Heres what you need to know:

. . . the YM Wish.

Thats the name of the first ship to transit through the Suez Canal almost a week after a colossal cargo vessel navigating the waterway zigged when it should have zagged (though perhaps going straight would have been even better) and wedged itself tight into the side.

The YM Wish is a 1,207-foot-long Hong Kong-flagged container ship, and it exited the canal about 9:15 p.m. headed for the Red Sea and Jeddah.

The vessel may have made it through the Suez Canal without mishap, but it had little reason to gloat, notes our colleague reporting from Egypt, Vivian Yee.

Six years ago, VesselFinder.com reported, the YM Wish ran aground in the Elbe River in Germany. In that case, however, it took less than a day to get the vessel afloat again.

And with that this live briefing will come to a close.

The mammoth cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal was wrenched from the shoreline and finally set free on Monday, raising hopes that one of the worlds most vital maritime routes would quickly rebound and limit the fallout of a disruption that had paralyzed billions of dollars in global trade.

Within hours, other ships awaiting transit through the 120-mile-long waterway that connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas, waylaid for nearly a week, fired up their engines and began moving again.

Salvage teams, working on land and water for six days and nights, were ultimately assisted by forces more powerful than any machine rushed to the scene: the moon and the tides.

The ship, the quarter-mile-long Ever Given, was ultimately set free at around 3 p.m., according to shipping officials. Horns blared in celebration as images emerged on social media of the ship once again on the move.

We pulled it off! Peter Berdowski, chief executive of Royal Boskalis Westminster, a Dutch maritime salvage company hired by the vessels owner, said in a statement.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt celebrated the moment on Twitter, writing that Egyptians have succeeded today in ending the crisis of the stuck ship in the Suez Canal despite the great complexities surrounding this situation in every aspect.

Early Monday, the stern of the Ever Given was clearly free from land, but it was some hours before it was certain that the ships bulbous bow had been successfully pulled from the mud and muck on the banks of the canal.

Salvage crews had worked around a schedule largely dictated by the tides: working to make progress during the six hours it would take for the water to go from low point to high.

A full moon on Sunday gave the salvager an especially promising 24-hour window to work in, with a few extra inches of tidal flow providing a vital assist.

Throughout the night on Sunday and into Monday, tugboats worked in coordination with dredgers to return the 220,000-ton vessel to the water.

Then, just before dawn, the ship slowly regained buoyancy.

It was a turning point in one of the largest and most intense salvage operations in modern history, with the smooth functioning of the global trading system hanging in the balance.

The army of machine operators, engineers, tugboat captains, and other salvage operators knew they were in a race against time. Each day of blockage put global supply chains another day closer to a full-blown crisis.

Vessels packed with the worlds goods including cars, oil, livestock and laptops usually flow through the canal with ease, supplying much of the globe as they traverse the quickest path from Asia and the Middle East to Europe and the East Coast of the United States.

With concerns that the salvage operation could take weeks, some ships decided not to wait, turning to take the long way around the southern tip of Africa, a voyage that can add weeks to the journey and more than $26,000 a day in fuel costs.

Each bit of progress in moving the ship over the weekend was celebrated by the workers on the canal, with tugboat horns blaring and shouts of joy often echoing in the desert dark.

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[horn blowing]

The company that oversees the ships operations and crew, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, said 11 tugboats had helped, with two joining the struggle on Sunday. Several dredgers, including a specialized suction dredger that can extract 2,000 cubic meters of material per hour, dug around the vessels bow, the company said.

Teams of divers inspected the hull throughout the operation and found no damage, officials said. The ship was to be inspected again after it was freed.

Assisted by a flotilla of tugboats, the ship was towed north to the Great Bitter Lake, the widest part of the canal, so it could be further inspected and so delayed traffic could once gain flow smoothly.

Leth Agencies, a shipping services provider that specializes in canal passages, said on Twitter that with the Ever Given now safely out of the way, 43 other vessels awaiting southbound transit at Great Bitter Lake had resumed their voyages toward the Red Sea end of the canal.

Praising the salvagers who freed the cargo vessel Ever Given six days after it grounded, the head of the Egyptian agency that runs the Suez Canal said Monday night that traffic had resumed in both directions of the crucial maritime passageway.

But Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, put the cost to Egypt of the disruption at between $12 million and $15 million a day, and said an investigation would determine who was responsible for paying it.

The Suez Canal is not at fault, General Rabie told reporters at a news conference in Ismailia, a city at the 120-mile-long canals halfway point. We have been harmed by the incident.

As of 6 p.m. local time less than three hours after the Ever Given was refloated traffic paralyzed by the ship had resumed moving, General Rabie said.

He said the ship had been moved north to the Great Bitter Lake, the widest part of the canal, where inspectors will examine it for possible damage. Thank God, there were no deaths, injuries, or leaks, General Rabie said. All engines are working.

More than 300 ships were prevented from transiting the canal after the Ever Given was beached last week, its quarter-mile length blocking the waterway.

We will work day and night to clear the ships and end the congestion, General Rabie said.

A Taiwanese company operates the quarter-mile-long Ever Given. An Indian crew staffs it. A Panamanian flag flies over it. And Dutch and Egyptian salvagers helped pull it from the shallows of the Suez Canal where the vessel was beached for nearly a week.

But it was Japans largest shipbuilder that constructed the vessel and owns it and will most likely bear the enormous cost of the disruption it caused.

The Ever Given, part of the Taiwanese-based Evergreen Line, is owned by a subsidiary of Imabari Shipbuilder, a private company founded in 1901 and based in Ehime, on Japans southern island of Shikoku. The subsidiary, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., founded in 1962, has a client base that includes companies in Belgium, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.

