Jakarta not ready to name firms responsible for forest fires

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security Luhut Pandjaitan said releasing the names would create uncertainty within the country.
Sujadi Siswo, Channel NewsAsia 19 Oct 15;

JAKARTA: Jakarta has said it is not yet ready to officially disclose names of plantation companies responsible for the forest fires in the country that caused the haze in the region.

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security Luhut Pandjaitan said releasing the names would create uncertainty within the country.

Speaking to the media in Singapore after delivering a public lecture on Monday (Oct 19), he said Jakarta might consider releasing the names of the companies after they have gone though the legal process in Indonesia.

However, media reports said Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Ministry had revoked the concession licences of several companies responsible for causing forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Others had their licences or operations suspended. The companies' names have been mentioned by the reports.

More than 200 plantation companies operating in Sumatra and Kalimantan are being investigated for clearing their land by burning. A number of them are believed to have links to Singapore-based firms.

The Singapore Government has officially requested Jakarta to provide them with the names of those companies. This would allow Singapore to take legal action against those responsible for the haze that has blanketed the city-state and neighboring Malaysia and Thailand.

Luhut Pandjaitan said: “Well, we are not protecting (plantation companies). Like I mentioned earlier, we have not officially submitted the names to the court. So how can we disclose them to the public? It’s unfair. We’ll wait for the court’s final decision."

He added that the Indonesian government also do not want to create an uncertain situation within the country because of this. "Moving forward, they know that they are going to get punished by the government. I think this is very important.

"But next year, we have already given them a clear message: We are going to revoke their licence, no question about that. That I can assure you. They understand that fully.”

- CNA/al

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Getting firms to take responsibility for the haze

SIMON TAY AND LAU XIN YI Today Online 20 Oct 15;

It remains essential to work with the Indonesian government to address the haze. However, while intergovernmental cooperation remains key, there is every reason to expect corporations to do their part to stop the fires and haze or risk being taken to task.

The first steps towards corporate accountability have started. In Indonesia, 12 firms have been named for investigation. The Singapore Government has started to utilise the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act to question and investigate six firms.

Questions were raised about whether such companies still deserve to retain their Singapore Green Label, which indicates that they sell environmentally-friendly products. Within two weeks, supermarket chains acted swiftly to remove the products of one firm — APP (Asia Pulp & Paper Group) — from the shelves.

Some have urged further action —for consumer boycotts and civil legal action to sue for damages. For many years, the Singapore Institute of International Affairs has called for laws and other means to hold corporations accountable for the haze. The current and prolonged bout of haze has generated the public anger and political will to do so. But while important, there are limits to legal action. Indeed, an overemphasis on punishing corporations can have unintended and negative consequences.

BEYOND PUNISHMENT

The fires and haze result from complex and persistent problems. Going after the biggest companies in palm oil and pulp and paper is necessary, but not a silver bullet. A consumer boycott by Singapore, as some advocate, might be of limited use given the relatively small size of the market, although it is an important symbol that might have a ripple effect in similar markets.

Some companies have taken positive steps to be more transparent and accountable, and can play a positive role to help resolve the problem. The problem is more likely to be resolved when we understand who sets the fires.

Most studies have identified smaller- and mid-scale farmers as the main sources of fires and haze in Indonesia. This is often true even when fires occur on concession lands owned by the big companies.

Larger companies claim that they have little to gain from fires since this risks destroying their plantations. Conclusive proof one way or the other will be hard to establish, especially if cases are brought to Singaporean courts, far away from the site of the fire.

The fact that fires are persistent and recurring in some districts in the provinces is a clear signal that current management systems and fire-fighting capacities are inadequate. More needs to be done — immediately and over the long run — and larger companies are inescapably part of the needed response.

WHAT NEXT?

First, more companies can and should further enhance their capacity to detect and put out fires. There are already notable instances where bigger companies expend more resources in trying to put out the fires than anyone else. They also establish ways of cooperating with one another and with local agencies.

