Category: Environment

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ15: Stepping up monitoring of underground water mains

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

LCQ15: Stepping up monitoring of underground water mains
LCQ15: Stepping up monitoring of underground water mains
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Following is a question by the Hon Leung Man-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (February 26): Question: It is learnt that there has been a rising trend in the number of road subsidence incidents on public roads occurred between 2021 and 2023. In addition, a few major road subsidence incidents also occurred in 2024, and in one such incident which took place at Lai Chi Kok Road in Cheung Sha Wan, a taxi fell into a pit and almost caused casualties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (1) of the total number of road subsidence incidents recorded in the whole year of 2024, as well as the location, cause and number of persons affected in each incident; (2) given that two serious road subsidence incidents occurred in Sham Shui Po District between May and September 2024, whether the authorities have assessed if the district is a high-risk area for road subsidence; whether the authorities conducted inspections and repairs for the underground water mains at the locations of the road subsidence incidents 12 months prior to the occurrence of the two incidents; (3) given that the Water Supplies Department completed the Risk-based Improvement Programme of Water Mains in 2015 to replace and rehabilitate aged water mains of about 3 000 kilometres, and has implemented the risk-based asset management programme for water mains since 2015 to replace or rehabilitate specific sections of water mains assessed to be of higher risk, whether the underground water mains at the locations of the two road subsidence incidents mentioned in (2) have been included in the latter programme; if not, whether the authorities will include the underground water mains concerned in the latter programme in the future for replacement and rehabilitation; and (4) given the frequent occurrence of extreme weather in recent years, whether the authorities have stepped up the monitoring of underground water mains facilities in the past year? Reply: President, Generally speaking, the main causes of road subsidence include damage to underground pipes (e.g. water mains and drainage pipes), resulting in soil surrounding the pipes being washed away or soil and water flowing into the pipes through cracks and being carried away respectively; and improper handling of foundation works in sites adjoining roads (in particular those sites involving deep excavation and lowering of groundwater level), resulting in soil and water of the road base flowing into the excavation area of the works, creating voids. If the filled materials are not properly backfilled and compacted after road excavation works, the road surface may subside as a result of settlement of the underlying soil after being driven over by vehicles. In consultation with the Transport and Logistics Bureau and the relevant departments, the reply to various parts of the question raised by the Hon Leung is as follows: (1) In 2024, the Highways Department (HyD) received a total of 19 cases of road subsidence on public roads, a decrease compared to 2023. Details of the cases are shown in the Annex. In response to road subsidence incidents affecting road traffic, the relevant departments had promptly arranged temporary traffic measures and repaired the damaged road surfaces so as to resume the traffic to normal as soon as possible, minimising the impact of the incidents on the public. (2) Regarding the road subsidence cases that occurred in Sham Shui Po District last year, as shown in the Annex, they were caused by individual factors leading to the subsidence. Therefore, it does not necessarily indicate the presence of the same road subsidence risk in the underground environment of that district. The Water Supplies Department (WSD) would inspect the underground water mains under its maintenance approximately every 18 months. Based on the inspection results, maintenance works would be carried out in a timely manner to reduce the risk of water mains burst or leak. Two road subsidence incidents occurred in Sham Shui Po District on May 31 and September 29, 2024 at Hai Tan Street and Lai Chi Kok Road respectively. As there was no underground water mains managed by the WSD and in service at the road subsidence location at Hai Tan Street, the WSD did not conduct inspection or maintenance works for any water mains there in the preceding 12 months before the incident. As for the road subsidence location at Lai Chi Kok Road in Sham Shui Po, the WSD inspected the underground water mains in April 2024 and no irregularities were identified during the inspection. (3) From 2000 to 2015, the WSD carried out a territory-wide replacement and rehabilitation of water mains programme to replace and rehabilitate about 3 000 kilometres long aged water mains (including fresh and salt water mains), raising the operational effectiveness of water supply networks. Since 2015, the WSD has implemented multi-pronged measures, including implementation of risk-based asset management programme for water mains by assessing the risk of water mains based on a number of factors such as period of usage, material, past burst or leak records, surrounding environment and consequence resulting from burst or leak, to replace or rehabilitate individual pipe sections with higher risk progressively, continue to enhance the overall healthiness of the water supply networks, and reduce the risk of water main bursts or leaks. As at December 2024, a total of approximately 540km long water mains have been included in the programme in which approximately 235km long water mains have been replaced or rehabilitated. As mentioned in item (2) above, there was no underground water main managed by the WSD and in service at the location of road subsidence at Hai Tan Street. Regarding the road subsidence incident at Lai Chi Kok Road, the subject water main was a 300mm diameter cast iron pipe laid at a depth of about 1.5 metres below the ground in the 1960s. There have been no record of burst and leak in the past, and the inspection conducted by the WSD in April 2024 did not reflect any abnormalities. Therefore, this water main has not been included in the programme and accorded with a higher priority for replacement in the past. The WSD has reviewed the mechanism of the programme to assess the weighting of the factors contributing to the risk of water main burst or leak. Specifically, we will increase the weighting assigned to factors involving the aged pipe materials (including cast iron pipes and pipes used more than 60 years), and the severity of the consequences for incidents occurring in water mains located at the major road sections, and reassess the risk of all water main bursts or leaks. This reassessment aims to prioritise the replacement or rehabilitation of the water mains at risk of bursting or leaking, expediting the replacement or rehabilitation of the above-mentioned cast iron water pipes commonly used in older designs. This proactive approach aims to avoid serious impact on traffic in the event of pipe burst. In addition, to speed up the implementation of the works, the WSD set up an inter-departmental task force under the chairmanship of the Director of Water Supplies at the end of last year. The task force includes representatives from various relevant departments such as the Development Bureau, the WSD, the Transport Department, the HyD, the Hong Kong Police Force, the Environmental Protection Department, and the Home Affairs Department. They collaborate to discuss and formulate temporary traffic arrangement schemes and implementation programme, etc, related to the replacement of water mains, and formulate contingency plans earliest to minimise the potential impact of the projects on traffic and the public. (4) In general, if the road surface and road base are in normal condition, heavy rain itself will not cause road subsidence or interference with underground water mains. Nevertheless, the WSD is establishing approximately 2 400 Water Intelligent Network (WIN) district metering areas (DMAs) within the fresh water distribution networks in the territory (covering appropriately 80 per cent of the fresh water distribution networks) which facilitate detection of leakage of water mains and adjustment of the water pressure of the water mains to reduce the risks of water main burst or leak. As of end December 2024, the WSD has completed the establishment of about 2 360 DMAs and the remaining works are anticipated to be completed by the first quarter of 2025. The WSD has commenced the enhancement of WIN, focusing on the following two aspects:(i) The WSD will expand the monitoring area of WIN to include fresh water trunk mains and the remaining part of the fresh water distribution mains (covering appropriately 20 per cent of the fresh water distribution networks) that are currently not covered by WIN by adding sensors to monitor water flow and pressure at strategic locations to provide more comprehensive coverage of the fresh water supply network.(ii) On the other hand, the WSD has started upgrading the functions of the existing WIN, which includes upgrading the sensors used for monitoring the water flow and pressure in phases to collect real-time data with a view to speeding up detection of any abnormal conditions in the pipe network. The above expansion and upgrading work are expected to be completed in phases starting from the second quarter of 2025, with the entire project scheduled for completion by 2027. The WSD would also study the use of advanced technologies, such as acoustic detection and optical fiber, to monitor underground water mains to facilitate early detection of leakage situations. In addition, the WSD has strengthened emergency management of water supply incidents. The WSD has strengthened its communication mechanisms with various stakeholders through setting up instant messaging platforms to enhance communication with relevant departments and local parties including District Offices, District Council members and Care Teams. In the event of significant water supply incidents, timely updates on the latest information regarding the incident, temporary water supply locations, as well as the locations of water tanks and water wagons, can be rapidly disseminated. The WSD has also developed clear internal guidelines that outline specific factors to be considered for emergency repair of water mains and associated time required, ensuring more accurate communication of anticipated water resumption time and allowing local residents to make appropriate preparations.

Ends/Wednesday, February 26, 2025Issued at HKT 18:50

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Import of poultry meat and products from Gunsan-si of Jeollabuk-do Province in Korea suspended

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Import of poultry meat and products from Gunsan-si of Jeollabuk-do Province in Korea suspended
Import of poultry meat and products from Gunsan-si of Jeollabuk-do Province in Korea suspended
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The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (February 26) that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Gunsan-si of Jeollabuk-do Province in Korea, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the area with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong. A CFS spokesman said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 80 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat, and about 21.9 million poultry eggs from Korea last year. “The CFS has contacted the Korean authority over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreak. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation,” the spokesman said.

Ends/Wednesday, February 26, 2025Issued at HKT 18:10

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ6: Commemorative activities for 80th anniversary of victory in War of Resistance

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

LCQ6: Commemorative activities for 80th anniversary of victory in War of Resistance
LCQ6: Commemorative activities for 80th anniversary of victory in War of Resistance
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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yung and a written reply by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, in the Legislative Council today (February 26): Question: This year marks the 80th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance, and it is learnt that the Government will host a series of commemorative activities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (1) whether it will set up a “Preparatory Committee for commemorative activities for the 80th anniversary of Hong Kong’s victory in the War ‍of Resistance” led by the Working Group on Patriotic Education, and extensively invite the participation of representatives of community organisations to co-ordinate the relevant activities; if so, of the expected time to commence such work; (2) of the key activities to be hosted to commemorate the 80th ‍anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance, so as to strengthen the sense of patriotism among the public while disseminating the message of peace; (3) how it will take the opportunity to make good use of the rich resources of the history of the War of Resistance in Hong Kong to promote the development of red tourism; and (4) how it will collaborate with the relevant Central authorities and other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in jointly commemorating the 80th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance? Reply: President, Having consulted the relevant bureaux, a consolidated reply in response to the questions raised by the Hon Chan Yung is as follows: This year marks the 80th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance. The Chief Executive announced in the 2024 Policy Address that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government will host commemorative activities to strengthen the sense of patriotism. In terms of implementation, the Working Group on Patriotic Education led by the Chief Secretary for Administration will co-ordinate relevant bureaux and departments in launching a series of commemorative activities, including: (a) The HKSAR Government will host a solemn official ceremony at the Hong Kong City Hall Memorial Garden on September 3, the Victory Day of the War of Resistance, to honour the occasion. The commemoration will feature a rendition of the national anthem, ceremonial flag raising, a Rifle Volley by the Police Rifle Squad, an observation of silence, and bowing in tribute. The attendance at the ceremony will include the Chief Executive and senior government officials, representatives of the organs of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong, former Chief Executives, members of the Executive Council, members of the Legislative Council, representatives of war veterans’ groups, HKSAR deputies to the National People’s Congress, HKSAR members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, representatives of District Councils, representatives of Heung Yee Kuk, representatives of district organisations, members of uniformed groups and youth groups, etc; (b) With the funding and support from the Home Affairs Department, three major associations, namely the Hong Kong Island Federation, the Kowloon Federation of Associations and the New Territories Association of Societies, will organise activities on September 3 to commemorate the victory of the War of Resistance. Examples of these activities include a talk by veterans to recount their experiences during the War and a film show about the War, with a view to deepening the understanding among members of the public about the historical events of the War of Resistance on the Mainland and in Hong Kong and fostering their sense of patriotism; (c) The Hong Kong Museum of History (HKMH) under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) is currently liaising closely with the National Museum of China on co-organising a large-scale thematic exhibition scheduled to launch in early September for a period of about three months. The exhibition will mainly feature our country’s unyielding spirit of resistance during the War, as well as contents on Hong Kong people’s support for the Mainland compatriots, and the three years and eight months of Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, with a view to giving Hong Kong citizens (particularly the younger generation) a better understanding of the War of Resistance; (d) The Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence (MWRCD) is planning to collaborate with the Guangdong Museum of Revolutionary History to jointly organise a thematic exhibition on the 80th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance. The exhibition will focus on an overview of the anti war activities of the Chinese Communist Party in Guangdong Province and Hong Kong during the War of Resistance. Through the display of valuable exhibits, historical photographs and multi-media programmes, the exhibition aims to enlighten the public about the history of the War, thereby promoting and inheriting the spirit of patriotic education; (e) The LCSD museums will also organise a diverse array of public and educational programmes, including thematic talks, workshops, field trips, and film screenings to raise public awareness of the history of the War of Resistance; (f) The LCSD will, from August to December, organise a thematic talk “Reapproaching the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong from interactive map, 1941-1945” and a book display “Days of War” at the Hong Kong Central Library, as well as book displays, photo exhibitions and thematic talks at public libraries in different districts to introduce relevant collections and information, so as to enable citizens to learn about the history of the War of Resistance as well as the unity and resilience of the Chinese people in the fight for peace. These include the thematic talk cum roving exhibition “War of Resistance in Hong Kong: Sai Kung” to be held in Sai Kung District, guided tours of the Hong Kong Sha Tau Kok Anti-war Memorial Hall to be held in North District, and thematic talk series “Wartime Sham Shui Po” to be held in Sham Shui Po District, etc; (g) In terms of teachers and students, the Education Bureau (EDB) has always attached great emphasis on the education about the history of the War of Resistance, and continuously organises relevant activities for teachers and students to help them understand the history of the War and the heroic deeds of the martyrs, experience the indomitable spirit of the Chinese nation, learn to cherish peace through remembering history, as well as cultivate their sense of identity, belonging, responsibility and patriotic spirit. On teacher training activities, the EDB plans to organise an academic seminar on the 80th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance, lecture on the contributions of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Independent Brigade of the East River Column, visits to places such as the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison Exhibition Center at Ngong Shuen Chau Barracks, the Hong Kong Sha Tau Kok Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall, and the Wu Kau Tang Martyrs Memorial Garden, as well as a study tour for teachers in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area themed on the footprints in relation to the War of Resistance. On student activities, the EDB plans to roll out the “Visual Narrative of the War of Resistance: Territory-wide Creative Competition”, the History e-Reading Award Scheme themed on the 80th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance, the second “Learn from Museums – Novice Curator Training Programme” co-organised with the Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence, as well as field study activities related to the history of the War of Resistance in both the local region and the Mainland; and (h) The Information Services Department is actively planning to collaborate with relevant government organisations on programme production under the theme of “Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the War of Resistance”, so as to promote patriotic education through storytelling in a vivid manner. To make good use of the abundant resources relating to the history of the War of Resistance in Hong Kong to promoting characteristic tourism, the Tourism Commission, in collaboration with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), has been taking forward the Enhancement of Hiking Trails (the Project) since 2018 to enhance the tourism supporting facilities of 20 hiking trails in country parks which are popular and with tourism potential. The Project covers hiking trails relating to war history, namely Lion Rock Historic Walk, Shing Mun War Relics Trail and Luk Keng War Relics Trail. The AFCD completed the enhancement works at Lion Rock Historic Walk in December 2023, whereas those at Shing Mun War Relics Trail and Luk Keng War Relics Trail are expected to be completed progressively in 2026. In addition, the AFCD installed at the Robin’s Nest Country Park interpretation panels about its war relics and the deeds of nearby villagers at the War of Resistance, and produced a video for broadcasting on social media platforms, thereby showcasing the history of the War of Resistance at the Robin’s Nest Country Park. The HKSAR Government will continue to encourage the trade to make better use of the abundant resources relating to the history of the War of Resistance to develop more unique tourism products covering different themes of in-depth tours. Besides, to preserve the history of the War of Resistance in Hong Kong, the MWRCD has commenced relevant historical research with a view to providing related historical information for the War of Resistance heritage trails to be set up by responsible government departments in the future. The information will offer the public an insight into the history of the War of Resistance, and enrich their travel experience.

Ends/Wednesday, February 26, 2025Issued at HKT 15:30

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ21: Addressing the problem of manpower shortage

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Jimmy Ng and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (February 26):

Question:

     In the report on the 2023 Manpower Projection published by the Government in November last year, it was projected that the manpower shortage in Hong Kong would be widened to 180 000 by 2028. In particular, skilled technical workers, manual labourers and service industry workers would experience manpower shortage. It was projected that there would be a shortage of 147 000 to 162 000 workers in total by then. Some members of the industrial and commercial sectors are worried that the problem of manpower shortage will limit the development of relevant sectors, and they have urged the Government to introduce more targeted measures to address the problem. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective numbers of quotas used under the various sector-‍specific labour importation schemes so far; whether the authorities will study increasing the quotas for such schemes to address the problem of manpower shortage, as well as expanding the relevant schemes to cover more sectors with manpower shortage; if so, of the details;

(2) as the Government launched the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) in September 2023 under which the general exclusion of the 26 job categories as well as unskilled or low-skilled posts from labour importation would be suspended for two years, of the number of labour importation applications approved under the ESLS so far and the number of workers involved, together with a breakdown by 26 job categories; whether the authorities will extend the ESLS or even regularise it; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) as it is learnt that applications under the ESLS and sector-specific labour importation schemes are in general required to be subject to a manning ratio of imported labour to full-time local staff (i.e. 1:2), but such a requirement may be waived under special circumstances, whether the authorities have waived the manning ratio requirement in respect of individual applications under such schemes in the past; if so, of the details; whether consideration will be given to relaxing the manning ratio requirement of such schemes; if so, of the details;

(4) whether consideration will be given to relaxing the requirement that wages of workers imported under the ESLS and sector-specific labour importation schemes should not be lower than the prevailing median monthly wage of a comparable position in the market; if so, of the details;

(5) as employers participating in the ESLS and sector-specific labour importation schemes are currently allowed to deduct up to 10 per cent of the wages of imported workers as the accommodation fee for the period that the imported workers occupy the accommodation provided by their employers, whether the authorities will consider raising the percentage; if so, of the details; and

(6) whether it will introduce more new measures to address the problem of manpower shortage in the future; if so, of the details?

Reply:

President,

     To cope with the challenges brought by manpower shortage and on the premise of ensuring employment priority for local workers, the Government has enhanced the mechanism for importation of labour. On June 19, 2023, the Labour and Welfare Bureau introduced the Special Scheme to Import Care Workers for Residential Care Homes (Care Workers Scheme) for the residential care home (RCH) sector. On July 17, 2023, the Development Bureau (DEVB) and the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) respectively launched sector-specific labour importation schemes for the construction and transport sectors. In addition, the Labour Department (LD) has implemented the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) since September 4, 2023 to enhance the coverage and operation of the Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS) including suspending the general exclusion of the 26 job categories as well as unskilled or low-skilled posts from labour importation for two years.

     In consultation with the DEVB and the TLB, our reply to the Hon Jimmy Ng’s questions is as follows:

(1) Since the launch of the Care Workers Scheme and sector-specific labour importation schemes, a total of around 23 800 quotas for importation of workers were approved as at January 31, 2025. A breakdown by labour importation schemes is as follows:

Labour Importation Scheme
Quota ceiling
Quotas approved

Care Workers Scheme
15 000
Around 7 200 (Note 1)

Labour Importation Scheme for the Construction Sector
(Construction Sector Scheme)
12 000
9 109 (Note 2)

Labour Importation Scheme for the Aviation Sector
(Aviation Sector Scheme)
6 300
5 823

Labour Importation Scheme for the Transport Sector – Public Light Bus (PLB)/ Coach Trade
(Transport Sector Scheme)
1 700
(PLB: 900
Coach trade: 800)
1 700

Note 1: Including the new quotas approved since the implementation of the Scheme in June 2023 and the quotas for renewal in respect of care workers previously imported through SLS.
Note 2: Quota allocation is on a rolling basis, i.e. quotas will be released for new application after the completion of the relevant construction projects. As of end-2024, there were a total of 9 109 approved and active quotas under the Scheme.

