Tropical Indonesia's tiny glaciers to melt away in a decade: study

Yahoo – AFP, Dessy Sagita and Peter Brieger, December 13, 2019

While they're usually associated with colder-weather countries, the glaciers in
Indonesia's Papua region are a key marker of the impact of rising global
temperatures, researchers said (AFP Photo/Handout)

Indonesia's little-known glaciers are melting so fast they could disappear in a decade, a new study says, underscoring the imminent threat posed by climate change to ice sheets in tropical countries.

As the COP 25 summit wraps up in Madrid, nations are struggling to finalise rules for the 2015 landmark Paris climate accord, which aims to limit global temperature rises.

Thousands of kilometres away, glaciers on a mountain range in Indonesia's Papua region -- and a handful of others in Africa and the Peruvian Andes -- are an early warning of what could be in store if they fail.

"Because of the relatively low elevation of the (Papua) glaciers... these will be the first to go," said Lonnie Thompson, one of the authors of the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week.

"They are the 'canaries in the coal mine'".

This summer, Iceland mourned the passing of Okjokull, its first glacier lost to climate change, amid warnings that some 400 others on the subarctic island risk the same fate.

Meanwhile, a team of researchers in Switzerland warned that unchecked greenhouse gas emissions could see more than 90-percent of glaciers in the Alps disappear by the end of the century.

Accelerating melt-off from glaciers and especially ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are driving sea level rises, threatening coastal megacities and small island nations. Glaciers are also a key water source for tens of millions of people.

While they're usually associated with colder-weather countries, the glaciers in 

Indonesia's Papua region are a key marker of the impact of rising global 

temperatures, researchers said (AFP Photo/Handout)

Tropical glaciers?

While they're usually associated with colder-weather countries, the glaciers in Papua, an Indonesian region on the western half of New Guinea island, are a key marker of the impact of rising global temperatures, researchers said.

"Tropical glaciers are mostly smaller and so their response time to variations in climate change is faster compared to larger glaciers and ice sheets," said Indonesia-based glaciologist Donaldi Permana, also an author on the study.

Earlier estimates suggested that Papua's glaciers have shrunk by some 85 percent in the past few decades.

This week's study said glaciers that once covered some 20 square kilometres have shrunk to less than half of one square kilometre. There has also been a more than five-fold increase in the rate of ice thinning over the past few years.

"The situation has reached worrying levels because ice formation is no longer happening -- only glacier recession," Permana said.

"The glaciers are in danger of disappearing within a decade or less," he added.

The melting has been exacerbated by the El Nino phenomenon, which causes warmer temperatures and reduced rainfall.

"Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and planting more trees can probably slow down the ice recession in Papua," Permana said.

"However, we believe it'll be extremely difficult to keep them" from melting.

Aside from any environmental impact, their disappearance would also be a cultural loss for some indigenous Papuans who consider them sacred.

"The mountains and valleys are the arms and legs of their god and the glaciers are the head," said Thompson, a professor at Ohio State University.

"The head of their god will soon disappear."

Caviar 'queen': Chinese roe reigns around the world

Yahoo – AFP, Ludovic EHRET, December 12, 2019

A sturgeon at a fishery run by Chinese caviar company Kaluga Queen in Qiandao
lake, Zhejiang province (AFP Photo/WANG ZHAO)

The caviar on the menu of Michelin-starred restaurants may come from an unexpected place: China.

The country has endured embarrassing food scandals in recent years, but its sturgeon eggs have gained the respect of caviar connoisseurs around the world.

It has also become pricier for US buyers as Chinese caviar is among the slew of products hit with 25 percent tariffs in the US-China trade war.

The bulk of China's production comes from a picturesque lake ringed by mountains in eastern Zhejiang province where industry leader Kaluga Queen breeds the giant fish.

The brand was created in 2005 by experts who worked for the ministry of agriculture and it now produces more than a third of the world's caviar, making China the global leader.

The company's sturgeon farm is a 20-minute boat ride away from the shore in Qiandaohu, or Thousands Islands Lake.