A further step would be to take up this responsibility for areas adjacent to their concessions. There may be sensitivities, but this is warranted. Provincial agencies are overstretched, and there is risk that such fires can spread and damage concessions.

Efforts to establish, train and incentivise local community in volunteer fire-fighting will also be important. Currently, many local communities are untrained and ill-equipped to fight fires, leaving them helpless in the face of a crisis that affects them most directly.

Second, preventing fires is also critical. This is especially for peatland habitats, where some two-thirds of the fires occur and result in especially dense and acrid haze pollution. Careful water management is needed as these lands become flammable during the dry season. For the longer term, it will be necessary to restore and rehabilitate burnt, drained and degraded peatlands.

At the industry level, companies should share best practices and coordinate more closely to promote sustainability. One such effort is the Indonesia Palm Oil Pledge (IPOP). Signed at the United Nations Climate Summit in 2014, the pledge commits major industry players to standards and practices that are meant to go beyond the baseline Indonesian laws and even existing certification standards established by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

Third, a similar initiative for better corporate practices should be considered for the pulp and paper industry. There are international standards such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), as well as Singapore’s own Green Label. But major pulp and paper companies can go further on fire management, peatland restoration and rehabilitation, community engagement and transparency.

As with all industry-led efforts, these will need to be monitored and independently verified. They should go above and complement the existing international benchmarks named, and not conflict or undermine existing standards. Even more importantly, there is a need to get other smaller industry players on board.

Fourth, large companies can directly and positively influence what happens in the supply chain. For example, before a large palm oil refinery allows a smaller supplier to sell its crude palm oil, it can audit the plantations and processing to ensure standards for sustainability, and specify that no fires have been used to clear land. This makes for better management practices that can increase productivity and help green the industry as a whole.

Government efforts to prosecute corporate wrongdoing will be a key step forward — especially in Indonesia and potentially supplemented by Singapore’s recent laws. But while wrongdoers are investigated and punished, businesses need to reform practices within the company and throughout the supply chain.

Only with the right mix of sanctions, as well as encouragement and appreciation, can the industry be fully mobilised to be key actors in the overall solution.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Simon Tay and Lau Xin Yi are respectively, Chairman and Executive (Sustainability) of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA). This is the second of a three-part series on how governments and corporations can tackle forest fires and the haze. Watch out for the final part next week on how banks and investors can step up checks to avoid financing the haze.

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Asia Pulp & Paper hit by another company withdrawal

Today Online 20 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE — The fallout for Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) over alleged links to the Indonesian forest fires causing haze continues, with online grocer RedMart announcing yesterday (Oct 19) that it was withdrawing from sale all paper products sourced from the company. The withdrawal took effect at 6pm yesterday. Products affected by the withdrawal include Paseo and NICE brands.

RedMart said in a statement yesterday that it was doing so because of ongoing investigations by the National Environment Agency (NEA). The NEA has asked APP — a subsidiary of the Indonesian Sinar Mas Group — to provide more information on what it is doing to put out fires on its land concessions.

The NEA has also served preventive measures notices to six Indonesian firms, directing them to put out fires on their property: PT Bumi Andalas Permai, PT Bumi Sriwijaya Sentosa, PT Rimba Hutani Mas, PT Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood Industries, PT Wachyuni Mandira and PT Bumi Mekar Hijau.

Since the NEA revealed the names of the firms it is probing, the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and the Consumers Association of Singapore have started a campaign urging retailers and other businesses to declare they do not source for materials or products from the firms.

he SEC has also restricted the use of APP’s Singapore Green Label certification. Businesses that have come aboard to make the declaration and pull APP products off their shelves include NTUC FairPrice, Prime and Sheng Shiong. Other companies such as Watsons have clarified they do not stock Paseo, NICE and Jolly brands by APP, and is working with suppliers to run an audit to ensure that their products are not procured from the six companies accused of contributing to the haze pollution.