     For the Care Workers Scheme, the Government reviewed the manpower situation of care workers in the RCH sector and in July 2024 announced that it would provide additional 8 000 quotas in the coming three years. Having regard to the overall demand for and supply of care workers in the RCH sector, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare will make timely adjustments to the number of overall quotas, as well as the number and pace of quotas allotted in each batch, with a view to responding flexibly and swiftly to changes in the manpower supply and demand in the RCH sector. Regarding the Construction Sector Scheme, on the premise of ensuring priority for local workers’ employment, the DEVB will carefully consider the allotment of the remaining quotas based on the labour market condition and construction project needs, and take note of the updates on manpower forecast to continuously monitor the use of quotas. In respect of the Aviation Sector Scheme, the TLB will make reference to a number of relevant factors such as the results of the latest airport manpower survey conducted by the Airport Authority Hong Kong, the implementation of the Scheme, stakeholders’ views, etc. to decide the future direction of the Scheme. Besides, TLB and the Transport Department are reviewing the implementation of the Transport Sector Scheme and assessing the manpower demand of the sector in the coming few years. We shall announce the way forward of the Schemes in good time subject to the review results.

(2) From September 4, 2023 to January 31, 2025, 6 762 applications involving 47 474 quotas of imported workers were approved under ESLS. A breakdown of the number of quotas of imported workers approved by the 26 job categories, unskilled/ low-skilled posts and other posts is at Annex.

The LD has been closely monitoring the implementation of ESLS and has commenced the review of ESLS. The LD will fully consider the views of stakeholders including employer associations and labour organisations in mapping out the way forward.

(3) According to the general requirements of the sector-specific labour importation schemes and ESLS, employers shall fulfill a manning ratio of 2:1 for full-time local employees to imported workers. Under the Construction Sector Scheme, individual applications with special circumstances, such as applications involving special trades/ disciplines with very limited local supply (e.g. overhead linesman (high voltage)), will be exempted. For ESLS, exceptions include farm workers for which the standard of manpower requirement is specified by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. On the Care Workers Scheme, subvented RCHs and contract RCHs may for every two full-time local employees apply to import a maximum of one care worker only (i.e. a 2:1 ratio), and private RCHs and self-financing RCHs may for every full-time local employee apply to import a maximum of one care worker only (i.e. a 1:1 ratio). The Government has no plan to further relax relevant requirements.

(4) to (6) To safeguard employment priority for local workers, applicant employers of respective labour importation schemes must undertake local open recruitment and give priority to employing suitable local workers to fill the vacancies at a salary not lower than the prevailing median monthly wage of a comparable position in the market. At the same time, employers approved to import workers are required to sign a Standard Employment Contract (SEC) with imported workers, and shall pay a salary not lower than the median monthly wage of a comparable position. Besides, in accordance with SEC, the employer may deduct the actual cost of accommodation in respect of a period that an imported worker occupies the accommodation from the wages payable to the worker for the corresponding period or 10 per cent of the amount of wages (excluding any overtime pay) payable to the worker for the corresponding period, whichever is the less.

     As explained in items (1) and (2) of the reply, the Government has been closely monitoring and reviewing the implementation of labour importation schemes. Relevant bureaux have been implementing appropriate measures in light of the situation to enhance the arrangement and operation of the Schemes. The LD has also commenced the review of ESLS. In addition, the Government will continue to adopt a multi-pronged strategy, including promoting training and retraining, providing appropriate employment support and driving technology adoption for productivity uplifting, to address the manpower shortage problem.

     The Government is also exploring the introduction of a new channel under the General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals to attract a specified number of young non-degree talents possessing relevant professional technical skills and experience to apply for entry into Hong Kong to join the skilled trades facing acute manpower shortage.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Budget Speech by the Financial Secretary (11)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Reinforcing Fiscal Consolidation Programme229. To uphold the principles of fiscal prudence, I recommend reinforcing the fiscal consolidation programme as put forward in last year’s Budget. The key is managing expenditure growth, making good use of the Government’s fiscal resources, and identifying new revenue resources. Our principles are:(a) to focus on strictly controlling government expenditure, supplemented by increasing revenue. Regardless of increasing revenue or cutting expenditure, the impact to the general public should be minimised. In particular, the Government will lead by example to demonstrate our commitment in cutting expenditure, whilst ensuring the delivery of high-standard public services. The Government will also continue to press ahead with infrastructure works projects in the NM and those related to the economy and people’s livelihood;(b) to maintain the competitiveness of Hong Kong’s simple and low tax regime, and to avoid considerable increase in tax rates or introducing new taxes; and(c) to uphold the “user pays” and the “affordable users pay” principles as far as practicable whilst increasing revenue. Strictly Containing the Growth of Government ExpenditureOperating Expenditure230. We will step up efforts to contain government operating expenditure. I have instructed all bureaux and departments to further review their resource allocation and work priorities, and provide public services in a more cost effective manner through consolidating internal resources, streamlining procedures and leveraging technology. 231. On the premise of maintaining efficient public services, we will implement the following measures:(a) stepping up the Productivity Enhancement Programme. On the premise that CSSA, Social Security Allowance and statutory expenditure will not be affected, the rate of reduction of recurrent government expenditure will be increased from the original one per cent to two per cent in 2025-26. This arrangement will be extended for two more years to 2027-28. Taking into account the one per cent cut in 2024-25, the cumulative rate of reduction will be seven per cent in total. Using 2023-24 recurrent expenditure as the basis, it will deliver a saving in recurrent government expenditure of around $3.9 billion, $11.7 billion, $19.5 billion and $27.3 billion in the respective financial years; (b) in view of the reduction in expenditure and enhancement in manpower utilisation, the civil service establishment will be reduced by two per cent each in 2026-27 and 2027-28. By 1 April 2027, about 10 000 posts are expected to be deleted within this term of Government; and(c) the Government will provide funding of $68.1 billion to the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities in the coming three years. This funding has reflected a two per cent reduction target each year, which is in line with the magnitude of government’s recurrent expenditure cut. I must stress that this funding level is still higher than the $63.2 billion in the last triennium.232. In last year’s Budget, I have requested the relevant bureaux to review the operation of two transport subsidy schemes that incur relatively high expenditure with a rapid growth rate, namely the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities (i.e. the $2 Scheme) and the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme (PTFSS). In order to enable the continued operation of the schemes in a financially sustainable manner, we propose the following adjustments after review:(a) the $2 Scheme: On the basis that the targeted beneficiaries remain unchanged, the Government will change the concessionary fare to “$2 flat rate cum 80 per cent discount”, which means that beneficiaries will continue to pay $2 for trips with fare below or equal to $10. For trips with fare above $10, the beneficiaries will have to pay the amount of full fare after 80 per cent discount. Furthermore, the number of concessionary trips will also be limited to 240 per month. This fine-tuned proposal preserves our policy intent while striking a balance between enhancing the sustainability of the scheme and minimising the impacts to the beneficiaries; and (b) PTFSS: From June 2025 onwards, the threshold of monthly public transport expenses incurred for receiving the subsidy under the Scheme will be raised from $400 to $500. The Government will continue to provide a subsidy amounting to one-third of the expenses in excess of $500, and the prevailing subsidy cap at $400 per month will remain unchanged.233. The relevant policy bureaux will announce the details later. Upon implementation of the refined arrangements, the Government is expected to save $6.2 billion in the coming five years.234. To assist bureaux and departments in reducing expenditure and ensure the proper use of public money, I have requested:(a) the Audit Commission to organise workshops for the senior management of Government departments and public bodies. Through sharing experience and case studies on its value for money audits, the Commission seeks to foster the management’s understanding and adoption of principles and best practices in fiscal prudence and optimal use of public money;(b) the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau to review and enhance the Government’s procurement regime. We expect that the new arrangements will be introduced in mid-2025, so as to facilitate departments to procure quality goods and services at a reasonable price through an open and fair framework; and(c) the relevant bureaux to review the expenditures on social welfare, healthcare and education. The recurrent expenditure on each of these three areas amounts to more than $100 billion in this financial year. The Government should, having regard to demographic changes in Hong Kong, optimise resources and review the sustainability of the use of resources.235. In addition, the Government puts forward that for 2025-26, the executive authorities, the legislature, the judiciary and members of the District Councils take a pay freeze. This includes the Chief Executive and politically appointed officials; the Non-official Members of the Executive Council; members of the civil service; the President, all Members and Secretariat of the LegCo; Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, judges of the courts at all levels and other members of the Judiciary; and members of the District Councils.Capital Works Expenditure236. Overall construction costs have risen in recent years. The Government will strive to enhance control on cost effectiveness when pressing ahead with infrastructure works projects. I have requested the Project Strategy and Governance Office (PSGO) under Development Bureau (DEVB) to support various departments in enhancing governance of public works projects on all fronts. PSGO scrutinises project cost estimates upon inception of a project, and optimises project design in accordance with the principle of “fitness-for-purpose and no frills”. PSGO also formulates cost-effective proposals in co-ordination with the relevant policy bureaux and works departments in order to reduce construction costs. Since its establishment, PSGO has reviewed over 540 public works projects, achieving savings in construction costs by over 15 per cent. 237. Meanwhile, PSGO is co-ordinating the relevant work on reducing construction costs. This includes formulating policies for the procurement of construction materials and products, such as MiC modules and steel reinforcement, through direct procurement by relevant works departments and centralised procurement by a single department. PSGO will also study the use of new materials and innovative construction technologies by drawing reference from the Mainland and overseas practices and experience. All these efforts aim to help departments reduce project costs, enhance cost-effectiveness and ensure timely completion of public works projects.238. Furthermore, the Government is reviewing the scale and mode of delivery of district cooling systems in new development areas, such as Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen and San Tin Technopole, to tie in with the development of the area with greater cost-effectiveness. The preliminary estimate of savings in terms of works expenditure is at least $40 billion. The Environment and Ecology Bureau will report the review results in the second quarter this year.Consolidating and Optimising the Use of Government Financial Resources239. Bureaux and departments set up funds outside the Government’s accounts for specific purposes from time to time in the light of their policy needs. Currently, there are a total of 42 such funds with an aggregate balance of nearly $180 billion. Some of these funds only use investment returns to meet their expenditure (i.e. seed capital funds). With different monitoring frameworks and investment strategies, these seed capital funds lock up an enormous amount of public financial resources.240. To enable the Government to make more flexible and effective use of these resources, we have reviewed the financial arrangements of these seed capital funds. We propose bringing back first six funds with relatively large unspent balance, totalling about $62 billion, to the Government’s accounts in 2025-26, after setting aside resources to meet the necessary expenditure of these funds for the next five years so that it will not affect their sustainable operation. This will provide a more comprehensive picture of the Government’s fiscal position and enable better use of its financial resources. We will also require the relevant bureaux to examine the financial arrangements of other seed capital funds.241. We have reviewed the utilisation of the Anti-epidemic Fund. Taking into account the expenditure requirements, the Fund has a remaining balance of about $15 billion, which will be brought back to the Government’s accounts next month. This sum has been reflected in the revised estimate for 2024-25.Enhancing Public Service Efficiency242. The Government has all along endeavoured to deliver more efficient public services to citizens through leveraging technology, streamlining processes and driving the digital transformation of public services.243. We are striving to realise “single portal for online government services”, with a view to providing a one-stop shop for citizens to obtain information, apply for services and settle bills. Since the launch of the “iAM Smart” mobile application, the number of registered users has exceeded 3.2 million. “iAM Smart” connects about 500 services of the Government as well as public and private organisations and provides nearly 600 electronic government forms.244. The DPO is planning to progressively implement a “Digital Corporate Identity” Platform before the end of next year. This will enable Hong Kong enterprises to undergo corporate identity authentication and digital signature process in a secure and convenient manner when using electronic government services or conducting online business transactions. This measure will facilitate digital transformation of enterprises, and help enhance government departments’ efficiency in processing online applications.245. The Transport Department will roll out a number of electronic licensing services, including electronic driving licences, progressively from the middle of this year to early next year. The Department will continue to launch various electronic permits and integrated, user-friendly online services. It also plans to introduce a bill into LegCo on electronic driving licence in the first half of this year to provide the option of displaying driving licences through dedicated applications on smartphones.246. The Housing Bureau has selected 10 public rental housing estates as the pilot sites for smart estate management to adopt more technologies, such as Internet of Things sensors, robots, etc, in daily estate management. It will also launch a centralised estate management platform this year to enhance management efficiency and service quality.247. DEVB is driving digitalisation of public works in full swing, and applying AI technology for big data analysis to reduce the risk of project delay and cost overrun. DEVB is also driving the wider application of highly-effective construction robots in projects with functions including automated processes, remote control, AI, etc, to support construction personnel in various fields to enhance work efficiency, cost-effectiveness, site safety and works quality. 248. The Civil Service College will enhance the content on technology application in civil service leadership training, equipping departmental leaders to optimise their information technology systems, better utilise big data and AI, and arrange appropriate training for their staff.Increasing Revenue249. For some time in the past, some government fees and charges have not been adjusted in accordance with the established mechanisms. As a result, these fees and charges are not pegged to their costs and fail to reflect the “user pays” principle. I am going to introduce the following measures:(a) the rate of air passenger departure tax will be increased from $120 to $200 per passenger starting from the third quarter of 2025-26. It is anticipated that government revenue will increase by about $1.6 billion per year. The impact on air passengers is expected to be minimal;(b) an application fee of $600 will be charged under various talent and capital investor admission schemes with immediate effect. The visa fees, to be charged based on the duration of limit of stay, will be raised to $600 or $1,300. It is estimated that government revenue will increase by about $620 million per annum;(c) the Government has cancelled the tolls of some major tunnels and strategic routes three years ago and the tolls of some Government tunnels have not been adjusted for over 30 years. Considering the fact that the Government has invested heavily in building these infrastructure, the Transport and Logistics Bureau will review the tolls of relevant government tunnels and trunk roads to embody the “user pays” principle. The Government will also review the annual licence fee for electric private cars, parking meter charges, as well as the fixed penalties for traffic offences for better traffic management. Based on preliminary estimation, the relevant adjustments could generate about $2 billion additional revenue per annum;(d) we will explore introducing a boundary facilities fee on private cars departing via land boundary control points. Coaches, goods vehicles, etc, will not be affected. Taking a fee of $200 per private car as an example, the measure will bring in revenue of about $1 billion per annum; and(e) in January 2025, we submitted a bill to LegCo on the implementation of the global minimum tax proposal drawn up by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to address base erosion and profit shifting. We aim to apply the global minimum tax rate of 15 per cent on large multinational enterprise groups with an annual consolidated group revenue of at least EUR750 million and impose the Hong Kong minimum top up tax. Subject to the passage of the bill, the proposal will bring in tax revenue of about $15 billion for the Government annually starting from 2027-28.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ14: Protecting rights and interests of animals

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by the Hon Edward Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (February 26):Question: It has been reported that a domestic cat fell to its death from a building in Pak Shek Kok, Tai Po, earlier on. The flat in question was repeatedly found by members of the public in August and December last year with domestic cats perched precariously on the glass balcony fence. The Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had followed up and given advice, but was unable to effectively prevent the incident concerned. Moreover, there are views that the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169) does not have sufficient deterrent effect as the threshold for prosecution is rather high (e.g. ‍it is difficult to prove that the domestic cat was caused “any unnecessary suffering” before falling to its death in the aforesaid case). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:(1) of the respective numbers of reports received by the authorities in the past three years of cats being in dangerous positions, and the respective numbers of cases of cats falling from a height resulting in injury and death; the number of prosecutions instituted by the Government in respect of such cases under Cap. 169, and the number of convicted cases and the average penalty imposed by the court;(2) as it is learnt that some cases of cats falling from a height resulting in injury or even death involve keepers who have not installed cat safety nets at home, have left windows open or have even kept cats on balconies, whether the authorities have instituted prosecutions and obtained convictions in such cases; whether they will consider amending the legislation to stipulate that it is an offence for any person who knowingly or recklessly performs an act prejudicial to the life or well-being of an animal, so as to strengthen the protection of the rights and interests of animals under the law; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and(3) given that the Government, in its paper submitted to the Panel on‍ Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene of this Council on ‍May 22, ‍2022, proposed to amend Cap. 169 to introduce a positive “duty of care” for animals, and it has been reported that the Government is preparing to amend the legislation, whether the Government will, at the same time, make reference to the approach in the Protection of Children and Juveniles Ordinance (Cap. 213) by authorising the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation to take timely possession of an animal where there is reason to believe that the animal is likely to be in moral or physical danger, and to recover from the pet owner the costs of caring for it during that period; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?Reply:President, The Government adopts a multi-pronged approach to curb acts of cruelty to animals. This includes exploring raising penalties for offences under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169) (the Ordinance) to enhance deterrence, taking stringent enforcement actions against illegal acts, and continuing to enhance relevant public awareness through education and promotion activities. Having consulted the Security Bureau, the reply to the question from the Hon Edward Leung is as follows:(1) and (2) At present, the Ordinance clearly stipulates that any person who does or omits to do any act which causes unnecessary suffering to an animal is liable to the offence of cruelty to animals, and could be sentenced to a maximum fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for three years upon conviction. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) are responsible for enforcing the Ordinance. In the past three years (i.e. from 2022 to 2024), the AFCD received 15 reports of cats in dangerous positions or suspected to have fallen from a height resulting in injury and death, among which 10 cases involved cats falling from a height resulting in injury and death. After investigating the abovementioned cases, there was no evidence to suggest that someone had contravened the Ordinance. The HKPF does not maintain a breakdown of the number of reports and cases related to cats. The Government has been studying amendments to the Ordinance, where one of the directions being explored is to impose a positive “Duty of Care” on persons responsible for animals, requiring them to take proper care of the welfare of animals (including diet, environment, health, and behaviour). Meanwhile, the AFCD has been actively promoting information on the fulfilment of the “Duty of Care” through various channels such as thematic website, social media and roving exhibitions.(3) At present, the Ordinance already empowers the HKPF and the AFCD to seize the animals involved when there is reason to suspect that an offence under the Ordinance is being or has been committed, and the AFCD will arrange for their care as necessary. In addition, we will also study amending the Ordinance to empower the Court to require a person convicted of contravening the Ordinance to pay for the cost of taking care of the detained animals.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ20: Prevention of cruelty to animals

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

LCQ20: Prevention of cruelty to animals
LCQ20: Prevention of cruelty to animals
***************************************