Yukito Higaki, the president of Imabari, expressed confidence last Friday that the Ever Given would be refloated by the weekend, a prediction that proved somewhat optimistic.

In an interview with the Ehime Shimbun, a local newspaper, Mr. Higaki also said the subsidiary was likely to bear the cost of salvage and repair.

Those costs have yet to be determined.

But the head of the Suez Canal Authority, which helped oversee the freeing of the vessel, said Egypt had suffered losses of between $12 million and $15 million a day because of the blockage.

The Ever Given is one of 13 container ships constructed from a design by Imabari. The company, facing big competition from rivals in China and South Korea, formed a joint venture with two other Japanese shipbuilders last year.

It does appear to be having a run of bad luck.

A sister megaship of the Ever Given, the Ever Gentle, was damaged in an incident this past weekend in Taipei, according to a report by the Maritime Bulletin, a news service. A crane struck the Ever Gentles funnel, or smokestack, crumpling it.

Despite the damage, the Ever Gentle later departed Taipei for Yantian, China, the report said.

The six days that the Suez Canal was closed to traffic might have seemed endless to the sailors stranded at either end of the passage, but tell that the crews of the so-called Yellow Fleet.

In the aftermath of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, 14 commercial vessels were marooned in the canal for eight years.

The war, which broke out in June of that year, lasted only six days. But the Egyptian authorities closed the canal and ordered the 14 vessels to anchor in the widest part, known as Great Bitter Lake.

With Egyptian forces on the western side of the canal and Israelis on the eastern side, the waterway essentially became a cease-fire line between two enemy armies.

Time passed, the yellow sands of the desert coated the hulls of the trapped ships, and eventually the Yellow Fleet was born.

Even had the vessels captains wanted to defy the Egyptian orders and exit the canal, it was not possible. Egypts armed forces mined parts of the waterway.

Eventually, the crew members who came from Britain, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, France, Poland, Sweden, West Germany and the United States, among other places were allowed to evacuate and go home. And Egypt allowed the shipowners, who worried that the vessels would languish and rust without regular upkeep, to deploy rotating maintenance crews aboard.

The crew members had a lot of spare hours on their hands and spent a considerable number of them drinking, some later recalled. One captain wrote that 1.5 million empty beer bottles might have been dumped into the water, musing about what future archaeologists in a few thousand years time will think of this.

Worried about the alcohol consumption, the captains organized what they called the Great Bitter Lake Association, which essentially became a mini-community of merchant sailors from all over the world. They visited one another, turned lifeboats into sailboats for regattas and hosted weekly events on one anothers ships.

The Polish vessel had a doctor and became the sick bay. The Swedish ship was the athletic center, because it had a gym. The association members even created their own insignia and postage stamp. Their story was chronicled in a book, Stranded in the Six-Day War, by Cath Senker, a British author and educator.

Despite the efforts to keep the ships seaworthy, the vessels deteriorated over time and had to be towed out of the canal when Egypt finally reopened it in 1975.

Oil prices fell Monday morning as word spread that the giant cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal had been set free, raising hopes that hundreds of vessels, many carrying oil and petroleum products, could soon proceed through the critical waterway.

Oil prices had swirled earlier in the day, as prospects of an end to the logjam brightened, and then dimmed. But following the announcement that the containership Ever Given had been freed, the price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell about 2.5 percent, to $63.90 a barrel.

Since the vessel got stuck early last week, tankers have been lining up at the entrances to the canal waiting to deliver their cargoes to Europe and Asia.

The Suez Canal is a crucial choke point for oil shipping, but so far the impact on the oil market of this major interruption of trade flows has been relatively muted. Though prices jumped after shipping on the canal was halted, oil prices still remain below their nearly two-year highs of about $70 a barrel reached earlier this month.

Traders are now expected to focus on broader threats to the oil market, including whether the imposition of new lockdowns in Europe may hold back the recovery of oil demand from the pandemic.

From a global perspective, oil supplies are considered adequate, and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers, the group known as OPEC Plus, are withholding an estimated eight million barrels a day, or about 9 percent of current consumption, from the market. Officials from OPEC Plus are expected to meet by video conference on Thursday to discuss whether to ease output cuts.

Among the assorted exports waiting to pass the Suez Canal is one that may have a more urgent deadline: tens of thousands of livestock packed into vessels that are running out of rations.

Even with the resumed voyage of the Ever Given, the cargo ship that had accidentally beached in the canal and blocked the waterway for nearly a week before it was freed on Monday, the risk to the livestock aboard other vessels remains high.

As of Monday, about 20 vessels in the canal were carrying livestock, said MarineTraffic, a global ship tracking site. Those ships, mostly from Romania but also Spain and South America, could have up to 200,000 animals aboard, estimated Animals International, an animal welfare organization that has investigated conditions aboard such vessels.

They are dying as we speak, said Gabriel Paun, the European director for Animals International. Ships typically contain a few days of food and water for the journey, but with some having left more than two weeks ago, those rations would be depleting. Any day of delay is adding unnecessary suffering and, subsequently, death.

The livestock vessels had been bound for Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, according to MarineTraffic, and Egyptian officials have delivered emergency feed to some vessels to support them.

Romanian veterinary and food and safety authority officials said on Monday that 11 vessels were transporting 105,727 sheep and 1,613 cattle, and that if the vessels remained delayed, other options were under consideration, including unloading the animals in nearby ports or returning them to Romania.

