Rattled snake: Photographer caught on video hitting snake

David Sun, Ang Qing, The New Paper AsiaOne 30 Jul 15

Moving wild animals from their habitat for a photography session is frowned upon by nature lovers and professional photographers.

But that's what a group of photography enthusiasts did to a venomous snake. They even hit the reptile on the head.

Their foolhardy act was filmed and posted online.

It resulted in criticism from the public.

Last Monday, a 23-second video showing a group of photographers snapping photos of a snake at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve was uploaded on Facebook.

It shows a man and a woman, believed to be part of a larger group, taking photos of a green snake coiled around a branch.

The man snaps five photos, with his camera flash on and his lens just centimetres away from the head of the snake.

The group speaks in Mandarin, discussing the camera angle and how to take the photo.

Towards the end of the video, the man picks up a stick from the ground and hits the snake on the head before moving away.

Comments on the video identify it as a pit viper, a snake species which can kill humans with its venom.

Mr Kennie Pan, 25, a wildlife photographer who uploaded the video, said the snake had been moved from its original spot by the group.

He told The New Paper he had been in the same area a few days before, on July 18.

He said: "I couldn't get good shots of it. So I decided to leave it and come back the next day to hopefully find it in a better position."

Puzzled

But the next day, he could not find it. This puzzled him as such snakes do not go very far. He said they usually only move higher up the trees.

He then bumped into his friend who jogs in the area frequently, and was told that the snake had been moved by a group of photographers.

Said Mr Pan: "He showed me a video he took of them, and it was very upsetting. They moved it about 5m away, and (looking at the video), it was clearly disturbed."

Mr Pan uploaded the video on his Facebook page and as of yesterday, it had been shared 370 times.

One of the shares was by the Herpetological Society of Singapore (HSS), which condemned the actions of the people in the video.

HSS is a group of enthusiasts who photograph snakes in Singapore.

Mr Sankar Ananthanarayanan, 20, who is from the group, said he was outraged, describing the group's behaviour as abusive and irresponsible photography.

He said: "Imagine someone positioning you on a branch, prodding your head with a stick to make you face the right direction.

"I feel disturbed. It's an ongoing trend, to get the perfect shot. But it's not worth it to harass and unduly stress the animal this way.

"Within the nature photography community, there needs to be a code of ethics to prevent such incidents from happening."

Ms Ng Bee Choo, vertebrate study group chairman of the Nature Society Singapore, told The New Paper that such animals in nature reserves should be left alone.

"I think generally people can take pictures of them from a distance but they should not catch or touch them," she said.

Under Singapore's Animal and Birds Act, those found guilty of animal cruelty can be jailed for up to 18 months, fined up to $15,000, or both. For a second or subsequent offence, they could be fined up to $30,000, jailed up to three years, or both.

'Snakes just want to be left alone'

While on a nature walk, Mr Serin Subaraj, 20, saw a group of people trying to kill a snake with their walking sticks.

Instead of running away, he rushed forward to save it.

Mr Subaraj doesn't just love snakes, he is part of a group of snake enthusiasts, called the Herpetological Society of Singapore (HSS). Herpetology refers to the study of reptiles and amphibians.

HSS, which is unregistered, was founded in March. It currently has 21 members.

Over the last two years, its founding members - Mr Subaraj, Mr David Groenewoud, 22, Mr Sankar Ananthanarayanan, 20, Mr Law Ing Sind, 19, and Mr Law Ingg Thong, 17 - would go around Singapore looking for snakes to photograph.

They search for these creatures at least once a week at places like Pulau Ubin and Pasir Ris Park.

Misconceptions

All are students who met during nature walks. They started the group to correct misconceptions about snakes.

Mr Sankar said: "A common misconception is that snakes will come and find you. Snakes just want to be left alone."

According to the NParks website, there are more than 60 species of native snakes here. Some are venomous, such as the black spitting cobra, which is common in parks.

Ms Anbarasi Boopal, deputy chief executive of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), said: "People are not aware of native reptiles. Reticulated pythons are seen as anacondas. Monitor lizards are seen as Komodo dragons."

None of HSS' members has been attacked by snakes during their excursions.

Said Mr Sankar: "Snakes are beautiful and there's satisfaction in seeing an animal that's so rare.

"But we don't handle them unless there is a direct threat to their safety. For example, if a snake is crossing the road."

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Indonesia: Regents, mayors told to overcome fires, haze

Rizal Harahap and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post 30 Jul 15;

The Riau administration has instructed 12 regents and mayors across the province to immediately overcome the land and forest fires as well as anticipate the worsening haze over the past few days.

“Regents and mayors have been asked to be quick and ready and optimize the role of district and village heads to monitor, supervise and prevent the fires as early as possible as well as to overcome the haze in their respective areas,” said the provincial administration first assistant Ahmadsyah Harrofie on Wednesday.

According to him, Governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman has also called the regional heads to ask for opinions from relevant agencies as well as guidance and existing regulations when determining the emergency status in their regions.

“An alert status must be determined through a coordinated meeting,” he added.

As of Wednesday, thick haze from land and forest fires was still blanketing a number of areas, such as Pekanbaru and Pelalawan regency, which led to limited visibility to reach only between 1.5 km and 2 km.

“Air quality is also categorized as unhealthy,” said Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) head Sugarin.

Based on satellite images gathered by the Pekanbaru BMKG on Wednesday morning, 40 hot spots were detected in seven regencies, 20 of them in Pelalawan, five in Indragiri Hulu, five in Indragiri Hilir, three each in Dumai city and Bengkalis and Siak regencies and one in Rokan Hilir.

Based on a recap conducted by the Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) and relevant agencies, areas affected by fires in Riau from June 24 to July 26 had reached 1,264.75 hectares, of which 400 ha were found in Rokan Hilir, followed by Pelalawan (232 ha) and Bengkalis (177 ha). So far, only Meranti Islands regency has been reported free of fires.

“Of the affected areas, 1,125.25 ha have been extinguished,” said Riau BPBD head Edwar Sanger.

According to Edwar, the land and aerial task forces who were deployed from the land and Forest Fire Emergency Command Station at the Roesmin Nurjadin Airbase in Pekanbaru, are still making efforts to put out the fires.

“CN-295 planes have carried out 25 sorties to scatter 55.28 tons of salt to make artificial rain and a Sikorsky and a MI-171 helicopter have continued to conduct water bombing,” he said.