Following is a question by the Hon Doreen Kong and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (February 26): Question: In December last year, The Ombudsman announced the launch of a direct investigation operation to probe the Government’s work on animal management and protection of animal rights and welfare. It has been reported that multiple incidents of dog poisoning have occurred one after another in Hong Kong since the beginning of this year, causing concern and panic among dog owners. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (1) given the dog poisoning incidents that have occurred in recent months, whether the relevant departments have set up a dedicated interdepartmental co-operation team to expedite source tracking, improve investigation efficiency, and enhance related detection work as well as publicity and education efforts; (2) given that the authorities indicated last year that they were preparing for legislative amendments to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169), and whereas the Government stated in a paper submitted to the Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene of this Council in May 2022 that public consultation on the proposed amendments to the Ordinance had been conducted in 2019, and as there are views that the proposed amendments have not yet been included in this year’s legislative programme so far and that the progress has been rather unsatisfactory, whether there have been any delay in the relevant work, and what the specific timetable is for the authorities to amend the Ordinance; (3) given that in reply to a question from a Member of this Council on December 9, 2020, the Government indicated that it currently had no plan to set up a dedicated hotline for reporting animal cruelty cases, whether the Government will reconsider such proposal in light of the latest trends that have emerged in recent days; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) as there are views that the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has failed to properly handle reports of animal cruelty, whether the authorities will improve the Department’s complaint handling mechanism in this regard in order to curb such an undesirable trend in animal cruelty as soon as possible; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that? Reply: President, The Government adopts a multi-pronged approach to curb acts of cruelty to animals. This includes exploring raising penalties for offences under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169) (the Ordinance) to enhance deterrence, taking stringent enforcement actions against illegal acts, and continuing to enhance relevant public awareness through education and promotion activities. Having consulted the Security Bureau, the reply to the question from the Hon Doreen Kong is as follows:(1) The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) jointly implement the Animal Watch Scheme to proactively prevent and detect suspected cases of animal cruelty through multi-agency collaboration. For example, the HKPF would invite the AFCD and SPCA officers to provide professional advice at the scene of an animal cruelty case and assist thereafter where necessary. Through various channels including the Animal Watchers Programme, the “Be a Responsible Pet Owner” thematic website and roving exhibitions, the HKPF and the AFCD are respectively promoting the message of preventing cruelty to animals at the community level and online platforms; encouraging the public to report cases timely and to provide information that aids investigations; as well as raising public awareness of animal welfare.(2) The Government has been studying amendments to the Ordinance. In preparing the Bill, it is necessary to consult the relevant stakeholders again on some of the proposals, and after collating the views, we will finalise the proposals and complete the law drafting work promptly. Once the work is completed, we will introduce the proposed legislative amendments into the Legislative Council. One of the directions being explored in the legislative amendment is to impose a positive “Duty of Care” on persons responsible for animals, requiring them to take proper care of the welfare of animals (including diet, environment, health, and behaviour). In this connection, the AFCD continues to promote information on the fulfilment of the “Duty of Care” through various channels such as thematic website, social media and roving exhibitions.(3) Members of the public may report suspected animal cruelty cases immediately by calling the 999 Report Centre or 1823 to report to the AFCD. The existing channels for reporting crime are well known to the public, easy to remember and has worked well. The Government will continue to review the operational details to see if there is room for improvement.(4) Upon receipt of report of suspected animal cruelty cases, the AFCD officers will visit the scene promptly to conduct investigation, including taking photographs of the animals and the environment of the scene, examining the health conditions of the animals and collecting evidence, etc. The AFCD will arrange for a veterinarian to give professional advice at the scene if necessary. If animal cruelty is suspected to be involved in the case, the AFCD will decide whether to seize the animals concerned according to its health condition and hand over the injured animals to the SPCA for further treatment. According to the information of the Department, over 90 per cent of the reports were found to be not related to animal cruelty after investigation, but nuisance or other situations, such as frequent noise from animals or odour from the premises where the animals were kept, and this misled the reporters into thinking that the animals suffered from acts of cruelty. There are also cases involving neglect of animals but does not involve cruelty, such as the failure to provide adequate space. For these cases, the AFCD officers would give verbal advice on responsible pet ownership and improvement suggestions to the owners concerned after inspecting the scene.

Ends/Wednesday, February 26, 2025Issued at HKT 12:00

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 27, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Greece: a graveyard of steel as a result of inactive wind turbines – E-000166/2025(ASW)
Source: European Parliament
Forests are a natural ally in adapting to and fighting against climate change and will play a vital role in making Europe the first climate neutral continent by 2050.

To this end the EU Forest Strategy for 2030[1] calls for measures to increase their health and resilience. T he Nature Restoration Regulation[2] requires Member States to put in place measures to restore certain degraded forest habitats and to enhance biodiversity also in forest ecosystems beyond those habitats.

Concerning Natura 2000 sites, the Habitats Directive[3] requires Member States to implement conservation measures to achieve the sites’ conservation objectives and to take appropriate steps to avoid the deterioration of natural habitats and the habitats of species as well as significant disturbance of the species for which the sites have been designated.

In addition, plans and projects, including wind turbines, likely to have a significant effect, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects, must be subject to an appropriate assessment of their implications for the site in view of the site’s conservation objectives.

This assessment must include all stages of the project’s life cycle, including post-operation. The competent national authorities can agree to the plan or project only after having ascertained that it will not adversely affect the integrity of the site concerned, which may require decommissioning and restoration[4].

With regards to waste generated from wind turbines, currently there is no dedicated EU piece of legislation dealing with this waste stream.

However, Member States have to ensure that waste wind turbines are subject to waste management that fully complies with the provisions of the Waste Framework Directive[5].

[1] https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/forest-strategy_en

[2] Articles 4 and 12 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2024 on nature restoration and amending Regulation (EU) 2022/869, OJ L, 2024/1991, 29.7.2024.

[3] Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7-50.

[4] Further guidance is provided in: European Commission: Directorate-General for Environment, Guidance document on wind energy developments and EU nature legislation, Publications Office of the European Union, 2020, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2779/457035

[5] Directive (EU) 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste, OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 109-140.
Last updated: 26 February 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
February 27, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Using AI and drone technology to protect seals in Norfolk
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Press release

Using AI and drone technology to protect seals in Norfolk

The survey results of a Natural England two-year pilot project to monitor seal populations are in.
AI analysis of drone images. Credits: Natural England

The two-year project has used drone technology combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to monitor seal populations and their pups off the coast of Norfolk.

In December 2024, a team of specialists from Natural England launched a drone over the beach at Winterton-on-Sea in Norfolk. Instance segmentation (a type of AI), was then used to automatically detect individual seals from the drone imagery and distinguish between adult seals and whitecoat pups, even when grouped closely together.

The survey identified over 8,500 seals along an 8 kilometre stretch of shoreline, in comparison to a volunteer-led ground count which recorded more than 6,200 seals.

Traditionally, seal population monitoring relied on manual ground observations and aerial surveys, which posed a challenge in terms of collecting accurate data, particularly in hard-to-reach areas. Now, drones equipped with high-resolution cameras can capture imagery from 110 meters above, minimising disturbance to the seals.

Gabriella Fasoli, Earth Observation Higher Data Scientist at Natural England, said: “The AI model detected over 8,500 seals while the volunteers on the ground counted 6,200. This difference is likely due to the drone’s aerial perspective, which provides a unique viewpoint from above, allowing for a more accurate count by detecting seals that may be hidden or less visible from the ground.”

Although these new monitoring methods have the potential to enhance the accuracy of our population assessments for the UK’s seals, volunteers on the ground will remain crucial to documenting and protecting them.

Emma Milner, Senior Marine Mammal Specialist at Natural England, said: “This project has shown that drones and the use of AI technology can be a cost and time efficient alternative method of monitoring seal populations.

“This cutting-edge technology will help contribute to a comprehensive national picture of seal populations, allowing us to better understand population changes over time and to assess the impact of human activity on these crucial habitats, enabling better conservation efforts.

“It is our hope that in the future, the methods from this two-year pilot project can be developed to allow drone surveys at other important sites around the country, and for other species as well as grey seals.”

The UK is a crucial breeding ground for grey seals, hosting 35% of the global population. Despite their recovery from a worldwide total of 500 seals in the early 20th century to over 160,000 today, ongoing monitoring remains essential to their protection.

Natural England has special permission to fly drones for the purpose of this scientific survey and followed the appropriate best practice guidelines to minimise disturbance to the seals. Members of the public should not fly drones over seal colonies without the appropriate permissions.

New technology is unlocking possibilities at Natural England and helping inform nature-based solutions. Whether it’s managing flood risk, improving farming practices, or monitoring wildlife, these innovations are showing how modern tools can work in harmony with, not against, nature.

For more information, please contact:

Natural England & Environment Agency – East Anglia press office: Communications_East@environment-agency.gov.uk

Follow us on Twitter: @NENorfolkSufflk

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Published 26 February 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
February 27, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Enforcement cameras brought in to combat illegal parking in South Manchester

Source: City of Manchester

Portable enforcement cameras are being brought in to combat inconsiderate motorists who park illegally in cycle lanes.

The Chorlton to Manchester Cycleway is one of the Council’s flagship cycling schemes. Providing a segregated cycling experience from a district centre to the heart of Manchester has been a key example of the Council’s commitment to providing people additional ways of travelling.

Unfortunately since the scheme’s completion it has been noted that a small minority of motorists have chosen to park across the cycle lane, blocking its intended purpose.

Not only is this illegal, but it is dangerous as it forces cyclists into the road to get around. For anyone in a wheelchair, with mobility issues or a pram this is especially hazardous, and something we want to avoid wherever possible.

In response to concerns raised by residents this is why from March 3, enforcement cameras will be in operation around the cycle route to monitor and penalise anyone caught breaking the law. This will be on top of the usual enforcement officers which patrol on foot.

Motorists who are caught parking in a cycle lane may be liable to pay a £70 penalty charge notice (PCN).

A driver issued with a PCN who believes it was incorrectly issued has the right to appeal the charge via the Council’s website.

Councillor Tracey Rawlins, Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment and Transport said: “After the completion of any major scheme we listen to feedback around how it’s working, and sadly people have reported frequent problems with vehicles being parked in the cycle lanes.

“These lanes are intended to be a quick and safe way for people wanting to cycle to and from the city centre. However, if people are confronted with cars and vans parked on the lanes, they are rendered totally useless.

“It’s not only inconsiderate to those trying to use them, but incredibly dangerous forcing people into the main road to go around an obstacle. Hopefully this period of additional enforcement will encourage people to think twice before parking illegally and plan their journeys ahead.

“In Manchester we are working to improve opportunities to walk and cycle and over time we hope to encourage a ‘people first’ mindset, rather than vehicles. Ultimately and most importantly we want Manchester to be clean, safe and attractive for everyone.”

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

February 27, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Jason Bohrer Named Communications Director for Senator Kevin Cramer

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

***Click here to download audio.***

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) has named Jason Bohrer, former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Lignite Energy Council, to serve as Communications Director in his Washington, D.C. office.

Bohrer is leaving the Lignite Energy Council after nearly 12 years with the trade association headquartered in Bismarck, N.D. A graduate of North Dakota State University and the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, Bohrer previously held Capitol Hill positions as a Chief of Staff, Legislative Counsel/Director and Director of Constituent Communications for members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

“My team and I started working with Jason shortly after we went to Congress,” said Cramer. “He was working for Congressman Raul Labrador, who is now Idaho’s Attorney General and a good friend of mine. We worked closely together on natural resources and energy issues, but many others as well. When Jason came to North Dakota to be president of the Lignite Energy Council I was happy to be a strong advocate for that. Now, after 12 years in the state, I’m thrilled he’s coming back to Washington and will continue working for North Dakota and North Dakotans in my office. He’s a great communicator, organizer, and manager. He’s also a team leader and will be a tremendous asset to the people of North Dakota. I’m honored he’s chosen to come to work for us and help us in this very new and important session of Congress.”

“I met Senator Cramer when he was first elected to Congress in 2012,” said Bohrer. “I was impressed by his authenticity, consistency and dedication to his principles. Obviously, from my work at the Lignite Energy Council I am familiar with his national leadership on energy policy. But I have also watched him rise to become one of the nation’s strongest voices for other common sense and constitutionally-consistent solutions. Senator Cramer has been a huge part of the North Dakota success story, and I’m excited to join him as he continues to take proven North Dakota policies to Washington, D.C., to unleash American energy and return to sound federalist principles of law and order.”

Elected to his second term in the U.S. Senate in November, Cramer’s Senate committee assignments are Armed Services; Environment and Public Works; Veterans’ Affairs, and Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. An energy policy expert, in 2003 he began serving nearly a decade as a North Dakota Public Service Commissioner and helped oversee the most dynamic economy in the nation.

Bohrer will begin his position on April 7.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Queensland launches coordinated feral cat management in Channel Country
Source: Government of Queensland

Issued: 25 Feb 2025
- An innovative new partnership funded by the Australian Government will help target feral cats across 180,000 hectares of south-west Queensland.
- The Channel Country Threatened Species Partnership comprises twelve partnering groups representing government, First Nations, pastoralists and conservation groups.
- Iconic threatened species like the greater bilby and night parrot will receive greater protection through the removal of feral cats.
In a move to protect some of Queensland’s most vulnerable species, the innovative Channel Country Threatened Species Partnership (CCTSP) has been formed to target feral cats across 180,000 hectares of south-west Queensland.

Feral cats, one of the nation’s most devastating predators, pose an ongoing threat to more than 200 native species.

The partnership comprises twelve groups representing government, First Nations, pastoralists and conservation groups.

The project is being coordinated by the Queensland Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation and the Desert Channels Queensland NRM Group.

The project has received $498,973 funding through the Australian Government’s Saving Native Species Program to implement the national Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2032.

“For threatened species like the greater bilby, kowari, night parrot, and plains-wanderer, this is an important project,” Deputy Director-General of Queensland’s Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, Mr Ben Klaassen, said.

“Feral cats are relentless hunters that don’t recognise property boundaries.

“Innovative collaborative partnerships increase our chances of successfully managing such a damaging pest species and improving recovery outcomes for threatened species,” Mr Klaassen said.

Eight sites have been selected for the project, building on existing efforts by the partners to effectively double feral cat management in the Channel Country.

“While the program’s actual feral cat control efforts will focus on a land area of some 180,000 hectares, the eight sites comprise an area of up to 500,000 hectares across the Channel Country,” Mr Klaassen said.

Control efforts include humane ground shooting and trapping, enhanced by technology such as thermal imaging scopes.

To gauge the project’s success, wildlife cameras and bioacoustic recorders will monitor both predator and prey populations, offering insights into the effectiveness of these measures.

The partnership’s efforts aim to improve the conservation outcomes for priority species being targeted for feral cat management by the project:
- The Greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis): Listed as Endangered in Queensland and Vulnerable nationally.
- The Night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis): Listed as Endangered at both state and national levels.
- The Plains-wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus): A quail-like ground bird that is listed as Critically Endangered on both state and national lists.
- The Kowari (Dasyuroides byrnei): A small carnivorous marsupial that is listed as Endangered at both state and national levels.
“Without intervention, these iconic species face an uncertain future,” said Desert Channels Queensland Chief Executive Officer Leanne Kohler.

“This program marks a turning point by uniting traditional custodians, pastoral companies, conservation groups, and the Queensland Government in a shared mission to safeguard the environment and biodiversity of our remarkably beautiful Channel Country.

“This project is a chance to turn the tide,” Ms Kohler said.

MIL OSI News –
February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Fall in love with Tāwharanui Regional Park

Source: Auckland Council

When it comes to Tāmaki Makaurau’s most loved regional parks, there’s a good reason why Tāwharanui is a favourite among many Aucklanders – once you set foot on its white-sand shores, you’ll be forever smitten.

Add to that the highly swimmable waves, rock pools teeming with marine life, and the piercing call of kiwi at night, and the scene is set for a glorious day at the beach or a memorable camping trip.

Make a day of it

At just more than an hour from downtown Auckland, Tāwharanui Regional Park is far away enough that you feel like you’ve left behind the urban hustle and bustle, but not so far that anyone will be asking ‘are we there yet?’. There are no shops near the park, so pack a picnic or stop off in Matakana Village for supplies before embarking on the 20-minute drive along the peninsula.

You’ll know when you’ve arrived because you can only enter the park via the automatic gates in the 2.7km predator-proof fence, which keeps introduced predators like stoats, rats and possums out so that native birdlife can flourish.

Make a splash

Dreamy Anchor Bay is a popular spot for swimmers, surfers and boogie boarders. At low tide, you can climb the rocky shelf to the left of Anchor Bay and explore the rock pools for octopus, starfish and sea anemones – the rocks can be sharp so wear suitable footwear. You can even go for a dip in the larger pools – one is the size of a hot tub – while the waves crash beside you. Remember to just look at the sea creatures and don’t touch, as Tāwharanui is a protected marine reserve.

Go exploring

Head out to the bush on one of the walking tracks. The Ecology Trail is a 4km loop that will take you through native bush, streams, beaches, and regenerating wetlands where you might spot the endangered pāteke (brown teal). Other rare birds to look out for include the takahē and the tīeke (North Island saddleback). If you’re after a decent mission, the 9km North/South Coast Tracks takes around four hours and will treat you to stunning views at the end of the peninsula.

Stay the night

If you’ve got a few days, book a tent site. Located to the left of Anchor Bay, beside a quieter stretch of beach, the campground sits at the base of a grassy hill beloved by kids who spend hours boogie boarding down its slopes or hanging out along the ridge as the sun sets. There is also an all-modes and vehicle-based campground too.

Be sure to book early as the campground often fills up months in advance. And if camping’s not your thing and you want the comfort of a bathroom (the campsite has a long drop), Tāwharanui Bach sleeps six people and is located around the other side of the park.

You might see a kiwi

If you’re staying over, pack some red cellophane and put it over your torch to increase your chances of spotting the growing population of North Island brown kiwi that bash and crash their way along the beachside paths at night.

If you are lucky enough to see a kiwi on your visit, sit or stand quietly and observe them. Make sure you give them their space, and don’t chase or harass them.

Volunteer

Help protect this precious taonga by volunteering with Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary Society (TOSSI), which has been working with Auckland Council for 21 years. Choose from a range of jobs that fit your fitness level and enthusiasm, including monitoring kiwi calls, participating on community planting days and setting traps.

Visit tossi.org.nz or follow TOSSI on Facebook for more information.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Oregon Transportation Company and Owner Sentenced to Probation and Criminal Fines for Tampering with Pollution Monitoring Devices

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

PORTLAND, Ore.–A Fairview, Oregon transportation company and its owner were sentenced in federal court today for knowingly and intentionally tampering with emissions monitoring devices in violation of the Clean Air Act.

Clancy Logistics, Inc., located in Fairview, Oregon, and its owner, Timothy Curtis Clancy, 55, of Sherwood, Oregon, were each sentenced to three years’ probation. They were also ordered to pay a fine of $101,510, jointly and severally.

According to court documents, between October 2019 and July 2023, Clancy tampered with federally mandated monitoring devices by performing “deletes and tunes” to emission control systems for at least thirteen diesel semi-trailer trucks operated by his companies. Clancy, as owner of Clancy Logistics, oversaw the illegal modification of vehicles, including engaging in and directing employees to remove the emissions control equipment and tune the onboard diagnostic systems so it could no longer detect the removal of control equipment. Clancy Logistics knowingly operated the altered vehicles.

On September 13, 2024, Clancy Logistics and Clancy were charged by criminal information with two counts of Clean Air Act tampering. On September 18, 2024, they each pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a monitoring device.

This case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division. It was prosecuted by Andrew Ho, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, and Gwendolyn Russell, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Environmental Protection Agency.

