Malaysia: Fishermen hit hard by pollution from prawn farms

SERI NOR NADIAH KORIS AND BALQIS ARIFFIN New Straits Times 6 Oct 15;

TAIPING: PRAWN farming near Kuala Gula may be one of the reasons for the depletion of marine life in northern Perak waters since early this year.

Villagers alleged that the 800ha prawn farm was the source of the pollution that had contaminated the water and killed marine life, including cockles.

Kampung Tersusun Kuala Gula village chief Mohd Salleh Kamarudin told the New Straits Times that the problem started when the prawn farming project by a Federal Government agency began operations in August 2012.

“We do not know what is happening at the farm. €The operator promised fishermen that they would share profits from the project’s proceeds.

“However, we have received nothing,” said Salleh, who took the NST team to near the farm and the areas affected by the pollution.

He said more than 70 fishermen were facing financial problems because of poor catch.

“We could earn at least RM200 daily before but now it is less than RM50. Although the government is subsidising the fuel, it is hard to catch fish and other seafood,” said Salleh, a fisherman for more than 25 years.

He said the fishermen were also told that the marine life in the area, especially cockles, was contaminated with ammonia.

“The authorities have yet to identify the source of ammonia but we think it originates from the prawn farm, which produces a strong rancid smell.

“Before the project started, there was no weird smell in the area.”

Another fisherman, Zainal Abidin Zainon, 38, said the farm was guarded by security personnel.

“€œThere was one incident when my friend and I were warned by the guards when we went near the farm. They ordered us to leave and we were shocked by the directive.”

Checks found that Sungai Menerus’s riverbanks were cleared while its frothing water had an overpowering smell.

On the way back to the Kuala Gula jetty, the NST team also witnessed thousands of cockle shells on the riverbanks.

Another fisherman, Rosdi Che Ros, 45, said he could no longer feed his family because of the low catch.

“This problem has been going on for seven months. How can I support my family without a stable income?” € said Rosdi.

He said he hoped the authorities could stop the public from eating the cockles if it was true that they were contaminated with ammonia.

State Fisheries director Dr Bah Piyan Tan refuted the allegation that the prawn farm was the source of the ammonia.

He said the case was being investigated and similar problems had occurred in Selangor, Penang and Johor.

“We need to wait for the researchers to complete their investigation, and the results will be out only after the cockle management committee meeting holds its
second meeting this month,” said Bah.

He said the prawn farm in Kuala Gula did not have any effect on the marine life, and the ammonia contamination also existed in other states without such projects.

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Indonesia: South Sumatra residents to file class action suit against firms causing haze

The companies suspected of burning land and causing transboundary haze are Asia Agri, Golen Agri Resources, Wilmar, Sime Darby, and Asia Pulp and Paper.
Saifulbahri Ismail Channel NewsAsia 6 Oct 15;

JAKARTA: A group of Indonesian residents in Jambi, South Sumatra are in the final stages of preparing a class action lawsuit against five companies responsible for the forest fires that have caused massive air pollution in Indonesia and across the region.

They are expected to serve notice to these companies this month.

Mr Musri Nauli is one of 20 advocates representing the residents of Jambi in a lawsuit against companies suspected of burning land. These companies are Asia Agri, Golen Agri Resources, Wilmar, Sime Darby and Asia Pulp and Paper.

More than 50 locals of the Indonesian province of Sumatra have stepped forward to act, and to see justice served.

According to reports, thousands of people living in Jambi have developed respiratory infections after breathing the acrid air, while others have suffered lost income.

They are claiming a total of 51 trillion rupiah (US$3.5 billion) in losses.

"There are two kinds of losses: Firstly, losses that can be calculated to around 7 trillion rupiah, the companies have to compensate that. There is also the cost of recovering the land which has been destroyed, and we have calculated that to be 44 trillion rupiah," said Mr Musri.

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment or Walhi, is helping the plaintiffs with their lawsuit. Walhi has conducted its own legal battle against companies and acknowledges it faces a challenge ahead.

"Walhi won its claim during the forest fires which destroyed some 11.6 million hectares in 1998, and one more in 2000 in South Kalimantan,” said Mr Mukri Fatriani, an ecology disaster campaigner from Walhi. “From then on, 14 years have passed and we have not won any other claims."

Walhi said that even though there are clear laws, these have not been enforced.

Those taking the companies to court are confident of getting a positive result.

"The 2015 incident is different from earlier incidents. This year is extraordinary,” said Mr Musri. “Indonesia and our neighbours Malaysia and Singapore are directly affected. It wasn’t as bad before. So, this is what gives us energy to fight.

“Secondly, I’m confident that because this claim is from the desire of the community, we will try. If you ask what our chances are, the law has to improve to answer the haze problem objectively, and I'm confident we can win this legal battle."

It's not only in Indonesia that citizens are taking action. A volunteer group in Singapore is also helping those affected by the haze in the city state to sue companies responsible for the air pollution. The group called the Haze Elimination Action Team (HEAT) plans to take legal action against companies prosecuted by Singapore and Indonesian authorities.

- CNA/ek

Police names 240 people as suspects behind forest fires
Antara 6 Oct 15;

Sukabumi, W Java (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Police has named 240 people as suspects who allegedly set fire to forest and land, causing a haze disaster in Sumatra and Kalimantan regions.