RedMart said it carries 13 other paper products that are certified with the Singapore Green Label, and its own RedMart-branded paper products are all certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC). “RedMart has also created a ‘FSC’ certified search option and filter within its Paper & Tissue category to encourage its customers to buy sustainably produced products,” said the company.

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Taking a leaf from Green Label products

A look at the Singapore Environmental Council's seal of approval for sustainable practices by companies in Singapore.
Liyana Othman Channel NewsAsia 20 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE: As the haze situation continues to persist, the spotlight has been on eco-labelling schemes like the Singapore Green Label, which certifies products that are environmentally friendly.

One company that had its products certified was Asia Pulp and Paper. Its Green Label has now been suspended after the National Environment Agency (NEA) launched investigations into its role in the forest fires in Indonesia. The company has admitted that fires were raging on its suppliers' land concessions.

Each company that wants to certify its products has to go through an audit process to qualify for certification.

Companies in the cement and concrete business make up about 16 per cent of firms that have earned the Singapore Green Label seal. One such company is E.MIX, a producer of pre-mix plaster and mortar used for tiles, ceilings and walls.

It has 16 products certified by the Green Label scheme and is working on getting more products endorsed. The pre-mix is made up of three components: Cement, sand and additives.

The production of cement emits a significant amount of carbon dioxide emissions. So to conserve the environment, E.MIX substitutes 4 to 10 per cent of its cement with recycled by-products of waste material.

Not only does the pre-mix plaster and mortar contain environmentally friendly materials, even the paperbags they're packed into are sustainably procured. The company also ensures its processes do not harm the environment.

"We do see a growing trend towards Green Label products,” said Mr Gordon Tan, general manager at E.MIX Industry Singapore. “The adoption of Green Label products can only speed up if the authority regulates them, or when the consumer starts to get more awareness. A good example is the haze that we have been exposed to over the past few weeks. This could have heightened consumer awareness to ask more questions about suppliers' sustainable source."

Companies that apply for the Singapore Green Label Scheme have to meet criteria set by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) to get their products certified.

"The companies that apply for the Singapore Green Labelling Scheme essentially have to meet our internal criteria for the product itself,” said head of eco-certification at SEC Kavickumar Muruganathan. “So every product, when it comes to us, they have a checklist where they have to meet. They have to submit test reports, safety data sheets of certain products as well as their whole environmental management plan, to ensure that their practices are not environmentally pollutive, and they have the best green practices."

SEC also appoints third-party auditors to act as an additional layer of checks. Companies have to pay S$1,500 to get a Green Label. The seal is good for one year and the cost of renewal is S$1,000.

"The idea in the market right now is, environmentally-friendly products usually are slightly higher-priced than normal products,” said Mr Kavickumar. “This change to help the price be lowered can't happen overnight. I think companies can actually do their part to absorb the cost of green products."

SEC also hopes that demand will increase for environmentally-friendly products. This will create greater economies of scale and result in lower prices for such products.

- CNA/ek

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Turning old things into new

Lea Wee, The Straits Times AsiaOne 18 Oct 15;

The soles of her rubber shoes had come off and Ms Nur Liyana Omar was about to throw them away when she learnt at a community meet-up that they could be repaired with contact glue. The adminis- trative executive at a research institute says: "It was the first time I had heard of such a product."

The half-day meet-up, called Repair Kopitiam, was an initiative started by social enterprise Sustainable Living Lab this February. Five meet-ups have been held so far.

At each gathering on the fourth Sunday of every month at a void deck in Jurong West Avenue 1, volunteers, or repair coaches, teach repair skills for fabric, furniture, toys and electrical appliances.

Ms Liyana, 23, has attended three meet-ups and is training to be a repair coach. "It's very empowering to be able to fix your own things. I don't have to run to my dad every time something gets damaged."