We have contacted the competent authorities in Egypt, as well as transporters and business operators, and measures have been undertaken in order to supplement the quantities of feed on the livestock vessels where is needed, the Romanian veterinary and food and safety authority said in an emailed statement.

But conditions were likely to be deteriorating, said Mr. Paun, adding that hygiene on such vessels was poor, with animals packed together in their own excrement. The best way forward, he said, would be for officials to give vessels with livestock aboard priority. Every hour matters. Every hour saves lives. We all know that they go to death, but it is about unnecessarily suffering.

Spanish agricultural ministry officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Spain has said that no ships bound for Saudi Arabia or Jordan would be loaded with livestock until the canal cleared, and Mr. Paun said that Romania had also temporarily suspended live exports.

It is not the first time the shipping of livestock along the route has drawn concern: In 2019, almost all of the 14,000 sheep aboard a vessel bound for Saudi Arabia died after it capsized outside the Port of Midia in Romania.

From the outset, when winds of more than 70 miles per hour whipped up the sands surrounding the Suez Canal into a blinding storm and the Ever Given ran aground, the forces of nature have played an outsize role in the drama that has disrupted the free flow of goods and oil around the planet.

Since the 1,300-foot cargo ship laden with nearly 20,000 containers found itself wedged in the single lane of the canal, salvage teams have had to calculate complicated questions regarding not just engineering and physics, but also meteorology and earth science.

And no natural phenomenon has been as critical as the tides.

The rising and falling of the sea is a phenomenon upon which we can always depend, according to the National Ocean Service, which is part of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Tides are the regular rise and fall of the sea surface caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun and their position relative to the earth.

The tides are constant, but they can rise higher and fall lower depending on the location of the sun and moon.

When the sun and moon are in alignment as was the case with the full moon on Sunday their combined gravitational pull results in exceptionally high tides, known as Spring Tides.

That is the case at the moment in the Suez, with water levels rising some 18 inches above normal.

High tides occur 12 hours and 25 minutes apart, according to NOAA. It takes six hours and 12.5 minutes for the water at the shore to go from high to low, or from low to high.

This is the window for salvage crews to free the Ever Given. Each time the tide rises, the 220,000-ton vessel stood a better chance of becoming buoyant, and the scores of tugboats used the tidal forces to help them in their struggle to free the ship.

But every time the tide fell, new stresses were put on the hull of the ship and the dangers increased.

The tidal flows in the Suez were at their peak Sunday and Monday, meaning it was a critical moment to finally free the ship

And by early afternoon, they had succeeded, with the ship once again fully afloat.

Even with the refloating of the Ever Given meaning the Suez Canal can soon reopen for business, shipping analysts cautioned that it will take time perhaps days for the hundreds of ships now waiting for passage to continue their journeys.

Shipping analysts estimated the traffic jam was holding up nearly $10 billion in trade every day.

All global retail trade moves in containers, or 90 percent of it, said Alan Murphy, the founder of Sea-Intelligence, a maritime data and analysis firm. Name any brand name, and they will be stuck on one of those vessels.

The Syrian government said over the weekend that it would begin rationing the use of fuel after the closure of the Suez Canal delayed the delivery of a critical shipment of oil to the war-torn nation.

And in Lebanon, which in recent months has been suffering blackouts amid an economic and political crisis, local news outlets were reporting that the countrys shaky fuel supply risked further disruption if the blockage continued.

With the backlog of ships now stuck outside the canal growing to over 300 on Sunday, the threat to the oil supplies in Lebanon and Syria was an early indication of how quickly the disruption to the smooth functioning of global trade could ripple outward.

Virtually every container ship making the journey from factories in Asia to consumer markets in Europe passes through the channel. So do tankers laden with oil and natural gas.

The shutdown of the canal is affecting as much as 15 percent of the worlds container shipping capacity, according to Moodys Investor Service, leading to delays at ports around the globe. Tankers carrying 9.8 million barrels of crude, about a tenth of a days global consumption, are now waiting to enter the canal, estimates Kpler, a firm that tracks petroleum shipping.

The Syrian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said the blockage of the canal had hindered the oil supplies to Syria and delayed arrival of a tanker carrying oil and oil derivations to Syria.

Rationing was needed, the ministry said in a statement, in order to guarantee the continued supply of basic services to Syrians such as bakeries, hospitals, water stations, communication centers, and other vital institutions.

What may well be the worlds biggest meme just got a little bigger.

A TikTok user named donut_enforcement has modified the popular Microsoft Flight Simulator game to nod to the Suez Canal mishap that has captured world attention over the past week.

It appears that we have a stuck cargo ship, a pilot observes during game play as an aerial view shows the cargo ship Ever Given wedged in a virtual Suez Canal, angled into the canal bank.

Read the original post:
With the Suez Canal Unblocked, the Worlds Commerce Resumes Its Course - The New York Times

A new 8.4-mile section of the SH 249 extension project, Section 1B of Segment 1, is now open to the public as of March 26, 2021 at 5:45 p.m. Section 1B stretches from FM 1488 in Magnolia to FM 1774 in Plantersville near Todd Mission and is a controlled-access tollway with intermittent frontage roads. Tolling will begin immediately upon opening the new section.

Section 1B is part of the larger $766.5 million SH 249 Extension Project. Once Complete, the new highway will cross through Montgomery and Grimes Counties and offer approximately 26 miles of new roadway from FM 1774 in Pinehurst to SH 105 near Navasota. The project has been funded through a combination of federal, state and local government funds and bond proceeds.