Separately, in North Sumatra, a number of incoming and outgoing flights at the FL Tobing Airport in Pinangsori district, Central Tapanuli regency, have been delayed due to haze from land and forest fires in Riau.

Airport manager Ambar Suryoko said on Wednesday visibility around the airport was only 2,000 meters at noon, thus endangering flights. Consequently, Ambar added, a number of flights were postponed until visibility improved.

Kualanamu BMKG data and Information Section head Mega Sirait said nearly all regions in North Sumatra, including Medan city, were covered by haze on Wednesday. She added the haze originated from land and forest fires in Riau.

Mega said in general, the haze from Riau had yet to disrupt people’s activities in the province, apart from the FL Tobing Airport and Aek Godang Airport in Padang Sidempuan city. Mega said flights at both airports were disrupted by the thick haze as they were located close to the North Sumatra-Riau border.

“Visibility at FL Tobing and Aek Godang airports were 2,000 and 4,000 meters respectively,” said Mega, adding visibility at the Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang regency was very good at 8,000 meters and did not interrupt flights there.

Riau calls for private companies to help fight wildfires
Antara 29 Jul 15;

Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - It certainly is no easy task to break the vicious cycle of annual forest, peat land and plantation fires, which have affected Riau Province over the past 17 years.

Despite the Joko Widodo (Jokowi) administrations vow to end the misery of the people of Riau, who choke due to the smoke from haze caused by the wildfires, some 1,246 hectares of land, mostly peat land areas, was razed by fires over the last month.

Earlier this week, the acting governor of Riau, Arsyadjuliandi Rachman, reported the wildfires and the haze shrouding the provinces cities and villages to Forestry and Environmental Affairs Minister Siti Nurbaya in Jakarta.

The acting governor has urged private firms, particularly those engaged in rubber and palm oil plantations, to help douse the forest, peat land and plantation fires affecting the province at present.

"Today, we order private companies to take responsibility for the haze shrouding Riau. We are sure that their participation will help reduce the fire problem," Arsyadjuliandi Rachman, said in Pekanbaru, on July 28, 2015.

These companies must help extinguish the fires blazing in and around their areas and appeal to local residents to not set fire to land cleared for farming, he stated.

Moreover, Chairman of the Riau Chapter of the Association of Indonesian Forestry Concession Holders Ahmad Kuswara revealed that of the 58 existing forestry companies in Riau, 38 were members of the organization.

He also affirmed that these firms had been actively taking preventive measures against the fires by providing firefighting equipment.

Besides, of the existing 382 palm oil plantations in Riau, only 72 were members of the Riau Chapter of the Association of Indonesian Palm Oil Plantation Businessmen.

Furthermore, Kuswara believes that the fires were not set by companies that were members of his association, as they upheld the moral responsibility of aiding in firefighting efforts.

However, he suspects that new plantation firms that were clearing land for palm oil plantations were behind the fires.

In response to the governors appeal, PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) has deployed two helicopters and four pilots as well as hundreds of personnel to put out fires occurring outside the RAPP plantation area.

The pulp and paper industry has coordinated with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) in the attempts to fight the fires.

Riau has declared July 1 to August 31, 2015, as a period of fire danger in all forest concession areas.

A total area measuring 1,246 hectares (ha) across Riau Province was razed by wildfires from June 24 to July 26, 2015, stated Chairman of the Riau Forest and Plantation Fires Task Force Major General Nurendi.

The worst affected district is Rokan Hilir, with 400 ha razed by wildfires, following by Pelalawan (232 ha), Bengkalis (177 ha), Dumai City (124 ha), Nurendi, who is concurrently commander of the Wira Bima 031 regional military command (Korem), noted in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau Province, recently.

The task forces personnel managed to put out fires in 1,125 ha of area, he remarked.

"However, due to the extreme hot weather and most of the affected land being peatland area, most of the fires reemerge if not supervised carefully," he pointed out, adding that he ordered his personnel to closely supervise the affected peatland areas.

In Gambut Jaya Kumpeh village, Muarojambi District, for instance, some 200 hectares of peatland have been razed by fires, which are now approaching residential areas.

The task force comprises joint teams from the Riau administration, the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), the National Police, the Riau disaster mitigation office, and the Riau meteorology and climatology office.

According to Chief of the Riau disaster mitigation office Edwar Sanger, the office has deployed two helicopters: Mi 17 and Sikorsky to conduct water bombing activities over the fires. Sikorsky has a capacity to carry up to four tons of water during each sortie.

Besides this, a Hercules aircraft has also been deployed to conduct cloud seeding to produce artificial rains by using weather modification technology in Riau, which is currently being hit by El Nino-induced drought.

Sanger said the number of hotspots in the province has decreased thanks to rains and efforts to put out the fires.

In the meantime, the Terra and Aqua satellites detected 308 hotspots indicating wildfires on Sumatra Island, on July 26, 2015, Head of the Pakanbaru meteorology, climatology and geophysics office (BMKG) Sugarin said.

Riau was the largest hotspots contributor with 122 hotspots, followed by South Sumatra (59), Jambi (58), North Sumatra (25), West Sumatra (19), Bengkulu (10), Bangka Belitung (nine), Lampung (five), and Riau Islands (one), according to him.

In Riau Province, 44 hotspots were found in Pelalawan District, 17 in Bengkalis, 16 in Kampar, 14 in Indragiri Hulu, eight in Indragiri Hilir, seven in Dumai, five in Rokan Hilir, four in Kuantan Singingi, and two in Rokan Hulu.

On July 28, the number of hotspots across Sumatra, decreased to 148, including 45 in Riau.

The visibility in Pekanbaru on July 26 morning reached only one kilometer, which is the minimal safety limit for flights.

The air quality in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau, was categorized as unhealthy due to the haze arising from the wildfires.

In Riau province, some 1,022 people fell ill because of air pollution.

Authorities have urged local residents, particularly expecting mothers, children and the elderly, to stay indoors as they are more prone to be affected by haze.

The health office of Riau province has distributed 3,000 medical masks to residents of Pekanbaru.

Dr. Yohanes of the health office said recently that the masks were given to passersby and motorcyclists in three locations---in front of the Riau governors office and the heroes cemetery, as well as at the SKA Mall.

The province currently has a stock of 20,000 masks.

"The public must get enough rest, eat nutritious food and drink adequate amount of water because haze can reduce our immunity," he pointed out.

The Indonesian government is gearing up to face the effects of El Nino, which could reduce precipitation by 40 to 80 percent.