MIL Security OSI –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senator Markey Decries Trump Administration Cuts to National Park Service and Attacks on Massachusetts Economy, Heritage

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

Washington (February 25, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and co-author of the Green New Deal resolution, released the following statement today in response to the Trump administration’s staffing cuts and funding cut-offs for the National Park Service (NPS).

The Trump administration’s hiring freeze, combined with a five-percent NPS staffing cut, has already affected parks, public lands and historical sites both nationwide and across the Commonwealth. More than 1,000 permanent NPS employees were reportedly fired last week, along with 3,000 U.S. Forest Service workers.

In Massachusetts, heritage areas, museums and historical sites, watersheds, and stewardship councils have all been affected by funding freezes and upheaval driven by the Trump administration’s executive orders and unlawful attacks on congressionally appropriated funding. Last year, Massachusetts ranked 11^th in the country with $1.3 billion in economic contributions from national park visitors, with $863 million in direct visitor spending. Senator Markey voted on February 20, 2025 in favor of an amendment to the Republicans’ budget resolution that would support the reinstatement of NPS and federal employees working on conservation, management, and recreation; however, this amendment was voted down by Republicans by a vote of 48-52.

“At a time when our parks and historical sites should be getting ready to meet the high-season influx of visitors, President Trump, his billionaire-in-chief Elon Musk, and the unelected, unwanted, and unqualified DOGE minions are instead targeting both National Park Service staff and funding.

Without NPS staff, visitor centers will be closed during the height of the tourism season, restrooms will be left dirty, and tours will be left unfinished. Not only is this bad for park visitors, it’s bad for everyone who wants to celebrate and learn about our nation’s past and future as we near our 250^th anniversary. Our Commonwealth was the site of key events during the founding of our nation — but these cultural cornerstones will not be ready for additional visitors without sufficient staffing.

The unconstitutional cut-off of grant programs for our parks, waterways, and public lands is wreaking havoc, causing chaos, and needs to be fully reversed. According to the National Park Service and its partners, this uncertainty means that restoration work is costing more, investments are being stranded, trails aren’t getting maintained, and too many small organizations and partners are left in the lurch. For example, the Forest Legacy Program is a popular and cost-effective program to conserve private, working forest resources—but the Trump administration’s chaos means that partners on the ground are paused and waiting to see if their work can continue.

Outdoor recreation is a $1.2-trillion business sector where public-private partnerships create an outsized return on investment and boost local economies—every federal dollar invested in NPS generates fifteen dollars of economic activity—so there is nothing effective nor efficient about attacking our parks. Neither the staff cuts, nor the illegal funding freezes can stand, which is why I am fighting in DC to protect the National Park Service workers and programs tirelessly working to provide all Americans with spaces in which to learn about our history and enjoy our outdoors.”

MIL OSI USA News –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: Ocean protection policy “hangover” must be addressed by both parties: Greenpeace

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

SYDNEY, Wednesday 26 February 2025 – In response to the major political parties indicating election promises to protect Australia’s oceans, Greenpeace Australia Pacific says a crucial protection framework of a ratified Global Ocean Treaty is still missing.

Georgia Whitaker, Greenpeace Australia Pacific Senior Campaigner, said:

“We applaud the intention of both major parties to protect the ocean and tackle the disastrous impacts of industrial fishing, but if either is serious, they must ratify the Global Ocean Treaty; it’s a no-brainer.

“Australia’s oceans are in crisis, facing serious threats of industrial fishing, climate change and plastic pollution. Our beloved and protected coral reefs are cooking in historic bleaching events, and now the Pacific Ocean is facing the threat of an emerging deep sea mining industry – the ocean needs every lifeline and ally it can get.”

Australia adopted the historic Global Ocean Treaty–also known as the High Seas Treaty–in 2023, but has yet to ink it into law. To date, 110 countries have signed the treaty, and 17 countries have ratified it, including the Pacific nations of the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau. Once ratified by 60 countries, governments will have the power to propose and create marine sanctuaries in the high seas.

“Australia is perfectly positioned to be an ocean protection leader on the global stage by ratifying the treaty this June at the UN Ocean Conference. We signed the treaty in 2023, but without action, the new government will lead with the hangover of a policy unfulfilled,” Whitaker said.

“Aussies love the ocean, and many depend on a healthy, thriving ocean for their livelihoods. We want to see serious commitment to protecting not just our domestic waters, but the international waters that flow into them.”

—ENDS—

MIL OSI NGO –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to the Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

February 26, 2025

Scientists comment on the Seventh Carbon Budget, published by the Climate Change Committee.

Prof John Barrett, Professor in Energy and Climate Policy and Director of the Climate Evidence Unit at the University of Leeds, said:

“This is a very welcome report with a robust analysis that lets the Government, industry and citizens know that the pathway to net zero is possible and very much needed. However, it does place enormous responsibility on some key technologies and their rapid roll out to achieve these goals. As the UK Government digests the findings, we would suggest greater consideration of the “social” transformation that examines how we travel and what we buy.”

“While the report acknowledges some upfront costs, it confirms that acting now will reduce expenses in the long run, with cost savings emerging by the late 2030s and beyond.”

“The key takeaway from today’s report is clear: the transition to net zero is not only possible but highly beneficial. Independent academic analyses consistently supports this conclusion, showing that it will strengthen the economy, deliver widespread co-benefits, and position the UK as a leader in global climate action.”

Dr Sean Beevers, Reader in Atmospheric Modelling, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, said:

“A National Institute for Health and Care Research project examined the effects of net zero policies on air quality, active travel, health, and associated economic benefits in the UK.

“Our cost benefit analysis showed that net zero transport and building policies deliver substantial co-benefits, including improved indoor and outdoor air quality, better health, increase active travel, lessening inequalities and with long-term economic gains. We estimated an overall monetised air quality and active travel benefit of £46.4 billion by 2060 and £153 billion by 2154.

“Net zero policy analyses should include benefits from the air pollution reductions and physical activity increases. These benefits apply to current and future generations and failure to act will lead to worse health outcomes and higher costs for attaining net zero.”

Dr Edward Gryspeerdt, Research Fellow at the Department of Physics, Imperial College London, said:

“The CCC’s advice highlights that aviation will become the highest emitting sector in the UK by 2040. Clean alternatives, such as low-carbon fuel and technology for low emission flights are currently limited and a range of measures will be needed to meet net-zero – there is no silver bullet.

“The government has described ‘sustainable aviation fuels’ as a ‘game changer.’ However, to have a significant impact on the climate impact of flying, they will need to be produced at a huge scale. It is not yet clear how this will be achieved. To reach net zero, the CCC also note that a switch from flying to other modes of transport will be required, especially for flights with an easy rail alternative.

“These measures alone won’t solve the problem. The CCC’s report highlights that a significant amount of carbon capture will be needed, highlighting the simple fact that the technological solutions to eliminate the climate impact of flying don’t yet exist. Any expansion of the UK’s aviation infrastructure will have to be coupled with improved sustainable transport options.”

Dr Caterina Brandmayr, Director of Policy and Translation at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London, said:

“Today’s advice marks an important milestone in charting the UK’s path to net zero. Public opinion surveys continue to show that climate change remains a key issue of concern for a large majority of people in the UK.

“To put us firmly on track to deliver the deep emission cuts needed from 2038 to 2042, the UK government needs to strengthen its action in the near term, giving confidence to businesses and households to invest in clean alternatives in sectors like housing, transport and energy.

“There is strong public support for the benefits that emission reduction interventions can bring, such as warmer homes, energy security and cleaner air.

“Effectively communicating these benefits, while ensuring fairness and choice in policy design, will be key to sustaining public support for the transition and driving change in harder to decarbonise sectors, such as aviation and land use.”

Dr Friederike Otto, Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Environmental Policy and co-lead of World Weather Attribution, Imperial College London, said

“People shouldn’t forget why we need these targets – we’re already feeling the pain at 1.3°C of warming and things will keep getting worse until emissions are reduced to net zero.

“Here in the UK, we’ll experience even wetter winters that could wipe out crops, threaten our food security and turn sports pitches into miserable bogs. In summer, more frequent heatwaves will contribute to thousands of premature deaths, could put additional strain on the NHS, and reduce economic productivity. Overseas, extreme weather could disrupt supply chains we depend on and could contribute to worsening political instability and conflict.

“Arguments that climate action is too costly are dangerous, short-sighted and disproportionately harm poorer people. If governments don’t cut emissions, both now and in the future, our children will live in an increasingly hostile climate and even more inequal society.

“The UK needs to push ahead and lead the way in emission reductions for a safer, healthier future.”

Prof Lorraine Whitmarsh, Director at the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) at the University of Bath, said:

“The government’s climate advisors make clear that tackling climate change requires significant action from all sections of society in the coming years. A third of emission reductions will come from household behaviour change alone. Low-carbon choices include switching to electric vehicles and heat pumps, eating more plant-based foods, and shifting to cleaner forms of transport. Many of these changes offer wider benefits, like improved health and lower bills. The report also highlights the need for government to reduce the barriers for the public to make these changes and to engage the public more actively in the net zero transition. The citizens panel that fed into these recommendations highlight that measures need to be fair and reduce the cost of low-carbon options.”

Dr Christina Demski, Deputy Director at the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) at the University of Bath, said:

“The latest CCC progress report makes it clear that decisive action is needed now to ensure we meet the net zero target, and that action to reduce emissions also has other benefits like economic security, better health and reducing fuel poverty. While the UK is on track to reduce emissions substantially from energy supply, the report clearly shows that action is also needed in sectors like transport, buildings and agriculture, and that this requires widespread uptake of essential low-carbon technologies like EVs and heat pumps.

“We have long called for a comprehensive engagement strategy, so it is great to see this included as one of the key recommendations, especially the recommendation to go beyond one-way communication strategies.”

Dr Sam Hampton, Research Fellow at the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) at the University of Bath, said:

“The Climate Change Committee’s 7th Carbon Budget provides a comprehensive account of the changes required across UK society to address the increasingly alarming impacts of climate change. As we have largely exhausted the low-hanging fruit of decarbonising our electricity supply, the focus in the 2030s and 2040s must shift towards demand-side changes. This includes changes in how we eat and travel, as well as the technologies we adopt. The report highlights key solutions including the adoption of electric vehicles and heat pumps, as well as the need for innovation to rid fossil fuels from industry. Another important takeaway is that Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is not a viable solution to decarbonising air travel. This comes just weeks after government expressed its support for airport expansion, and highlights the need for more radical solutions to limit flying, especially amongst the rich.”

The Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget was published at 00:01 UK Time Wednesday 26 February 2025.

Declared interests

Prof John Barrett: Deputy Director for Policy, Priestly Centre for Climate Futures, University of Leeds, Theme Leader for the UKRI Energy Research Demand Centre

For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senators Marshall, Daines, and Bennet Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Support Outdoor Recreation and Expand Access to Public Lands

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), Steve Daines (R-Montana), and Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) today introduced the “Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act,” which would support public access for hunting, fishing, hiking, and other outdoor wildlife-dependent activities.
“As an avid outdoorsman and conservationist, some of my greatest memories are hunting and fishing with my kids,” said Senator Marshall. “I fully support and am proud to introduce the Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act, which encourages Kansans to open their land for the public to enjoy the great outdoors. Increased access to these outdoor recreational activities is good for our children and our shared American values.”
“Hunting, fishing, and hiking are huge parts of our Montana way of life, and as a lifelong sportsman myself, I’m glad to lead an effort to expand access to our public lands,” said Senator Daines. “Reauthorizing the Voluntary Public Access Habitat Initiative Program will give more Montanans the chance to enjoy outdoor recreation activities and support critical habitats for wildlife.”
“For years, this program has rewarded Colorado’s family farmers and ranchers for their efforts to improve wildlife habitat, provide new opportunities for sportsmen and women, and expand recreation options for Coloradans. I fought to expand funding for this program in the last Farm Bill, and I’ll continue to work to prioritize successful, voluntary programs like this,” said Senator Bennet.
Read the bill text HERE.
Background:
The “Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act of 2025” would reauthorize the Voluntary Public Access Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) for an additional five years and increase the authorization to $150 million. The VPA-HIP provides competitive grants to states and tribal governments to be used to incentivize private landowners to voluntarily open their lands for public use while upholding private property rights. Senators Marshall, Daines, and Bennet also introduced the bill in the 118th Congress.
Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan-6) and Dusty Johnson (R-South Dakota-At-Large) introduced the companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Statements of Support:
“State-led access programs are hurting this year without support from VPA-HIP, and including the Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act in a 2025 farm bill would be a major positive development for hunters and anglers. We are thrilled to see such an influential, bipartisan group of leaders recognize the importance of increased hunting and fishing access by introducing this legislation. Thank you, Representatives Dingell and Johnson and Senators Daines, Bennet, and Marshall, for your leadership and support,” said Joel Pedersen, President and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.
“Hunting access is one of the most significant barriers for both new and experienced hunters. The Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act is a win-win for sportsmen and landowners, and we thank Sens. Daines, Bennet, and Marshall for leading this bipartisan effort in the Senate, as well as Reps. Dingell and Johnson for their leadership in the House,” said Kellis Moss, Ducks Unlimited Managing Director of Federal Affairs.
“On behalf of the nation’s recreational fishing industry, the American Sportfishing Association thanks Senators Daines, Marshall, and Bennet for their leadership of the Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act. This legislation will support and enable landowners to provide fishing access on private lands, opening valuable waters to anglers. The reauthorization and expansion of VPA-HIP will strengthen a program that has allowed access to private lands since 2008, creating memorable days on the water for America’s anglers,” said Glenn Hughes, President of the American Sportfishing Association.
“Recovering wildlife, restoring habitat, and expanding recreational access on private lands is a win-win for both wildlife and the hunters, anglers, and outdoorspeople, who power the outdoor recreation economy. This common-sense, bipartisan bill will ensure farmers, ranchers, and private land owners have the tools and resources they need through the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program to ensure our shared wildlife heritage endures for future generations. Thank you to Representatives Debbie Dingell and Dusty Johnson and Senators Steve Daines, Michel Bennet, and Roger Marshall for working to pass this important bipartisan legislation,” said Aviva Glaser, Senior Director of Agriculture Policy for the National Wildlife Federation.
“There are dozens of state programs throughout the country that help open public hunting access on private lands, but one common thread is that VPA-HIP is the unsung hero that makes much of that access possible. The economic returns for rural communities in VPA-HIP have been shown many times over, and increasing funding for the program is one of our top priorities in the next farm bill. Access is at the core of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s mission, and we thank Senators Daines, Bennet, and Marshall and Representatives Dingell and Johnson for their leadership and support for this very successful program,” said Ariel Wiegard, Vice President of Government Affairs for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever.
“By reauthorizing and expanding the only federal program specifically designed to increase opportunities for hunters and anglers on private land, the Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act addresses the number one barrier to participation in our sporting traditions, lack of public access. We applaud the bipartisan leadership of Reps. Debbie Dingell and Dusty Johnson and Sens. Roger Marshall and Michael Bennet on legislation that would expand public recreation opportunities as well as enhance fish and wildlife habitat,” said Kaden McArthur, Director of Policy and Government Relations for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.
“We greatly appreciate Senators Daines, Bennet, and Marshall introducing the VPA Improvement Act. As we entered discussions of the next Farm Bill, extending and expanding the impact of VPA-HIP was one of Delta’s highest priorities. As duck hunters across the country look for additional access, increased investments in VPA HIP can lead to new partnerships with private landowners to enhance habitat and also provide access. We hope that this effort will lead to a broader bi-partisan effort to include an expanded VPA-HIP in the final Farm Bill,” said John Devney, Chief Policy Officer at Delta Waterfowl.
“We are proud to support Representative Dingell’s reintroduction of the Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act, alongside Representative Johnson, Senator Daines, Senator Marshall, and Senator Bennet. Reauthorizing and strengthening the Act will ensure that landowners and sportsmen alike can continue to benefit from sustainable wildlife management and habitat preservation for generations to come,” said Nick Pinizzotto, President and CEO of the National Deer Association.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: Too slow, too risky, too impractical: Interim senate report pans nuclear

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

SYDNEY, 26 February 2025: Greenpeace Australia Pacific has welcomed findings by an interim senate report that “there is limited utility in pursuing nuclear power at this point”, and called for parties to focus on delivering achievable and affordable, renewable energy solutions instead.

“The Senate Inquiry heard evidence from thousands of people and reached the logical conclusion that nuclear is unlikely to be developed in Australia until the mid-2040s at the earliest, is deeply unpopular among Australians, and will be more expensive to build than renewable energy,” Susie Byers, Head of Advocacy, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said.

“Taking into account the additional significant risks associated with nuclear waste management and accidents, there are dozens of reasons why nuclear just doesn’t make sense for Australia; and not a single proven reason to support it.

“This evidence-based report underscores that the Coalition’s nuclear fantasy is nothing more than a dangerous, nonsensical distraction, and a blatant ploy to keep coal and gas in our system until the 2040s, worsening climate change to deadly extremes.

“Remarks by Coalition MP Andrew Constance revealing the party’s plans to take the Paris Agreement’s 2035 target “off the table” earlier this week further underscore the Coalition’s absolute disinterest in doing anything to stop the worsening bushfires, floods, and storms that have devastated millions of Australians in recent years.

“Nuclear is a waste of Australians’ time, money, and a bet against a safe climate future for all of us. It will also impose potentially catastrophic risks on communities where the reactors and nuclear waste sites will be located.

“Choosing nuclear for Australia’s energy future will threaten our economy, air, land and water, and our kids’ futures, while backing in 100% affordable, safe, proven renewable energy, will strengthen our place in a global clean economy and help avoid unsurvivable consequences of climate change. The choice is clear.

—ENDS—

Note to editors: Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s submission to the inquiry is available here.

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Vai Shah on 0452 290 082 or [email protected].

MIL OSI NGO –

February 26, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Presumed extinct, this desert rat-kangaroo may still be alive in hiding. New analysis reveals its delicate diet

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rex Mitchell, Postdoctoral Fellow, Flinders University

Hedley Herbert Finlayson, The Red Centre, 1935

When it comes to how hard an animal can bite, size always matters.

There may be no truer a case of this than the desert rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris), known as the ngudlukanta to the traditional custodians of its Country of origin, the Wangkangurru Yarluyandi people.

This small, possibly extinct marsupial from the inhospitable Sturt Stony Desert may have had a solid skull built for hard biting. But not enough to bite through the kinds of foods biologists used to think it ate.

We discovered the lack of chomping power in the skull of this rat-kangaroo while testing new approaches for analysing skull biomechanics.

Our results, published today in the Journal of Experimental Biology, may help with ongoing searches for the elusive species.

Declared extinct 30 years ago, there remains hope the critter might still emerge in some parts of its original home range.

A difficult desert

The Sturt Stony Desert in the far north-east of South Australia is one of the world’s most inhospitable places. Few animals can make it their home.

However, one small marsupial species was known to brave the heat, drought, and scarcity of food: the ngudlukanta.

The desert rat-kangaroo, known as ngudlukanta to the Wangkangurru Yarluyandi people.
Hedley Herbert Finlayson, The Red Centre, 1935

The species was previously thought to be long extinct, until mammal researcher Hedley Herbert Finlayson led the rediscovery of the animal in the 1930s.

But soon after, it vanished again.

