Best of our wild blogs: 22 Aug 15



Jubilee Whale Fund Donation Drive
News from Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Two Rare Butterflies Near Jurong Eco Green
Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature

Night Walk At Pasir Ris Park (21 Aug 2015)
Beetles@SG BLOG

Blue-crowned Hanging-parrot eats Alexandra Palm flowers
Bird Ecology Study Group

Life History of the Bamboo Paintbrush Swift
Butterflies of Singapore

《狮城有约》-《发现小红点》圣约翰岛上的热带海洋科学研究所。(Hello Singapore – Discovering the Red Dot: St John’s Island Tropical Marine Science Institute)
Neo Mei Lin


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3 in critical condition after Pulau Bukom fire

Six people were injured after fire broke out at Shell's Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site on Friday evening (Aug 21).
Channel NewsAsia 21 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE: Three people are in critical condition after a fire broke out at Shell's Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site on Friday (Aug 21).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the fire at 6.15pm on Friday evening. The blaze was extinguished by the Company Emergency Response Team before SCDF arrived on the scene.

Six contractor workers suffered burn injuries and were sent to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). "Contrary to speculation, there is no SCDF personnel among the casualties," the civil defence force said on Facebook.

Of the six workers injured, three have been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, SGH confirmed. One is in stable condition, while the two have been discharged after receiving outpatient treatment.

"We are following the progress and treatment of the other workers closely and are working with our contractors to ensure all possible support and assistance are rendered to the injured workers and their families. All other personnel are accounted for at the site," a Shell spokesperson said.

Shell added that the fire was put out by the site’s first emergency responders within an hour and said there is no other impact on the site’s operations. The firm added that it is working with the Singapore Civil Defence Force to investigate the incident.

- CNA/dl

6 injured in fire at Shell's Pulau Bukom manufacturing site
AsiaOne 21 Aug 15;

*Update as at Aug 22, 10.30am: One more contractor worker has been discharged, bringing the total number of workers discharged after receiving outpatient treatment to three as of 9am this morning (22 August).

SINGAPORE - A fire which occurred on Friday evening at Shell's Pulau Bukom manufacturing site left six contractor workers with burn injuries.

In a Facebook post by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), the casualties were sent to Singapore General Hospital.

According to a Shell spokesperson, Shell has confirmed that the fire took place and two of the workers have since been discharged after receiving treatment.

SCDF stated in its Facebook post that they received a call from the site at approximately 6.15pm.

Upon SCDF's arrival, the fire had been extinguished by the company's emergency response team. The fire was put out within an hour and there is no other impact on the site's operations, said the spokesperson.

There were no SCDF personnel among the casualties.

While the cause of the fire was not stated, Shell assures that they are working with the SCDF to investigate the incident.

"We are following the progress and treatment of the other workers closely and are working with our contractors to ensure all possible support and assistance are rendered to the injured workers and their families. All other personnel are accounted for at the site," said the spokesperson.

Shell's Bukom refinery fire occurred at a section under maintenance: Spokesperson
Reuters AsiaOne 22 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE - A fire which broke out at Royal Dutch Shell's 500,000 barrels-per-day refinery on Pulau Bukom island off Singapore on Friday occurred at a section of one of the units currently under scheduled maintenance, a company spokeswoman said on Saturday.

The fire at the unidentified unit of the Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site, Shell's largest wholly owned plant, was put out by the site's first emergency responders within an hour, Shell said.

Three of the six contract workers hospitalised with burns were treated and discharged while the remaining three were still being monitored, the spokeswoman said.

She did not elaborate on what caused the fire but added that there was no other impact on the site's operations.

In May, Reuters reported that Shell was planning to shut Bukom's largest 210,000 bpd crude unit for one to two months in the third quarter for planned maintenance.

The refinery saw production losses in September 2011 due to a fire that forced the company to shut down a crude unit and a fluid catalytic cracker, which drove up margins of oil products.

Friday's fire at Bukom had caused gasoil spreads and exchange of futures for swaps (EFS) derivatives to firm up, a Singapore-based trader said.

Fire at Shell's Pulau Bukom plant leaves 6 injured, including 3 in critical condition
Lim Yi Han Straits Times 21 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE - A fire broke out at oil giant Shell's manufacturing site on Pulau Bukom on Friday evening, leaving six workers with burn injuries.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they received a call at around 6.15pm about the fire from the Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site.