This natural phenomenon is affecting the provinces of Sumatra, East Java, Bali, West and East Nusa Tenggara, and Papua in particular, from June to November this year.
(Uu.F001/INE/KR-BSR)

Indonesia: New forest fires threaten Indonesia’s protected areas
Tjokorda Nirarta Samadhi Jakarta Globe 30 Jul 15;

Extreme haze caused by forest and bush fires throughout Sumatra and Kalimantan has been a perpetual problem affecting the quality of life and economy of local residents and neighboring countries.

As this year’s dry season approaches, the fires are just starting to pick up, especially in the fire-prone province of Riau in Sumatra, but they are already threatening some of the most biodiverse and carbon-rich ecosystems in the country — protected forests and peatlands.

According to NASA’s Active Fire Data on the Global Forest Watch Fires (GFW Fires) platform, half of the fire alerts in Riau are occurring in protected areas or those where new development is prohibited under Indonesia’s national forest moratorium.

And an alarming 38 percent of Riau’s fires are burning on carbon-rich peatlands, releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and fueling global climate change.

During 2013-2014, fires in Indonesia brought about a haze crisis in Sumatra, Malaysia and Singapore, sparking a call for greater accountability from companies and the Indonesia government and resulting in Indonesia signing the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. With the dry season just starting in Sumatra, we are just beginning to see fire alerts increase. The World Resources Institute (WRI) will watch the situation closely over the coming months to see whether Indonesia’s commitment to reducing fires and haze pollution will be met.

As was the case last year, the greatest concentration of fire alerts is in Riau, which is among the top producers of palm oil and timber in Indonesia, and has one of the highest rates of deforestation.

In Riau, fire has long been used as a fast and inexpensive way to clear land and prepare it for planting. Research conducted by David Gaveau of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) indicated that determining the exact cause of the fires is complex, as they often occur outside of concession boundaries or in concession areas operated by smallholder farmers.

A large number of fire alerts are concentrated in Riau’s Tesso Nilo National Park, which has been significantly damaged by illegal encroachment in recent years. The approximately 83,000-hectare park lost more than half of its tree cover from 2001-2013, according to GFW data. The park is a habitat for critically endangered Sumatran elephants and tigers.

In the past week, 69 hotspots were detected in Tesso Nilo, of which seven were likely to be associated with forest clearing. Other active fires that did not meet the high confidence fire criteria are still likely to be fires, but are more likely associated with burning fields/grass or other conditions that result in lower-temperature fires. While we have yet to see a major spike in fire alerts in Riau, where the alerts are located thus far reveals regulatory and enforcement weaknesses.

As part of the national forest moratorium, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono prohibited the issuance of new development licenses in key forest areas, a commitment extended this year by current President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. Despite the ban, the vast area of protected and moratorium forest is a de facto no-man’s land. The absence or inadequateness of the government’s capacity to monitor and protect the landscape resulted in many encroachments and illegal occupation that eventually increase the risk of forest degradation and fires.

Plus, the moratorium has known loopholes, such as allowing for the clearing of moratorium areas for food and energy crop development.

Inadequate oversight of protected areas is also a pervasive problem in Indonesia and has been particularly devastating to Tesso Nilo National Park. The government’s ambitious overhaul of the forest management system by setting up local forest management units (KPH) is one step in the right direction, but is not likely to have a significant impact without more capacity and resources to prevent such massive encroachment.

A prerequisite for good land-use management is an up-to-date, accurate and consistent geospatial information system; and unfortunately, Indonesia still lacks one.

Indonesia has launched an initiative to remedy this — the widely touted One Map initiative. To have a unified map that is up-to-date, accurate and agreed to by all key stakeholders is one tremendously difficult task in a country where concessions as large as tens of thousands of hectares are allocated based on a hand-drawn map.

One Map is not the goal, but more of a means to have a common “language” between conflicting and competing forest stakeholders and to employ data-driven, land-use policy making.

It is imperative for the government to accelerate and scale up the One Map process if Indonesia wants to gradually improve its land-use management and achieve more sustainable development.

Responsive action from the Environment and Forestry Ministry as well as the National Disaster Management Agency is needed to curb the already increasing number of fire hotspots.

But in the longer term, what is really needed is better, more strategic forest management. That means strengthening enforcement in protected areas, closing loopholes and accelerating the One Map process.

The writer is the director of World Resources Institute (WRI) Indonesia. The article was written with additional reports by WRI experts Lisa Johnston, Susan Minnemeyer and Nigel Sizer.

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Indonesia: Widespread crop failures as drought continues in Central Java

Suherdjoko, thejakartapost.com 29 Jul 15;

Thousands hectares of rice and corn in Central Java have experienced crop failure following the long dry season, an official said on Wednesday.

Central Java Plantation Agency’s agriculture subagency head Nuswantoro said crop failures had hit 6,578 hectares of paddy fields in Grobogan (2,322 ha), Blora (1,589 ha), Pati (717 ha), Demak (584 ha), Pemalang (188 ha) and Brebes (380 ha) among other areas.

“Minor, moderate and severe levels of drought have affected rice fields in 29 out of 35 regencies and cities during this year’s dry season. The drought also hit corn and soybean fields,” Nuswantoro said.

He said that 26,977 ha of rice fields are experiencing a minor level of drought, 7,672 ha are at moderate level and 2,845 ha at severe level.

Fifty-three ha of corn fields also experienced crop failure, while some 215 ha were experiencing a minor level of drought, 25 ha are at moderate level, and 54 ha at severe level.

Meanwhile, some 103 ha of soybean fields were experiencing minor drought and 134 ha at moderate level.

Also on Wednesday, Central Java Disaster Mitigation Agency stated that 17 areas in Rembang, Blora, Gorbogan,Pati, Wonogiri, Sukoharjo, Klaten, Boyolali, Banyumas, Cilacap, Purbalingga, Tegal, Pemalang, Demak, Purworejo, Kebumen, dan Jepara were facing clean water crises.

The National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) had that Indonesia would suffer the worst drought in the past five years in 2015.(+++)

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Best of our wild blogs: 29 Jul 15

Herps in the Sky? – Part 1
Herpetological Society of Singapore

Nesting bulbul: 3. Adult feeding 5 days old chick
Bird Ecology Study Group

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Progress on haze monitoring system slow: Balakrishnan

NEO CHAI CHIN Today Online 29 Jul 15;

SINGAPORE — Progress on the regional haze monitoring system has been very slow, but concrete steps can be taken through information sharing between governments, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said today (July 28).

