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posted by
Ria Tan
at
9/10/2011 03:01:00 PM
labels best-of-wild-blogs, singapore
Straits Times 10 Sep 11;
IT'S coming to that time of the year again: Hazy conditions could arrive in the next two weeks, with winds from the south expected to blow smoke from Sumatra towards Singapore.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said in an air quality update that hot spots with slight to moderate smoke haze had been detected in the central and southern parts of Sumatra.
The months from June to September are the dry season for that region, when farmers and logging companies in Sumatra and Kalimantan take to razing the land.
An NEA spokesman noted that over the past few days, dry weather conditions in the southern and central parts of Sumatra had led to an increase in hot spot activities there.
But so far, south-eastern winds had kept the smoke away from Singapore.
He added, however, that weather conditions may change over the next few days, with winds coming from the south.
'This could bring some of the haze to Singapore,' he said.
Singapore's 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading at 4pm yesterday was 46, which was within the good air quality range.
PSI readings for August ranged between 28 and 53. Last October, air quality breached the unhealthy threshold of 100 - prompting calls for the Indonesian authorities to take action.
In May, a moratorium was passed in Indonesia which placed about half of the country's primary forest and peatland, or 64 million ha, off limits to development until the end of next year.
Ms Frances Seymour, director-general of the Centre for International Forestry Research, said at the time that this could lead to a reduction in the frequency and severity of haze events over time.
Indonesia is the world's third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the United States, due largely to deforestation caused by illegal logging, mining and expansion by oil palm plantations.
The NEA recorded more than 380 hot spots in Sumatra on Thursday. The situation remained the same yesterday.
Asked if the haze could worsen, the NEA spokesman said the impact of the smoke haze depends on a few factors, including the strength and direction of prevailing winds and whether or not it rains.
He added: 'NEA is monitoring the situation closely and will provide updates should the air quality deteriorate.'
NG KAI LING
posted by
Ria Tan
at
9/10/2011 02:40:00 PM
The Star 10 Sep 11;
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has sent a letter to Indonesia expressing concerns after 600 hotspots with high temperature levels were detected via satellite imagery in Sumatra this year.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas said that the letter was sent on Friday to his Indonesian counterpart, State Minister for Environment, Professor Dr Gusti Muhammad Hatta.
Malaysia, however, believed that Indonesia was doing its best to manage the situation, he told Bernama. "In fact in the past few years, they have improved their response and efforts to tackle such fire."
Uggah is expected to meet his Indonesian counterpart at the Asean Ministerial Steering Committee meeting in Bangkok on Sept 18.
Stressing that the haze was caused by the monsoon wind which had brought the smoke from forest fires in Sumatra to several parts of Malaysia, Uggah said the situation, however, was not as bad as it was in the past, especially in 1997 and 2005 when the air pollutant index readings hit record highs.
Asked on Malaysia's proposal for the creation of an Asean regional rapid fire-fighting squad to tackle haze-related fires in member countries, he said, the matter would be discussed at the 12th Meeting of Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution in Bangkok on Sept 22-33.
"We will push for this unit because we need quick deployment should any member country requires such assistance.
"It's not just about sending firefighters to other countries; it's also about them coming to help us when the situation requires it," he said.
Malaysia sent 1,000 firefighters to help Indonesia tackle forest fires in 1997 and 124 in 2005 for a similar mission.
An emergency was declared in Sarawak in September 1997 at the height of the haze crisis that year which was caused by forest fires in neighbouring Kalimantan.
On Aug 11, 2005, an emergency was declared in Port Klang and Kuala Selangor following the worsening haze situation due to the forest fires in Sumatra and Riau, with the air pollutant index reaching 500. - Bernama
32 areas record moderate air quality
The Star 10 Sep 11;
KUALA LUMPUR: Thirty-two areas in the country recorded moderate air quality while another 19 recorded good air quality as of 11am Saturday.
The Department of Environment (DOE) website said none of the areas recorded unhealthy air quality under the Air Pollutant Index (API).
Five areas with high API readings are Nilai, Negri Sembilan (90), Batu Muda, Kuala Lumpur (80), Petaling Jaya and Banting, Selangor (79), and Cheras, Kuala Lumpur (78).
API of 0-50 is good, 51-100 moderate, 101-200 unhealthy, 201-300 very unhealthy and over 301 hazardous.