Upon its arrival, the fire had already been extinguished by Shell's emergency response team.


The six victims were sent to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

Three of them are in a "critical condition", said a SGH spokesman. One is in a stable condition, and two others were discharged after receiving outpatient treatment.

In a statement. a Shell spokesperson said: "We are following the progress and treatment of the other workers closely and are working with our contractors to ensure all possible support and assistance are rendered to the injured workers and their families. All other personnel are accounted for at the site."

Shell also confirmed that the fire was put out within an hour by the site's first emergency responders and there were no other impact on the site's operations.

"We are working with the Singapore Civil Defence Force to investigate the incident," the statement also said.

In the Facebook post, SCDF also said that "contrary to speculation, there is no SCDF personnel among the casualties".

Pulau Bukom houses the $4.1 billion Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex, which opened in May 2010, and is Shell's largest petrochemical investment.

This is not the first time a fire broke out at Pulau Bukom. In September 2011, more than 100 firefighters helped to put out a fire that raged for 32 hours at the Pulau Bukom refinery. Shell was fined $80,000 the following year for lapses in workplace safety that led to the fire.

Pulau Bukom fire: Three workers discharged, three still in hospital
Jalelah Abu Baker and Ng Huiwen Straits Times 22 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE- Three of the six contractor workers injured in a fire in oil giant Shell's manufacturing site on Pulau Bukom were discharged from hospital by Saturday morning, said Shell in a statement.

However there are still three others in hospital. Two of them are in the Intensive Care Unit, while the other is in "stable condition", said a Singapore General Hospital (SGH) spokesman.

"We continue to follow the progress and treatment of the other three workers closely and are working with our contractor to ensure all possible support and assistance are rendered to the injured workers and their families," the Shell spokesman added.

The fire broke out on Friday evening at a section of the manufacturing site that was under scheduled maintenance.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said they received a call at around 6.15pm.

When they arrived, the fire had already been extinguished by Shell's emergency response team.

Shell confirmed that the fire was put out within an hour by the site's first emergency responders and there were no other impact on the site's operations.

The incident response team from the Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC) were also at SGH on Friday to assess the workers' conditions, said MWC Chairman Yeo Guat Kwang

"The MWC would like to remind all employers on their legal obligations to provide safe working conditions for their workers and to ensure that their workers are protected in all circumstances," he added.

Pulau Bukom houses the $4.1 billion Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex, which opened in May 2010. It is Shell's largest petrochemical investment.

2 in critical condition after Pulau Bukom fire
Channel NewsAsia 22 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE: Two people are in critical condition after a fire broke out at Shell's Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site on Friday (Aug 21).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the fire at 6.15pm on Friday evening. The blaze was extinguished by the Company Emergency Response Team before SCDF arrived on the scene.

Six contractor workers suffered burn injuries and were sent to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). "Contrary to speculation, there is no SCDF personnel among the casualties," the civil defence force said on Facebook.

A Shell spokesperson said that the fire was put out by the site’s first emergency responders within an hour and said there is no other impact on the site’s operations. The firm added that it is working with the Singapore Civil Defence Force to investigate the incident.

On Saturday, Shell stated that out of the six workers injured, two are still in the Intensive Care Unit of SGH, while one has been placed in the general ward. The other three are in stable condition - two of them were discharged after receiving outpatient treatment.

"We continue to follow their progress and treatment closely and are working with our contractor to ensure all possible support and assistance are rendered to the injured workers and their families," Shell added.

- CNA/dl/hs


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'Slight haziness' expected through Saturday: NEA

Despite improved conditions in the morning, "slight haziness" is expected on Friday (Aug 21) night, says the National Environment Agency.
Channel NewsAsia 21 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE: Hazy conditions in Singapore improved on Friday (Aug 21) morning, though "slight haziness" is still expected at night, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).

At 6pm, the 3-hour Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) reading was 81, while the 24-hour PSI was recorded at 68-74, within the Moderate range. "Nonetheless, we can still experience slight haziness tonight," NEA said.

The recent hazy conditions have been due to smoke from fires in Sumatra and 120 hotspots were detected on the Indonesian island the day before. However only two hotspots were detected in Sumatra on Friday due to "cloud cover over the island", NEA stated.

The agency also said that "occasional slightly hazy conditions" can be expected on Saturday, with prevailing winds forecast to blow from the southwest. Thundery showers are expected in the late morning and early afternoon, NEA added.