Given that Malaysian and Indonesian authorities have raised legal difficulties in making land concession maps public, Dr Balakrishnan said he has “counter-proposed” an exchange of information on a government-to-government basis. Concession maps show the tracts of land companies have been allowed to develop.

The haze monitoring system was adopted by five Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) members — Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand — nearly two years ago in October 2013, but is lacking the concession maps that, together with satellite images of hot spots, would help track down parties responsible for transboundary haze.

Dr Balakrishnan, who was in Jakarta for a meeting of the ASEAN Sub Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution, said the risk of haze remains if the El Nino weather phenomenon brings about prolonged drier and warmer weather in the second half of this year.

“If we can establish this system in which we can directly exchange this information, facilitate investigations, adduce evidence that can be offered in the court of law, I think we’ll increase considerably the accountability for companies that start such fires,” he said.

Errant companies could be in breach of both Indonesian laws and Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act. “So even while we try to overcome the hurdles with the publication of concession maps, I’m hoping we can still move and take concrete steps on a bilateral government-to-government basis,” he added. Yesterday’s meeting was constructive “but there’s still a lot more that we need to do”.

The Indonesian authorities have stepped up efforts on the ground and there have been fewer hot spots in the first six months of this year, he noted.

Separately, Singapore-headquartered pulp and paper giant Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited launched an initiative today to prevent fires in nine villages in Riau province in Sumatra. The programme, led by its operations arm and done with partners such as non-governmental groups, includes community incentives to not burn, air quality monitoring and sustainable agricultural alternatives. APRIL’s manufacturing operations are in Pangkalan Kerinci in Riau.

Singapore proposes information sharing with ASEAN to tackle haze
Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan says he hopes that through the process of "ground truthing", the Indonesian government will share the identity of the company responsible for a hotspot.
Saifulbahri Ismail Channel NewsAsia 28 Jul 15;

JAKARTA: The Republic has proposed to ASEAN member states that information be shared on a government-to-government basis as part of efforts to tackle transboundary haze in the region.

Speaking at the end of a one-day ASEAN meeting on transboundary haze in Jakarta on Tuesday (Jul 28), Environment Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishan said this information can help confirm the presence and severity of a fire after satellite pictures indicate a hotspot.

Dr Balakrishnan said he hopes that through this process of "ground truthing", the Indonesian government will then share the identity of the company responsible for that hotspot. “So if we can establish this system in which we can directly exchange information, facilitate investigation, produce evidence which can be offered in the court of law, we will increase considerably the accountability for the companies that started the fires,” he said.

Dr Balakrishnan made this proposal to Indonesia at the meeting after seeing "very slow progress" on the ASEAN Haze Monitoring System (AHMS).

ASEAN member states - namely Indonesia and Malaysia - have been reluctant to share land concession maps citing security concerns. The concession maps are a key component required by the system.

Indonesia has said it will study the proposal and Dr Balakrishnan said he is convinced that the current Indonesian government is serious on overcoming transboundary haze in the region.

During the meeting, Thailand offered to host a workshop to draft a roadmap on ASEAN cooperation towards haze pollution control next year. The Thai government has said it hopes to promote the sharing of experiences and lessons learned to achieve the goal of haze-free ASEAN by 2020.

- CNA/dl/al

South-east Asia sees little progress on haze as fires rage
Straits Times 28 Jul 15;

JAKARTA (AFP) - South-east Asian nations meeting on Tuesday to discuss the problem of haze that shrouds the region's skies every year made little progress, as the number of smog-belching forest fires was on the rise in Indonesia.

Environment ministers from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Singapore met in Jakarta to discuss the issue.

The haze mostly comes from forest fires on Indonesia's western island of Sumatra, many of which are deliberately lit to clear land for plantations.

Pressure to resolve the problem has increased since 2013 when South-east Asia suffered its worst smog crisis for more than a decade, with haze levels hitting a record high in Singapore.

Nevertheless, collaborative efforts by the 10-member Asean to resolve the problem have been slow, with Singapore's calls for the adoption of a regional haze monitoring system making little headway.

The proposed system would use satellite data and maps of forest concessions to identify firms responsible for fires, and use this evidence to prosecute them.

But Indonesia and Malaysia, which is also home to palm oil plantations, have been reluctant to provide such maps.

There were no concrete developments at the two-day Jakarta meeting, prompting Singaporean Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan to lament "very slow" progress despite many meetings.

"The human, social and economic cost of haze in our part of the world has been too high, and been going on far too long," he told reporters.

Singapore has passed legislation allowing authorities to fine companies that cause or contribute to haze, regardless of whether they have an office in the city-state. But officials say they still need evidence from the ground.

The number of fires on Sumatra rose steeply in recent days, with state-run Antara news agency reporting over 300 "hotspots" - either forest fires or areas likely soon to go up in flames - detected on the island at the weekend.

Ministers agree to share hot spot info
But Jakarta again fails to agree to map-sharing request from S'pore
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Straits Times 29 Jul 15;

Environment ministers from five Asean nations agreed yesterday to sharing information on a government-to-government basis that would help identify plantation companies on whose land fires start and cause haze.

The agreement, however, fell far short of the longstanding request by Singapore that Indonesia publicly share maps on agricultural concessions owned by oil palm, timber and other commodity companies, which are often blamed for starting the fires, particularly in neighbouring Sumatra.

"We decided to share hot spot information first - to make such data reach all parties as quickly as possible," said Indonesian Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar at a joint press conference after the meeting in Jakarta.

Representatives from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Thailand attended the meeting.

Asean previously agreed to create a regional haze-monitoring system, with a computer system developed by Singapore that uses satellite images and hot-spot data to pinpoint fires that lead to haze.

Development of the system has progressed slowly as it awaits the concession maps from Indonesia and Malaysia to identify which companies are responsible for the land plots where fires occur.

Plantation companies have often been blamed for some of the fires that burn on their concessions although, in some cases, the fires are started outside their lands or by farmers who are encroaching or living on their concessions. Many large plantation companies also have fire crews to protect their oil palm trees, timber or other assets.

One problem is that these companies generally do not share concession boundary data and the Indonesian government has struggled to create accurate concession maps.

Another issue is that Indonesian laws ban the government from sharing concession maps, Ms Siti said.

The information on hot-spot locations, though, would reveal the truth and help with the investigation and prosecution of errant companies, said Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

"It would allow us to do 'ground truthing', meaning, if we see a hot spot on a satellite that is verified on the ground, we could, hopefully, exchange information on which companies are responsible for that piece of ground on which the fire has started," Dr Balakrishnan said at the joint press conference.