"We have named 240 suspects, including corporations and individuals. We have also detained a businessman involved in the palm oil sector who was the alleged mastermind behind forest fires in Indonesia," the Indonesian Police Chief, General Badrodin Haiti, said here on Tuesday.

According to Badrodin, the catastrophic forest fires caused millions of people to become victims of the haze disaster.

He said justice must be served in case of forest fires and any future recurrence prevented by bringing arsonists to book, as it will act as a deterrent for other criminals who indulge in burning lands in Indonesia and causing haze. The haze this time had even hit some countries bordering Indonesia, such as Malaysia and Singapore.

The General said the disaster led to a very critical situation because it had a widespread impact on health, social and economic sectors in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

"We will continue investigating the case to unveil the masterminds behind forest fires in Indonesia," Badrodin said.

Police also issued guidelines to local people and corporations to help them avoid burning anything in the fields and forests that could potentially lead to forest fires.

"The Police, together with Indonesian Military soldiers and volunteers as well as officers of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, are trying to extinguish the fires. We hope the fires can be managed and land fire incidents can be reduced," Badrodin said.

Earlier, on Sunday, the Terra Aqua satellite of NASA had detected 1,820 hotspots of land and forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan islands.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said of the total, 1,563 hotspots were found in Sumatra and 257 in Kalimantan.

Additionally, 1,340 of the 1,563 hotspots in Sumatra were found among others in South Sumatra, nine in Riau, 131 in Jambi, 22 in Bangka Belitung, 57 in Lampung and one in Riau Islands.

The agency noted that 51 of 257 hotspots in Kalimantan were found in West Kalimantan, 108 in Central Kalimantan, 71 in South Kalimantan and 27 in East Kalimantan.

The haze from the ongoing forest and plantation fires also led to 68 flights being cancelled at the Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport of Pekanbaru, Riau Province on Tuesday.(*)

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Indonesia: House Demands Haze Declared as National Disaster

TEMPO.CO 6 Oct 15;

Jakarta-Deputy Speaker of the House Agus Hermanto urged the government to declare the haze disaster in Sumatra and Kalimantan as a national disaster. He said, the government does not seem serious in handling the recurring problem.

“By declaring it a national disaster, it can be handled nationally," he stated in the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Monday, October 5.

According to Agus, that the government’s downplaying the problem is seen when some officials trying to gain popularity in the media rather than work.

The Democratic Party politician believed that by declaring it a national disaster the government need not be ashamed to ask assistance from neighboring countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore. “The neighbors just want to help. Do not be shy to coordinate," he said.

According to data from the Bureau of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG), based on Terra and Aqua satellites observations, there are 254 hotspots in Sumatra. According to the Head of BMKG station Pekanbaru, Sugarin, South Sumatra is the highest contributing area with 178 points, followed by Lampung 26 points, 24 points in Bengkulu and Jambi 18 points. The haze also spread to neighboring countries, Singapore and Malaysia.

Responding to the pressure, the government is determined to target the problem of haze to be completed this month. Cabinet Secretary Pramono Agung said land fire fighting can be quickly completed in October because of the rainy season.

“For the fire fighting to be effective, President Joko Widodo instructed the fire fight to not stop during the rainy season," said Pramono at Palace Complex, on Monday.

According to information obtained, said Pramono, the number of fires decreased although the smoke still continue to exist, for example in Riau and Jambi. The President also asked the local government to prepare canals with dikes, especially in peat, so the peatland becomes continually wet.

About the help from Singapore, Pramono said that Indonesia is considering it. According to him, the consideration to received help from Singapore is the empathy factor to the neighboring countries.

According to him, the issue of haze is now not only an issue in Indonesia. "The human factor is not our problem alone. Neighbors are affected and we also need to empathize," he said.


National Disaster: Indonesian Lawmaker Urges Action on Haze
Hotman Siregar Jakarta Globe 6 Oct 15;

Jakarta. A House of Representatives special committee is needed to ensure the executive branch does all it can to mitigate the choking haze that continues to blanket Sumatra and Kalimantan, a lawmaker has said, calling the crisis a national disaster.

Lukman Edy, a deputy speaker at the House's Commission II covering governance, said such a committee is necessary to investigate the hundreds of companies whose concession areas have been burned as well as the executive's decision not to declare the haze a national disaster — despite more than 300,000 people having been treated for respiratory issues, the disruption of flights on a large scale, and souring relations with Malaysia and Singapore, which are also gravely affected.

“The National Disaster Mitigation Agency [BNPB] directly reports to the president. Therefore we need to ask ... why they still have not declared this as a national disaster,” Lukman said on Tuesday.

“I do not see any coordination between the Ministry of Home Affairs and local governments,” he continued, adding that the governors and district heads of affected areas have been slow to respond to the issue.

The Health Ministry announced on Tuesday that more than 300,000 cases of respiratory illnesses have been recorded since the dry season began in June.

South Sumatra, which has a significantly higher population than Indonesia's other five provinces affected by the haze, also has the largest number of cases recorded at 83,276. Conversely, the sparsely populated province of South Kalimantan has the least, with 29,104 cases to date.

Combined, the six provinces, which also include Riau, Jambi, West and Central Kalimantan, have recorded a whopping 307,360 cases as of Monday.

According to the ministry, South Sumatra also has the highest level of air pollution. The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reached 880 there on Tuesday, which is considered hazardous.