Segment 2 design and land clearing activities began in November 2018 and this segment is scheduled to open to the public in the winter of 2023. Segment 2 will extend from FM 1774 in Plantersville near Todd Mission to 105 near Navasota in Grimes County. Section 1A opened to the public Aug. 8, 2020 and is a controlled-access tollway with intermittent frontage roads that stretches from FM 1774 in Pinehurst to FM 1488 in Magnolia.

The SH 249 Extension Project is being built to provide a safer and more reliable corridor for the public by linking suburban communities with major roadways. The project is expected to have a lasting impact and enhance the communitys ability to access regional destinations.

For more information on the project, visit https://txsh249.com and follow the project on Facebook and Twitter at @TXSH249.

Read more:
New section of SH 249 opens | Navasota Examiner - The Navasota Examiner

Pierce Land Clearing, a highly referred land clearing company in Austin, TX, has recently emphasized why people should seek forestry mulching services for their properties.

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This group also added that professional forestry services could be carried out at any time of the year. Theland clearing company Austinaffirmed that the process could be carried out during chilly, hot, wet, or even dry seasons. This is because the process is versatile and easy.

Also, people should seek these services given that they prevent soil erosion. This is because the mulch keeps the soil intact hence minimizing the risk of erosion. Additionally, the services can minimize waste and reduce hauling costs in the long run.

About Pierce Land Clearing

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Media ContactCompany Name: Pierce Land ClearingContact Person: Taylor PierceEmail: Send EmailPhone: (254) 998-4468Address:900 Banister Ln Unit GCity: AustinState: TXCountry: United StatesWebsite: piercelandclearing.com/

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Pierce Land Clearing Stresses the Need to Seek Professional Forestry Mulching Services - Press Release - Digital Journal

SINGAPORE: Plots of land earmarked for the development of the Agri-Food Innovation Park in Kranji were "erroneously" cleared ahead of the conclusion of a commissioned study and a "stern warning" has been issued to the contractor involved, said JTC Corp on Tuesday (Feb 16).

In a statement, JTC referred to social media posts regarding the clearance of land at Kranji Road and Kranji Close, saying the area that had been cleared was earmarked for the development of the Agri-Food Innovation Park.

The Agri-Food Innovation Park is part of the Sungei Kadut Eco-District. About 18 hectares of land has been set aside for the first phase of development for the Agri-Food Innovation Park in the district to co-locate research and development, prototyping and high-tech farming operations such as indoor farming and aquaculture hatcheries.

As part of JTCs preparations to develop the Agri-Food Innovation Park, it had engaged an environmental specialist to carry out a biodiversity baseline study in December last year, and to work out an environmental monitoring and management plan for specified plots of land within the area, it said.

The study and the plan were expected to be completed around April, following which JTC would engage key stateholders, including nature groups, to discuss development plans, it said.

On Jan 13, however, JTC discovered during a site inspection that its contractor had erroneously begun clearing some plots of land prior to the conclusion of the baseline study and environmental monitoring plan for those areas, it said.

"Upon this discovery, JTC instructed the contractor to stop all clearing works immediately. Since then, no further clearing has taken place on site and the contractor has been issued a stern warning," it said.

In a separate statement, contractor Huationg said it has complied with JTC's instruction to stop all clearing works.

We apologise for the erroneous clearing of land and are working with JTC on ongoing investigations to determine the cause of this lapse, and to prevent future occurrences, said Huationg.

The company is also conducting an internal review and working with JTC to strengthen its project management processes, it added.

JTC said it "takes a very serious view of this incident" and is investigating how the error occurred before deciding whether further punitive measures need to be taken.

"Going forward, JTC will continue with the baseline study and environmental monitoring and management plan and will work closely with all relevant stakeholders, including URA, NParks, nature interest groups and the community, to ensure that the Sungei Kadut Eco-District redevelopment plans are carried out with due consultation and in an environmentally responsible and sensitive manner," it said.

The findings of the studies will be made public when ready, it added.

On Monday, the Nature Society Singapore shared a Facebook post showing cleared swathes of land in the area.

"This is a shocking and dreadful development in an important green area contiguous to the Rail Corridor," said Nature Society Singapore, referring to aerial shots of the area taken in May 2019 and February 2021.

The Sungei Kadut Eco-District is part of the Northern Agri-Tech and Food Corridor and is one of the nodes that will be connected via the 24km Rail Corridor. The land 15m to 20m to the left and right of the Rail Corridor has been "safeguarded to protect biodiversity within the belt of the existing forest", JTC said.

See original here:
Land earmarked for Agri-Food Innovation Park in Kranji 'erroneously' cleared: JTC - CNA

SINGAPORE:The error in clearing parts of the Kranji woodland area could undermine recent efforts by Singapore authorities to better engage nature groups, said conservation advocates who expressed shock and disappointment at the mistake.

The 70ha Kranji woodland area, about the size of Jurong Lake Gardens, is along a green artery known as the Rail Corridor.

About 18ha had been set aside for the first phase of development for the Agri-Food Innovation Park, but parts of it were mistakenly cleared by a contractor of JTC Corp before an environmental impact assessment could be completed.

Revealing this on Tuesday (Feb 16), JTC said it engaged an environmental specialist to carry out a study in December and to work out an environmental management plan for specified plots of land in the area.

The study was expected to be completed around April, but land was cleared before that.

JTC did not say when its contractor, Huationg, started clearing the area, but said it discovered the error on Jan 13 and instructed the firm to immediately stop all clearing work.

CNA has contacted JTC for further information, including details on the area of land that was erroneously cleared.