Sadly, the tiny desert dweller was officially declared extinct in 1994. Weighing just under 1kg, it would have been a perfect snack for introduced predators like foxes and cats. It was further pushed towards extinction by competition with rabbits, overstocking with cattle and sheep, and poor fire management.

Yet, exciting reports of possible sightings of the ngudlukanta still emerge sporadically. Descriptions of its distinctive compact size, combined with its short face and the hopping gait of a kangaroo, have sparked renewed interest in rediscovering this animal.

In the quest to find this elusive little battler, information about its diet is key. It can help people to keep a closer eye on areas where its favourite foods would be found.

From a bite to a diet

To better understand its diet and feeding behaviour, we turned to the animal’s skull.

The ngudlukanta had a solidly built skull, with a short and wide face. This led researchers to suggest that it could eat harder desert foods like roots, nuts and seeds.

But in our latest analysis, we showed that these assessments were probably incorrect. Instead, the animal’s diet was more likely restricted to softer materials, rather than the tougher foods eaten by some of its harder-headed relatives like the burrowing bettong.

The reason for this? It all comes down to its size.

Previous interpretations of its biting ability had drawn conclusions from comparisons of skull shape between species, but without considering size differences between them.

Our results form part of a paper that addresses this issue in the methods that researchers use. We used a method called finite element analysis, which helps to predict how a structure – in this case, a skull – would handle the forces it experiences in the real world.

But what we did differently to other researchers was to keep information about size differences between the skulls in the models.

What did we find?

The skull of the ngudlukanta is definitely efficient at biting, but it is also about one quarter smaller than the skull of the next smallest species in our sample, the northern bettong.

When we included its smaller size in the analysis, the results suggested its relatively short face and robust jaw were unlikely to help it eat harder foods.

Instead, its solid skull features mostly compensated for its small size, but would only allow it to support bites about as hard as those of the long-nosed potoroo – a larger species with a much less efficient skull at biting.

Finite element models simulating the stress of each skull during biting with the front teeth. The stress in the desert rat-kangaroo is more similar to the hard food-eating burrowing bettong when not including its small size in the models. But its stress levels are more like the long-nosed potoroo when including its small size.
Authors

Early investigations of stomach contents from the 1930s tell us the ngudlukanta fed mostly on leaves and small amounts of insects. But little further detail exists. A more restricted range of softer, fresher plant materials, as suggested by our analysis, would narrow its range of preferred foods in the deserts it lived in.

Our results therefore paint a picture of a species occupying a delicate position within the desert ecosystem.

An unsolved mystery in a vast desert

In recent years, one of us (Karl Vernes) has mounted several expeditions into the ngudlukanta‘s habitat, hoping to find evidence of its continued existence.

However, finding this tiny marsupial in a vast desert is a challenge – not just because it was probably always rare and elusive, but also because we still know precious little about its ecology.

Eyewitness accounts, remote camera traps, analysis of predator scat (poo) for mammal remains, genetic testing of scats, and the expert ecological knowledge of Traditional Owners have all been used to investigate the possibility of the survival of the ngudlukanta. No definitive evidence has yet emerged.

Whether the ngudlukanta is extinct or not, therefore, remains an unsolved mystery.

But history is replete with examples of rediscovered species believed to be extinct, known as “Lazarus species”. The desert’s vast, inhospitable terrain means it is plausible for a small nocturnal species to be evading detection.

The distinctive short face of the ngudlukanta, alongside its small size and hopping gait, have led eyewitnesses to argue for its persistence.
Hedley Herbert Finlayson, The Red Centre, 1935

In fact, the desert rat-kangaroo was already a Lazarus species after its rediscovery in the 1930s. The story of the ngudlukanta therefore serves as a reminder that extinction declarations are not always the end of the story.

If the species is still roaming the most inhospitable regions of the continent, the new knowledge gained from our analysis could help pinpoint areas where the ngudlukanta might persist.

Who knows? The next chapter in the story of this desert-dweller may yet surprise us.

Rex Mitchell has received funding from the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH).

Karl Vernes has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Experiment.com, the Hermon Slade Foundation and Parks Australia. He is a member of the Australian Mammal Society.

Vera Weisbecker receives funding from The Australian Research Council. She is affiliated with The Australian Mammal Society and member of the Australian Greens Party.

– ref. Presumed extinct, this desert rat-kangaroo may still be alive in hiding. New analysis reveals its delicate diet – https://theconversation.com/presumed-extinct-this-desert-rat-kangaroo-may-still-be-alive-in-hiding-new-analysis-reveals-its-delicate-diet-250283

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Dive Boat Owner/Operator Pleads Guilty to Violating the Federal Clean Water Act

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

MIAMI – Today, a Florida woman pled guilty in federal district court to violating the Clean Water Act by knowingly discharging a harmful quantity of oil into United States and contiguous zone waters.

According to court documents and statements made at today’s hearing, Liza R. Hash, 48, of Inglis, Fla. owned and operated the S/V JULIET, an 88-foot, 118 gross ton, steel-hulled sailing vessel built in 1974. For approximately six years, Hash operated the vessel between Miami and the Bahamas, on multi-day scuba diving excursions. She carried as many as 12 passengers per trip plus crew.

On June 16, 2023, Investigating Officers (CGIOs) from the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami boarded the S/V JULIET upon its return from a trip to the Bahamas. After noticing an active oil sheen originating from the vessel, they conducted a safety examination.

During the examination, the CGIOs noted oily water in the vessel’s bilge and an electric submersible pump in the space beneath the main diesel engine. The pump was connected to the vessel’s grey water tank, which was arranged to be discharged overboard without treatment. The Defendant admitted that she would use the bilge pump to transfer oil-contaminated bilge waste first into the grey water tank. Then, she would use the grey water tank’s separate discharge pump to empty the untreated contents into U.S. waters. The grey water tank was neither designed nor intended to handle oily bilge wastes, but rather to hold liquids from the vessel’s washer, dryer, sinks, showers, and air conditioning unit.

Calculations performed by the CGIOs revealed that over the preceding five years of operation, approximately 26,000 gallons of oily water would have been illegally discharged from the S/V JULIET. Such wastes should have been held on board for proper pump-out and disposal at a shore-side facility.

United States District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz, II, set sentencing in the case for May 21, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. The defendant faces up to three years’ imprisonment, followed by up to three years of supervised release. In addition, the court may impose a fine of up to $250,000.

Hayden P. O’Byrne, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kristopher Martel, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal enforcement program in Florida, announced the guilty plea.

United States Attorney O’Byrne commended the efforts of the United States Coast Guard Sector Miami Investigating Officers, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald is prosecuting the case.

You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 25-cr-20007.

###

MIL Security OSI –

February 26, 2025

MIL-OSI: Par Pacific Reports Fourth Quarter and 2024 Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

HOUSTON, Feb. 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PARR) (“Par Pacific” or the “Company”) today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2024.

Fourth quarter Net Loss of $(55.7) million, or $(1.01) per diluted share; Adjusted Net Loss of $(43.4) million, or $(0.79) per diluted share; Adjusted EBITDA of $10.9 million
Full year net loss of $(33.3) million, or $(0.59) per diluted share; Adjusted Net Income of $21.2 million, or $0.37 per diluted share; Adjusted EBITDA of $238.7 million
Record annual Retail and Logistics segment Adjusted EBITDA
Repurchased 5 million common shares during 2024, or 9% of year end shares outstanding

Par Pacific reported a net loss of $(33.3) million, or $(0.59) per diluted share, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to net income of $728.6 million, or $11.94 per diluted share, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted Net Income for 2024 was $21.2 million, compared to $501.2 million for 2023. 2024 Adjusted EBITDA was $238.7 million, compared to $696.2 million for 2023.

Par Pacific reported a net loss of $(55.7) million, or $(1.01) per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, compared to net income of $289.3 million, or $4.77 per diluted share, for the same quarter in 2023. Fourth quarter 2024 Adjusted Net Loss was $(43.4) million, compared to Adjusted Net Income of $65.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Fourth quarter 2024 Adjusted EBITDA was $10.9 million, compared to $122.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. A reconciliation of reported non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in the tables accompanying this news release.

“Our 2024 results underscore our strategic diversification with strong contribution from Hawaii Refining and record profitability in our Retail and Logistics segments,” said Will Monteleone, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Completing the Montana turnaround prior to the summer driving season and starting up our capital efficient Hawaii Sustainable Aviation Fuel project position us for earnings growth.”

Refining

The Refining segment generated operating income of $17.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $676.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Refining segment in the year ended December 31, 2024 was $618.3 million, compared to $995.0 million in the year ended December 31, 2023.

Refining segment Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $139.2 million, compared to $621.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.

The Refining segment reported an operating loss of $(65.4) million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to operating income of $174.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Refining segment was $92.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $227.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Refining segment Adjusted EBITDA was $(22.3) million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $106.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Hawaii
The Hawaii Index averaged $5.52 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $12.48 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2023. Throughput in the fourth quarter of 2024 was 83 thousand barrels per day (Mbpd), compared to 81 Mbpd for the same quarter in 2023. Production costs were $4.42 per throughput barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $4.80 per throughput barrel in the same period of 2023.

The Hawaii refinery’s Adjusted Gross Margin was $7.36 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2024, including a net price lag impact of approximately $(5.4) million, or $(0.71) per barrel, compared to $16.73 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2023.

Montana
The Montana Index averaged $5.75 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $14.80 in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Montana refinery’s throughput in the fourth quarter of 2024 was 52 Mbpd, compared to 50 Mbpd for the same quarter in 2023. Production costs were $10.48 per throughput barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $12.03 per throughput barrel in the same period of 2023.

The Montana refinery’s Adjusted Gross Margin was $3.70 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $11.55 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2023.

Washington
The Washington Index averaged $(0.62) per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $5.23 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Washington refinery’s throughput was 39 Mbpd in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 38 Mbpd in the fourth quarter of 2023. Production costs were $4.34 per throughput barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $4.53 per throughput barrel in the same period of 2023.

The Washington refinery’s Adjusted Gross Margin was $1.05 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $7.87 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2023.

Wyoming

The Wyoming Index averaged $13.36 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $16.58 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Wyoming refinery’s throughput was 14 Mbpd in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 17 Mbpd in the fourth quarter of 2023. Production costs were $11.49 per throughput barrel in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $8.03 per throughput barrel in the same period of 2023.

The Wyoming refinery’s Adjusted Gross Margin was $11.11 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2024, including a FIFO impact of approximately $(2.2) million, or $(1.75) per barrel, compared to $13.90 per barrel during the fourth quarter of 2023.

Wyoming Refining Operational Update

The Wyoming refinery experienced an operational incident on the evening of February 12, 2025, and has remained safely idled through the extreme winter weather conditions. We expect to restart the refinery in mid-April at reduced throughput and return to full operations by the end of May.

Retail

The Retail segment reported operating income of $64.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $56.6 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Retail segment was $164.7 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $155.3 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, Retail Adjusted EBITDA was $76.0 million, compared to $68.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, the Retail segment reported fuel sales volumes of 121.5 million gallons, compared to 117.6 million gallons for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. 2024 same store fuel volumes and inside sales revenue increased by 2.2% and 4.6%, respectively, compared to 2023.

The Retail segment reported operating income of $19.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $14.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Retail segment was $43.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $40.5 million in the same quarter of 2023.

Retail segment Adjusted EBITDA was $22.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $17.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Retail segment reported sales volumes of 30.3 million gallons in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 29.8 million gallons in the same quarter of 2023. Fourth quarter 2024 same store fuel volumes and inside sales revenue increased by 2.1% and 6.2%, respectively, compared to fourth quarter of 2023.

Logistics

The Logistics segment generated operating income of $89.4 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $69.7 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Logistics segment was $135.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $121.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

Adjusted EBITDA for the Logistics segment was $120.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $96.7 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

The Logistics segment reported operating income of $24.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $15.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Logistics segment was $36.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $35.3 million in the same quarter of 2023.

Logistics segment Adjusted EBITDA was $33.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $24.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Liquidity

Net cash provided by operations totaled $83.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, including working capital outflows of $(18.1) million and deferred turnaround expenditures of $(73.5) million. Excluding these items, net cash provided by operations totaled $175.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024. Net cash provided by operations totaled $579.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

Net cash used in operations totaled $(15.5) million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, including working capital inflows of $19.9 million and deferred turnaround expenditures of $(15.7) million. Excluding these items, net cash used in operations totaled $(19.6) million for the three months ended December 31, 2024. Net cash used in operations totaled $(2.3) million for the three months ended December 31, 2023.

Net cash used in investing activities totaled $(47.7) million and $(134.0) million for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, respectively, compared to $(27.3) million and $(659.0) million for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, respectively. Net cash used in investing activities for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, includes $(47.7) million and $(135.5) million in capital expenditures, respectively.

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities totaled $72.1 million and $(37.0) million for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, respectively, compared to net cash used in financing activities of $(56.6) million and $(135.6) million for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, respectively.

At December 31, 2024, Par Pacific’s cash balance totaled $191.9 million, gross term debt was $644.2 million, and total liquidity was $613.7 million. Net term debt was $452.3 million at December 31, 2024. In February 2025, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized management to repurchase up to $250 million of common stock, with no specified end date. This replaces the prior authorization to repurchase up to $250 million of common stock.

Laramie Energy

In conjunction with Laramie Energy LLC’s (“Laramie’s”) refinancing and subsequent cash distribution to Par Pacific during the first quarter of 2023, we resumed the application of equity method accounting for our investment in Laramie effective February 21, 2023.

During the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, we recorded $(3.2) million and $(0.3) million of equity losses. Laramie’s total net loss was $(11.3) million in the fourth quarter of 2024, including unrealized losses on derivatives of $(5.2) million, compared to net income of $42.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Laramie’s total net loss was $(15.5) million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, including unrealized losses on derivatives of $(3.6) million, compared to net income of $96.6 million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

Laramie’s total Adjusted EBITDAX was $11.0 million and $45.8 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, respectively, compared to $19.6 million and $89.7 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, respectively.

Laramie’s balance sheet position is strong with $68.6 million of cash and $160.0 million of debt at December 31, 2024. Laramie’s 2024 production was 96.6 million cubic feet of gas equivalent per day (MMcfe/d) and its management team plans to run a one-rig program throughout 2025. Approximately 79% of Laramie’s 2025 production is hedged at $3.20 per million British thermal unit (MMBtu).

Conference Call Information

A conference call is scheduled for Wednesday, February 26, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Time). To access the call, please dial 1-833-974-2377 inside the U.S. or 1-412-317-5782 outside of the U.S. and ask for the Par Pacific call. Please dial in at least 10 minutes early to register. The webcast may be accessed online through the Company’s website at http://www.parpacific.com on the Investors page. A telephone replay will be available until March 12, 2025, and may be accessed by calling 1-877-344-7529 inside the U.S. or 1-412-317-0088 outside the U.S. and using the conference ID 2219355.

About Par Pacific

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PARR), headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a growing energy company providing both renewable and conventional fuels to the western United States. Par Pacific owns and operates 219,000 bpd of combined refining capacity across four locations in Hawaii, the Pacific Northwest and the Rockies, and an extensive energy infrastructure network, including 13 million barrels of storage, and marine, rail, rack, and pipeline assets. In addition, Par Pacific operates the Hele retail brand in Hawaii and the “nomnom” convenience store chain in the Pacific Northwest. Par Pacific also owns 46% of Laramie Energy, LLC, a natural gas production company with operations and assets concentrated in Western Colorado. More information is available at www.parpacific.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release (and oral statements regarding the subject matter of this news release, including those made on the conference call and webcast announced herein) includes certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to qualify for the “safe harbor” from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements about: expected market conditions; anticipated free cash flows; anticipated refinery throughput; anticipated cost savings; anticipated capital expenditures, including major maintenance costs, and their effect on our financial and operating results, including earnings per share and free cash flow; anticipated retail sales volumes and on-island sales; the anticipated financial and operational results of Laramie Energy, LLC; the amount of our discounted net cash flows and the impact of our NOL carryforwards thereon; our ability to identify, acquire, and develop energy, related retailing, and infrastructure businesses; the timing and expected results of certain development projects, as well as the impact of such investments on our product mix and sales; the anticipated synergies and other benefits of the Billings refinery and associated marketing and logistics assets (“Billings Acquisition”), including renewable growth opportunities, the anticipated financial and operating results of the Billings Acquisition and the effect on Par Pacific’s cash flows and profitability (including Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income and Free Cash Flow per share); and other risks and uncertainties detailed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and any other documents that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, trends, and uncertainties, such as changes to our financial condition and liquidity; the volatility of crude oil and refined product prices; the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Palestine conflict, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iranian activities in the Strait of Hormuz and their potential impacts on global crude oil markets and our business; operating disruptions at our refineries resulting from unplanned maintenance events or natural disasters; environmental risks; changes in the labor market; and risks of political or regulatory changes. We cannot provide assurances that the assumptions upon which these forward-looking statements are based will prove to have been correct. Should any of these risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements, and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are current only as of this date. We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. We further expressly disclaim any written or oral statements made by a third party regarding the subject matter of this news release.

Contact:
Ashimi Patel
VP, Investor Relations & Sustainability
(832) 916-3355
apatel@parpacific.com

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share data)

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Year Ended December 31,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Revenues	$	1,832,221		$	2,183,511		$	7,974,457		$	8,231,955
Operating expenses
Cost of revenues (excluding depreciation)		1,678,273			1,799,898			7,101,148			6,838,109
Operating expense (excluding depreciation)		139,893			155,441			584,282			485,587
Depreciation and amortization		34,911			31,943			131,590			119,830
General and administrative expense (excluding depreciation)		21,522			25,299			108,844			91,447
Equity losses (earnings) from refining and logistics investments		941			(7,485	)		(11,905	)		(11,844	)
Acquisition and integration costs		32			269			100			17,482
Par West redevelopment and other costs		3,500			2,907			12,548			11,397
Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net		108			(59	)		222			(59	)
Total operating expenses		1,879,180			2,008,213			7,926,829			7,551,949
Operating income (loss)		(46,959	)		175,298			47,628			680,006
Other income (expense)
Interest expense and financing costs, net		(21,073	)		(20,476	)		(82,793	)		(72,450	)
Debt extinguishment and commitment costs		(270	)		(1,500	)		(1,688	)		(19,182	)
Other loss, net		(422	)		(354	)		(1,869	)		(53	)
Equity earnings (losses) from Laramie Energy, LLC		(3,163	)		14,279			(296	)		24,985
Total other expense, net		(24,928	)		(8,051	)		(86,646	)		(66,700	)
Income (loss) before income taxes		(71,887	)		167,247			(39,018	)		613,306
Income tax benefit (expense)		16,192			122,077			5,696			115,336
Net income (loss)	$	(55,695	)	$	289,324		$	(33,322	)	$	728,642

Weighted-average shares outstanding
Basic		55,252			59,403		56,775			60,035
Diluted		55,252			60,609		56,775			61,014

Income (loss) per share
Basic	$	(1.01	)	$	4.87	$	(0.59	)	$	12.14
Diluted	$	(1.01	)	$	4.77	$	(0.59	)	$	11.94

Balance Sheet Data
(Unaudited)
(in thousands)

	December 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
Balance Sheet Data
Cash and cash equivalents	$	191,921	$	279,107
Working capital (1)		488,940		190,042
ABL Credit Facility		483,000		115,000
Term debt (2)		644,233		550,621
Total debt, including current portion		1,112,967		650,858
Total stockholders’ equity		1,191,302		1,335,424

_______________________________________

(1)	Working capital is calculated as (i) total current assets excluding cash and cash equivalents less (ii) total current liabilities excluding current portion of long-term debt. Total current assets include inventories stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value.
(2)	Term debt includes the Term Loan Credit Agreement and other long-term debt.