Meanwhile, air pollution levels in West Kalimantan and South Kalimantan have improved to the healthy and mild ranges of 44.16 and 55.46 respectively.

Health issues are on the rise, as the haze has been attributed to consequential respiratory and eye infections.

Additionally, the prolonged drought, which has caused wells to dry up, has also led to other health issues such as outbreaks of dysentery.


Haze hurting education, say worried authorities
Rizal Harahap and Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post 6 Oct 15;

The authorities in haze-afflicted regions of Sumatra are striving to mitigate the negative affects on education, with students forced to stay at home for the best part of a month.

“The students have been staying at home too long. We’re now telling them to come to school every Monday and Thursday to catch up with the lessons missed when the schools were temporarily shut down,” Pekanbaru Education Agency head Zulfadil said on Monday.

Zulfadil said his agency had decided to reopen schools up to senior high level twice a week while waiting for the air quality in the city to improve.

However, classes were limited to two hours a day: from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. for students of morning classes and from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for students of afternoon classes, he said.

As such, Zulfadil said, teachers were required to make classes as effective as possible by explaining only the learning modules during the classes and giving assignments for the students to do at home and hand in during the subsequent class.

“The emphasis is therefore on setting assignments to catch up with missing lessons,” he said.

To minimize the impacts of the haze on the students’ health, all students in Pekanbaru have been instructed to put on masks before they leave home and to keep them on during class. Schools with air-conditioning systems, meanwhile, have been granted dispensation to hold classes every day. “But the headmasters have to guarantee the health of their students while at school,” Zulfadil said.

With many classes missed as a result of the haze, semester examinations have been postponed, also allowing time for students to catch up.

The decision to open limited classes has sparked debate; those who agree say that sending students home is pointless, as they continue to play outside.

Others, however, have accused the education agency of panicking ahead of the approaching examination season.

“The schools were temporarily shut down because of health considerations. Are those considerations no longer valid?” asked Darman, a parent of an elementary school pupil in Pekanbaru.

Darman added that obliging students to put on masks at school was not effective as most elementary school students disliked using them. “They can’t stand wearing a mask for long because it makes it difficult to breathe,” he said.

In Jambi city, meanwhile, schools have been closed for the last three weeks because of haze that has degraded the air quality in the region.

City administration secretary Daru Pratomo said that students had been sent home in consideration of the low air quality and its impact on pupil’s health.

“We evaluate the air quality every day with relevant agencies,” Daru said on Monday.

Thick smog from land and forest fires has reportedly also plagued participants of the Tour de Singkarak international cycling race in West Sumatra, which entered its third stage on Monday.

“If masks are distributed I’ll definitely put one on. My throat starts to hurt when I cycle through thick haze,” cyclist Budi Santoso of East Java’s Banyuwangi Racing Cycling Club told The Jakarta Post prior to the race’s start on Monday.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb contributed to this story from Dharmasraya, West Sumatra.


As Haze Stays, Over 300,000 Respiratory Cases Recorded
Jakarta Globe 6 Oct 15;

Jakarta. As parts of Indonesia remain blanketed by thick haze, the Health Ministry announced on Tuesday that more than 300,000 cases of respiratory illnesses have been recorded since the dry season began in June.

South Sumatra, which has a significantly higher population than Indonesia's other five provinces affected by the haze, also has the largest number of cases recorded at 83,276. Conversely, the sparsely populated province of South Kalimantan has the least, with 29,104 cases to date.

Combined, the six provinces, which also include Riau, Jambi, West and Central Kalimantan, have recorded a whopping 307,360 cases as of Monday.

According to the ministry, South Sumatra also has the highest level of air pollution. The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reached 880 there on Tuesday, which is considered hazardous.

Meanwhile, air pollution levels in West Kalimantan and South Kalimantan have improved to the healthy and mild ranges of 44.16 and 55.46 respectively.

“The average number of patients seeking treatment at health facilities has risen by 15 to 20 percent in the last three weeks. The conditions will [continue to] worsen if the haze [doesn't extinguish] soon,” Health Minister Nila Moeloek told a press conference on Tuesday.

Health issues are on the rise, as the haze has been attributed to consequential respiratory and eye infections. Additionally, the prolonged drought, which has caused wells to dry up, has also led to other health issues such as outbreaks of dysentery.

Nila said the Health Ministry has deployed 27,595 tons worth of medicine and equipment to the six provinces as well as two other neighboring provinces, including face masks, oxygen tanks, medications, eye drops and vitamins.


Satellites detect 63 hotspots in C. Kalimantan
Antara 6 Oct 15;

Photo document of Terra and Aqua satellites hotspot in Indonesia on Monday (October 5, 2015). (satelit.bmkg.go.id)
Maura Teweh (ANTARA News) - The Terra and Aqua satellites detected 63 hotspots in North Barito, Murung Raya, and South Barito Districts, Central Kalimantan, on Tuesday morning.

The number increased from that on Monday, Aswaludin, secretary of te Muara Teweh Conservation Sections Fire Brigade, said here Tuesday.

North Barito has 31 hostpsots, Murung Raya 30, and South Barito two, he said.

Sunardi, head of the Muara Teweh Meteorology Office, said the haze shrouding the districts has thickened and reduced visibility to 100 meters, from 600 meters on Monday.
(Uu.F001)

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Indonesia: New permit policy ‘could increase deforestation’

Hans Nicholas Jong, The Jakarta Post 6 Oct 15;

The government has announced plans to reduce various forestry license application process times from two years to three to 15 days, raising concerns that the changes will speed up the rate of deforestation in the country, which has become the world’s fastest in the past decade.