She recently tightened a plastic part in a ceiling fan that was loose. She has also helped her niece and nephew repair their toy trains.

She says: "In the past, they would just put their broken trains aside and ask for new ones. It's good that they are learning from a young age that things can be repaired."

Repair Kopitiam is one of several initiatives that had sprung up in recent years to get people to prolong the lifespan of their belongings by re-using them or, in the case of another project called Save That Pen, refilling them.

Save That Pen was founded by four students from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2010. It encourages people to drop their unwanted pens into "pen collection bins" in tertiary institutions including the NUS, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University.

The founders, who have since graduated, and their 15 volunteers refill the pens and donate them to the underprivileged here and in the region. They do this on Saturday mornings every three months.

Ms Goh Huishan, 28, who is now a teacher, says they came up with the idea as they saw that most people here use disposable pens only once. "We wanted to encourage people to use refills," she adds.

Project Upcycle by Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC) conducts workshops on repurposing old items. During each session, which lasts between two and four hours, participants learn to turn old clothes into bags and purses, and make book clutches out of old hardcover books and cloth.

Started in March this year, the project has run 15 workshops, each drawing about 10 participants.

Hardware retail store Home-Fix has also joined the upcycling trend. Last June, it set up a new department called XPC, which holds workshops teaching D-I-Y skills.

Projects include making signage out of planters and driftwood, and mobile-phone holders. D-I-Y fans can buy a daily or monthly pass to use the space and equipment at XPC to work on their own projects.

Mr Eugene Tay, 37, executive director of Zero Waste SG, says the growth of the D-I-Y scene has contributed to the focus on reuse here.

Zero Waste SG, a new non-profit organisation, aims to help Singapore move towards zero waste.

He says that in the past, the emphasis was on recycling but now, there is more focus on reducing waste and reusing items. He adds that reduce and reuse are "greener" options than recycling. He adds: "Recycling uses more resources as it involves breaking something down into its raw materials and processing it into a new product."

He says the trend is here to stay: "Resources are not unlimited and as landfills fill up, people have no choice but to reduce and reuse."

The landfill space at Pulau Semakau is expected to run out by 2035.

Statistics by the National Environment Agency show that the total waste generated has increased by 61 per cent from 4.7 million tonnes in 2000 to 7.5 million tonnes last year. Sixty per cent of this is recycled, mostly from industrial and commercial waste. Only 19 per cent of household waste is recycled.

Apart from green groups, there are also individuals doing their bit for the environment.

Ms Agatha Lee, 42, a former senior policy executive at National Environment Agency, is a repair coach at Repair Kopitiam. She has been running monthly clothes repair workshops on her own called Fix It Friday for the public since last November. She also posts clothes repair tutorials on her environmental website, Green Issues by Agy.

This year, she went beyond repairing to upcycling. At her ad-hoc Restyle Your Wardrobe workshops, participants learn to turn a pair of too-tight jeans into a skirt or combine a top and bottom to make a dress.

Each workshop draws about eight people. Fix It Friday, which lasts about two hours, costs about $8 a participant while Restyle Your Wardrobe, which runs for half a day, costs $85 a person.

Ms Lee, who left her job three years ago to pursue her passion full-time, started upcycling her clothes in 2008 because she did not want to throw them away. She upcycles or repairs 90 per cent of her clothes as well as her husband's and 10-year-old son's .

She co-founded the non-profit Connected Threads Asia to raise awareness about this issue through documentaries and panel discussions, among other things.

Response to the initiatives has been encouraging. Repair Kopitiam started with about 100 participants at each session and now draws double that number. Ms Farah Hidayati Sanwari, 26, who leads the initiative, says: "One participant came back and shared with us hashbrowns she had cooked with the air-fryer that was repaired.

Repair Kopitiam plans to invite schools and companies to start their own such initiatives.

The Central Singapore CDC also plans to work with community partners and schools to introduce Project Upcycle workshops.

