, as would be the case for the barrage.
On account of the structure being more modest than the barrage, the saving on rock fill alone would amount to more than 10 million tonnes. At the same time, the passage of ships would be easier, as a single gate, similar in principal to the Thames Barrier, would allow the passage of even the largest ships with minimal disruption. This is only possible because of the small head difference across the structure. This system would also avoid the need to dredge a new deep-water shipping channel.
As Rupert points out, migratory fish should have no problems navigating the slow-moving turbines, and with the low head required any changes to the estuary flows will be significantly reduced, causing far less impact on the mud banks and salt marshes than would the barrage. Moreover, the time taken to construct the reef would be considerably less than for the barrage and Rupert refers to an excellent precedent in the construction of the Mulberry Harbour floating dock that was put together for the D-day Normandy landings. The various pieces of the dock were built in six months, before being successfully installed under enemy fire.
He has had the backing of WS Atkins, the international engineering consultant which, in 2008, declared, Rupert’s Reef Scheme, would not only generate more electricity but would cost considerably less – some £2,000 million less – while simultaneously avoiding the worst environmental aspects of the Severn Barrage.
In the face of mounting concerns over the ecological damage which would result from constructing the barrage across the Severn estuary, Rupert’s reef scheme has met with the approval of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Furthermore, the government has just announced that it believes the ‘Severn Tidal Power Reef’ project to have merit, and is to commit financial support towards its future development, thereby postponing, at least for a year, any decision as to which project it gives the go-ahead.
Peter Bunyard is the science editor of the Ecologist magazine, and a widely published freelance author and environmentalist. He has worked as consultant editor for the United Nations Environment Programme review on Industry and the Environment, and was secretary and editor of the Committee for the Study of Nuclear Economics. A fellow of the Linnean Society, he has conducted field work in the Colombian Amazon on the role of rainforests in global warming.
main photo: An overview of a small barrage built seaward off the Severn road crossing from the Severn Tidal Power Consultation website
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February 13, 2009 BLOG: The Carteret Islanders
Dan Box 12/02/2009
Lying off the coast of Papua New Guinea, the Carteret Islands are slowly being engulfed by a rising sea. Follow Dan Box’s weekly blog as he journeys to meet the Carteret Islanders – the first people to be officially labelled as climate change refugees.
On the morning of August 20, 1767, the crews of two canoes out on a fishing expedition from the Carteret Islands in the South Pacific became the first men to discover a European. It didn’t go well.
Most likely, the Islanders were far more surprised than the object of their discovery, a British sailor, Captain Philip Carteret, whose ship Swallow was half-way through a four-year voyage around the world. Sadly, we will never know what they thought. This first meeting between the two tribes ended in a fire fight, after which Carteret stole all their coconuts. Pausing only to name their islands after himself, Carteret then sailed on and into the minor footnotes of British exploration.
Reading Carteret’s own account of his voyage, last published in 1811, in the Foyle Reading Room of the Royal Geographic Society, I was struck by the fact he makes no mention of whether any of the Islanders survived this encounter. Armed only with flint-tipped spears and arrows against muskets, I think we can assume things went badly. For his part, Carteret writes only that “hostilities being thus commenced we seized their canoe, in which we found about an hundred cocao-nuts, which were very acceptable.”
In his defence, the captain should not really be blamed for this oversight. He was simply the product of a worldview in which the lives of a few foreigners were seen as an irrelevance next to the advance of European progress. I mention this now because today, a little over 200 years later, the Carteret Islanders are on the receiving end of the same mistaken ignorance.
Today, the people of the Carteret Islands are preparing for an evacuation. Clustered together within a coral atoll east of Papua New Guinea (PNG), the islands lie low above the ocean that surrounds them. As climate change causes sea levels to rise, their crops and wells of fresh water have been poisoned by salt, and one island has been entirely cut in half by the waves. As a result, the PNG regional government has decided to evacuate the entire 1000-strong population to Bougainville, an island 50 miles away across the open sea. This will make the Islanders the world’s first people to officially be evacuated because of climate change.
Yet, in the West, no one seems to even know they are there.