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said on Monday that the plan posed a huge risk to the country’s struggling natural environment.

“The risks are great because the current licensing system is already chaotic with overlapping permits. Just look at the never-ending forest fires in the country,” Walhi chairman Abetnego Tarigan said.

Abuse of forest permits has been blamed as one of the leading causes of annual forest fires in the country, and the government is currently trying to revoke concession permits for land or forest cleared by fire.

The government aims to simplify the application process to acquire licenses for the use of forest areas for mining, agroforestry and industrial forests. Currently, it takes from two to four years to acquire a forest conversion permit. The Environment and Forestry Ministry claims that the speeding up of the licensing process will not necessarily lead to deforestation.

“The process still has to go through the planning directorate-general. They are preparing the criteria that [applicants] will need to meet the land demand for development. So I don’t think we will violate our own commitment [to slow down deforestation],” the ministry’s climate change director-general Nur Masripatin said on Monday.

Togu Manurung, a professor at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) and director of Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI), said that the government’s current way of managing the country’s forests was still seen as posing a huge risk to the environment.

“[The simplification of the licensing process] will speed up land conversion and increase the potential for land and forest fires if it’s still business-as-usual for the government, as forest fires continue to occur even though the problems are crystal clear,” he said.

According to Togu, the government still had to prove it had better forest management credentials before it could possibly ensure that the speeding up of the licensing process would not lead to deforestation.

“First, the government has to involve the public [in the licensing process]. All data has to be transparent to all stakeholders and the public who will be affected [by the forest permit issuance] must be given the chance to voice their disagreement. For example, notify indigenous people noticed that the plan has the potential to increase land conflicts,” he said.

Therefore, the government has to finish implementing its one-map policy, which was officially implemented at the end of 2014 to resolve disagreements resulting from the use of different data and maps that often caused land disputes and overlapping permits in plantation and mining operations.

“If the one map already exists, then it could be used as a filter to clarify [potential land conflicts],” said Togu. “It looks like the progress on the policy stopped after the Presidential Working Unit for the Supervision and Management of Development [UKP4] was disbanded.”

Nur made assurances that the government would be able to avoid land conflicts even though the mapping of customary lands made by indigenous communities had not been incorporated into the one-map policy as the ministry was currently mapping customary lands and said that there would be requirements in the licensing process to avoid overlapping permits.

Togu also suggested the government prioritize forest area that had been heavily degraded in order to reduce the number of trees that had to be cut down to convert the area.

“Of course it will lessen the cutting down of trees. This has to be done in order to prevent us from backtracking on our Intended National Determined Contribution [INDC], which will be presented at the Paris Climate Summit as we facilitate deforestation through the speeding up of forest licensing,” he said.

The stark difference in the length of days needed to process a permit has also been deemed as unrealistic as it is almost impossible to verify land ownership in remote areas like those in Papua.

“Not to mention when it turns out that there’s a tenurial problem and indigenous rights that have to be protected in the verification results,” Papua State University environmental study center head Charlie D. Heatubun said.


Govt’s new timber certification policy may lead to illegal logging
Hans Nicholas Jong and Khoirul Amin, The Jakarta Post 6 Oct 15;

The government and a number of business associations have agreed to move forward with a plan to relax regulations on environmentally friendly certification for downstream products of timber, raising concerns that the changes would promote illegal logging.

The Trade Ministry’s director for exports of agriculture and forestry products, Nurlaila Nur Muhammad, said on Monday that a number of ministries and various timber-related business associations had agreed to the Trade Ministry’s proposal on the revision of timber export requirements.

“In the next one or two days, we’ll issue a ministerial regulation revising previous regulations on timber export requirements,” she told The Jakarta Post.

The Trade Ministry, the Environment and Forestry Ministry, the Finance Ministry, the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister and a number of business associations — such as the Indonesian Rattan Furniture and Craft Association (AMKRI) and the Indonesian Furniture Entrepreneurs Association (Asmindo) held a closed-door meeting at the Trade Ministry office on Monday to discuss the issue.

According to Nurlaila, parties in the meeting agreed to simplify procedures on ironwood exports and revoke requirements for timber legality verification system (SVLK) certification on 15 downstream products of timber, including furniture.

Nurlaila said that the revision aimed to help local timber producers export their products overseas.

The timber industry, especially small and medium furniture-makers and craft-producers, has pushed
for the SVLK certification to be optional, arguing that the requirement to obtain the certificates made it difficult for small and medium businesses to export their goods and thus it limited their access to the global market.

However, some have claimed that the SVLK actually provides Indonesian producers with greater access to the global market, as it guarantees buyers that wood and wood-based products are made in accordance with the law and are sourced in an environmentally friendly manner.

For instance, the EU, the destination for around 40 percent of Indonesian timber product exports, has been requesting timber exporting countries to apply environmentally friendly certification on their products, as demand for eco-friendly products from EU consumers has been on the rise.

The Indonesian government, which signed the voluntary partnership agreement on forest law enforcement (FLEGT-VPA) with the EU last year, was currently negotiating with the 28-member bloc to make Indonesian timber products exempt from due diligence. If the negotiation comes through, Indonesia will be the first country in the world to be exempted from the process, giving its timber products a huge advantage over products from other countries.