The Save That Pen project, which is supported by Young NTUC, the youth wing of NTUC, has collected about 70,000 pens so far. It has refilled 18 per cent of them and given 20 per cent away under its Adopt-A-Pen programme.

It also has a starter kit for schools and companies to start their own programme.

More than 20 primary and secondary schools have done so.

The project founders are now looking for recycling partners to recycle the rest of the pens that cannot be reused or refilled.

Members of the public who have taken part in these green initiatives are full of praise for them.

Businessman Nah Wee Yang, 48, initially joined Repair Kopitiam to keep Yee Chern, his 13-year-old son, company.

His son loves tinkering with things at home.

But Mr Nah got hooked and the father and son have gone on to become repair coaches there.

The skills have proven to be useful.

He says he is now more confident about repairing electrical appliances at home while his son fixes his own headphones and toy guns and mends torn pillow cases.

Nr Nah says: "More importantly, we are now more mindful about throwing things away. We will always try to fix them first."

For architectural designer Felicia Ow, 31, a DIY Your Clothes workshop in March this year opened her eyes to what she could do with clothes she could no longer wear.

She picked up basic sewing skills and upcycled a sleeveless top that she had outgrown, by adding sleeves and fabric on both sides to loosen the outfit.

She says: "My family and friends loved it." She has since upcycled other clothes for herself and her family members to wear.

Mr Tony Goh, 53, also does not believe in wastage. He remembers the old days when his mother added flour, stale bread, egg and vegetables to leftover porridge to turn it into a vegetable pancake.

The father of three says: "We didn't have the means to buy more than necessary. My brothers and I were always thinking about what we could create from the things around us."

He left his job as a special scaffold designer last year to work as a maker-in-residence at XPC.

He uses unwanted pallet wood and glass bottles collected from pubs and the beach to make things that are "aesthetic and practical".

He has made table lamps out of glass bottles and a Bluetooth radio from a broken mobile phone and old radio.

He says: "It gives me a great sense of satisfaction when I create something useful out of what others had found little use for. It's my small way of contributing to the environment."

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Philippine storm weakens after killing at least sixteen, leaving thousands stranded

A typhoon swept across the northern Philippines killing at least sixteen people as trees, power lines and walls were toppled and flood waters spread far from riverbeds.
Channel NewsAsia 19 Oct 15;

STA. ROSA, Philippines: A typhoon swept across the northern Philippines killing at least sixteen people as trees, power lines and walls were toppled and flood waters spread far from riverbeds, but tens of thousands of people were evacuated in time.

Officials fear the death toll may rise after Typhoon Koppu tore through the main island of Luzon on Sunday leaving several remote towns and villages isolated due to flash floods and toppled trees and boulders blocking roads. Power was down in many areas.

The storm, downgraded to a category 1 typhoon from category 4, was moving slowly north on Monday and was forecast to weaken to a tropical storm within hours.

"We haven't reached many areas. About 60 to 70 percent of our town is flooded, some as deep as 10 feet (3 metres). There are about 20,000 residents in isolated areas that need food and water," said Henry Velarde, vice mayor of Jaen town in Nueva Ecija province, north of Manila.

The national disaster agency said two people died from falling trees and a toppled concrete wall. The coast guard said seven people died at sea.

Villages far from rivers in Nueva Ecija were flooded as water from the mountains came rushing down plains and valleys.

"We were not expecting this. Flood waters suddenly swelled around us so we evacuated to higher ground," said Reynato Simbulan, 44, a village councillor who was among hundreds who fled to schools and village halls in Sta. Rosa town in Nueva Ecija.

"We're seven kilometres away from the river but we were still inundated," Simbulan said adding five-foot floods swept away farm animals and some houses made of light materials.

Nearly 183,000 people felt the impact of the typhoon, of whom more than 65,000 had been evacuated from low-lying and landslide-prone areas, the disaster agency said. About 6,000 people were stranded in various ports across the main Luzon island.