Qiao Yuwen, a breeder, stood at the edge of the pools where the animals live until they are between the ages of seven and 15.

The biggest sturgeons can grow to be four meters (13 feet) long and weigh 300 kilos (660 pounds).

An employee of Chinese caviar company Kaluga Queen cuts open a sturgeon 

for its roe (AFP Photo/WANG ZHAO)

"They're like our babies. We see them from when they're very young, so it's hard when they are sent to be slaughtered," Qiao said.

"But there's also, of course, the satisfaction of having contributed to making an exceptional product," he said before throwing pellets containing shrimp, peas and vitamins to the fish.

'Price of a Ferrari'

For a long time, Iran and Russia fished sturgeon in the wild in the Caspian Sea.

But the fish population was nearly decimated by overfishing and poaching after the Soviet Union, which had regulated fishing, fell in 1991.

Sturgeon fishing in the Caspian Sea was banned in 2008 while sturgeon farms have sprung up everywhere, with Italy, France and China among the world leaders in the industry.

Kaluga Queen has 300 employees looking after some 200,000 sturgeons.

Once they reach sexual maturity, females are fished out and taken to a laboratory where they are stunned before their bellies are sliced open to extract the black eggs.

The roe is then washed, sorted, salted and placed in boxes.

Kaluga Queen produced 86 tonnes of caviar last year, most of it destined for exports, with half going to the European Union, 20 percent to the United States and 10 percent to Russia.

Kaluga Queen produced 86 tonnes of caviar last year, most of it destined for 

exports, with half going to the European Union, 20 percent to the United States 

and 10 percent to Russia (AFP Photo/WANG ZHAO)

Depending on the species, the price per kilo varies between 10,000 and 180,000 yuan ($1,420 to $25,600).

Sturgeons producing the most expensive caviar can carry as much as two million yuan worth of eggs.

"It's the price of a Ferrari," said Xia Yongtao, the company's vice president.

'Very good caviar'

Kaluga Queen has walked a "long road" to win the trust of customers since the company produced its first jar in 2006, Xia said.

Chinese caviar had to overcome scepticism from foreign clients who were used to headlines about food scandals, from contaminated milk powder to soy sauce containing arsenic and rice tainted with cadmium.

"A few years ago, customers were reluctant when we talked about Chinese caviar," said Raphael Bouchez, president of Kaviari, a Paris-based supplier to renowned restaurants.

Bouchez convinced customers by explaining how Chinese producers raise fish and use methods that respect the environment.

"Chinese caviar, it must be said, is a very good caviar," Bouchez said.

The bulk of China's caviar production comes from a picturesque lake ringed 

by mountains in eastern Zhejiang province (AFP Photo/WANG ZHAO)

"That said, many of the chefs still do not want it. They prefer to have caviar from France, Uruguay, or elsewhere," he said.

Today, Kaluga Queen has an annual turnover of 220 million yuan and counts among its customers German airline Lufthansa and L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, a two Michelin stars restaurant in Shanghai.

Distributors supply other restaurants around the world, and one buyer said he had delivered one shipment to Kim Jong Un, according to Xia.

French chef Guy Savoy, whose Paris restaurant has three Michelin stars and is rated the best in the world, uses Chinese caviar with skate wings and scallops.

"The label 'made in China' does not matter," Savoy told AFP. "The important thing is the quality of the breeding. Those supplied to us are of remarkable quality."

Lily Liu, Kaluga Queen's marketing manager, hopes someone else can try her company's caviar.

"We hope that Donald Trump will taste our caviar and say: 'I like it! Let's reduce tariffs and help Chinese caviar conquer America!"

No more survivors on New Zealand island after volcano eruption

Yahoo – AFP, Neil SANDS, with Holly Robertson in Sydney, December 9, 2019

A photo courtesy of Michael Schade shows the volcano on New Zealand's White
Island spewing steam and ash moments after it erupted (AFP Photo/Handout, Handout)

New Zealand police have said no more survivors were expected to be rescued from an island volcano that erupted suddenly on Monday, suggesting as many as two dozen people could have died.

