So, wow it’s been a while - over two months since I last wrote anything on this site, aside from putting up a couple of published stories.
In my defence, the reality (shock) of full time work and a return to lockdown in Singapore have meant little chance to do much research into environment/conservation-focused stories.
Early morning at Thomson Nature Park
In the same way, lockdown has also limited my ability to get out and volunteer. I have been on a couple of citizen survey walks for the Singapore Raffles' Banded Langur Working Group. But while it’s been lovely to have an excuse to get out and meet some like-minded people, the walks around Thomson Nature Park have unfortunately yielded no sightings of the endangered langurs.
Anyway, I hope that a slightly lessened workload and the continued easing of restrictions do mean I can get these posts started again and start doing more to get involved with volunteer projects within Singapore.
Despite the inaction I’ve been super keen to highlight a few stories, especially as I feel there have been some key shifts and important developments on the global stage relating to biodiversity and sustainability topics that I’ve covered before.
Also, I have to find somewhere to post some of the countless pictures I take while wandering around Singapore’s greener spots. Let’s see how this goes…
Rewilding the planet
"Community mangrove planting" by UNDP Climate is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
We need to rewild an area of land larger than China in the next decade if we want to mitigate the impact of climate change, ensure food security for a growing population and halt biodiversity loss. That’s the big takeaway from a new UN Report released this month to coincide with the launch of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.
The report points out that it is no longer enough to simply conserve our remaining ecosystems but that we now need to actively restore them if we want to rebalance our relationship with nature and achieve the sustainable development agenda.
Underlining the argument that nature is not just “nice to have” but essential to human wellbeing, the report estimates that half the world’s GDP is dependent on nature and that degradation of ecosystems is already affecting about 40% of the world’s population.
Calling on governments, businesses, associations and individuals to get involved, the report recognises the logistical and financial challenges - it estimates that it would cost around US$200 billion per year to achieve these aims. That’s no small change, yet on the flipside the authors point out that every US$1 invested in restoration could have a value of around US$30 in economic benefits.
Of course the logistical aspect is a different matter, with nothing on this scale ever undertaken before. However, I was heartened by the optimism of Tim Christophersen, the coordinator of the decade of restoration, when talking to the Guardian: “We have decades of experience of how this could work but never on the scale we’re talking about. We have space programmes and nuclear weapons – it is possible.”
Copyright Knepp Wildland
I have previously read and written quite a bit about successful reforestation and rewilding efforts in both Indonesia and in the UK - with a personal favourite having to be the amazing work being done at the Knepp Castle Estate, one day I will get to stay in one of their Yurts!
As such I share Christophersen’s optimism. If the willing is there from the different stakeholders, then anything really is possible. While it’s not going to be straightforward, the power of nature to recover should never, ever be underestimated.
Palm promises
"palm oil plantation" by angela7dreams is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Sticking with the theme of rewilding, some positive news from Indonesia as major palm oil producer KPN Plantation have announced plans to reforest 38,000 hectares of land in Papua and West Kalimantan.
The company (formerly known as Gama Plantation) has been very upfront that the plan is an attempt to make up for the large areas of rainforest they cleared in these regions between 2013-2018.
Being (rightly) cynical this plan is simply a response to criticism of their previously less sustainable practices - as highlighted in a 2018 Greenpeace report. It’s also a bid to make them more appealing to global multinationals like Nestle and Unilever, who have committed to source only deforestation-free palm oil for their products.
However, even if the reason is less than altruistic, the end result is still to be applauded. It’s good to see that the plan aims to restore an area that’s three times larger than was cleared, and that it looks to ensure local communities are offered alternative solutions to palm oil to earn a living. What’s more KPN are not the only Indonesian palm oil producers looking at reforestation projects to atone for previous practices.
It’s a clear sign of how pressures to maintain higher levels of sustainability and transparency are now directly influencing business decisions relating to this controversial crop. Definitely a move in the right direction. With many people eyeing Indonesia’s rainforests for their potentially billion dollar value as natural carbon stores, businesses are beginning to realise these ecosystems are starting to be worth more left as they are rather than being cleared for agriculture.
Singapore Carbon Credit Hub
Another topic that has seen significant developments is carbon credits, with Singapore recently announcing plans to launch Climate Impact X (CIX), a new global marketplace for trading carbon credits.
Set to begin in late 202, this will be a joint venture between the Development Bank of Singapore, Singapore Exchange, Standard Chartered Bank and Temasek Holdings. It is an important step in the government’s plans to position the country as a regional hub for carbon services. The hope being that CIX can offer better transparency when it comes to pricing and quality of carbon credits - two of the biggest stumbling blocks in this sector right now.
One of the most interesting aspects of CIX is their plans to offer high-quality carbon credits from various nature based solutions. This was something I covered in detail in my conversation with Professor Koh Lian Pin of the Centre for Nature Based Climate Solutions. The Centre’s research has estimated that conserving existing rainforests could account for over 2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions reductions per year. What’s more the potential returns from forest carbon protection in the Asia Pacific region could be worth up to US$24.6 billion, with Indonesian and Malaysian forests accounting for over half of that value.
The key to the market, as with other similar exchanges elsewhere, is ensuring that there is a proper framework to ensure the integrity of projects and the right tools, from satellite imaging to machine learning, in place to ensure the integrity and quality of the credits being sold.
With COP26 on the horizon (hopefully to be held in Glasgow in November) carbon credits and marketplaces like CIX are clearly going to play an even larger role in the race to reach Net Zero.
Watching the birds
And finally the chance to indulge in a spot of birdwatching from the comfort of your home courtesy of Birdlife International. The global bird-focused conservation group is celebrating the arrival of summer in Africa and Eurasia with links to six different nest cams letting you get an insight into the care and attention bird parents put into raising their offspring.
Among the options you can spend time watching swallows at a school in Spain, common terns nesting on floating islands in the Czech Republic and my personal favourite barn owls nesting in Surrey, UK.
It certainly offers a welcome distraction for those stuck in lockdowns around the world…