An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year.

- Reuters/al

Flooded residents on rooftops as Koppu pummels Philippines
The slow-moving Typhoon Koppu has left at least two people dead and forced more than 60,000 people to flee from their homes, authorities say.
Channel NewsAsia 19 Oct 15;

JAEN, Philippines: Residents of flooded farming villages in the Philippines were trapped on their rooftops on Monday (Oct 19) and animals floated down fast-rising rivers, as deadly Typhoon Koppu dumped more intense rain.

Koppu, the second strongest storm to hit the disaster-plagued Southeast Asian archipelago this year, has killed two people and forced more than 60,000 people from their homes, authorities said.

After making landfall on Sunday morning on the east coast of Luzon, the Philippines' biggest island, the slow-moving typhoon has brought heavy rain to some of the nation's most important farming areas.

"I've never seen anything like this. It's the worst flood I've seen in my entire life," farmer Reynaldo Ramos, 68, told AFP as he walked through knee-deep water in Santa Rosa, about two hours' drive north of Manila.

Military, local government and volunteer rescue units were trying to help residents in about 70 villages that were under water, with the floods spreading, according to Nigel Lontoc, a regional rescue official.

"The floods are rising fast and some people are now on their rooftops," Lontoc told AFP. "The water is now too deep even for big military trucks, so our people are trying to reach them using rubber boats," he said, but added there were only 10 teams at their disposal at the moment.

Lontoc said many thousands of people may be stranded in those villages, although it was too early to determine an exact number.

PEOPLE, PIGS HUDDLE ON HIGH GROUND

In Santa Rosa, water buffalo, pigs, goats, dogs, washing machines and furniture lined the sides of a storm-tossed highway, where about 200 residents had been seeking refuge from the floods since Sunday night.

Jun Paddayuman, 27, in shorts and a white singlet caked with mud up to his chest, pointed to his nearby house, where flood waters had risen to the roof. "The waters arrived suddenly. We did not expect it at all," he told AFP.

Paddayuman said, when the waters first appeared in his house, he waded to the highway carrying his eight-month pregnant wife and leading his three-year-old son by the hand. Paddayuman said he had seen geese, chicken and dogs being carried off by the rampaging waters.

Nearby, two men pushed pigs placed on top of truck tyre inner tubes in a valiant attempt to save their hog farm from 1.2-metre high flooding.

Wide expanses of rice paddies had disappeared under torrents of knee-deep water throughout the towns and villages north of Manila because of runoff from torrential rain unleashed by Koppu on nearby mountain ranges.

"LULLED INTO COMPLACENCY"

Lontoc, the regional official, said many residents were lulled into complacency because the typhoon had passed north of the region and did not directly strike the low-lying areas.

Koppu initially hit fishing and farming communities on the east coast of Luzon with winds of 210 kilometres an hour, making it the Philippines' second most powerful storm of the year.

By mid-morning on Monday, it was on the far northwest coast of Luzon and nearly out into the South China Sea, with its strongest winds weakening to 150 kilometres an hour, the state weather service said.

But Koppu was still dumping heavy rain and it was forecast to cut back northeast over Luzon and not leave the country until Wednesday.

The Philippines is hit with about 20 major storms a year, many of them deadly. The most powerful storm ever recorded on land, Super Typhoon Haiyan, hit the Philippines in 2013, killing or leaving missing at least 7,350 people.

Koppu had so far claimed just two lives, partly because the typhoon directly passed through sparsely populated mountain and coastal ranges.

A 14-year-old boy was killed in a district of the capital on Sunday after a large tree was pulled over by the winds and fell on his house.

A 62-year-old woman died after a wall in her house collapsed due to heavy rains in Zambales, a province to northwest of Manila, on Saturday night.

Schools were closed amid stormy weather in Manila on Monday, although the capital was not badly impacted.