Singapore passed legislation in August last year that would allow criminal and civil prosecution against Singaporean as well as foreign companies involved in illegal burning outside Singapore. But regulators would still need evidence and cooperation from the authorities on the ground.

Dr Balakrishnan also said he was convinced Indonesian President Joko Widodo was serious about overcoming the haze problem. He noted that the number of hot spots this year has been much lower. But he lamented the slow progress of the Asean haze talks.

"Despite multiple meetings... the progress has been very slow," he told reporters in Jakarta.

"I would say this is a problem that has gone on for too long. We need to solve it now. We are not moving as quickly as I would have hoped but nevertheless, there is some progress and, more importantly, there are signs of progress on the ground, certainly in Sumatra, and particularly in Riau."

Singapore upset by RI’s haze
Hans Nicholas Jong, The Jakarta Post 29 Jul 15;

While President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was on a state visit to Singapore on Tuesday, on the same day in Jakarta a Singaporean minister expressed his country’s growing impatience with Indonesia’s slow progress in controlling the annual forest fires.

Speaking during a meeting in Jakarta with five ASEAN country members about the haze issue, Singapore Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that the goal of a haze-free ASEAN by 2020 was not good enough for Singaporeans as the country had suffered too long from the air pollution.

“As far as Singaporeans are concerned, we want a haze-free ASEAN now, not in 2020. We want it now. The human, social and economic cost of haze in our part of the world has been too high and been going on for far too long,” he said in front of his counterparts, including Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar.

The meeting was the 17th of its kind held by the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on transboundary haze pollution, attended by senior officials from five Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Thailand.

Annual cross-border air pollution caused by uncontrolled land clearing on Indonesian plantations has been a source of discontent among Indonesia’s neighbours since the 1990s.

In 2013, smoky haze wrought by forest fires in Indonesia spread to Singapore and Malaysia, causing Singapore’s worst air pollution in 16 years.

This year, the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned that the dry season could last longer than in previous years because of a weather phenomenon known as El Niño, which affects temperatures and rainfall.

A total of 4,763 hotspots, indicating wildfires, were detected across Indonesia during the period between Jan. 1 and July 23 this year.

Singapore has repeatedly urged Indonesia to provide data on companies and concession maps to enable it to act against plantation firms that allow slash-and-burn farming, saying that it will send an unequivocal signal that ASEAN countries are prepared to be transparent and hold individual companies accountable for their actions.

“Despite multiple meetings, to be honest with you the progress is very slow. The key hurdle is due to the separate regulatory and legislative systems in Malaysia and Indonesia, which until today have prevented them from openly publishing the concession maps for the ASEAN Haze Monitoring System [AHMS],” Vivian said.

The AHMS is a computerised system developed by Singapore in 2012 to enhance hotspot monitoring by combining hotspot data, high-resolution satellite pictures and land concession maps.

Minister Siti, however, countered Vivian’s statement by saying Indonesia would fulfill Singapore’s demand for the list of companies.

“In Indonesia, we have a law on public information access. In that law, there are some documents [that could be published], except for those that have to be kept secret. So we haven’t been able to say that all data is legitimate. We have to verify it first. We still have to [share it] through the G2G. We’re not using a multilateral approach in this case,” Siti said.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Siti said she could not understand what the Singaporean minister meant by saying that Indonesia was too slow in making progress.

“I don’t know what he’s saying, in which time frame, because as you’ve mentioned, this is already the 17th agenda,” the minister responded.

Siti emphasized that the government was obliged to protect the environment not for other countries, but for its own people. “You know what we are doing is not only for other people, but it is in our Constitution that we have to provide a good environment for our people. So in anycase we have to do [it].”

Faizal Parish, senior technical advisor for the ASEAN Peatland Forests Project (APFP) and director of the Malaysia-based Global Environment Centre, said Singapore should be more sensitive to other countries’ problems.

“It’s a sensitive issue because people think Singapore will be [the environmental] police for Asia who will prosecute all companies [regardless of their nationalities],” he said on Tuesday. “But it will be unwise for Singapore to prosecute
Indonesians.”

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Pair receive awards for smart farming solutions

Madeleine Lim Straits Times 28 Jul 15;

SINGAPORE - Two Singaporeans received local awards from Minister of State Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman at the Youth SG-Summit Awards Ceremony on Tuesday.

Koh Shao Cong and Oh Su Chin will represent Singapore at next month's Youth AG-Summit, themed "feeding a hungry planet", in Canberra, Australia.

Along with 100 counterparts from 33 countries they will look at how agricultural research and development can boost food productivity, quality and safety.

The local duo were selected by a panel of judges from the National Youth Achievement Council and pharmaceutical giant Bayer.

As Singapore imports most of its food supply, 24-year-old Ms Oh, a food science graduate working in the Agri-Food Veterinary Authority, believes it is essential to improve local food production.

Undergraduate Mr Koh, 25, added: "With agro-technology farming system, rooftop hydroponics and vertical farming, we can optimise land use and make urban farming possible in Singapore."

A special award was also presented to late student Toh Jun Pen, who died aged 17 after he submitted his entry. The award was received by his father and members of ITE College (West).

The late Mr Toh was recognised for a smart automated rice farming system which he developed with his team from ITE College (West) to cultivate rice in urbanised Singapore. His prototype consists of a fibre tank, a basic pump, solar panels, soil, a school of small fish and rice plants.

The hydroponic paddy field is stacked vertically to save space. The fibre tanks can be re-used after each rice harvest, making the system environmentally friendly.

Dr Maliki said: "Food security and food supply resilience are issues close to our hearts, and vital to our survival."

According to the United Nations, the world's population increases by 233,000 people every day and by 2050, it has been estimated that there will be 9 billion people.

In light of the growing challenges of global food security, Dr Maliki said: "It is important for our next generation to develop interests and capabilities in safeguarding our food security, and contribute to the global conservation and sustainable agriculture."

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Indonesia: First fire-prevention plan in Riau

Zubaidah Nazeer Straits Times 29 Jul 15;

Acting Riau Governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman yesterday launched the province's first fire-prevention programme in collaboration with local government, police and a major pulp and paper company, in a bid to stem forest fires that cause haze.

The programme, initiated by pulp and paper firm April, involves nine villages on the periphery of its plantation in the town of Kerinci in Pelalawan regency where it operates its mill.