A CORRIDOR FOR WILDLIFE

When CNA visited the work site on Wednesday, it was quiet with construction equipment sitting idle.

Along the nature walk nearby, a glimpse can be caught of dark green hoarding, but it is not obvious that the trees and shrubs beyondhave been levelled.

Aerial photos posted byFacebook user Brice Li on Feb 14 showed swathes of land that have been cleared. Trees had been cut down on both sides with only a narrow strip of green remaining.

Following his post, some nature advocates chimed in on social media.

"This is a shocking development in an important green area of the Rail Corridor," said Facebook group We Support The Green Corridor in Singapore.

The forested area in Kranji is one of the few patches of woodland on the northern stretch of the Rail Corridor, said Mr Leong Kwok Peng, who chairs the Nature Society Singapores conservation committee.

The 24km rail corridor stretches from Tanjong Pagar in the south to Woodlands in the north of Singapore. The railway land, which belonged to Malaysia, was returned to Singapore in 2011 and it is seen as a green corridor that will link a number of future developments.

It is also a corridor for wildlife, said Mr Leong.

You can't just have a linear tree-lined area and hope that nature will just continue to move north and south. You must have some kind of forest patch in between for the animals to forage, he added.

Mr Leong said the nature society has discussed mitigation measures with JTC and hopes that the belt of green that remains can be retained and widened. Of course, it wont be the same, he said.

ONCE ITS GONE, ITS GONE

Other conservation champions CNA spoke to also expressed shock and disappointment at the erroneous clearance.

We cant afford to make this kind of mistake, said biological scientist N Sivasothi.

He added that the slip-up appeared to undermine efforts made by the authorities over the past few years to enhance consultations with nature groups.

Mr Sivasothi said once baseline studies are done, plans are usually discussed with nature groups to see how potential impacts can be mitigated or even avoided, which has been a move in the right direction.

Speaking of adetailed process of engagement, he said: The fact that this all just gets dismissed without proper consideration is quite criminal at this stage.

Conservation scientist and Nominated Member of Parliament Professor Koh Lian Pin added that baseline environmental studies help to highlight potential ecological impacts if the site is subsequently cleared or disturbed.

Since this part of Kranji woodland was cleared before the completion of its baseline study, we may never know the full extent of the ecological impacts of this clearance.

He added that these studies are key in providing policymakers with scientific insights to help them make more informed decisions and to consider the need for any mitigation actions.

This is especially important in Singapore where we have to balance the many priorities of our society, Prof Koh added.

MP Louis Ng (PAP-Nee Soon) added that he was shocked by the erroneous clearing, especially amid the recent public focus on the importance of conserving green spaces.

As (MND) put it then, any decision to clear land must be based on science, thats why these studies are important.

Now part of it is lost, and we might not know what we have lost, said Mr Ng, who is also the chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Sustainability and the Environment.

Mr Ng said he has filed a parliamentary question asking the National Development Ministry if it is investigating the error, and whether it will further strengthen the environmental impact assessment (EIA) framework to prevent any repeat of such mistakes.

The framework, first introduced in 2008, aims to determine and mitigate the potential impactof new developments on the environment.

Specifically, Mr Ng suggested codifying the framework into law.

He also said there is no use crying over spilt milk, and that it is more important to find out why it happened to make sure it does not occur again.

Prof Koh echoed this, adding that reviewing the failure would be in the interest of maintaining public trust in the integrity of the process of conducting environmental studies prior to development.

As for environmental remedial action, Mr Sivasothi warned that once (the greenery) is gone, its gone.

The next best course of action is to quickly re-examine the site for impact mitigation and this would include roping in nature groups as soon as possible, said the senior lecturer at the department of biological sciences in the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The environmental baseline would also have to be reviewed again now that the forest has been impacted, he said.

With that terrible scar, we will just have to reassess according to the current situation.

More:
Nature advocates call for mitigation measures after error in clearing parts of Kranji woodland area - CNA

After several early cases of COVID-19 were linked to a wet market in China, wildlife trade became central to discussions about links between public health and nature.

Some groups called for a complete ban on the consumption and trade of wildlife, with governments such as China and Vietnam acting decisively to introduce large-scale prohibitions.

The pandemic has brought humanitys strained relationship with nature into sharp focus. Its drawn public attention to links between environmental and human health, and led to calls for a green recovery that puts the environment at the heart of post-pandemic stimulus packages.

But the more pervasive environmental and health risks from animal agriculture which would probably replace wild meat have received little attention. My colleagues and I conducted a study to investigate the risks of removing wild meat from global food systems. Our results indicate large-scale prohibitions on wildlife use could have negative consequences for nature and human health.

While some wildlife trade drives biodiversity loss and increases the risks from emerging infectious diseases, these pale in comparison to the effects of animal agriculture.

Wildlife trade has been implicated in deadly disease outbreaks such as Ebola and Sars, with primates, bats and carnivores being high-risk species. But global analyses of emerging infectious diseases show that land-use changes, especially for agriculture, are the most significant drivers of zoonotic outbreaks diseases spread from animals to humans. More than half of zoonotic diseases are associated with agricultural expansion and intensification.

Human expansion into natural areas carries a greater risk of diseases crossing from wildlife into livestock or people, because of greater proximity between the two. Most zoonoses germs that spread between animals and people - are transmitted through livestock. Declines in diverse natural ecosystems help the spread of these germs. Intensive animal farming creates perfect conditions for the development of virulent strains with pandemic potential, such as animal influenzas like bird flu and swine flu.