Police said some 50 people were visiting White Island when it exploded in the early afternoon -- hurling ash and rock high into the air.

Some 23 people made it off the island, five of whom have since died, the rest were being treated for injuries, including severe burns.

It was earlier estimated the number still on the island was in double digits.

Police said early Tuesday that despite several aerial reconnaissance flights to try and find those trapped "no signs of life have been seen at any point."

"Based on the information we have, we do not believe there are any survivors on the island. Police is working urgently to confirm the exact number of those who have died."

As night fell, deputy commissioner John Tims said volcanic activity made a rescue attempts by land too dangerous.

"I've got to consider the safety of our people and emergency services staff," he said.

This combination of handout images from a webcam belonging to the Institute of 

Geological and Nuclear Sciences shows the volcano on New Zealand's White 

Island spewing steam and ash (AFP Photo/Handout)

The New Zealand military is expected to make a pass of the island at first light in the hope that people may have survived against the odds.

The eruption occurred just after 2pm (0100 GMT), thrusting a thick plume of white ash 3.6 kilometres (12,000 feet) into the sky.

Seconds before, live camera feeds showed a group of more than a half dozen people walking on the crater floor. Then the images went black.

A "considerable number" of those caught up in the disaster are believed to be Australian, according to officials in Canberra.

As many as 30 of those involved are also believed to be cruise passengers on a day trip from the vessel Ovation of the Seas, Kevin O'Sullivan, chief executive officer of industry body the New Zealand Cruise Association told AFP.

The ship's operator Royal Caribbean -- who had billed the trip to White Island as "an unforgettable guided tour of New Zealand's most active volcano" -- said "a number of our guests were touring the island" but did not confirm that number.

The ship has a capacity of around 4,000 people and set sail from Sydney last week on a 12 day voyage.

This handout photograph courtesy of Michael Schade shows wreckage of a 

helicopter amid ash minutes after the volcano erupted (AFP Photo/Handout)

Scene of terror

Tourist Michael Schade, made it off the island just in time and was able to capture footage of the devastation.

His videos showed groups of startled tourists clustered by the shoreline, waiting to be evacuated as the ground around them smouldered, the sky filled with white debris. An ash-caked helicopter lay damaged nearby.

Volcanic Air said they had landed a helicopter on the island shortly before the eruption carrying four visitors and one pilot. All were now accounted for.

"It had landed on the island. What happened after that we don't know, but we know that all five made it back to Whakatane on one of the tourist boats," a company spokesman told AFP.

Guillaume Calmelet, the co-director of Skydive Tauranga, saw the eruption from above as he took a customer on a tandem skydive from a plane 12,000 feet above the Bay of Plenty.

"As soon as the parachute opened there was this huge cloud that was really different to whatever we've seen before," he told AFP. "I could see it coming out in freefall, so probably about 30 seconds for the whole cloud to form, if that. It was pretty quick."

Map locating an erupting volcano in New Zealand. (AFP Photo)

The country's National Emergency Management Agency described the eruption as "moderate", although the plume of ash was clearly visible from the mainland and from satellites flying overhead.

White Island -- - also known as Whakaari -- is about 50 kilometres (30 miles) offshore in the picturesque Bay of Plenty and is popular with adventurous tourists willing to don hard hats and gas masks.

It is New Zealand's most active volcano cone and about 70 percent of it is underwater, according to government-backed agency GeoNet.

Around 10,000 people visit the volcano every year. It has erupted frequently over the last half-century, most recently in 2016.

In August of that year the New Zealand Defence Force airlifted a 2.4-tonne shipping container onto the island to serve as an emergency shelter in case of an eruption.

Israeli fish farmers give peckish pelicans free lunch

Yahoo – AFP, Jonah Mandel, December 8, 2019

Great white pelicans eat fish provided by Israeli farmers at a water reservoir in
the Emek Hefer valley north of Tel Aviv (AFP Photo/MENAHEM KAHANA)

Beit Alfa (Israel) (AFP) - Migratory pelicans have long raided Israeli fish farms, which try to deter them with loudspeakers, laser beams and by firing blank rounds from rifles.