Operating Statistics

The following table summarizes key operational data:

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Year Ended December 31,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Total Refining Segment
Feedstocks throughput (Mbpd) (1)		187.8			186.0			186.7			170.3
Refined product sales volume (Mbpd) (1)		199.4			194.4			199.9			183.1

Hawaii Refinery
Feedstocks throughput (Mbpd)		83.3			80.6			81.1			80.8

Yield (% of total throughput)
Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks		27.0	%		25.2	%		26.2	%		26.3	%
Distillates		41.1	%		39.3	%		38.9	%		40.4	%
Fuel oils		29.2	%		31.8	%		31.3	%		28.9	%
Other products	(0.2)%			(0.2)%				0.2	%		1.1	%
Total yield		97.1	%		96.1	%		96.6	%		96.7	%

Refined product sales volume (Mbpd)		93.7			89.0			89.3			89.1

Adjusted Gross Margin per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (2)	$	7.36		$	16.73		$	9.34		$	15.25
Production costs per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (3)		4.42			4.80			4.58			4.57
D&A per bbl ($/throughput bbl)		0.32			0.54			0.43			0.65

Montana Refinery
Feedstocks Throughput (Mbpd) (1)		51.9			49.8			49.9			54.4

Yield (% of total throughput)
Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks		43.9	%		45.1	%		48.0	%		48.1	%
Distillates		32.7	%		38.8	%		31.9	%		32.0	%
Asphalt		15.2	%		8.7	%		10.9	%		12.1	%
Other products		2.7	%		2.5	%		3.9	%		3.2	%
Total yield		94.5	%		95.1	%		94.7	%		95.4	%

Refined product sales volume (Mbpd) (1)		52.9			51.5			53.2			58.6

Adjusted Gross Margin per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (2)	$	3.70		$	11.55		$	11.37		$	21.14
Production costs per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (3)		10.48			12.03			12.42			10.78
D&A per bbl ($/throughput bbl)		2.26			1.10			1.83			1.45

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Year Ended December 31,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Washington Refinery
Feedstocks throughput (Mbpd)		39.0			38.4			38.2			40.0

Yield (% of total throughput)
Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks		23.6	%		23.8	%		23.9	%		23.5	%
Distillate		34.6	%		34.1	%		34.5	%		34.5	%
Asphalt		19.4	%		20.6	%		18.8	%		19.7	%
Other products		19.3	%		18.6	%		19.3	%		18.7	%
Total yield		96.9	%		97.1	%		96.5	%		96.4	%

Refined product sales volume (Mbpd)		37.9			37.0			39.2			41.7

Adjusted Gross Margin per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (2)	$	1.05		$	7.87		$	3.25		$	9.41
Production costs per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (3)		4.34			4.53			4.28			4.12
D&A per bbl ($/throughput bbl)		1.91			2.22			1.97			1.91

Wyoming Refinery
Feedstocks throughput (Mbpd)		13.6			17.2			17.5			17.6

Yield (% of total throughput)
Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks		51.5	%		50.3	%		46.9	%		47.1	%
Distillate		43.1	%		45.0	%		47.1	%		46.7	%
Fuel oils		1.7	%		2.3	%		2.4	%		2.5	%
Other products		1.7	%		1.0	%		2.1	%		1.5	%
Total yield		98.0	%		98.6	%		98.5	%		97.8	%

Refined product sales volume (Mbpd)		14.9			16.9			18.2			17.9

Adjusted Gross Margin per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (2)	$	11.11		$	13.90		$	13.73		$	25.15
Production costs per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (3)		11.49			8.03			8.10			7.50
D&A per bbl ($/throughput bbl)		3.55			2.71			2.71			2.69


Par Pacific Indices ($ per barrel)
Hawaii Index (4)	$	5.52		$	12.48		$	7.21		$	13.06
Montana Index (5)		5.75			14.80			14.39			23.71
Washington Index (6)		(0.62	)		5.23			4.13			9.81
Wyoming Index (7)		13.36			16.58			16.47			24.48

Market Cracks ($ per barrel)
Singapore 3.1.2 Product Crack (4)	$	11.69		$	19.44		$	13.36		$	19.50
Montana 6.3.2.1 Product Crack (5)		15.31			23.56			21.59			30.15
Washington 3.1.1.1 Product Crack (6)		8.29			10.83			12.11			17.91
Wyoming 2.1.1 Product Crack (7)		16.00			18.70			18.48			27.52

Crude Oil Prices ($ per barrel) (8)
Brent	$	74.01		$	82.85		$	79.86		$	82.17
WTI		70.32			78.53			75.76			77.60
ANS (-) Brent		1.00			2.21			1.55			0.95
Bakken Guernsey (-) WTI		(1.22	)		(2.20	)		(1.26	)		(0.65	)
Bakken Williston (-) WTI		(2.54	)		(2.50	)		(2.45	)		(0.09	)
WCS Hardisty (-) WTI		(12.27	)		(22.78	)		(13.90	)		(17.92	)
MSW (-) WTI		(3.68	)		(7.34	)		(4.03	)		(3.70	)
Syncrude (-) WTI		(0.42	)		(4.12	)		0.18			1.32
Brent M1-M3		0.74			1.01			1.10			0.81

Retail Segment
Retail sales volumes (thousands of gallons)		30,287			29,840			121,473			117,550

_______________________________________

(1)	Feedstocks throughput and sales volumes per day for the Montana refinery for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023 are calculated based on the 92 and 214-day periods for which we owned the Montana refinery during the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, respectively. As such, the amounts for the total refining segment represent the sum of the Hawaii, Washington, and Wyoming refineries’ throughput or sales volumes averaged over the three months and year ended December 31, 2023 plus the Montana refinery’s throughput or sales volumes averaged over the periods from October 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023 and June 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, respectively. The 2024 amounts for the total refining segment represent the sum of the Hawaii, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming refineries’ throughput or sales volumes averaged over the three months and year ended December 31, 2024.
(2)	We calculate Adjusted Gross Margin per barrel by dividing Adjusted Gross Margin by total refining throughput. Adjusted Gross Margin for our Washington refinery is determined under the last-in, first-out (“LIFO”) inventory costing method. Adjusted Gross Margin for our other refineries is determined under the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) inventory costing method.
(3)	Management uses production costs per barrel to evaluate performance and compare efficiency to other companies in the industry. There are a variety of ways to calculate production costs per barrel; different companies within the industry calculate it in different ways. We calculate production costs per barrel by dividing all direct production costs, which include the costs to run the refineries, including personnel costs, repair and maintenance costs, insurance, utilities, and other miscellaneous costs, by total refining throughput. Our production costs are included in Operating expense (excluding depreciation) on our condensed consolidated statements of operations, which also includes costs related to our bulk marketing operations and severance costs.
(4)	Beginning in 2025, we established the Hawaii Index as a new benchmark for our Hawaii operations. We believe the Hawaii Index, which incorporates market cracks and landed crude differentials, better reflects the key drivers impacting our Hawaii refinery’s financial performance compared to prior reported market indices. The Hawaii Index is calculated as the Singapore 3.1.2 Product Crack, or one part gasoline (RON 92) and two parts distillates (Sing Jet & Sing gasoil) as created from a barrel of Brent crude oil, less the Par Hawaii Refining, LLC (“PHR”) crude differential.
(5)	Beginning in 2025, we established the Montana Index as a new benchmark for our Montana refinery. We believe the Montana Index, which incorporates local market cracks, regional crude oil prices, and management’s estimates for other costs of sales, better reflects the key drivers impacting our Montana refinery’s financial performance compared to prior reported market indices. Beginning in 2025, market cracks have been updated to reflect local market product pricing, which better reflects our Montana refinery’s refined product sales price compared to prior reported market indices. The Montana Index is calculated as the Montana 6.3.2.1 Product Crack less Montana crude costs, less other costs of sales, including inflation-adjusted product delivery costs, yield loss expense, taxes and tariffs, and product discounts. The Montana 6.3.2.1 Product Crack is calculated by taking three parts gasoline (Billings E10 and Spokane E10), two parts distillate (Billings ULSD and Spokane ULSD), and one part asphalt (Rocky Mountain Rail Asphalt) as created from a barrel of WTI crude oil, less 100% of the RVO cost for gasoline and ULSD. Asphalt pricing is lagged by one month. The Montana crude cost is calculated as 60% WCS differential to WTI, 20% MSW differential to WTI, and 20% Syncrude differential to WTI. The Montana crude cost is lagged by three months and includes an inflation-adjusted crude delivery cost. Other costs of sales and crude delivery costs are based on historical averages and management’s estimates.
(6)	Beginning in 2025, we established the Washington Index as a new benchmark for our Washington refinery. We believe the Washington Index, which incorporates local market cracks, regional crude oil prices, and management’s estimates for other costs of sales, better reflects the key drivers impacting our Washington refinery’s financial performance compared to prior reported market indices. Beginning in 2025, market cracks have been updated to reflect local market product pricing, which better reflects our Washington refinery’s refined product sales price compared to prior reported market indices. The Washington Index is calculated as the Washington 3.1.1.1 Product Crack, less Washington crude costs, less other costs of sales, including inflation-adjusted product delivery costs, yield loss expense and state and local taxes. The Washington 3.1.1.1 Product Crack is calculated by taking one part gasoline (Tacoma E10), one part distillate (Tacoma ULSD) and one part secondary products (USGC VGO and Rocky Mountain Rail Asphalt) as created from a barrel of WTI crude oil, less 100% of the RVO cost for gasoline and ULSD. Asphalt pricing is lagged by one month. The Washington crude cost is calculated as 67% Bakken Williston differential to WTI and 33% WCS Hardisty differential to WTI. The Washington crude cost is lagged by one month and includes an inflation-adjusted crude delivery cost. Other costs of sales and crude delivery costs are based on historical averages and management’s estimates.
(7)	Beginning in 2025, we established the Wyoming Index as a new benchmark for our Wyoming refinery. We believe the Wyoming Index, which incorporates local market cracks, regional crude oil prices, and management’s estimates for other costs of sales, better reflects the key drivers impacting our Wyoming refinery’s financial performance compared to prior reported market indices. Beginning in 2025, market cracks have also been updated to reflect local market product pricing, which better reflects our Wyoming refinery’s refined product sales price compared to prior reported market indices. The Wyoming Index is calculated as the Wyoming 2.1.1 Product Crack, less Wyoming crude costs, less other cost of sales, including inflation adjusted product delivery costs and yield loss expense, based on historical averages and management’s estimates. The Wyoming 2.1.1 Product Crack is calculated by taking one part gasoline (Rockies gasoline) and one part distillate (USGC ULSD and USGC Jet) as created from a barrel of WTI crude oil, less 100% of the RVO cost for gasoline and ULSD. The Wyoming crude cost is calculated as the Bakken Guernsey differential to WTI on a one-month lag.
(8)	Beginning in 2025, crude oil prices have been updated and expanded to reflect regional differentials to Brent and WTI, which better reflect our refineries’ feedstock costs compared to prior crude oil pricing.

Non-GAAP Performance Measures

Management uses certain financial measures to evaluate our operating performance that are considered non-GAAP financial measures. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes or alternatives to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures or any other measure of financial performance or liquidity presented in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies since each company may define these terms differently.

We believe Adjusted Gross Margin (as defined below) provides useful information to investors because it eliminates the gross impact of volatile commodity prices and adjusts for certain non-cash items and timing differences created by our inventory financing agreements and lower of cost and net realizable value adjustments to demonstrate the earnings potential of the business before other fixed and variable costs, which are reported separately in Operating expense (excluding depreciation) and Depreciation and amortization. Management uses Adjusted Gross Margin per barrel to evaluate operating performance and compare profitability to other companies in the industry and to industry benchmarks. We believe Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below) are useful supplemental financial measures that allow investors to assess the financial performance of our assets without regard to financing methods, capital structure, or historical cost basis, the ability of our assets to generate cash to pay interest on our indebtedness, and our operating performance and return on invested capital as compared to other companies without regard to financing methods and capital structure. We believe Adjusted EBITDA by segment (as defined below) is a useful supplemental financial measure to evaluate the economic performance of our segments without regard to financing methods, capital structure, or historical cost basis.

Beginning with financial results reported for the second quarter of 2023, Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted Net Income (Loss), and Adjusted EBITDA also exclude our portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from our refining and logistics investments acquired on June 1, 2023, as part of the Billings Acquisition.

Beginning with financial results reported for the fourth quarter of 2023, Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted Net Income (Loss), and Adjusted EBITDA excludes all hedge losses (gains) associated with our Washington ending inventory and LIFO layer increment impacts associated with our Washington inventory. In addition, we have modified our environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustment to include only the mark-to-market losses (gains) associated with our net RINs liability and net obligation associated with the Washington Climate Commitment Act (“Washington CCA”) and Clean Fuel Standard. This modification was made as part of our change in how we estimate our environmental obligation liabilities.

Beginning with financial results reported for the fourth quarter of 2023, Adjusted Net Income (loss) excludes unrealized interest rate derivative losses (gains) and all Laramie Energy related impacts with the exception of cash distributions. We have recast Adjusted Net Income (Loss) for prior periods when reported to conform to the modified presentation.

Beginning with financial results reported for the first quarter of 2024, Adjusted Net Income (loss) also excludes other non-operating income and expenses. This modification improves comparability between periods by excluding income and expenses resulting from non-operating activities.

Effective as of the fourth quarter of 2024, we have modified our definition of Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA to align the accounting treatment for deferred turnaround costs from our refining and logistics investments with our accounting policy. Under this approach, we exclude our share of their turnaround expenses, which are recorded as period costs in their financial statements, and instead defer and amortize these costs on a straight-line basis over the period estimated until the next planned turnaround. This modification enhances consistency and comparability across reporting periods.

Adjusted Gross Margin

Adjusted Gross Margin is defined as Operating income (loss) excluding:

•		operating expense (excluding depreciation);
•		depreciation and amortization (“D&A”);
•		Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and D&A expense from refining and logistics investments;
•		impairment expense;
•		loss (gain) on sale of assets, net;
•		Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments;
•		inventory valuation adjustment (which adjusts for timing differences to reflect the economics of our inventory financing agreements, including lower of cost or net realizable value adjustments, the impact of the embedded derivative repurchase or terminal obligations, hedge losses (gains) associated with our Washington ending inventory and intermediation obligation, purchase price allocation adjustments, and LIFO layer increment and decrement impacts associated with our Washington inventory);
•		Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments (which represents the mark-to-market losses (gains) associated with our net RINs liability and net obligation associated with the Washington CCA and Clean Fuel Standard); and
•		unrealized loss (gain) on derivatives.

The following tables present a reconciliation of Adjusted Gross Margin to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, operating income (loss), on a historical basis, for selected segments, for the periods indicated (in thousands):

Three months ended December 31, 2024	Refining			Logistics		Retail
Operating income (loss)	$	(65,399	)	$	24,772	$	19,477
Operating expense (excluding depreciation)		114,706			3,829		21,358
Depreciation and amortization		24,524			7,140		2,566
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments		456			1,101		—
Inventory valuation adjustment		5,929			—		—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(937	)		—		—
Unrealized loss on commodity derivatives		9,220			—		—
Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments		3,856			—		—
Loss on sale of assets, net		8			—		—
Adjusted Gross Margin (1)	$	92,363		$	36,842	$	43,401

Three months ended December 31, 2023	Refining			Logistics		Retail
Operating income	$	174,038		$	15,709	$	14,594
Operating expense (excluding depreciation)		120,810			11,272		23,359
Depreciation and amortization		21,190			7,321		2,885
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments		765			952		—
Inventory valuation adjustment		(24,089	)		—		—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(15,672	)		—		—
Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives		(50,024	)		—		—
Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net		219			—		(308	)
Adjusted Gross Margin (1) (2)	$	227,237		$	35,254	$	40,530

Year Ended December 31, 2024	Refining			Logistics		Retail
Operating income	$	17,412		$	89,351	$	64,800
Operating expense (excluding depreciation)		479,737			15,676		88,869
Depreciation and amortization		91,108			27,033		11,037
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments		2,493			3,651		—
Inventory valuation adjustment		(490	)		—		—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(19,136	)		—		—
Unrealized loss on commodity derivatives		43,281			—		—
Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments		3,856			—		—
Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net		8			124		(10	)
Adjusted Gross Margin (1)	$	618,269		$	135,835	$	164,696

Year Ended December 31, 2023	Refining			Logistics		Retail
Operating income	$	676,161		$	69,744	$	56,603
Operating expense (excluding depreciation)		373,612			24,450		87,525
Depreciation and amortization		81,017			25,122		11,462
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments		1,586			1,857		—
Inventory valuation adjustment		102,710			—		—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(189,783	)		—		—
Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives		(50,511	)		—		—
Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net		219			—		(308	)
Adjusted Gross Margin (1) (2)	$	995,011		$	121,173	$	155,282

_______________________________________

(1)	For the three months and years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was no impairment expense in Operating income.
(2)	For the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, there was no impact in Operating income from accounting policy differences at our refining and logistics investments.

Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted Net Income (Loss) is defined as Net income (loss) excluding:

•		inventory valuation adjustment (which adjusts for timing differences to reflect the economics of our inventory financing agreements, including lower of cost or net realizable value adjustments, the impact of the embedded derivative repurchase or terminal obligations, hedge losses (gains) associated with our Washington ending inventory and intermediation obligation, purchase price allocation adjustments, and LIFO layer increment and decrement impacts associated with our Washington inventory);
•		Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments (which represents the mark-to-market losses (gains) associated with our net RINs liability and net obligation associated with the Washington CCA and Clean Fuel Standard);
•		unrealized (gain) loss on derivatives;
•		acquisition and integration costs;
•		redevelopment and other costs related to Par West;
•		debt extinguishment and commitment costs;
•		increase in (release of) tax valuation allowance and other deferred tax items;
•		changes in the value of contingent consideration and common stock warrants;
•		severance costs and other non-operating expense (income);
•		(gain) loss on sale of assets;
•		impairment expense;
•		impairment expense associated with our investment in Laramie Energy;
•		Par’s share of equity (earnings) losses from Laramie Energy, LLC, excluding cash distributions; and
•		Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Adjusted Net Income (Loss) excluding:

•		D&A;
•		interest expense and financing costs, net, excluding unrealized interest rate derivative loss (gain);
•		cash distributions from Laramie Energy, LLC to Par;
•		Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and D&A expense from refining and logistics investments; and
•		income tax expense (benefit) excluding the increase in (release of) tax valuation allowance.