While roughly 3,000 species are threatened by direct exploitation (hunting and fishing), wildlife trade is not all bad. Some forms of well-managed wildlife trade can be good for nature bighorn sheep in Mexico and crocodiles in Australia are two examples of this. In some cases, such as wild deer in the UK, wildlife trade can be a fundamental part of ecosystem management.

On the other hand, habitat destruction and degradation driven by agricultural expansion is the greatest threat to wild species globally. Over 13,000 species are threatened by agricultural land clearing and degradation alone, with future global food production on course to drive huge wildlife losses by 2050.

A narrow focus on wildlife trade may do more than just distract from more pressing concerns. Our study found it could create further risks for nature and human health.

Wildlife is an important food source in many parts of the world, including North America, sub-Saharan Africa and China. Heavy-handed restrictions on its use will leave a nutrition gap (reduced supply of important nutrients, such as protein and B vitamins). This gap will either be filled, most likely by increased production of domestic livestock, or people will go hungry. Both scenarios could exacerbate environmental and human health risks.

Since animal agriculture is a major driver of biodiversity loss and emerging infectious diseases risk, any increases in domestic livestock production may have serious consequences for nature and public health. For example, we conservatively estimate that over 450 million kilograms of protein would be needed each year to replace wild meat consumption globally.

This would need more than 124,000km of extra agricultural land globally (thats more than 23 million football pitches - an area almost the size of Greece). This could drive hundreds of species towards extinction, particularly in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and the US. This may also increase the risk of emerging infectious diseases, which would be highest in biodiverse forests which includes many of the countries where wild meat bans could lead to highest levels of agricultural expansion.

But if wild meat was not replaced by livestock, millions of people could be left without enough food. Estimated per capita protein intake could fall below healthy levels in several countries, which could increase the prevalence of chronic health issues related to malnutrition. This harsh reality, and limited viable alternatives, mean the costs of halting wild meat consumption will simply be too high for many people.

Previous experiences in West Africa and Vietnam suggest prohibitions can lead to the creation of informal networks of wild animal trade, with poorer monitoring and higher public health risks than legal trade.

A truly green recovery, which can save wildlife and prevent future pandemics, requires broader scrutiny of global food systems. This should include risk-based regulation of wildlife trade and a change in the agricultural sector.

Taking care of environmental and human health requires all of us to change what we eat and how its produced - especially with reductions in meat consumption in wealthy countries. Rather than acting as a cue for more scapegoating of those who hunt and eat wildlife, this is the urgent need that COVID-19 underlines.

See the article here:
We need a green recovery after COVID-19, but banning wildlife trade could do more harm than good - The Conversation UK

The Inter Tribal Association of Arizona, Inc. (ITAA), is an intertribal, nonprofit organization composed of 21 federally recognized Tribes with lands located primarily in Arizona, as well as in California, New Mexico, and Nevada. The ITAAs Member Tribes have worked together since 1952 to provide a united voice for Tribes on matters of common concern and have stood in united opposition to the Resolution Copper Mine and Land Exchange for over 15 years. The representatives of ITAA are the highest elected tribal officials from each of the Member Indian Tribes, including tribal chairpersons, presidents, and governors.

The Arizona Mining Reform Coalition is comprised of Arizona groups and individuals that work to ensure that responsible mining contributes to healthy communities, a healthy environment, and, when all costs are factored in, is a net benefit to Arizona. The Arizona Mining Reform Coalition expects the mining industry to clean up after itself, comply fully with the spirit of safeguards in place to protect Arizona, and to interact in a transparent and open manner with Arizona citizens.

The Sierra Club is one of the largest and most influential grassroots environmental organizations in the U.S., with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every persons right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. The Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, representing 16,000 members, has a long history of public education and advocacy to protect Oak Flat and other lands affected by this proposed mine. Its members recreate in these areas and enjoy hiking, camping, backpacking, climbing, wildlife viewing, and more.

Earthworks is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the impacts of mineral development while seeking just, equitable, and sustainable solutions.

Access Fund is the national advocacy organization that keeps climbing areas open and conserves the climbing environment. Founded in 1991, Access Fund supports and represents millions of climbers nationwide in all forms of climbing: rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, and bouldering. Six core programs support the mission on national and local levels: climbing policy and advocacy, stewardship and conservation, local support and mobilization, land acquisition and protection, risk management and landowner support, and education. For more information, visit http://www.accessfund.org.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Read more here:
Injunction Sought to Block Oak Flat Land Trade for Massive Arizona Copper Mine - Center for Biological Diversity

Satellite images of Kranji woodland show over 8ha of forested land cleared since last March.

This is almost half of the site slated for the future Agri-Food Innovation Park - the park is the size of 33 football fields - and more than 10 per cent of the 70ha woodland.

Developer JTC Corporation told The Straits Times on Tuesday that the "erroneous" clearing started last December, before environmental assessments were complete.

When contacted, JTC told ST it is still investigating.

Green patches totalling at least 8ha - or 11 football fields - were cleared by Jan 25 this year, according to satellite Sentinel-2B, used as part of the European Union's Copernicus earth-monitoring project.

Data on Global Forest Watch - a monitoring service run by the World Resources Institute that uses satellite data - also revealed forested land disappearing from March last year.

In addition, photos on Google Street View showed a sign saying "proposed site clearance and earth works at Kranji Road for Plot 9" at the deforested land next to Kranji Road last September.

On Tuesday, a JTC spokesman said the mistake was discovered on Jan 13, over a month before aerial images of the deforestation were posted on social media last Sunday.