April's strategic fire manager Craig Tribolet said this involves identifying a representative from each village to be a fire crew leader with whom it will coordinate communication and training of villagers and arrange the lending of firefighting tools. April has also trained 70 policemen in basic firefighting.

"We need to move beyond putting out fires to preventing them, because when we put the wet stuff over the red stuff, it is often too late," Mr Tribolet said, referring to dousing of fires.

Mr Arsyadjuliandi, whose province was the epicentre of the worst haze in 16 years in 2013, says such collaboration was crucial to achieve the no-haze goal he pledged last year when he took office. He told The Straits Times on the sidelines of the event: "Frankly, we do not have the resources and we need big companies like April to help push through such programmes and lend us equipment and help with monitoring and training."

The programme reflects the higher level of collaboration happening in this province, with the police and military also roped in to battle the haze. Ironically, yesterday's event took place on a day that saw visibility in Riau drop to 1.5km in its provincial capital Pekanbaru, prompting officials to distribute masks to schoolchildren.

Pekanbaru's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency recorded 148 hot spots across five provinces in Sumatra yesterday - 55 in South Sumatra, 45 in Riau, 35 in Jambi, nine in Bangka Belitung and four in Lampung.

It also comes as Asean ministers met in Indonesia's capital Jakarta to affirm their commitment to battling transboundary haze.

Back in Kerinci town, Mr Tribolet, an Australian firefighter hired to design the fire-prevention programme, said he found most of the residents had no malicious intent in burning land. "They simply have no other alternatives, and it costs next to nothing to clear by burning," he said of the traditional practice.

The villages, within a 3km-radius outside the company's plantation, were selected based on how fire-prone and influential they are.

April conducted dialogues with the villagers and also tapped NGOs. "We need to build networks and relationships with them, and hope the remaining villages could follow," said Mr Tribolet.

Mr Amirul, 30, who goes by one name, owns 2ha of land in Sering village. He said the villagers accepted April's offer to lend them excavators to clear their land, even though it will take up to a month more than simply burning, because there is now a higher level of scrutiny among villagers who are encouraged to report fires.

For his part, Mr Arsyadjuliandi set up a 24-hour fire-prevention post in Pekanbaru to monitor fire updates twice daily and assign officials to fire-prone areas.

Despite such efforts, fires are still common. Along the stretch of road in Kerinci, a large swathe of land was seen smoking, freshly burnt three days ago, residents said.

Haze may force authorities to send students home
Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post 28 Jul 15;

Thick haze caused by lingering forest and land fires in Riau province may force local authorities to send students home due to poor air quality.

Based on a report from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency’s (BMKG) Pekanbaru station, thick haze has for the last two days contaminated Pekanbaru and Dumai’s atmosphere, leading to visibility of only 2 to 3 kilometers.

“The air in Pekanbaru and Dumai is not healthy,” station head Sugarin said, adding that the haze was thickest in the morning and evening.

He blamed the haze on forest and land fires in a number of regencies and cities in Riau.

He said the Terra and Aqua satellites on Monday morning detected 25 hotspots. Of them, 12 were detected in Indragiri Hilir, seven in Indragiri Hulu, three in Bengkalis, two in Dumai and one in Pelalawan.

“Of them, 20 were fire spots with 70 percent reliability, indicating that there were already forest and land fires there,” he said.

Responding to the decrease in air quality, the Riau provincial administration distributed 2,000 face masks to people for free.

“We also instructed health agencies in regencies and cities with unhealthy air quality to mobilize all the community health centers in their respective regions to distribute masks to people,” Riau Health Agency head Andra Sjafril said.

The provincial health agency, according to Andra, also issued a warning for schools and parents to protect children from the impacts of haze.

“They are strongly recommended to wear masks while participating in teaching and learning activities,”
he said.

Andra recommended that schools send their students home should the air quality continue to decrease and endanger the health of students.

“If the situation does not get better tomorrow, students must stay home. If the conditions are the
same as today, they may go to school but must put on masks to protect them from the dangers of the haze,” he said.

According to provisional data, 1,022 people have suffered from health problems because of the haze since the beginning of July. Of them, 757 suffered from acute respiratory infection, 160 from skin irritation, 50 from eye irritation, 29 from asthma and 26 from pneumonia.

Andra said the figures had increased over the last few days as the air quality in the region worsened. Most of the sufferers live in regions with numerous hotspots such as Bengkalis, Rokan Hilir, Dumai city and Pekanbaru.

“That’s why we do not tire of reminding people to reduce outdoor activities while the haze is still there,” he said.

Separately, Pekanbaru Regent Firdaus said it was not yet time for him to issue a policy on sending students home, arguing that the haze was still at a tolerable level.

However, he acknowledged the dangers of haze and its impacts on people’s health and children’s intelligence.

“The impacts may not be directly visible but will emerge in 15 to 20 years,” he said.

He therefore called on parents to take good care of their children during the haze. “It’s no use if schools send them home but they are let outside in the haze to play.”

Thick haze blankets Pekanbaru
thejakartapost.com 28 Jul 15;

Several tall buildings in Pekanbaru, Riau province, were blanketed by thick haze on Tuesday morning.

According to Antaranews.com, buildings along Jl. Soebrantas Panam and Jl. Jenderal Sudirman were blanketed in smoke at 7 a.m. with visibility around 1.5 kilometers, with the smoke getting thicker at noon.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Pekanbaru has reported 148 hotspots spread over five provinces in Sumatra on Tuesday morning: 55 in South Sumatra, 45 in Riau, 35 in Jambi, nine in Bangka Belitung and four in Lampung,

“The hotspots have developed in ten regencies in Riau,” said Head of BMKG Pekanbaru Sugarin as quoted by Antara news agency.

The thick haze, which was caused by forest fires in Pekanbaru, affected students' first day of school on Monday. To reduce its effect, the Riau Public Health office distributed medical masks to the students. (edn)(++++)

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Malaysia: Sarawak to be more ape-friendly

YU JI The Star 29 Jul 15;

KUCHING: The Sarawak Government will embark on an orang utan-led environmental policy, promises Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

Aside from not approving any new logging licences and approvals for plantations, the ape-friendly policy should lead to there being more totally-protected and communal conservation areas at newly-found orang utan habitats.

Adenan, in a taped speech presented at the Great Apes Survival Partnership (Grasp) meeting in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, said the Batang Ai and Lajak-Entimau protected areas that border West Kalimantan, Indonesia, would likely be expanded based on new sightings.