The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, net income (loss), on a historical basis for the periods indicated (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Year Ended December 31,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Net income (loss)	$	(55,695	)	$	289,324		$	(33,322	)	$	728,642
Inventory valuation adjustment		5,929			(24,089	)		(490	)		102,710
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(937	)		(15,672	)		(19,136	)		(189,783	)
Unrealized loss (gain) on derivatives		8,729			(48,539	)		42,485			(49,690	)
Acquisition and integration costs		32			269			100			17,482
Par West redevelopment and other costs		3,500			2,907			12,548			11,397
Debt extinguishment and commitment costs		270			1,500			1,688			19,182
Changes in valuation allowance and other deferred tax items (1)		(12,553	)		(126,219	)		(3,315	)		(126,219	)
Severance costs and other non-operating expense (2)		154			100			14,802			1,785
Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net		108			(59	)		222			(59	)
Equity (earnings) losses from Laramie Energy, LLC, excluding cash distributions		3,163			(14,279	)		1,781			(14,279	)
Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments		3,856			—			3,856			—
Adjusted Net Income (Loss) (3) (4)		(43,444	)		65,243			21,219			501,168
Depreciation and amortization		34,911			31,943			131,590			119,830
Interest expense and financing costs, net, excluding unrealized interest rate derivative loss (gain)		21,564			18,991			83,589			71,629
Laramie Energy, LLC cash distributions to Par		—			—			(1,485	)		(10,706	)
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments		1,557			1,717			6,144			3,443
Income tax expense (benefit)		(3,639	)		4,142			(2,381	)		10,883
Adjusted EBITDA (3)	$	10,949		$	122,036		$	238,676		$	696,247

_______________________________________

(1)	For the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, we recognized a non-cash deferred tax benefit of $12.6 million and $3.3 million, respectively. This tax benefit is included in Income tax expense (benefit) on our consolidated statements of operations. For the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, we recognized a non-cash deferred tax benefit of $126.2 million primarily related to the release of a majority of the valuation allowance against our federal net deferred tax assets.
(2)	For the year ended December 31, 2024, we incurred $13.1 million of stock-based compensation expenses associated with accelerated vesting of equity awards and modification of vested equity awards related to our CEO transition and $0.8 million for a legal settlement unrelated to current operating activities.
(3)	For the three months and years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was no change in value of contingent consideration, change in value of common stock warrants, impairment expense, impairments associated with our investment in Laramie Energy, or our share of Laramie Energy’s asset impairment losses in excess of our basis difference. Please read the Non-GAAP Performance Measures discussion above for information regarding changes to the components of Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA made during the reporting periods.
(4)	For the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, there was no impact in Operating income from accounting policy differences at our refining and logistics investments.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per share (in thousands, except per share amounts):

	Three Months Ended December 31,					Year Ended December 31,
		2024			2023		2024		2023
Adjusted Net Income (Loss)	$	(43,444	)	$	65,243	$	21,219	$	501,168
Plus: effect of convertible securities		—			—		—		—
Numerator for diluted income (loss) per common share	$	(43,444	)	$	65,243	$	21,219	$	501,168

Basic weighted-average common stock shares outstanding		55,252			59,403		56,775		60,035
Add dilutive effects of common stock equivalents (1)		—			1,206		657		979
Diluted weighted-average common stock shares outstanding		55,252			60,609		57,432		61,014

Basic Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per common share	$	(0.79	)	$	1.10	$	0.37	$	8.35
Diluted Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per common share	$	(0.79	)	$	1.08	$	0.37	$	8.21

_______________________________________

(1)	Entities with a net loss from continuing operations are prohibited from including potential common shares in the computation of diluted per share amounts. We have utilized the basic shares outstanding to calculate both basic and diluted Adjusted Net Loss per common share for the three months ended December 31, 2024.

Adjusted EBITDA by Segment

Adjusted EBITDA by segment is defined as Operating income (loss) excluding:

•		D&A;
•		inventory valuation adjustment (which adjusts for timing differences to reflect the economics of our inventory financing agreements, including lower of cost or net realizable value adjustments, the impact of the embedded derivative repurchase or terminal obligations, hedge losses (gains) associated with our Washington ending inventory and intermediation obligation, purchase price allocation adjustments, and LIFO layer increment and decrement impacts associated with our Washington inventory);
•		Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments (which represents the mark-to-market losses (gains) associated with our net RINs liability and net obligation associated with the Washington CCA and Clean Fuel Standard);
•		unrealized (gain) loss on derivatives;
•		acquisition and integration costs;
•		redevelopment and other costs related to Par West;
•		severance costs and other non-operating expense (income);
•		(gain) loss on sale of assets;
•		impairment expense;
•		Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and D&A expense from refining and logistics investments; and
•		Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments.

Adjusted EBITDA by segment also includes Gain on curtailment of pension obligation and Other income (loss), net, which are presented below operating income (loss) on our condensed consolidated statements of operations.

The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA by segment to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, operating income (loss) by segment, on a historical basis, for selected segments, for the periods indicated (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended December 31, 2024
	Refining			Logistics		Retail		Corporate and Other
Operating income (loss) by segment	$	(65,399	)	$	24,772	$	19,477	$	(25,809	)
Depreciation and amortization		24,524			7,140		2,566		681
Inventory valuation adjustment		5,929			—		—		—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(937	)		—		—		—
Unrealized loss on commodity derivatives		9,220			—		—		—
Acquisition and integration costs		—			—		—		32
Par West redevelopment and other costs		—			—		—		3,500
Severance costs and other non-operating expense		—			—		154		—
Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments		3,856			—		—		—
Loss on sale of assets, net		8			—		—		100
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments		456			1,101		—		—
Other loss, net		—			—		—		(422	)
Adjusted EBITDA (1)	$	(22,343	)	$	33,013	$	22,197	$	(21,918	)

	Three Months Ended December 31, 2023
	Refining			Logistics		Retail			Corporate and Other
Operating income (loss) by segment	$	174,038		$	15,709	$	14,594		$	(29,043	)
Depreciation and amortization		21,190			7,321		2,885			547
Inventory valuation adjustment		(24,089	)		—		—			—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(15,672	)		—		—			—
Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives		(50,024	)		—		—			—
Acquisition and integration costs		—			—		—			269
Par West redevelopment and other costs		—			—		—			2,907
Severance costs and other non-operating expenses		100			—		—			—
Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net		219			—		(308	)		30
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments		765			952		—			—
Other loss, net		—			—		—			(354	)
Adjusted EBITDA (1) (2)	$	106,527		$	23,982	$	17,171		$	(25,644	)

	Year Ended December 31, 2024
	Refining			Logistics		Retail			Corporate and Other
Operating income (loss) by segment	$	17,412		$	89,351	$	64,800		$	(123,935	)
Depreciation and amortization		91,108			27,033		11,037			2,412
Inventory valuation adjustment		(490	)		—		—			—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(19,136	)		—		—			—
Unrealized loss on commodity derivatives		43,281			—		—			—
Acquisition and integration costs		—			—		—			100
Severance costs and other non-operating expenses		642			—		154			14,006
Par West redevelopment and other costs		—			—		—			12,548
Par’s portion of accounting policy differences from refining and logistics investments		3,856			—		—			—
Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net		8			124		(10	)		100
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments		2,493			3,651		—			—
Other loss, net		—			—		—			(1,869	)
Adjusted EBITDA (1)	$	139,174		$	120,159	$	75,981		$	(96,638	)

	Year Ended December 31, 2023
	Refining			Logistics		Retail			Corporate and Other
Operating income (loss) by segment	$	676,161		$	69,744	$	56,603		$	(122,502	)
Depreciation and amortization		81,017			25,122		11,462			2,229
Inventory valuation adjustment		102,710			—		—			—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(189,783	)		—		—			—
Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives		(50,511	)		—		—			—
Acquisition and integration costs		—			—		—			17,482
Severance costs and other non-operating expenses		100			—		580			1,105
Par West redevelopment and other costs		—			—		—			11,397
Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net		219			—		(308	)		30
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expense from refining and logistics investments		1,586			1,857		—			—
Other loss, net		—			—		—			(53	)
Adjusted EBITDA (1) (2)	$	621,499		$	96,723	$	68,337		$	(90,312	)

_______________________________________

(1)	For the three months and years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was no change in value of contingent consideration, change in value of common stock warrants, impairment expense, impairments associated with our investment in Laramie Energy, or our share of Laramie Energy’s asset impairment losses in excess of our basis difference.
(2)	For the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, there was no impact in Operating income (loss) from accounting policy differences at our refining and logistics investments.

Laramie Energy Adjusted EBITDAX

Adjusted EBITDAX is defined as net income (loss) excluding commodity derivative loss (gain), loss (gain) on settled derivative instruments, interest expense, gain on extinguishment of debt, non-cash preferred dividend, depreciation, depletion, amortization, and accretion, exploration and geological and geographical expense, bonus accrual, equity-based compensation expense, loss (gain) on disposal of assets, phantom units, and expired acreage (non-cash). We believe Adjusted EBITDAX is a useful supplemental financial measure to evaluate the economic and operational performance of exploration and production companies such as Laramie Energy.

The following table presents a reconciliation of Laramie Energy’s Adjusted EBITDAX to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, net income (loss) for the periods indicated (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Year Ended December 31,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Net income (loss)	$	(11,250	)	$	42,538		$	(15,546	)	$	96,586
Commodity derivative (income) loss		4,766			(40,338	)		(11,055	)		(73,289	)
Loss on settled derivative instruments		389			1,594			14,609			161
Interest expense and loan fees		4,845			5,366			20,628			20,108
Gain on extinguishment of debt		—			—			—			6,644
Non-cash preferred dividend		—			—			—			2,910
Depreciation, depletion, amortization, and accretion		8,158			7,714			32,841			30,179
Phantom units		3,328			2,325			2,825			5,496
Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net		—			—			(8	)		307
Expired acreage (non-cash)		770			441			1,492			553
Total Adjusted EBITDAX (1)	$	11,006		$	19,640		$	45,786		$	89,655

_______________________________________

(1)	For the three months and years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was no exploration and geological and geographical expense, bonus accrual, or equity-based compensation expense.

The MIL Network –

February 26, 2025

MIL-OSI New Zealand: Our favourite West Coast huts | Conservation blog

Source: Department of Conservation

On the West Coast of the South Island, you’ll find a huge range of tramping opportunities – from simple overnighters suitable for young families to multi-day adventures for those with backcountry skills. We spoke with a few West Coast staff to hear about their favourite huts and adventures.

Remotest Hut: Gorge River Hut.

What’s your name? What’s your role?

Owen Kilgour, West Coast Operations Director, based in Hokitika

What is your favourite West Coast hut?

Kōhanga Atawhai – Manson Nicholls Hut

When did you first visit?

In 2022 it was our first overnight hike as a family with three young boys.

I have run into this hut frequently over the past eight years when visiting family who live close by.

Why do you like it?

Kōhanga Atawhai – Manson Nicholls Hut is the ideal first authentic kiwi tramping experience for families.

The original hut on this site, Manson-Nicholls Memorial Hut, was constructed in 1976 by members of the Christchurch Tramping Club and The Lake Daniell’s Fishing Club in memory of three young trampers who lost their lives nearby in 1974. The current hut was built by DOC staff especially for families and school groups. Every time I visit, it puts a smile on my face to see lots of kids enjoying their experience in nature.

How do you get there and long does it take someone with moderate fitness?

The hut is 3 hours walk from nearest road end on the Lake Daniell Track. It’s a great first tramp for families.

Kōhanga Atawhai – Manson Nicholls Hut.

What’s your name? What’s your role?

Alex Malcolm, Recreation Ranger, Reefton

Favourite Hut?

Moonlight Tops Hut on the Paparoa Track. 

When did you first visit?

September 2022 I think. I was the hut warden up there for a couple of seasons and it was such an epic place to spend eight days every other week watching the different weather patterns come and go and meeting lots of different people passing through

Why do you like it?

The highlight was always watching the most epic sunsets with a hot cup of tea above the hut, up a secret “spur”. 

How do you get there and long does it take someone with moderate fitness?

Its 20 kilometres from Smoke-ho carpark. You need a moderate level of fitness as it’s lots of relentless uphill. You need to be fairly competent on a mountain bike as there are narrow sections, steep drop offs and lots of loose rogue rocks that can kick you off if you are not careful. 

Moonlight Tops Hut.

What’s your name? What’s your role?

Benjamin Pigott, Inspector – Checking huts, tracks and structures throughout the WSI backcountry. 

What is your favourite West Coast hut?

I have two!

Jacko Flat Hut, located up the Crooked Valley. 

When did you first visit?

March 2024, and then later in May along with a crew to undertake maintenance work. This took 10 days and we really gave the hut a birthday! New roof, piles, bearers & a paint to name a few of the jobs we did. 

Why do you like it?

It sits in a beautiful remote valley with little tramping traffic. It’s now done up for all to enjoy! 

How do you get there and long does it take someone with moderate fitness?

You’d want a good 8hr day of tramping to get in there. Moderate to difficult, but achievable by most parties with backcountry navigation skills who do their homework about track conditions. 

Jacko Flat Hut – from left: DOC Inspectors Ben Pigott, Mike Detlaff, and Rangers Casey Rhodes and Matt Ainge

What is your other favourite West Coast hut?

Nolans Hut

When did you first visit?

Oct 2024

Why do you like it?

It’s a beautiful old hut with lots of heritage, built back in 1949. The Perth Valley has had a lot of Predator control done by ZIP, and the bird life is really on the rise. A spectacular hut to base yourself for adventures into more difficult terrain up the Perth valley.

How do you get there and long does it take someone with moderate fitness?

Approx 6 hours or so, moderate fitness and moderate route finding required. The hut is old and has character, it’s certainly not a Hilton so expect to be a bit feral!

Nolans Hut.

Our network of tracks and huts

Owen Kilgour Western South Island Operations Director– says “DOC has a fantastic network of tracks and huts on conservation land on the West Coast, and I’d encourage people to get out and explore. There are tramping opportunities for everyone, from families undertaking their first overnighters with young children, to backcountry wilderness experiences for those experienced in the outdoors. Going tramping requires warm clothes, a pack, a raincoat and a pair of sturdy footwear but you can start out with basic gear, and not spend too much money getting started. It’s a great way to see some of the most beautiful places in New Zealand.”

Biggest Hut: Heaphy Hut. Photo: Richard Rossiter

DOC hut network in general

DOC manages a network of over 950 huts around New Zealand providing shelter and enabling trampers and others to overnight in some of our most picturesque places including in forests, on mountainsides and by lakes, rivers and the sea.  

DOC huts come in a range of standards from basic bivvies to serviced. Most are available on a first come first served basis but around 55 must be booked in advance.

Bookable huts help us manage our very popular or over-subscribed facilities. They provide certainty to families and less experienced visitors,  and support the payment of hut fees so these facilities can continue into the future. 

It’s important all hut users pay their hut fees, are well-prepared before heading out and assess conditions before deciding whether it’s safe to go, even if people have made a booking.

How many huts does the West Coast have?

In Western South Island Region we have 148 huts and bivvies in total with 147 open.

Highest Hut: Pioneer Hut. Photo: Jonathan Astin

What is the highest (altitude)?

Above Mean Sea Level Hut Name

2360 Pioneer Hut – NZAC Hut, managed by DOC

2350 Centennial Hut NZAC Hut, managed by DOC

1680 Almer Hut

What is the biggest (how many beds)?

Number of Bunks Hut Name

32 Heaphy Hut

31 Welcome Flat Hut

28 Mackay Hut

What is the oldest?

Construction Date Hut Name

1/01/1930 Douglas Rock Hut

1/01/1931 Chancellor Hut

1/04/1938 Locke Stream Hut

What is the newest?

Construction Date Hut Name

1/03/2022 Belltown Manunui Hut

1/11/2020 Mataketake Hut – Owned by Backcountry Trust

1/03/2020 Kohanga Atawhai – Manson Nicholls Hut

What is the most remote?

Distance Hut Name

35.1 Km Gorge River Hut

29.5 km Neave Hut

Newest Hut: Belltown Manunui Hut

Who else helps maintain them?

• Permolat, Backcountry Trust, private individuals, groups and volunteers.

In addition to huts, on the West Coast DOC also manages:

• 1283km of track

• 2029 structures (eg boardwalks, bridges, jetties, culverts etc)

• 19 campsites

Oldest Hut: Douglas Rock Hut. Photo: Eiji Kitai

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MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Shapiro Administration Upgrades Education Hall at Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center to Enhance Student and Visitor Experience

Source: US State of Pennsylvania

February 25, 2025 – Reading, PA

Shapiro Administration Upgrades Education Hall at Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center to Enhance Student and Visitor Experience

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn visited Berks County to celebrate the completion of a $436,000 renovation of C.H. McConnell Environmental Education Hall at Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center. This investment is part of the Shapiro Administration’s broader commitment to modernizing state parks and forests, with $120 million in infrastructure improvements completed since January 2023.

“Governor Shapiro is making strategic investments to improve our state parks and forests so they remain accessible, educational, and enjoyable for all Pennsylvanians,” said Secretary Dunn. “This renovation at Nolde Forest strengthens our commitment to conservation, education, and community engagement.”

Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2025-26 proposed budget builds on this momentum with $5 million in new funding to expand and improve state parks across Pennsylvania. This includes establishing the Commonwealth’s 125th state park at Laurel Caverns in Fayette County – the first subterranean state park – highlighting the stunning natural beauty of the caverns and further boosting tourism.

Speakers Include:
Brent Erb, DCNR Environmental Education Center Manager
DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn
Dolores Portner, Direct Service Worker, John Paul II Center
Dr. Jaime Becker, Alvernia University
Dr. Jennifer Murray, Reading School District Superintendent
Berks County Commissioner Christian Y. Leinbach
State Representative Jacklyn Rusnock
Senator Judith L. Schwank

MIL OSI USA News –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Farmers must be at the heart of biodiversity action

Source: United Nations MIL OSI b

25 February 2025 Climate and Environment

“Without the farmers, it is only political policy without implementation” – that was the stark message delivered by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Director-General on Tuesday to delegates attending the latest round of UN biodiversity talks in Rome.

Over 150 countries will be meeting from 25 to 27 February to advance biodiversity finance, accountability and the integration of agrifood systems into global conservation strategies.

Despite groundbreaking agreements on genetic data and recognising the stewardship role of Indigenous Peoples at the first round of the COP16 conference in Colombia late last year, this new Conference of the Parties – or COP16.2 – aims to close some crucial gaps which are instrumental for implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

With nature declining at an alarming rate, the challenge now is turning commitments into action.

Farmers on board

FAO chief Qu Dongyu called for urgent action to transform agrifood systems, stressing that biodiversity must be embedded in food and farming policies. A key focus is the Agri-NBSAPs Support Initiative, launched at COP16 in Cali, Colombia.

The initiative is designed to help governments integrate agrifood systems into their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, to eliminate any conflicts between agricultural policy and biodiversity goals.

Colombia’s COP16 President, Environment Minister María Susana Muhamad, and Agriculture Minister Martha Carvajalino, underscored the importance of full implementation.

Mr. Dongyu highlighted the deep connections between biodiversity and food security, noting that over half of the Kunming-Montreal Framework’s 23 targets are directly linked to agriculture.

He explained that “biodiversity is also in the soil and in the water” and that it is critical “to look at biodiversity from a holistic, three-dimensional perspective”.

‘On the brink’: Guterres

Despite commitments made at COP15, funding remains a sticking point.

Secretary-General António Guterres, warned in a statement that biodiversity is “on the brink” and urged governments to translate pledges into investment. “Success requires accountability. And action demands finance,” he said.