JTC added that an environmental specialist was engaged to carry out a biodiversity baseline study last December to work out an environmental monitoring and management plan for specified plots of land within the area. These were expected to be completed in April.

Following these assessments, the statutory board said, it had "plans to engage key stakeholders, including nature groups, to discuss its development plans".

On discovering the error on Jan 13, JTC ordered all clearing works to stop and issued a stern warning to the contractor, it added.

According to a book published by Nature Society (Singapore) titled The Green Rail Corridor, the forested area cleared for the park is part of Kranji Woodland-Scrubland, spanning about 70ha.

A survey of the rail corridor found 47 species of birds - a mix of resident and migratory species - which account for 12 per cent of the total number of species recorded in Singapore.

On Tuesday, the National Parks Board said it was investigating the unauthorised clearance.

Under the Parks and Trees Act, it is illegal to fell a tree with a girth exceeding 1m growing on any vacant land, whether within or outside a tree conservation area, except with the board's approval.

See the article here:
Over 8ha of Kranji woodland cleared since March last year - The Straits Times

Large-scale land grabbing with political influenceMinister presents conservation proposals to Cabinet

By Sarah Hannan

Ongoing deforestation and the loss of forest cover to cultivation and development work continues to be a hot topic, as the Government accelerates development and continues to encourage citizens to turn to agriculture in an attempt to reach self-sufficiency in food production.

With 2020 seeing the most amount of land clearing taking place, even amidst a nationwide lockdown, the Centre for Environmental and Nature Studies (CENS) has estimated that in 2020 alone, at least 10 acres of forest land were cleared each day.

According to the Minister for Wildlife and Forest Conservation C.B. Rathnayake, conserving the environment around us is a national responsibility, and the Ministry alone is not in a position to protect the environment.

Commenting on the matter to The Sunday Morning, Rathnayake said: These deforestation and land-grabbing rackets did not commence recently. These have been long-standing issues, and there are several entities at work in destroying nature and encroaching into forest land.

Moreover, Rathnayake said that when it comes to development work, the possibility that important infrastructure would be built over sensitive ecosystems, or could pose a threat to endangered species, or disrupt natural habitats and cause human-wildlife conflicts, needs to be looked at during the environment impact assessment prior to commencing the projects.

Even if you look at the more prominent large-scale development work that took place in Sri Lanka, many sensitive areas, historically important sites, and forests were destroyed, or they were flooded by the reservoir waters. But today, we have a better process in place, and we consider all possible methods to ensure there is minimum invasion over the ecosystem of the country when development work is carried out, Rathnayake elaborated.

It has been proposed to establish a Long-Range Unit of the Police Special Task Force (STF) to assist Wildlife and Forest Conservation officers to take immediate action against deforestation.

In the meantime, the Police is to list out conservation areas, wildlife zones, and sanctuaries in the respective police divisions, as well as establish wildlife and forest conservation committees in each district.

More than 25 ecosystems, including Wilpattu, Anawilundawa, Ethawetunuwewa, Nilgala, Rekawa Lagoon, Vavuniya Mamaduwa, Rambakan Oya, Flood Plains Valley, and Galwalayaya, were destroyed. Even protected areas such as Sinharaja Forest, Sri Pada Forest, and the Knuckles Mountain Range, were not left alone these sensitive ecosystems were disturbed under the guise of development.

Centre for Environmental Justice Executive Director Hemantha Vithanage and his team have been conducting field visits to hear the villagers out on the issues they are facing in terms of environmental destruction and impact on their livelihoods.

Sharing some of his observations and the accounts of the people that they met recently, Vithanage explained to The Sunday Morning: There is a large-scale land grabbing racket going on in the Uva and Eastern Provinces, which are backed by persons and institutions with political influence. They are well organised, and have managed to forge documents and deeds along with the survey plans, and have managed to fabricate files to indicate that they held these lands for over three decades.

According to Vithanage, these incidents had been revealed to them by the participants, during a meeting held in Badulla.

On a graver note, Vithanage stated that in Pottuvil, there is a considerable amount of land grabbing taking place, and since most of these lands are released for cultivation with annually renewing permits, there is a separate racket going on where businessmen from other areas are sending people to squat in these plots that are underdeveloped in an attempt to own these lands later on using forged documents.

Meanwhile, amidst the recommencement of work on the Central Expressway Project, which was stalled for over a year, it was brought to public attention that an endangered and endemic perennial tree, scientifically named Crudia zeylanica, or Sri Lankan Legume, was under threat of being destroyed, as the layout of the expressway was to go right over the ecosystem that holds the tree in place.

Claims were made that it was the sole surviving tree and should not be destroyed. Environmentalists, forest officers, politicians, and the media recently flocked to the site of the tree to observe and make statements in an attempt to protect the endemic and endangered tree.

The Sunday Morning spoke to University of Peradeniya Faculty of Science Department of Botany Head Prof. K.M.G. Gehan Jayasuriya, who is currently conducting research on the endemic species of plants in Sri Lanka that are on the verge of extinction.

The claims that are made that the tree that was spotted in Daraluwa, in the Gampaha District, are not true. There are several other Crudia zeylanica that were planted in the Peradeniya Botanical Garden, and then at the Henarathgoda Botanical Garden as well. While our research work only provides us the necessary means to study the ecosystem in which the tree would grow, and whether it could survive in an ecosystem as a singular species, or whether it has other subspecies that supports its survival, we are unable to look at improving or reproducing these trees, Prof. Jayasuriya noted.

Even academics are puzzled as to why there is suddenly a spotlight over this single tree, whereas the matter should have been raised at the time the field observations were made; had the scientists recognised that this was an endangered species, they should have immediately classified the tree and the surrounding area to be earmarked as a protected area under the Flora and Fauna Act.