- AFP/rw/al

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Thailand: Indonesia smoke haze returns to Songkhla

WICHAYANT BOONCHOTE Bangkok Post 20 Oct 15;

Haze from forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia, again covered parts of Songkhla on Tuesday, but the situation was not as serious as before, officials said.

Hat Yai city was the most affected.  From the top of Kho Hong mountain, the entire city this morning could be seen blanketed with rather thick smoke.

Halem Chemarikan, director of the 16th Regional Environment Office, said the overall haze situation in southernmost provinces was not as serious as two weeks ago.  The average air particulate reading was still under the safety standard of 120 microgrammes per cubic metre (mcg).
He believed the haze would dissipate in a few days.

Phayao Muangngam, director of the Meteorological Centre of the Eastern Coast of the South, said the haze returned to hit the South because of the influence of tropical storm Koppu in the South China Sea and the weakening high pressure wedge over upper Thailand.

She believed the situation would return to normal on Oct 22 or 23.

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Philippines: Indonesia haze reaches Mindanao, worries residents, airline officials

Philippines News Agency InterAksyon 20 Oct 15;

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- The wildfire smog in neighboring Indonesia has reached Mindanao, creating an atmospheric haze that alarmed residents and airline officials here.

Jose Bodiongan, airport manager of the Laguindingan airport in Misamis Oriental, on Tuesday said that an advice to conduct visual landing was issued Monday after the thick haze rendered a “zero visibility” situation in the area.

However, Bodiongan said, “everything returned to normal and the flight schedules remained unhampered.”

Luz Mercado, a weather specialist of state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said the haze is caused by the smog of Indonesia’s wildfire which also continues to affect Singapore and Malaysia.

She said the southwesterly winds drove the smog toward Mindanao, where the haze became visible in most parts of the island, particularly in the north and northeastern Mindanao regions.

Floriquita Gayo Dela Pena Dulfo, a high school principal in Bislig, Surigao Del Sur, reported on Monday that the smog became visible in the province, which caused concern among students.

Mercado said the smog and the haze could dissipate during rainfall because the smog comprises small particles that could be dissolved by rains.

The forest fire in Indonesia is caused by the illegal slash-and-burn methods to make way for the palm oil and pulp and paper plantations in Sumatra and parts of Borneo.

Astronauts and scientist manning the International Space Station (ISS) could even see the visible traces of the smoke and smog in space.

The fires have intensified in the past months, sending smog over Sumatra and Borneo that has left tens of thousands ill, forced people to wear face masks, and prompted the cancellation of flights and school classes.

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Malaysia: Elephants crossing road cause a stir

The Star 20 Oct 15;

KOTA KINABALU: Villagers at Kampung Binuang Lahad Datu, some 420km from the state capital, had a surprise when a herd of elephants, including a calf, emerged from an oil palm estate and crossed the road.

A short videoclip of the elephants could be seen on social media, with scenes of drivers and villagers stopping to make way for the animals during the incident on Friday.

Sabah Wildlife Department director William Baya said they were informed about the presence of elephants at about 5pm and immediately sent a team of rangers to monitor the situation.

The elephants were from a herd of about 27 individuals, and had emerged from the estate and were making their way up east towards the Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

“The elephants did some damage to oil palm trees and banana crops belonging to smallholders. They are retreating towards the reserve,” he said on Saturday.

“Our rangers have been working to keep the animals at bay in order to prevent or minimise damage to crops and properties,” he added.

However, Baya said the Wildlife Department could not assist in managing the conflicts or initiating translocation of the elephants due to insufficient funds.

So far, there have been no reports of injury due to the presence of the animals.

Reports of the presence and sightings of elephants have become more frequent compared to several years ago due to land development and reduction in the animals’ habitat.

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Indonesia: Navy to sink 12 illegal fishing boats

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post 19 Oct 15;

The war against illegal fishing activities continues with the Indonesian Navy unveiling a plan to sink 12 foreign vessels caught for conducting the activity later this week.