According to Zainuri Hasyim of the Indonesian Independent Forest Monitoring Network (JPIK), if the regulations are relaxed, all these efforts will be for nothing, and it will bring Indonesia back to the time when illegal logging was rampant,

“If this happens, then all the efforts to fix the image of Indonesia’s timber export all this time will be for nothing,” Zainuri said.

The planned relaxation of the regulation has already caused concerns in the EU, with a representative of the union demanding clarification on the matter, according to Multistakeholder Forestry Program (MFP) program director Smita Notosusanto.

MFP is a partnership program between the Indonesian government and the British government to support the reformation of forestry governance through SVKL.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry also lambasted the planned revision, saying that it constituted a major setback in the country’s attempts to combat rampant illegal logging.

“The Environment and Forestry Ministry’s stance is clear. The SVLK [should] still be implemented. It is a soft approach to stop the extraordinary crime of illegal logging that has robbed trillions of rupiah from this country and caused lots of trouble. Why are there Indonesians who don’t support the SVLK?” the ministry’s sustainable forest management director-general Ida Bagus Putera Parthama told the Post on Monday.

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Indonesia: Forest fires continue to expand in Mount Merbabu, Central Java

Ganug Nugroho Adi, The Jakarta Post 6 Oct 15;

Firefighter teams have not yet been able to extinguish fires that have raged across forests on the slope of Mount Merbabu in Boyolali regency, Central Java, and Sigi regency, Central Sulawesi.

The fire that has been burning in Mt Merbabu for over a week had even expanded to local people’s agricultural fields in Ngagrong area, Ampel district, Boyolali, as of Monday this week.

“We have been deploying around 160 to 200 volunteers every day, excluding local people, soldiers and police personnel, but the fire is still big, and has spread to 12 locations,” Boyolali Disaster Mitigation Agency’s (BPBD) SAR commander Kurniawan Fajar Prasetyo said on Monday.

He said the fire spread to the forest to the north of Ganduman hamlet in Sampetan subdistrict, Ampel, burning down some 45 hectares of fields.

The fire, according to Kurniawan, initially began in the grass area and bushes on the peak of Merbabu and later expanded and eventually burned protected forest areas.

The volunteers, he added, had tried to block the fire, but failed due to difficulties accessing the field and strong winds.

Separately, SAR deputy chairman Bakat Setiawan said that there were concerns the fire had damaged the 2.5-kilometer clean water pipeline that took water from a spring on the slope of the volcano and was the main source of clean water for local people.

The fire is the third and so far the biggest to hit the Mount Merbabu area during this year’s dry season.

Head of the Merbabu forest fire mitigation post, Capt. Joko Priyanto who is also Ampel military rayon commander, said that the joint force would continue their efforts to extinguish the fire.

“The firefighter team has over 500 members. They take turns going to the fire sites every day to try to extinguish them,” said Joko, adding that the fire was still burning in a number of spots including in forests in Sampetan, Candisari and Ngargoloko subdistricts.

Joko said the areas affected by the fires were located between 2,000 and 2,500 meters above sea level, and that the mountainous terrain had hampered the team’s efforts to extinguish the fire.

He said it took some six hours for the team to reach the fire locations.

Meanwhile, in Sigi regency, local military personnel and residents also joined firefighters to help battle local blazes.

“The Lore-Lindu National Park (TNLL) management and local people have since Friday joined together to extinguish the fire, but the blaze has continued to expand as the fire is in a location that is difficult to access,” head of TNLL Center’s conservation technique division, Ahmad Yani, said as quoted by Antara in Palu on Monday.

He said the center had deployed three joint teams so far, but the fire fighting was still being conducted manually using traditional equipment.

Quoting reports, Yani said that the fires affected forests in Dongi-Dongi, Togoa, Kamarora and Lemban Tongoa villages in Sigi regency. Of them, Kamarora in Nokilalaki district was among the worst affected.

Yani also said the center had not yet been able to make a detailed inventory of the areas affected by fires, saying that to ensure the information was correct they had to fully inspect the affected areas.

“We focus on extinguishing the fire first to prevent it from expanding further,” said Yani, adding that strong winds made fire fighting efforts even more difficult.

“Hopefully there will be rain in the region within the next few days that will extinguish the fire,” he said.

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Indonesia: Fisheries minister wants to sink 16 illegal fishing ships

Antara 6 Oct 15;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesias Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Susi Pudjiastuti, said she wished that the 16 ships caught fishing illegally in the country recently, could have been immediately sunk.

"Sinking such boats is allowed under the fisheries law," she said here on Tuesday.

Based on Article 69, Paragraph 4 of Law Number 45, 2009 regarding revision of Law Number 31 of 2004 on fisheries, the law states, "...investigators and/or fisheries supervisors could conduct special action in the form of burning and/or sinking the fishing boats carrying foreign flags, based on sufficient preliminary evidence."

The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, in cooperation with the navy, has seized 16 fishing ships poaching fish in the Indonesian waters.

"The boats are from Vietnam, the Philippines, and five boats flying Indonesian flags. The number excludes those seized by the police," Minister Susi said.

Of the 16 ships, nine were caught by the Directorate General of Marine Resources and Fisheries Surveillance while seven of them came from Vietnam, measuring 88-139 gross tonnage.