With only a fraction of the required $200 billion per year mobilised, developing nations are pushing wealthier countries to meet their financial obligations.

Discussions in Rome are expected to focus on accountability frameworks to track spending and ensure resources reach the communities most affected by biodiversity loss.

What’s next?

In the coming days, negotiators will work to finalise agreements on biodiversity finance, implementation strategies and monitoring frameworks.

Mr. Dongyu closed his statement by calling for an integrated approach across government sectors.

“We need an integrated approach across government sectors, across Ministries, to ensure the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, better environment and a better life – leaving no one behind,” he said.

With time running out to meet the 2030 targets, COP16.2 is a key test of global commitment – whether countries will step up or risk falling short on protecting the planet’s ecosystems.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Sharing PLANETS Curriculum with Out-of-School Time Educators

Source: NASA

Out of school time (OST) educators work with youth in afterschool, community, and camp programs. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning in OST can be challenging for multiple reasons, including lack of materials and support for educators. The NASA Science Activation program’s PLANETS project – Planetary Learning that Advances the Nexus of Engineering, Technology, and Science – led by Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ, provides both written curriculum and virtual educator support on planetary science and engineering.
PLANETS offers three curriculum units focused on themes from NASA’s strategic priorities and mission directives in planetary science over the next decade:

Space Hazards for learners in grades 3-5,
Water in Extreme Environments, and
Remote Sensing for learners in grades 6-8.

PLANETS recently exhibited at two national conferences for educators to share these free NASA partner resources: the Space Exploration Educators Conference at Space Center Houston in Houston, TX on Feb 6-8, 2025 and the Beyond School Hours conference in Orlando, FL on Feb 13-16, 2025. Approximately 500 educators interacted with PLANETS team members to learn about the curriculum and to share their needs for OST learners. Some educators shared how they are already using PLANETS and how much their learners enjoy the lessons. In addition to sharing PLANETS resources, the team also had QR codes and flyers providing information about all the other Science Activation project teams, making sure educators grow in awareness of all that NASA’s Science Mission Directorate does to engage the public.
OST educators appreciate the integrity and quality of NASA-funded resources. One educator shared, “Free resources are always critical to youth-serving organizations. PLANETS also has everyday materials and educator dialogue on how to deliver, making it easy to pick up and use.”
Another OST educator said, “There are programs out there, like PLANETS, that truly help people of all backgrounds,” and yet another expressed, “I love the activities, and could see our youth engaging with it in a fun way.” Disseminating these types of NASA Science Activation program resources at regional and national venues is vital.
The PLANETS project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AC53A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn

MIL OSI USA News –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Prakriti 2025 – International Conference on Carbon Markets

Source: Government of India (2)

Prakriti 2025 – International Conference on Carbon Markets

UN Goodwill Ambassador & Actor Dia Mirza attends Prakriti 2025

Prakriti 2025: International Conference on Carbon Markets Concludes with Insights from National, International, and Government Experts

Posted On: 25 FEB 2025 5:53PM by PIB Delhi

PRAKRITI 2025 (Promoting Resilience, Awareness, Knowledge, and Resources for Integrating Transformational Initiatives), the International Conference on Carbon Markets, successfully concluded on its second day, bringing together national and international experts, policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and practitioners. The conference was inaugurated on February 24, 2025, by Shri Manohar Lal, Hon’ble Minister of Power and Housing & Urban Affairs. As a flagship initiative of the Government of India, organized by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the patronage of the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, PRAKRITI 2025 served as a premier platform for in-depth discussions on global carbon market trends, challenges, and future pathways.

      Ms. Dia Mirza, Actor, Producer, National Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations graced the event with her presence. She participated in an impactful fireside chat moderated by Mr. Saurabh Diddi, Director, Bureau of Energy Efficiency. Speaking of her role in making a change in the climate change scenario, she said that, “As an individual, I have the capacity to change the way I live and hopefully thereby bring some change in the world. Big change will only occur when it starts from the top down because behaviours sometimes take hundreds of years to change.” She commended the Government of India for its initiatives under LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), highlighting its role in promoting mindful consumption and leading a global movement. Additionally, she emphasized the importance of engaging children and youth to drive meaningful change in climate conversations. Concluding the interview, she shared her vision for sustainability, stating, “My dream sustainability project, if finances didn’t have any upper limit, would be one, to eradicate each and every unit of single use plastics, and two, a scenario where every resource comes in the circular economy.”



      Mr. Thomas Kerr, Lead Climate Change Specialist, World Bank chaired and moderated the opening plenary session on Private Sector Perspectives on Indian Carbon Market (ICM). He emphasized that the Indian Carbon Market does not operate in isolation, as global carbon pricing policies will influence India’s industries. Businesses must prepare for these shifts. He highlighted the impact of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on Indian exports, particularly in steel, aluminium, and other high-emission industries, stating, “The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will impact Indian exports, particularly in steel, aluminium, and other high-emission industries. This calls for urgent action in domestic carbon markets.” Encouraging India’s active participation, he added, “If you build it, they will come.”

Mr. Ashok Lavasa, Former Finance Secretary and Government Official, delivered a thematic address on Governance, Transparency, and Accountability in Climate Finance and Carbon Markets. His speech highlighted the complexities of global carbon markets and the challenges India faces in developing a robust system. Emphasizing key factors for success, he stated, “Strong MRV frameworks, fair benefit distribution, and strategic market alignment are crucial to India’s success in the carbon economy. International collaboration is necessary, but India must develop policies tailored to its own needs and challenges.”

       The second day of the conference featured thematic addresses and a series of plenary sessions led by senior government officials and industry experts. Key discussions focused on: Incentivizing Renewable Energy developers through Carbon Markets, Development in Article 6 and Opportunities for India, Bringing Price Transparency in Global Carbon Marketplace, Role of Ecosystem-Based Interventions in Achieving Net-Zero Goals, Climate Tech Startups for Sustainable Development, and Leveraging finance for the deployment of clean technologies.

        The two-day event witnessed robust participation from key Indian ministries, including the Ministry of Power, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Financial Institutions, Corporates, International NGOs, PSUs, etc. Approximately 80+ experts and 600+ delegates engaged in the conference’s discussion in the last two days, focusing on carbon market mechanisms, policy framework, climate finance and technologies. This demonstrates a coordinated, intergovernmental strategy, fostering synergistic collaboration and broad stakeholder participation, affirming India’s dedication to meet climate goals.

         More than just a conference, Prakriti 2025 has distinguished itself as one of the most comprehensive and significant carbon market events for learning, sharing knowledge, and exploring opportunities for collaboration in the global effort to combat climate change. Prakriti 2025 will build on this momentum, marking a significant milestone in both India’s national climate agenda and the broader international climate discourse.

About BEE

The Government of India set up the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) on March 1, 2002 under the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. The mission of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is to assist in developing policies and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation and market principles, within the overall framework of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 with the primary objective of reducing the energy intensity of the Indian economy. BEE coordinates with designated consumers, designated agencies and other organizations and recognises, identifies and utilises the existing resources and infrastructure, in performing the functions assigned to it under the Energy Conservation Act. The Energy Conservation Act provides for regulatory and promotional functions.

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: A National Conference on ‘Sustainable Cooling and Doubling the Rate of Energy Efficiency Improvement,’ was held in New Delhi on Feb. 21-22, 2025

Source: Government of India (2)

Posted On: 25 FEB 2025 5:49PM by PIB Delhi

A National Conference on ‘Sustainable Cooling and Doubling the Rate of Energy Efficiency Improvement,’ was organised in New Delhi on Feb. 21-22, 2025. The two-day conference was jointly organized by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and the Power Foundation of India (PFI), under the Ministry of Power, Govt. of India.

The Hon’ble Union Minister of Power and Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Manohar Lal, inaugurated the Conference. While delivering his inaugural address, he remarked, “Energy efficiency is not just an option but a necessity for a cleaner, more sustainable, and economically prosperous future. By doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvement, we can lower costs, enhance productivity, and significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Hon’ble Minister highlighted that India’s power sector has made remarkable progress, with non-fossil fuel capacity reaching 47.15% and emission intensity reduced by 36% – well ahead of our commitments,” he added.

The Hon’ble Minister also launched a Report titled ‘India Energy Scenario 2023-24’ that provides a comprehensive overview of the country’s energy landscape, trends, and progress in energy efficiency and sustainability.

The Hon’ble Minister also unveiled a set of Energy-Efficient Retrofit manuals and flyers designed to offer a structured approach for evaluating, planning, and carrying out retrofits in existing commercial and residential buildings. These manuals will serve as a crucial resource for States/UTs, policymakers, and stakeholders in promoting energy efficiency initiatives.

Hon’ble Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shri Shripad Naik was also present at the inauguration. In his keynote address, he said, “India stands at a crucial juncture where increasing energy demand must be balanced with ambitious climate goals. As the world’s third-largest energy consumer, our commitment to doubling energy efficiency and advancing sustainable cooling is vital for economic growth and climate action. We have met our Nationally Determined Contributions well ahead of time. Under India’s leadership, the G20 and COP28 reinforced the urgency of accelerating energy efficiency globally.”

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pankaj Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Power, underlined that the G20 Summit in India in 2023 was a pivotal moment in advancing global energy efficiency, highlighting energy efficiency as the ‘first fuel’ and the adoption of the Voluntary Action Plan to double the rate of energy efficiency improvement by 2030 through the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration (NDLD). He stressed on the need to optimize energy demand from various sectors for doubling the rate of energy savings improvement by 2030.

To achieve this goal, India’s Energy Intensity (EI) improvement rate, estimated at approximately 2.5% in 2024, will need to increase to 4% by 2030, as per an estimate by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

While the policies and technologies to achieve the doubling goal are well-recognized and available, greater clarity is needed through stakeholder consultations on measuring energy intensity improvement, attributing energy savings impact, and translating global commitments into actionable steps. There is a pressing need to address rising cooling demand and ensure access to energy-efficient, sustainable cooling solutions. The two-day conference served as a significant step toward advancing discussions, fostering collaboration, and driving actionable solutions in this domain.

The National Conference brought together key stakeholders from the government, national and international agencies, multilateral organizations, civil society, industry associations, financial institutions, and consumers. Knowledge partners include global organizations such as the IEA, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All), CLASP, and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), along with leading Indian think tanks like The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the Council for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE). The Conference featured thematic sessions covering Buildings, Appliances, Industry, Transport, Investment, and Sustainable Cooling.

More than 50 speakers and 250 delegates were part of the Conference. The two-day National Conference concluded on Feb. 22, 2025.

About the Bureau of Energy Efficiency:

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a statutory agency under the Ministry of Power, Government of India, leads efforts to enhance energy efficiency across the economy using various regulatory and promotional tools. The Bureau focuses on developing policies and strategies that emphasize self-regulation and market-driven principles, aiming to reduce the energy intensity of the Indian economy. BEE has launched numerous initiatives to promote energy efficiency in areas such as household lighting, commercial buildings, appliance standards and labelling, demand-side management in agriculture and municipalities, and across SMEs and large industries. It has also begun developing energy consumption norms for industrial sub-sectors and focuses on capacity building for State Designated Agencies (SDAs).

About Power Foundation of India:

The Power Foundation of India is a think-tank and a policy advocacy body in the power sector, operating under the Ministry of Power, Govt. of India.

The Foundation conducts independent, evidence-based research on key issues and challenges within the power sector. Its research covers a wide range of topics, including power generation, transmission, distribution, electricity trading, energy transition, and environmental sustainability.

Additionally, the Foundation designs and implements campaigns and outreach programs focused on relevant power sector themes.

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Decarbonisation investments in the steel sector – E-002694/2024(ASW)
Source: European Parliament

The hydrogen and decarbonised gas market package[1] sets a clear framework for the development of infrastructure and the revised Renewable Energy Directive[2] creates obligations for the consumption of renewable hydrogen in industry and transport. When transposing them, Member States should put in place incentives for the sectors.

In 2023, the Commission identified 65 European priority hydrogen infrastructure projects[3], that can benefit from funding under the Connecting Europe Facility and accelerated permitting. The Commission launched the second European Hydrogen Bank auction on 3 December 2024[4], next to Innovation Fund calls[5].

In line with Article 30 (2) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956, the Commission will in 2025 assess a potential scope extension of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

This includes an assessment of goods further down the value chain, goods at risk of carbon leakage other than those listed in Annex I of the CBAM Regulation and other input materials.

On this basis, the Commission will prepare, where appropriate, a legislative proposal, including an impact assessment, on extending the scope of the regulation.

Member States can prioritise sectors for potential future Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs). Several approved IPCEIs[6] have benefitted the steel industry’s green transition through renewable hydrogen.

In addition, the Guidelines for Climate, Environmental Protection and Energy and the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework allow Member States to notify individual aid measures[7] and aid schemes supporting industrial decarbonisation[8] or renewable hydrogen production or carbon capture and storage.
- [1] Directive (EU) 2024/1788 and Regulation (EU) 2024/1789 .
- [2] Directive (EU) 2023/2413.
- [3] Projects of Common Interest and Projects of Mutual Interest, including ~20,000km of pipelines, storages, terminals, and electrolysers: C/2023/7930 final.
- [4] EUR 1.2 billion of EU funds and up to EUR 836 million from Spain, Lithuania, and Austria for projects in their Member State.
- [5] Two H2 DRI projects producing and consuming large volumes of H2 have already been awarded under the Innovation Fund, ‘HYBRIT’ (Sweden) https://ec.europa.eu/assets/cinea/project_fiches/innovation_fund/101051316.pdf) and ‘H2Green Steel’ (Sweden) (https://ec.europa.eu/assets/cinea/project_fiches/innovation_fund/101133206.pdf).
- [6] ‘Hy2Tech’ (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_4544), ‘Hy2Infra’ (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_789) and ‘Hy2Use’ (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_5676).
- [7] See an example: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_5968
- [8] For instance a German scheme (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_845) and an Austrian scheme (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_4746).
MIL OSI Europe News –
February 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: NHRC Helping Leaders Evaluate Command Climate: Meet the Civilian Research Team Working Towards Force Wellness

Source: United States Navy (Medical)

When a Navy ship or shore command is at risk or experiences adverse safety events, leaders need clear information about vulnerabilities that exist, who is most at risk and why, and what actions can be taken to prevent future incidents. Understanding how leadership, workplace cohesion and stressors influence and affect sailors’ mental and behavioral health is crucial for developing meaningful solutions to these issues.

Civilian investigators at Naval Health Research Center developed the Rapid Response Surveillance (RRS) capability to assess these factors quickly and provide practical recommendations to Navy leaders. The multidisciplinary team is made up of researchers with expertise in psychology, public health, mixed-methods research and epidemiology, and can deploy when a command experiences an adverse event or mishap, such as suicide, or when a command is at a heightened risk for such events.

After RRS has been requested by a command and funding is secured, the team schedules a one-week visit to conduct an anonymous and voluntary command survey as well as in-depth focus groups. The team may screen for depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety and posttraumatic stress symptoms. They ask about alcohol use, sleep habits and aggressive behavior, and assess participant’s perceptions of leadership, workplace cohesion and stressors.
While it can be challenging to recruit enough Sailors to make the study worthwhile, the team provides incentives to participate, and works to establish trust with the participants.

“I think the fact that we are civilian researchers is very helpful because we don’t report to their chain of command,” said Robyn Englert, the RRS team study coordinator.

Once data collection is complete, the RRS team works quickly to analyze their findings. They take extra care to review what they have learned and develop recommendations that can be readily implemented without interfering with the command’s mission.

Findings are presented to command leadership, and infographics, handouts and summaries are distributed to relevant departments.

“All of the data we collect is for the purpose of trying to make realistic, specific and actionable recommendations that the command can implement to make the experiences of Sailors better,” said Dr. Jennifer Belding, who was principal investigator of RRS from 2023-2024.

What sorts of recommendations are made? Consider a hypothetical scenario where junior enlisted personnel face significant stress due to last-minute task assignments every Friday. Perhaps these tasks are communicated with short notice, leaving them scrambling to complete their duties by the end of the day. The RRS team may dig deeper and learn that these issues are due to chiefs receiving task information on Wednesday but then being unable to relay those assignments until Friday due to their own meeting schedules. One actionable recommendation may be to move the chiefs’ meetings earlier to Monday, thus allowing for earlier communication and providing junior enlisted members additional time to complete their tasks. This change could hypothetically reduce work-related stress and lead to positive outcomes.

“It’s little changes to leadership style, schedules or making a tweak here or there in order to ease stressors that commonly can get overlooked,” explained Englert.

The RRS capability spawned from a similar effort the team was conducting called the Challenges of Operational Environments (COPE) study. While similar in design and approach, COPE is unique from RRS in that it seeks to understand how work-related stressors impact the mental and behavioral health of sailors throughout the different phases of a command’s life cycle.

“We know that Navy commands go through different phases or life cycles. For example, a carrier might be stationed in the U.S. for a while, deploy, then change homeports, then visit the shipyard for repairs. We do not currently have data about how these changes impact sailors’ well-being,” said Belding.

By identifying which stressors are associated with harmful behaviors at specific times, the team can provide commands with crucial information, allowing leaders to anticipate common stressors, potentially preventing issues like suicidal ideation, aggressive workplace behaviors and hazardous drinking. The goal is to help commands offer targeted resources and support, promoting self-care and overall well-being among their personnel.

The COPE project stalled when COVID-19 halted travel and fieldwork; however, it gained new life when a ship experiencing adverse events requested assistance. Despite initial travel restrictions, the team eventually conducted a rapid response assessment, administering surveys and conducting focus groups. They briefed the ship’s command on their findings within six weeks, which marked the birth of the RRS capability. The swift assessment and feedback proved invaluable, and word began to spread about this unique capability.

Over the past year, RRS has supported five commands, four of which have requested the team conduct a reassessment as well. Even better, command leaders are sharing their experiences with other commands who might need support.

“The way that people are getting information about this capability is through word of mouth because of positive experiences,” said Belding. “I think that is a success story.”

The COPE study will continue to observe personnel aboard two aircraft carriers over a two- to three-year period. The data collected will be used to develop a predictive model of harmful behaviors among sailors over various phases of the ship’s life cycle. The team’s hope is that this model will prove a powerful tool in suicide prevention as well as benefit sailors’ overall readiness and performance.

NHRC supports military mission readiness with research and development that delivers high-value, high-impact solutions to the health and readiness challenges our military population faces on the battlefield, at sea, on foreign shores and at home.

MIL Security OSI –

February 26, 2025

Above Mean Sea Level	Hut Name
2360	Pioneer Hut – NZAC Hut, managed by DOC
2350	Centennial Hut NZAC Hut, managed by DOC
1680	Almer Hut

Number of Bunks	Hut Name
32	Heaphy Hut
31	Welcome Flat Hut
28	Mackay Hut

Construction Date	Hut Name
1/01/1930	Douglas Rock Hut
1/01/1931	Chancellor Hut
1/04/1938	Locke Stream Hut

Construction Date	Hut Name
1/03/2022	Belltown Manunui Hut
1/11/2020	Mataketake Hut – Owned by Backcountry Trust
1/03/2020	Kohanga Atawhai – Manson Nicholls Hut

Distance	Hut Name
35.1 Km	Gorge River Hut
29.5 km	Neave Hut

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