DOE said the hazy condition is expected to continue for the next few days and advised the public to avoid open burning and put out small fires. - Bernama
posted by
Ria Tan
at
9/10/2011 02:20:00 PM
Antara 9 Sep 11;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government appears to be determined to reduce the number of forest fire hot spots by 20 percent annually in order to help meet the country`s pledge to cut its gas emissions by 26 percent by 2020.
"Indonesia has successfully reduced the number of forest fires over the past three years, and this year, the government is determined to do a similar thing as the National Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has predicted a prolonged drought since May," the forestry ministry`s Forestry Protection and Nature Conservation Director General (PHKA) Darori said here on Wednesday (Sept 7).
The government has anticipated forest fires by among other things allocating funds amounting to about Rp160 billion to tackle forest fires in ten provinces.
Darori said earlier that the number of hot spots in Indonesia since the January 2011 were 8,082.
"The hot spots in Indonesia are found in six provinces which are prone to forest fires, and the highest is recorded in Riau with 2,159 hot spots, West Kalimantan 809, North Sumatra 600 and Central Kalimantan 543, Jambi 455, and South Kalimantan 259 hot spot," Darori said.
Around 77 percent of forest fires in Indonesia have occurred in plantation and agricultural areas, and only 23 percent in forest area, as fire has been considered the cheapest, fastest, and most effective a land clearing method.
In general, fires in peat land area were set intentionally. "The fires are due to illegal logging, plantations, and land clearing for agriculture purposes," he said.
Darori stated that the forestry ministry is ready to deal with forest fires currently occurring on Sumatra and Kalimantan Islands.
The government has emphasized preventive measures by urging the community not to use fire as land clearing methods, according to the director general.
The coordination with the regional administration authorities has also been intensified because most of the fires are located outside forest area under the responsibility of the regional administrations, Darori said, adding that he regretted, however, that the funds allocated by the regional governments for forest fire handling were too small.
As the number of forest fire hot spots is increasing in this current dry season, the central government has decided to deploy personnel to help put out the fires.
Forest Fire Operation Teams were sent to three provinces - South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan and Riau, from Jakarta on Thursday.
"The forest fire operation team will be working for three months," Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono said when seeing off the departure of the teams at Halim Perdanakusuma airport, eastern Jakarta.
Forest fire hot spots in swamp and peat land areas are particularly rampant in Jambi, South Sumatra, and Riau Provinces known as the triangle of forest fires in Indonesia.
"In Jambi, the forest fires hit Muaro District, and three peat land spots at the Berbak National Park conservation area," Darori said, adding that a human-induced fire razed around 8,000 hectares of Kerinci Seblat National Park in Jambi Province.
The Jambi fire has entered the first level status of alert because it has spread from around 500 ha last week to more than 1,000 ha currently.
The fire hot spots were detected in 12 peatland locations, including three inside the Berbak National Park in Tanjung Jabung Timur District, and one inside protected peat forest area in Tanjung Jabung Barat District.
The forest fires have been going on since two months ago in Jambi and South Sumatra.
The transitional condition from dry season to rainy season has triggered the hot spots in Riau as the temperature was quite high, according to Yudhistira Mawaddah, an analyst of the Riau Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) .
On Tuesday (Sept 6) alone, the US NOAA (the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) satellite detected a total of 73 hot spots on Sumatra Island, including 20 hot spots in Riau Province.
The number significantly increased from only three hot spots in Riau on the previous day (Monday, Sept 5), Yudhistira said in Pekanbaru on Thursday (Sept 8).
In addition to the 20 in Riau Province, there were also 12 hot spots in Jambi Province, two in Aceh Province, three in West Sumatra Province, three in Lampung Province, and one each in North Sumatra and Bengkulu Provinces, he said.
And the highest number of hot spots was found in South Sumatra, namely 31 hot spots.
In Central Kalimantan Province, 40 forest fire hot spots were detected in Kotawaringin Timur District, by Terra and AQUA satellites between August 30 and September 6, 2011.
"The 40 hot spots indicate forest and plantation fires," Ian Septiawan, the head of the Region II Conservation Section of the Regional Nature Conservation Agency (BKSDA) said in Kotawaringin Timur on Wednesday (Sept 7).