In their desperation, they have come up with another way: offering the birds a free lunch.

An estimated 50,000 pelicans stop off in Israel during their annual migration from the Balkans to Africa, where they enjoy a mild winter before returning to Europe.

They rest and feed in the Middle Eastern country for weeks, causing chaos for fish farmers, whose outdoor commercial pools and reservoirs provide rich pickings.

Before the pelicans reach Israel, "they have nowhere to stop and eat", said Eli Sharir, general manager of the Israel Fish Breeders Association.

The impact on the fish farms is enormous.

"We're talking millions of shekels a year," he said.

So six years ago Israeli fisherman came up with a solution -- providing alternative feed with unmarketable fish to try to keep pelicans away from the commercial pools.

An Israeli Nature and Parks Authority employee feeds fish to pelicans so they

don't raid commercial fish pools instead (AFP Photo/MENAHEM KAHANA)

One recent day on a reservoir in northern Israel, hundreds of great white pelicans swooped down to position themselves in the shallow waters, eyeing a truck backing up to the water's edge.

Then the truck dropped its cargo of thousands of small, live, flapping fish into the water, where they were almost instantly scooped up by the pelicans' nimble beaks.

Luxury stop-over

Pisciculture is limited in Israel, producing just 10 percent of the fish consumed domestically.

But it is vital for the small agricultural communities of Emek Hamaayanot, the lush area below the Gilboa mountain range in northeastern Israel often dubbed the "valley of the springs."

So to protect their livelihoods, the farmers in the Sharon region, north of Tel Aviv, and Hula valley, near Israel's eastern border with Lebanon, have joined forces with the Nature and Parks Authority to create the alternative feeding sites.

But not everyone believes it's a good idea. Critics say the birds may get used to making the luxurious stop-over in Israel -- and may even be enticed to stay the entire winter.

Great white pelicans at a reservoir in Mishmar HaSharon, north of the Israeli 

city of Tel Aviv (AFP Photo/JACK GUEZ)

So fish farmers still rely on a toolkit of other ways to scare off the birds -- without harming them, as pelicans are protected under international conventions.

Dor Maimon, who works for the area's farmers in protecting produce from wild animals, uses a remote-controlled, 1.5 metre (five foot) long motorboat to buzz groups of pelicans in a reservoir near Beit Alfa, sending the birds spiralling into the sky.

Nitzan Nadan, who manages the Gilboa Fish cooperative, said he spends around 600,000 shekels ($172,000) a year on measures including vehicle-mounted loudspeakers and firing blank rifle rounds.

At night, projectors and laser beams are used to keep the birds away.

"The pelicans have to eat and eat in our pools," he said. "They cause damage you can't even begin to estimate."

Ecological causes

In the past pelican sightings close to Israeli fish pools were rare, but more have come because of ecological problems elsewhere, say experts.

Thousands of migratory pelicans pass though Israel on their way from 

Europe to Africa and back (AFP Photo/JACK GUEZ)

Marshlands and lakes in nearby Turkey, Lebanon and Syria have dried out in recent decades, and even Israeli fishing pools have diminished in number for economic reasons, said Amit Dolev, chief ecologist of the northern district of Israel's Nature and Parks Authority.

"This means that the remaining (water bodies) are nearly the only spots available," he said.

What makes things worse for Israel is the fact that shooting the birds is accepted in neighbouring countries, causing the pelicans to avoid pit stops there.

"Israel is something of an island of nature preservation in the Middle East in many aspects, including this one," Dolev said.

To Dolev, broader global cooperation in monitoring the pelicans could help find a solution that would aid the struggling Israeli farmers.

"The issue is certainly global," he said, noting the pelicans' Balkan origins and African destination. "We're basically dealing with it on our own."

The fish farmers said they received no regular help from the state in footing the expenses of the alternative feedings and deterrents.

"We expect help from the world, from Europe, to finance the high costs," Sharir said.