I first heard about the Carterets in November 2005, when the evacuation was announced. I was working for The Australian newspaper at the time and tore the article out, pinning it to the wall above my desk. This was important, I told myself. A signal moment in human history. The first wave in what will soon become a flood of climate change refugees. Someone should be there to witness it. Over the next couple of years, as I moved desks around the office, that article followed me. Watching me as I worked.
Since that November, little progress has been made on lifting the Islanders to safety. Last week the woman organising the evacuation, Ursula Rakova wrote to me saying this:
We have great difficulties with finance but we have some land secured in 2 locations.
Money is very hard in coming though, for purchase of land, survey and building homes for the families. Most crucial aspects that not too many donors wish to support, I am afraid. Our work on the relocation site is on going but we’re not getting enough financial support as expected.
Yes, we will be moving only 5 families in March and hopefully 20 by October if the funds come in. Thank you so much.
Ursula
It seems we are ignoring our destruction of these people.
I hope this situation can be changed and, to achieve this, I will be travelling to the Islands. I have received funding from the Royal Geographical Society and BBC ‘Journey of a Lifetime Award’ and plan to be there when the first boats leave and, hopefully, to join the Islanders on this journey for their lives. In a way, I am repeating Carteret’s four-year voyage. Except I will be travelling mostly by plane, so food will be slightly worse.
Throughout both the preparation and the journey itself, I will be blogging weekly for The Ecologist, and daily on a dedicated blog. I believe that the least we can do is bear witness to what is happening – to accept our collective responsibility for it. My hope is that we can help raise the funding the Islanders desperately need. I hope you will join me. Together, we may in some small way address the wrong begun over two centuries ago.
Dan Box will be blogging live on his journey to the Carteret Islands at www.journeytothesinkinglands.wordpress.com
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February 10, 2009 Friends of the Earth International has launched its annual photo competition, which will gather photos from around the world on the theme of “Biodiversity Lost, Biodiversity Preserved”.
The best shots will be featured in a series of materials we will launch in conjunction with the 2010 UN International Year of Biodiversity, including a calendar and an international photo exhibition.
We are looking for photos that reflect and celebrate the importance of biodiversity to people everywhere. We are seeking photos that capture what is being lost, and what the natural world provides: livelihoods, shelter, food and medicine, recreation, beauty, inspiration and joy, for a start.
Our competition is free and open to everyone, and we particularly encourage young people, women, and people living in the developing world to enter.
The deadline for entries is 1 April 2009 (not a joke!), but we appreciate receiving photos as soon as possible.
The judges will choose a total of 12 winning photographs as well as three “popular choice” photo per category. The winning photos will be announced in mid-April. Photos, both winning and non-winning, may also used for other Friends of the Earth publications and materials, in which case the photographers name, e-mail address and/or website will be displayed.
There are cash prizes for the winners: 400 euros for the first-place photos; 200 euros for the second-place photos; and 100 euros for the third-place photos.
Examples: logging; mining; large-scale fishing; climate change; desertification; plantations (including agrofuels, large-scale agriculture and GM crops); commercialization of biodiversity and biopiracy; urban and rural development and transport projects; etc.
Examples: native species and ecosystems; small-scale, local, organic agriculture; community and indigenous forest and biodiversity management; cultural identity; seed-saving; green spaces like parks and gardens; etc.
This year’s panel of judges will include:
* Akintunde Akinleye, first-place winner World Press Photo 2007, from Nigeria
website: www.akintunde1.com
* Peter Menzel, US photojournalist and author of “Hungry Planet: What The World Eats”
website: www.menzelphoto.com
* Daniel Beltrá (Spain, based in Seattle), environmental and nature photography specialist and winner of the 2007 World Press Photo prize for his work on soy plantations and Amazon deforestation
website: www.danielbeltra.com
* Bangladeshi photographer G.M.B. Akash, first-place winner of the 2006 FoEI photo competition
website: www.gmb-akash.com
* Indian photographer Shantanu Das, first-place winner of the 2007 FoEI photo competition.
www.foei.org/en/photo
You can see the winners of last year’s competition at:
http://www.foei.org/en/get-involved/photo/winners2008
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