Two other ships were carrying Indonesian flags, and measured 11 and 23 GT because, although small, they carried poached fish.

The navy, meanwhile, has caught four Philippines ships, measuring 14-54 GT, and three others measuring 33, 102 and 195 GT, respectively.

Minister Susi said she hoped that these ships could be sunk without having to wait for the courts ruling, as had happened before.

She, meanwhile, disclosed that the district court in Sabang, Aceh, has rejected the pre-trial suit, filed by the owner of Silver Sea 2 ship from Thailand.

"We must be grateful for this because (that means) rules were enforced according to the law," she said.

Several criminal charges would be pressed against the owner of Silver Sea 2, including taking fish outside the Indonesian territory without documents and conducting illegal trans-shipment.

The ship had also turned off its Vessel Monitoring System while sailing in the countrys waters, she said.

"Pretrial suits will not affect Indonesias spirit and we must continue to work hard to fight illegal fishing practices as a trans-national crime," she said.

Minister Susi said the government has written to the Thai government, strongly deploring the alleged illegal fishing activity that Silver Sea 2 indulged in.(*)

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Thailand: ASEAN help needed on haze -- Thai PM

The Nation AsiaOne 6 Oct 15;

THAILAND will be pushing for ASEAN-level efforts to rein in haze that comes from smoke-belching fires in neighbouring countries.

"I have already instructed the Foreign Affairs Ministry to raise the issue with source countries," Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday, as people in Thailand's lower South struggle with the impact from Indonesian hotspots. Fires in eastern Myanmar also regularly affect air quality in Thailand's North.

Prayut addressed the smog issue a few days after the Malaysian premier urged Indonesia to act against the people and companies responsible for raging fires, mainly in Sumatra.

Smoke originating from Indonesian burn-offs has blanketed Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand, causing health problems for people in those areas, plus difficulties for businesses.

About 50 Thais turned up at the Indonesian Consulate in Songkhla yesterday to officially complain about the haze.

The Pollution Control Department's air pollution index showed the haze yesterday was the worst since 1999. As of yesterday, the amount of Particulate Matter up to 10 micrometers in size (PM10) exceeded safe limits in Songkhla, Phuket and Satun provinces.

"This is the first time we've come forward because we are afraid that if we just stay silent, the problem will just get worse and worse," Supawan Chanasongkhram said yesterday on behalf of the demonstrators.

She said governments of relevant countries needed to explore solutions together.

Supawan said she had now had difficulty breathing and had heard that people with underlying illnesses had even graver symptoms.

Her group wanted the Indonesian government to tackle the smog problem more seriously.

In the southern province of Yala, a local hospital reported that as many as 214 patients sought medical help for symptoms that could be related to smog on Sunday - a jump from 64 on Saturday.

Locals in Phuket, meanwhile, said they had already developed eye irritation, skin irritation, and headaches when exposed to smog.

In Trang province, about 400 fishing trawlers stayed ashore because reduced visibility made it impossible for them to head out to the sea.

"This has hurt our livelihood. We can't go out fishing for three days already," said Aren Phrakong, who chairs a local fishing group.

Trang Governor Dejrat Simsiri said motorists needed to be careful now given that smog reduced the visibility on roads.

Satun City municipal mayor Prasit Baesakul said relevant officials were now busy handing out free protective masks in a hope of protecting locals from smog impacts.

The province's disaster-prevention-and-mitigation chief Chaowalit Nithornrat also advised people against consuming rainwater, saying it could be contaminated.

'Hurts region every year'

Ittirit Kinglek, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, said all ASEAN member countries should have formal discussions on smog because this shared problem hurts the region every year. "As smog shrouds the Andaman provinces, such as Phuket, Satun, and Hat Yai, tourism feels the pinch. Smog usually hits

during high season too," he said.

Suchart Hirankanokkul, adviser to the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter), said the Prayut government should ask the Indonesian ambassador or embassy representative what emergency measures Indonesia will use to tackle the problem.

Both Ittirit and Suchart said hotel occupancy in major southern provinces, such as Phuket and Songkhla, had not yet despite the smog. "But if the problem continues, the situation may turn critical," Suchart said.

He said local hotels had occupancy of between 80 per cent and 90 per cent currently, with most tourists from Australia and China.

Hat Yai International Airport said yesterday it was closely monitoring the situation and had instructed pilots to strictly comply with guidelines given if visibility is low.

Smoke haze hazardous in three southern provinces
Bangkok Post 6 Oct 15;

Smoke haze from forest fires on Sumatra island, in Indonesia, covered seven southern provinces on Tuesday, with residents crowding hospitals and complaining of respiratory problems, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department stated.

Chatchai Phromlert, director-general of the department, said that haze blanketed Narathiwat, Pattani, Phuket, Satun, Songkhla, Surat Thani and Yala provinces.

The levels of particulate matter there ranged between 63 and 187 microgrammes per cubic metre of air measured in 24 hours, the Pollution Control Department reported Tuesday evening. The safe level is within 120 microgrammes per cu/m.

Smoke haze reached health hazardous levels in three of the provinces -- Phuket (146 microgrammes), Satun (187 microgrammes) and Songkhla (156 microgrammes).

The weather condition not only affected public health but also reduced visibility, especially on roads, Mr Chatchai said.

Local authorities were handing out face masks and people were seeking treatment for breathing problems at local hospitals.