The Chief Minister, who in the recording described himself as an “amateur naturalist” and a fan of BBC documentary maker Sir David Attenborough, pledged to “make decisions that are in the favour of nature”.

“I am very concerned about the state of our orang utans and other mammals in Borneo. I am a naturalist by inclination and have made concrete decisions with regard to conservation of our natural resources, especially with regard to fauna,” Adenan said during the Grasp South-East Asia meeting.

“With regard to orang utans, we have happily discovered a few more areas of habitat. In fact, over and above the present ones at the Batang Ai and Lanjak Entimau landscape, they have discovered quite a few more in nearby areas. We will preserve those.”

Adenan said the state would totally prohibit commercial dealings in known orang utan habitats.

His speech was contained within the keynote address of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Malaysia director, Dr Melvin Gumal.

Gumal told The Star that he was convinced that Adenan’s pledge around orang utans was one of the strongest made in the world.

“This is really good news because it means, from now on, wherever orang utans are found in non-protected areas, the consideration to conserve will be real.

“It also means non-consumptive activities such as eco-tourism would be prioritised. We already know there are new plans that consider these alternatives,” Gumal said.

Portions of Batang Ai are currently in a national park, while the Lanjak Entimau area is a wildlife sanctuary.

Joint public-private survey findings that ended in May last year have uncovered the existence of about 200 orang utans in and around Ulu Sungai Menyang, which is south of the existing protected areas.

The boundaries of Batang Ai National Park could also be widened westwards, where two other surveys have shown an estimated over 120 orang utans.

In a report in The Star a year ago, illegal logging was detected by indigenous communities living near the national park and staff of an international hotel chain that operates a five-star resort in the area. The report led to swift enforcement.

In March this year, the Sarawak Government announced a revised target of creating 1.5 million hectares of totally protected areas, which is slightly above 10% of the state’s landmass.

In the pipeline are some 20 new national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, including extensions on current ones like Kubah National Park, home to some of the world’s smallest frogs.

Earlier in the speech, Adenan also said a new scheme would welcome more foreign researchers and scientists into Sarawak.

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The Malayan tiger is officially Critically Endangered

WWF 28 Jul 15;

28 July 2015, Kuala Lumpur: The Malayan tiger is now officially listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the world’s most comprehensive source of information on wild animals and plants and the level of threat they face.

Recognised as a new sub-species just over a decade ago, these tigers of Peninsular Malaysia were once estimated to number around 500. However as of June 23, they have been placed in a category of wildlife that face highest risk becoming extinct in the wild.

The Malayan tiger qualifies for this category because the best available evidence indicates that the number of mature individuals is likely less than 250 animals and has declined by more than 25% in one generation (seven years).

It also meets a second criteria - there are no pockets of forest in Malaysia with an estimated population of 50 or more mature tigers.

The decline was first brought to national attention by Perhilitan and the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT) last September when studies across three major tiger landscapes in Peninsular Malaysia between 2010 and 2013 suggested that there may only be 250-340 wild tigers left.

“This acknowledgement of our research is sadly, a tacit recognition that our tigers face a bleak future,” said MYCAT General Manager, Dr. Kae Kawanishi.

With the exception of the announcement of a national survey to produce a more accurate population estimate of the Malayan tiger, little has changed since last September.

“We appreciate that the country has been absorbed with a host of economic and political issues in recent months, but we cannot carry on with this level of inaction and disinterest,” said TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Programme Manager, Kanitha Krishnasamy.

“The concerted efforts of all parties are crucial, from governmental bodies to NGOs to members of the public. All of us need to acknowledge the seriousness of this issue and act fast as the tiger’s extinction is not an option for Malaysia,” said WWF-Malaysia Executive Director/CEO Dato’ Dr. Dionysius Sharma.

MYCAT reiterates the call for a high-level national task force to plan and manage the recovery of wild tigers. We stress the urgency for new tiger patrol units to strengthen protection against poachers. An honest and thorough review of the National Tiger Conservation Action Plan and the determined implementation of the Central Forest Spine Master Plan must take place soon. It is the least we can do for one of our own.

MYCAT also calls on the Malaysian public to voice their concern and show their support for their wild tigers. To say no to the use of tigers as medicine, exotic meat or pets; to report wildlife crime to the Wildlife Crime Hotline (019-356 4194), and to let their elected representatives know that this is a problem they want to see action on.

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Jurong West resident shocked by the sight of red water flowing in the drain

AsiaOne 28 Jul 15;


Photo: Shin Min Daily News

SINGAPORE - The sight of a "bloody river" on Sunday (July 26) got residents at Jurong West worried and shocked.

Stomp contributor, Shahira, noticed the sight of red water flowing in the drain along Jurong West St 62 and St 64 at around 3pm.

She said this was unusual as there were no factories nearby and called it both surprising and scary.

The bright red drain also caught the attention of many residents in the area.

When Shin Min Daily went to investigate later that evening around 7pm, the drain was still flowing with bright red water.

36-year-old resident Mr Min noticed the unusual waters when he was bringing his kids out for a walk. He was worried that the water supply might be affected.

Another resident, Mr Sun, told the Chinese daily that he has never seen such an occurrence in the five years that he has been living here.

He said the drain does get dirty but never to this state.

According to the Shin Min, the waters in the drain flowing along blocks 662D to 666A are affected.

Spanning around 800m in length, the "reddest" area is nearest block 664B which could be the point of origination.

Public Utilities Board (PUB) was alerted to the sighting at 3.15pm on Sunday.

It started investigations at 3.30pm and found the source to be at Jurong West St 62, near Jurong West Primary School. Sand bags were deployed to prevent the further flow of the red water.

PUB also discovered that the red water has also affected block 650B and a sample of the liquid has been taken for laboratory testing.

Serious action will be taken if the drain has been deliberately polluted. If the public have any information, they can call the 24-hour hotline 1800-2255-632 or 1800-284-6600.

- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/jurong-west-resident-shocked-sight-red-water-flowing-drain#sthash.BHLCTzfo.dpuf

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Malaysia: Wildlife trafficker trapped

SIMON KHOO The Star 28 Jul 15;

KUALA LUMPUR: They had set up a meeting at a hotel via social media, hoping to lure a trafficker of illegal wildlife into their trap.

To convince the 35-year-old mastermind of their keen interest in buying a pair of orang utan babies, the Perhilitan officers even flashed him the cash they were carrying.