The number of hot spots, however, had decreased lately due to rainfall. Previously, the Terra and AQUA had detected 188 hot spots during the August 19-26 period in Kotawaringin Timur, he said.
Most of the hot spots were detected in large oil palm plantations and not easily put out despite rainfall, he explained.
"The regional and provincial governments in Central Kalimantan have so far blamed local people for the forest fires. In fact, the main perpetrators of forest fires are large oil palm plantations which have so far escaped legal sanctions," he said.
During the current dry season, hot spots have been detected in six provinces prone to forest fires, namely Riau, West Kalimantan, North Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, Jambi, and South Kalimantan.
The latest fires are currently razing on the slope of Mount Sumbing in Central Java Province, and at Panaikan village in South Sulawesi.
Forest fires caused by plantations and traditional farming methods have been blamed for the choking haze which shrouds the region annually during the dry season.
Given the increasing number of fire hot spots in the country, Rofi Munawar, a member of the House of Representatives (DPR RI)`s Commission IV, has urged the government to tackle the fires seriously.
The government must be on alert to prevent business-driven forest fires and must not work half-heartedly, Rofi, a member of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said in Jakarta on Thursday.
It was possible that the commercial fires had been started intentionally to clear land for plantation or mining businesses, he said.
"The forestry ministry must act fast to anticipate more hot spots and to prevent the fires from spreading out of control," Rofi said.
As most of the fires were human induced, the government must intensify environmental campaigns, empower local people and improve the economic condition of people living surrounding forest area, the legislator urged.
"The worst disaster where the number of hot spots reaching up to 146,264 in 2006, must not be repeated," he said.
Indonesia`s forest area reaches over 130 million hectares, the world`s third largest after Brazil and Congo. In 1982-83 and 1994, El Nino-induced forest fires had destroyed around 6.4 million hectares of forest, especially in East Kalimantan. (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli
NOAA satellite detects 20 hot spots in Riau
Antara 9 Sep 11;
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - The US NOAA ( National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) satellite detected 20 hot spots in Riau Province, Sumatra Island, on Tuesday (Sept 6), an official said.
The number significantly increased from only three hot spots on the previous day (Monday, Sept 5), Yudhistira Mawaddah, an analyst of the Riau Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said here on Thursday.
"The 20 hot spots spread in four districts, namely Pelalawan District with 10 hot spots, in Kuantansingingi two hot spots, and in Indragiri Hulu as well as Indragiri Hilir with four hot spots respectively,," he said.
On Sumatra Island, there were a total of 73 hot spots on Tuesday.
In addition to the 20 in Riau Province, there were also 12 hot spots in Jambi Province, two in Aceh Province, three in West Sumatra Province, three in Lampung Province, and one each in North Sumatra and Bengkulu Provinces, he said.
"Meanwhile, the most hot spots were found in South Sumatra, namely 31 hot spots," he said.
He explained the transitional condition from dry season to rainy season has triggered the hot spots in Riau as the temperature was quite high. (*)
SYS/F001/H-AJM
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Forestry ministry ready to deal with forest fires
Antara 9 Sep 11;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The forestry ministry is ready to deal with forest fires currently occurring on Sumatra and Kalimantan Islands, according to an official.
Forestry Protection and Nature Conservation Director General of the Forestry Ministry (PHKA) Darori said here on Wednesday that he had received reports on forest fire hot spots in Jambi, South Sumatra, and Riau Provinces known as the triangle of forest fires in Indonesia, especially in swamp and peat land areas.
"In Jambi, the forest fires hit Muaro District, and three peat land spots at the Berbak National Park conservation area," Darori said after attending the Sumatran Governors` Economic Forum at Manggala Wanabakti building in central Jakarta.
In South Sumatra, hot spots were detected in Musi Banyuasin District.
Besides Sumatra, the forestry ministry has also received reports on forest and plantation fires in West and Central Kalimantan Provinces. "But, the number is small," he said.
In general, fires in peat land area were set intentionally. "The fires are due to illegal logging, plantations, and land clearing for agriculture," he said.
The fire that razed around 8,000 hectares of Kerinci Seblat National Park in Jambi Province, was also human induced.
The government has emphasized preventive measures by urging the community not to use fire as land clearing methods.(*)
F001/H-AJM
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
posted by
Ria Tan
at
9/10/2011 02:00:00 PM
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