In Yala, the number of patients reporting respiratory problems at Yala Hospital rose to 214 cases on Monday, up from 64 on Sunday.


Haze: People In Southern Thailand Send Letter Of Complaint To Indonesia
Bernama 6 Oct 15;

SONGKHLA, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- The people of Songkhla who were affected by the choking haze caused by forest fires in Indonesia today sent a letter of complaint to Indonesia.

Over 20 people representing private development body on the name of 'Hatyai-Songkhla Residents Affected by Haze from Indonesia' handed over the letter to Wanney Fabiomata, the Community and Culture Division Consul at the Indonesian Consulate here.

The letter, among others, stated that the haze had started to take its toll on public health.

"People, including children and senior citizens, are starting to have breathing problems and allergies and can only wonder when this whole haze issue will be solved.

"As such, we are begging you to communicate with your government to take the responsibility and give its commitment to solve the issue. Only the Indonesian government knows the causes and solutions to the issue," the letter said.

The Air Pollutant Index readings in seven southern districts of Thailand as at 9 am today were 210 in Satun (dangerous to health), Songkhla 163 (dangerous to health), Phuket 136 (dangerous to health), Pattani 102 (moderate), Yala 97 (moderate), Narathiwat 72 (moderate) and Surat Thani 59 (moderate).

-- BERNAMA

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Indonesian Haze May be Choking Cambodia

Jonathan Cox Khmer Times 6 Oct 15;

Fires set by plantation owners in Indonesia may be to blame for the smog hanging over Phnom Penh, the Ministry of the Environment said yesterday. “I know there is a serious problem with haze,” Ministry spokesman Sao Sopheap told Khmer Times. “We have noticed haze in Phnom Penh and Cambodia. It may be from Indonesia, but we cannot be sure.”

Part of the reason for the uncertainty is that Indonesia has released little information about the exact sources of the acrid haze. Analysts say much of it is caused by fires started in the massive plantations that dot the island of Sumatra.

Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia have been the worst-hit by the toxic smoke, which has forced flight delays, canceled school and sporting events, and caused untold health consequences for people forced to breathe the highly polluted air. Now, seasonal monsoon winds have also blown the haze to the northeast, where it has affected Thailand and possibly Cambodia as well.

Health Risks

“Prolonged exposure to the haze could also create health problems making people more vulnerable to respiratory illnesses,” Simon Tan, chairman of the Singapore Institute for International Affairs, told Khmer Times. “Recent data from the Riau Health Agency [in Indonesia], for example, showed that over 50,000 people had suffered from haze-related illnesses to date.”

The haze can cause skin irritation, eye irritation, asthma, and pneumonia. It can also cause lasting lung damage for people who inhale it for too long.

The Thai government has launched an app called Air4ASEAN that tracks the spread of the haze from the Indonesian fires, and monitors the air quality in different countries. Cambodian air quality monitoring stations have not yet been included in the app’s database, and no experts on Cambodian air quality could be reached for comment yesterday on the exact state of Cambodia’s air.

Indonesian plantation-owners have used fire as a cheap way to prepare the soil for seed planting for close to two decades now. The resulting smog has become a perennial problem for the region, and one that ASEAN’s “Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution” aimed at reducing. So far, though, there has been little regional cooperation toward resolving the issue.

Though Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam met in August to discuss the haze problem, Indonesia did not join the talks. Meanwhile, the haze is reaching its worst levels so far this year, with the Pollution Standards Index topping 300 in Sumatra for the first time this year in late September.

Indonesian authorities have been slow to name or punish the companies responsible for causing the haze until now, though Mr. Tan said this may be about to change.

“Besides fire-fighting, the president [Joko Widodo] has also pledged to prosecute companies and Indonesian agencies have started to name some,” said Mr. Tan.

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Scientists discover 'hog-nosed rat' in Indonesia

As well as its large, flat, pink nose, with forward-facing nostrils similar to that of a pig's, the creature has extremely large ears, a small mouth and long white front teeth, according to the museum.
Channel NewsAsia 6 Oct 15;

JAKARTA: Researchers working in Indonesia have discovered a new species of mammal called the hog-nosed rat, named for its features that scientists said have never been seen before.

The creature was found in a remote mountainous area on the island of Sulawesi in central Indonesia, according to Australia's Museum Victoria whose scientists were involved.

The rat, whose scientific name is Hyorhinomys stuempkei, has features "never seen by science before", according to the museum in a statement released Tuesday (Oct 6). The discovery was made by a team of scientists from Indonesia, Australia and the United States.

As well as its large, flat, pink nose, with forward-facing nostrils similar to that of a pig's, the creature has extremely large ears, a small mouth and long white front teeth, according to the museum.

In photos the rodent appears to be about the size of a normal rat.

"I am still amazed that we can walk into a forest and find a new species of mammal that is so obviously different from any species ... that has ever been documented by science," said Kevin Rowe, a scientist from Museum Victoria who was involved in the research.

The mammal is carnivorous and probably feeds on such things as earthworms and beetle larvae. The discovery was made in the north of Sulawesi, with the scientists guided into a mountainous and forested area by local villagers.

- AFP/ek

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Sneezing monkey, 'walking' fish found in Himalayas: WWF

WWF has compiled a survey of wildlife discovered by scientists across Bhutan, northeast India, Nepal, northern Myanmar and southern Tibet, in an attempt to raise awareness of the threats facing the sensitive region.
Channel NewsAsia 6 Oct 15;

NEW DELHI: A monkey that sneezes when it rains and a "walking" fish are among more than 200 species discovered in the ecologically fragile eastern Himalayas in recent years, according to conservation group WWF.