The agency also advised people who are not feeling well, especially the elderly and children and those with chronic heart and lung conditions, to seek medical attention. "Given the air quality forecast for the next 24 hours, everyone can continue with normal activities," it added.

The three-hour PSI briefly crossed the 100-mark on Thursday, though the 24-hour reading remained in the Moderate range.

- CNA/hs


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Indonesia: Peatland fires begin to approach residential areas

Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post 22 Aug 15;

Fires that have burned hundreds of hectares of peatland in East Tanjung jabung regency, Jambi, are now approaching residential areas.

East Tanjung jabung Forestry and Plantation Office head Adil Aritonang said the fires had engulfed 200 hectares in Rawasari village, Berbak district, in Simpang Kiri village, Mendahara Ulu district 140 hectares had been burned, as well as 40 hectares in Catur Rahayu village in Dendang district.

“The fires are not too intense, but peatland fires have rekindled and are likely to spark fires,” said Adil on Friday.

He said his office was coordinating with relevant agencies, including the military, police and private sector bodies, to douse the fires.

“We also urge residents not to clear land by using slash-and-burn methods,” said Adil.

Mendahara Ulu district chief Hendri said the fire in Simpang Kiri subdistrict had almost reached a settlement.

He added that his office, assisted by Manggala Agni firefighters, the district fire department and the East Tanjung jabung Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), had been trying to extinguish the fire in Pematang Rahim village for the past week.

“We are focusing on extinguishing the fire before it reaches human settlements,” he said.

The lack of rain had caused the fire to quickly spread to other areas. Adil said, and his office was flat out trying to extinguish the flaring fires.

Bukit Tempurung Manggala Agni forest fire-fighter team leader Del Rico said fires could not be fully brought under control because of a water shortage at the fire location. On Friday, six fires were recorded in Pematang Rahim village.

Thirteen Manggala Agni personnel, alongside the district fire department, local BPBD and the private sector are working together to extinguish the fire in the village.

“The Jambi provincial administration has yet to provide assistance,” said Adil.

Mendahara Ulu Police chief First Insp. Arief Nazaruddin said police had also deployed personnel to help douse the fire, adding that the police had yet to ascertain the cause of the fire.

“We have yet to determine where the fire came from. We are currently focusing on fire-fighting because the fire is now approaching human settlements,” said Arief.

Separately, the Jambi Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) announced that 299 hotspots were detected on Friday.

“Satellite images showed 299 hotspots have been detected in Jambi,” said Jambi BMKG Data and Information section head Kurnia Ningsih.

The highest number of hotspots have been detected in Muaro Jambi regency with 132 hotspots, followed by East Tanjung jabung (78), West Tanjung jabung (34), Batanghar (14), Sarolangun (12), Tebo (11), Merangin (nine), Bungo (seven) and Kerinci and Jambi city with one each.

“The number of hotspots today has risen significantly compared with the total 107 two days earlier,” said Kurnia.

Jambi Deputy Mayor Abdullah Sani said the Air Pollution Standard Index in Jambi city had reached 40 percent.

Despite still being categorized as safe, his office was concerned about the number of patients suffering from acute respiratory tract infections (ISPA) and other illnesses.

“We advise residents to wear masks when carrying out outdoor activities,” said Sani.

Haze reaches Batam, but flights unaffected
thejakartapost.com 21 Aug 15;

Haze has reached Batam, in Riau Islands province, as forest fires in Jambi and South Sumatra spread and the number of hot spots in those provinces increases, according to meteorological data, but the haze is yet to have an impact on flights.

Agus Tri from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) at Hang Nadin Airport in Batam said on Friday that the wind had blown from mainland Sumatra toward Batam, taking with it smoke from the forest fires.

“Visibility is still 8,000 to 10,000 meters. It is still safe for transportation,” Agus said as quoted by Antara.

He warned, however, that it could be worse because the number of hot spots in Jambi jumped drastically to 4,000 on Friday from just 1,000 the day before. Of particular concern he said, would be the wind continuing blow in the direction of Batam.

“If the visibility decrease drastically, we will inform the public,” said Agus, but added that there was not yet any indication that would happen.