Prof. Jayasuriya also requested that a national programme needs to be in place, if we are eager to protect endangered species that are endemic to the country and save them from going extinct.

When we conducted further research about Crudia zeylanica, we came across an entry at the herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, for which the famous botanist G.H.K. Thwaites had collected and submitted specimens of plant parts such as leaves, stem(s), and flowers/inflorescence in September 1863 that were pressed and preserved for cataloguing purposes. In the entry, Thwaites had listed the area of collection as Calutara (Kalutara).

With botanists indicating that there might be more Crudia zeylanica plants in low wetland areas of the country, the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation had requested the public to supply any information about surviving Crudia zeylanica plants by contacting them via telephone 011 367 1490, fax 011 287 9051, or email [emailprotected]

Minister for Wildlife and Forest Conservation C.B. Rathnayake had recommended the Cabinet of Ministers consider conserving the Crudia zeylanica tree in its original location in Daraluwa, as any attempts to move it might damage the tree.

I have suggested that the Road Development Authority and the Highway Minister consider adjusting the layout of the Central Expressway by considering an alternative that would protect the tree in its original location, Rathnayake explained.

He also reiterated that the responsibility of protecting and conserving the environment, and educating the future generations on conserving our natural habitat, should take place through the education sector as well.

I plan to discuss this matter with the Ministry of Education and request that they get the universities involved in looking at protecting any flora and fauna that are listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In addition to that, we are also looking at setting up a teaching hospital in the wildlife veterinary care field attached to the University of Peradeniya as well, which will help us protect our wildlife and allow undergraduates to closely study the species that are endemic to Sri Lanka.

With the increasing deforestation and environmental damage taking place across the country, Ministry of Defence Secretary (Retd.) General Kamal Gunaratne recently shared his remarks with the media, indicating that the matter was taken up for discussion during a recent meeting of the Defence Council.

We are looking at implementing a task force with the assistance of the Police, the Sri Lanka Army, and the Sri Lanka Air Force to monitor the situation. While measures are in place to arrest the culprits, the clearing of vast areas continue to take place. We have received leads that some of the state officials too have been aiding these entities to carry out such exercises.

Gunaratne also added that when police, special task force, or army personnel visit the sites of areas that are subjected to deforestation, the labourers operating the machinery had permits in hand to carry out these activities. He noted that the President and the Prime Minister have been notified about such incidents, as these deforestation incidents have been taking place in the middle of reserves and thick forests.

Meanwhile, Gunaratne alleged that a Buddhist monk who was considered to be a close ally of the governing party is allegedly involved in environmental destruction in the Trincomalee area, and he had alerted the Governor of the Eastern Province and police officials to look into it and take immediate action.

I urge the media to report such incidents immediately and work closely with the Police to assist in arresting these perpetrators. It is quite unfortunate to know that there are several divisional secretaries who have issued permits and licences to such entities. Regardless of their political affiliations, no perpetrator should be allowed to get away with such offences, he explained.

More:
Deforestation and destruction of endemic species | Long-standing issue gone wild - nation.lk - The Nation Newspaper

Campaign ad from extremist candidate sparks row between right-wing leaders

A campaign ad from extremist political candidate Itamar Ben Gvir sparks a row between right-wing lawmakers Bezalel Smotrich and Naftali Bennett.

Ben Gvir, from the Otzma Yehudit faction, releases a campaign video on social media that attacks Arab and left-wing lawmakers, as well as Bennett.

Smotrichs Religious Zionism faction partnered with the extremist-right Kahanist Otzma Yehudit in a deal pushed by Netanyahu ahead of next months election.

Smotrich did not release the video, and claimed that he did not know about it ahead of its release.

The campaign ad shows a video of a fictional group text conversation between left-wing political leaders including the Arab majority Joint Lists Ayman Odeh, Meretzs Tamar Zandberg, Labors Merav Michaeli and Yesh Atids Yair Lapid.

The group jokes around in the video and adds right-wing party leaders Bennett of Yamina and Gideon Saar of New Hope.

The video shows a fictional text from Labor candidate Ibtisam Maraana, saying, I asked a Holocaust survivor one time, Whats your number? hahaha. Maraana, an Arab Israeli filmmaker, has been the subject of controversy in recent weeks.

At another point, Maaranana posts an image of Hitler with a heart emoji.

Lapid then agrees to demands from Arab lawmakers in the fictional chat, including canceling the right of return, which allows diaspora Jews to emigrate to Israel, and for establishing a Hamas Recognition Day.

Zandberg calls for a day for former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and a monthly visit to his gravesite.

At the end of the ad, Lapid writes, Believe me, were lucky theres not a government with Ben Gvir.

The ad closes with images of Ben Gvir and Smotrich and the text, Winning together.

Bennett wrote on Facebook, Bezalel, the time has come to say enough.

There is a limit. I have been quiet until now over all these attacks because I did not want to fight with you but tonight you crossed a line.

Smotrich says after the videos release, The video that was released tonight without our knowledge is a serious matter the Holocaust is out of bounds. Period.

He accused Bennett of aiming to form a government with Lapid and Michaeli, but said, The debate needs to be held within boundaries.

In another response, Smotrich says, Naftali, I already clarified that the video is a serious incident and that I dont stand behind it. Great that youre celebrating this and doing a lap. Now lets talk about values.

Continue reading here:
Thousands of IDF troops to assist in clean up of disastrous tar spill on coast - The Times of Israel