WWF has compiled a survey of wildlife discovered by scientists across Bhutan, northeast India, Nepal, northern Myanmar and southern Tibet, in an attempt to raise awareness of the threats facing the sensitive region.

The species include what the WWF described as a blue-coloured "walking snakehead fish" which can breathe air, survive on land for four days and slither up to 400 metres (a quarter of a mile) on wet ground.

Others include an ornate red, yellow and orange pit viper that could pass for a piece of jewellery, a fresh-water "dracula" fish with fangs and three new types of bananas.

In the forests of northern Myanmar, scientists learnt in 2010 of a black and white monkey with an upturned nose that causes it to sneeze when it rains. On rainy days they often sit with their heads tucked between their knees to avoid getting water in their snub noses.

The 211 new species discovered between 2009 and 2014 include 133 plants including orchids, 26 kinds of fish, 10 amphibians, 39 invertebrates, one reptile, one bird and a mammal.

'UNIQUE TREASURE HOUSE'

Dipankar Ghose, WWF director of species and landscapes in India, described the region as a "unique treasure house" that has not yet been fully explored by scientists.

In its report WWF said the region, home to Mount Everest, is rugged with vast forests, rivers and streams protected by mountain ranges, meaning species have evolved and survived unnoticed for centuries.

"Some (species) are so unique and charismatic that scientists are often at a loss as to how to classify them," said the report released this week.

But WWF warned of a series of threats to the region including population growth, deforestation, overgrazing, poaching, mining and hydropower development. Just 25 per cent of its original habitats remain intact and hundreds of species are considered to be globally threatened, the report said.

"The challenge is to preserve our threatened ecosystems before these species, and others yet unknown, are lost," said Sami Tornikoski, who heads the WWF Living Himalayas Initiative.

The report calls for more sustainable development, singling out a need for greener hydropower plants and government help for communities to adapt to climate change.

Ghose urged a whole-government approach, and stressed the need for administrations across the region to work together to strike a balance between development and conservation.

"The forestry department alone for example cannot handle this. It takes coordination across multiple areas of government," he told AFP on Tuesday. "Countries also need to work together to protect the immense biodiversity that the region holds."

Bhutan agriculture and forests minister Yeshey Dorji warned of the impact of climate change, with temperature increases hitting hard the Himalayas, which are a "lifeline to millions of people and are critical to the economies of the countries that share the region".

- AFP/ek

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Best of our wild blogs: 6 Oct 15

FREE Guided Herp Walk @ Treetop Walk!
Herpetological Society of Singapore

Trigonachras acuta – the Cardinal Tree in Macritchie
lekowala!

Skippered
Saving MacRitchie

Terek Sandpiper @ SBWR - 04Oct2015
sgbeachbum

How Far Will The Long Arm Reach? – Deconstructing Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act
Green Business Singapore

Malaysia PM turns up heat on Indonesia as Australian firm faces fires probe
Mongabay Environmental News

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Hourly PSI has relevance to urban Singapore

CHONG LEE MING Today Online 6 Oct 15;

I refer to the National Environment Agency’s reply, “Insufficient evidence from studies to use an hourly PSI” (Oct 3), to Mr Tan Zhi Rui’s letter, “Hourly PSI readings would allow for better decision-making” (Sept 28).

While I note its explanation that “scientific and epidemiological studies of the health effects of exposure to particulate matter” have been based on a 24-hour duration, some factors unique to Singapore are worth considering.

First, many large countries have temperate continental weather patterns, in which the weather tends to change slowly, while Singapore has a tropical coastal weather pattern, where the weather changes quickly.

In larger countries, a 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) would therefore be fairly accurate in measuring a person’s exposure to haze.

In Singapore, due to quick changes in wind direction, the haze condition 24 hours ago might differ substantially from the condition now. In this situation, the 24-hour PSI is only a mathematical average.

Second, Singapore is densely built-up, with a good public transport system. Hence, except for some activities such as construction, it is not necessary for most people to stay outdoors for a long time.

For example, one needs only to spend 30 minutes outdoors at most before boarding a bus.

Third, Singapore is an affluent country; a significant proportion of households have air conditioners, public transport is air-conditioned and there are many air-conditioned shopping centres.

Kudos also to grassroots organisations for opening up air-conditioned facilities to residents needing refuge from the haze. Most people here would therefore not have to be exposed to the haze for a long time, much less a 24-hour period.

During hazy conditions, individuals’ decisions tend to be short-term in nature, such as whether to go outdoors, stay indoors or be in air-conditioned places. Nevertheless, most people want to minimise their exposure to the haze.

An hourly PSI would help them achieve this. Moreover, for people with health conditions and who are more sensitive to the haze, a 24-hour or three-hour PSI might be misleading.

While the 24-hour or three-hour PSI may appear acceptable due to a lower PSI earlier, the haze condition at the moment might pose an unnecessary risk to them.

Therefore, while the 24-hour PSI may be useful for macro-level decision-making — for example, whether to shut schools and stop other activities such as construction — an hourly PSI has relevance to Singapore’s urban environment at the micro level.

Individuals can then make informed decisions on how to carry out their activities.

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