Their ruse was worth it because the officers nabbed the man and his accomplices and rescued the babies.

Appearing dehydrated but otherwise in good health, the babies Bobby and Citra, which were supposed to end up as pets at a home, are now being cared for in a rescue centre in Perak.

When rescued during the undercover operation on Friday, both orang utan had been kept inside a bag by their captors and were supposed to be sold for a sum of RM40,000.

Peninsular Malaysia Perhilitan enforcement director Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim said four men were detained during the operation at a hotel in Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang.

Abdul Kadir said the mastermind had been active for the past two years, trading in protected species such as python, fox and birds via social media.

“Our officers pretended to be keen buyers and set up a meeting with him at the hotel through Facebook.

“We even showed him some cash to mean business before he led us to the orang utan, both less than a year old,” he said here yesterday.

Abdul Kadir said initial investigations showed that the orang utan were smuggled in by sea from Medan, Indonesia, adding that a special permit was required to keep these animals as pets.

“We have a special team to monitor social websites and chanced upon the offer to purchase orang utan. An operation dubbed Ops Taring III was activated to nab the syndicate members,” he said.

Abdul Kadir said besides the mastermind, they detained his accomplice, aged 54, and two Indonesians, both 29.

The four suspects would be investigated under the Wildlife Protection Act 2010 for hunting and keeping protected species, importing and exporting protected species without a special permit and abusing wildlife species.

All three offences carry a jail term and a fine.

“We will continue to work closely with Interpol to address cases of transborder wildlife smuggling, including sharing of information.

“It is an offence to trade illegally in wildlife species and stern action could be taken under the laws,” he said.

Buying protected animals just a screen tap away
TASHNY SUKUMARAN The Star 28 Jul 15;

PETALING JAYA: Owning a trafficked animal is just a Whatsapp message away in the age of smartphones and social media.

Checks by The Star showed that listings for ball pythons, Indian star tortoises and slow lorises – which are either protected or endangered – are posted on Facebook as well as buy-and-sell sites such as adpost.com.my, alibaba.com and mudah.my.

These transactions are usually carried out via e-mail or WhatsApp, with the animals being either transferred in person or, when possible, via PosLaju.

Often, these animals endure horrific conditions on their way to the buyer, including being packed into too tight spaces or being de-fanged or de-clawed.

A small ball python goes for as little as RM300 while larger females can sell for around RM700.

Asked on the availability of star tortoises, one seller asked: “If my supplier can find without a licence, do you want?”

Further questioning revealed that many sellers also have slow lorises for sale at around RM500.

“But quietly lah, don’t let people know,” one seller said.

Another method used is to ask which “gene”, the code for whether the buyer is looking for a captive bred or wild animal.

Besides live animals, animal by-products are also easily acquired.

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Indonesia: Riau firefighters extinguish 60 wildfires during January-July period

Antara 27 Jul 15;

Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - During the January-July 2015 period, Riaus firefighters have put out 60 fires that have razed forest, peatland, and plantation areas.

Of the 60 cases, two were very difficult, and it took days to extinguish them, Head of the Pekanbaru disaster mitigation and fire brigade office Burman Gurning stated here on Sunday.

The two reported wildfires gutted down peatland areas in Parit Indah and Payung Sekaki.

"The depth of peatland in the two locations reaches up to seven meters," he revealed.

In fact, the fire razing the 2.5-hectare peatland area in front of the Payung Sekaki sub-district heads office has not yet been totally put out, he noted.

In the meantime, Acting Governor of Riau Arsyadjuliandi Rachman earlier this week reported about the situation of the wildfires to Forestry and Environmental Affairs Minister Siti Nurbaya in Jakarta.

Rachman met the minister on July 24 to report about the condition of the wildfire-hit province, Darusman, the spokesman of the Riau Province administration, noted here, Sunday.

Over the past week, Pekanbaru city, the capital of Riau, was shrouded by haze arising from Jambi.

Some 200 hectares of peatland in Gambut Jaya Kumpeh village, Muarojambi District, have been razed down by fires, which are now approaching residential areas.

In Riau Province, more than one thousand hectares of forest area were gutted down by fires, and some 1,022 people fell ill due to air pollution.

Edward Sanger, the head of the Riau disaster mitigation office, stated that the number of hotspots in the province has decreased due to the rains and efforts to put out the fires.

A Sikorsky helicopter has arrived to assist in the efforts to extinguish the wildfires, he noted, adding that two major plantation companies have also provided assistance in tackling the blaze.
(Uu.F001/INE/KR-BSR/O001)

Russia-made helicopter deployed to extinguish Riau wildfires
Antara 27 Jul 15;

Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has rented a Russian-made Sikorsky helicopter to strengthen its efforts to put out wildfires in Riau Province.

The helicopter arrived at Roesmin Nurjadin Air Force Base here on Saturday (July 25) and started dropping water bombs on the fires on Sunday, Edward Sanger from the Pekanbaru disaster mitigation office stated.

In addition to Sikorsky, the office has already deployed an MI-17 helicopter in an effort to extinguish the blaze.

Sikorsky has a capacity to carry up to four tons of water during each sortie.

In the meantime, the Terra and Aqua satellites detected 308 hotspots indicating wildfires on Sumatra Island, Sunday, Head of the Pakanbaru meteorology, climatology and geophysics office (BMKG) Sugarin stated.

Riau is the largest contributor, with 122 hotspots, followed by South Sumatra (59), Jambi (58), North Sumatra (25), West Sumatra (19), Bengkulu (10), Bangka Belitung (nine), Lampung (five), and Riau Islands (one), according to Sugarin.

In Riau Province, 44 hotspots were found in Pelalawan District, 17 in Bengkalis, 16 in Kampar, 14 in Indragiri Hulu, eight in Indragiri Hilir, seven in Dumai, five in Rokan Hilir, four in Kuantan Singingi, and two in Rokan Hulu.

Of the total 122 hotspots in Riau, 71 had the accuracy rate of above 70 percent, thereby confirming the emergence of wildfires in the province.

More wildfires are likely to occur in Riau as the temperature in Riau reached 34 degrees Celsius, and the humidity was 97 percent.

The visibility in Pekanbaru on Sunday, at 7 a.m. local time, reached only a kilometer, which is the minimal safety limit for operating flights.

Based on the Air Pollution Standard Index monitoring data, the air quality over Pekanbaru City was at a moderate level despite haze shrouding the capital of Riau Province.
(Uu.F001/INE/KR-BSR/O001)

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