Annual cross-border air pollution caused by uncontrolled land clearing on Indonesian plantations has been a source of discontent among Indonesia’s neighbors since the 1990s. In 2013, smoky haze from forest fires in Indonesia spread to Singapore and Malaysia, causing Singapore’s worst air pollution in 16 years. (bnn)(++++)

- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/21/haze-reaches-batam-flights-unaffected.html#sthash.5A5yL3mK.dpuf

Mt. Merbabu closed due to fire
thejakartapost.com 21 Aug 15;

All hiking trails to the peak of Mount Merbabu in Central Java have been closed because of savanna fires that started burning on Wednesday.

According to head of data, information and public relations at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in Purwo Nugroho, there were initially 11 separate fires on Mt. Merbabu on Wednesday afternoon, spread across a 25 hectare area. At dawn on Friday, the fires had reportedly spread further.

Mount Merbabu National Park Conservation Center officer Wawan said on Friday morning that park management was coordinating to battle fires at four of the hot spots.

"We decided that all hiking trails to the peak are to be closed as of Thursday evening," said Wawan as quoted by tribunnews.com.

On Thursday evening, 25 climbers that had already been on the mountain for three days were forced to come down.

Rino Mahardika, an officer at the search and rescue (SAR) team post, said that the fires can only be extinguished during the day due to their locations on the side of cliffs.

"It will be dangerous if we extinguish the fires after dark," said Rino on Thursday night.

He added that the most likely cause of the fires was unattended campfires lit by climbers.

"August is the season for climbing. A couple of days ago, after Independence Day on Aug. 17, Mt. Ungaran [also in Central Java] also caught fire," said Rino. (kes)(++++)


Mount Merbabu closed due to fire
The Jakarta Post 22 Aug 15;

BOYOLALI: All hiking trails to the peak of Mount Merbabu in Central Java have been closed because of savanna fires that started burning on Wednesday.

According to the head of data, information and public relations at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in Purwo Nugroho, there were initially 11 separate fires on Mt. Merbabu on Wednesday afternoon, spread across a 25-hectare area. At dawn on Friday, the fires had reportedly spread farther.

Mount Merbabu National Park Conservation Center officer Kurniawan Fajar Prasetyo said on Friday morning that park management was preparing to battle fires at four of the hot spots.

“We decided that all hiking trails to the peak are to be closed as of Thursday evening,” said Kurniawan.

On Thursday evening, 25 climbers that had already been on the mountain for three days were forced to come down.

Rino Mahardika, an officer at the search and rescue (SAR) team post, said that the fires could only be extinguished during the day because of their locations on the sides of cliffs.


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Indonesia: TNGL, Aceh police to fight illegal logging

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post 22 Aug 15;

The Mount Leuser National Park (TNGL) Center and the Aceh Police signed on Friday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on stamping out illegal logging, which continues to expand in the TNGL.

The signing of the MoU was witnessed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Asia and Pacific regional director Shahbaz Khan, Director General of Environmental and Forestry Enforcement Istanto, as well as a number of officials from the Aceh Police and the TNGL Center.

Aceh Police chief Insp. Gen. Husein Hamidi said the MoU was proof of police support for the eradication of illegal logging in the TNGL, especially in the law enforcement process conducted by the TNGL Center against illegal loggers.

“It’s impossible for the TNGL Center to act alone in overcoming illegal logging in the forested areas in the TNGL. We are ready to help because efforts to eradicate illegal logging must be backed up by police,” Husein told The Jakarta Post after signing the MoU.

He revealed that police had detected several areas in the TNGL where illegal logging was taking place within the Aceh Police jurisdiction, such as in Gayo Lues, Southeast Aceh, South Aceh and Southwest Aceh.

“We will immediately stamp out illegal logging in Aceh territory. We will take stern action against the perpetrators, regardless of who they are, including military and police personnel,” warned.

TNGL Center head Andi Basrul expressed the hope that the cooperation would reduce the rate of illegal logging in the TNGL. He acknowledged that efforts made by the center to eradicate illegal logging had so far not been optimum.

“The number of perpetrators prosecuted at this moment remains small compared to the widespread cases of illegal logging. Frankly, we cannot work alone to overcome the problem without assistance from the police,” said Andi.

He said stamping out illegal logging was in line with the outcome of the 39th World Heritage Committee conference in Bonn, Germany, which determined the TNGL as part of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra in the World Heritage in Danger list.

Istanto said more than 40,000 hectares of the TNGL area had already been deforested.


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