The Navy is scheduled to conduct the sinking in four different spots: Tarakan and Pontianak in West Kalimantan and in Batam, Riau and Aceh.

“The boats were caught by the Navy and the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry during their operations,” Navy Spokesperson Commodore M. Zainuddin said, adding that the Navy caught four boats while the ministry seized eight boats.

Seven of the boats were registered in Vietnam, four were operated by Philippines companies and one by a Thai operator.

The boats were seized after their crews failed to show permits allowing them to run their activities in the country’s territorial waters.

Along with the boats, the Indonesian authorities seized tons of fish and shrimp.

The crews had been tried and the court ruled that the boats had to be sunk. Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiatuti is scheduled to attend the sinking process in some of the locations.

In August this year, Indonesia sank 34 illegal fishing boats from foreign countries to celebrate 70 years since the proclamation of Indonesian independence.

The boats were mostly from neighboring countries: Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Article 69 of Law No. 45/2009 on fisheries stipulates that the coast guard can sink foreign vessels operating illegally in the country’s territorial waters based on sufficient preliminary evidence.

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is leading the campaign against illegal fishing and says it costs the country billions of dollars in lost revenue every year.

The Indonesian authority has claimed that the number of illegal fishing activities had been reduced significantly, since Indonesia took a stern stance on the issue. However, many illegal fishermen manage to continue running their operations in the country’s territory.

On Thursday, for instance, the Navy arrested a 140-gross tons cargo ship from Belize named Orien Star with tons of fish and shrimp heading to Malaysia.

“The ship is now anchored in Belawan, North Sumatra, waiting for investigation and trial,” Zainuddin said.

He declined to give details on how the ship from the Central American country could enter Indonesian
territory.

Earlier in September, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry arrested a Vietnamese fishing boat for allegedly operating illegally in the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone, around Natuna, Riau Islands.

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Indonesia: West Papua Declares Itself 'First Conservation Province' in Indonesia, World

Robert Isidorus Jakarta Globe 19 Oct 15;

Jayapura, Papua. West Papua has declared itself as the world's "first conservation province" in a signed declaration on Monday, in an bid to formally dedicate its efforts to conservation purposes.

The signing of a declaration by West Papua governor Abraham Ataruri took place at the gubernatorial office in the provincial capital of Manokwari, and was attended by Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo and West Papua district heads.

The West Papua governor admits to being the brainchild of the idea, which is intended on protecting and managing the province's natural resources in a collective effort by its residents.

“This declaration [of transforming West Papua into a conservation site] will help us maintain and manage our natural resources wisely and continuously so that [...] the future generation can enjoy them,” Abraham said.

In order to support West Papua's to function as a conservation province, the local government has created a working group (Pokja), members of which include the People's Assembly of West Papua, the West Papua legislative council, Papua State University, and international NGOs such as WWF Indonesia, Conservation International (CI) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

Together, they are in the process of preparing regional bills (Ranperdasus) to govern the conservation site.

West Papua is world famous for its rich marine ecosystem and diverse flora and fauna

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Indonesia: El Nino halts Papua New Guinea gold mine-Barrick

Reuters 19 Oct 15;

Oct 19 Operations at the Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea have been suspended due to drought conditions, part owner Barrick Gold said on Monday, the latest mine in the Asia-Pacific to be disrupted by El Nino-induced dry weather.

Production had been halted due to low levels of water in the mine's reservoir, used in processing the raw ore, operator Barrick (Niugini) Ltd said in a statement to Reuters.

"Some water-intensive production activities at the mine have been temporarily suspended during this extended dry season, and we are using this opportunity to bring forward some scheduled maintenance activities," it said.

"The very unusual extended dry conditions that we have seen in recent months have meant that our supplies of production water have run very low, and we have made the decision to shut down our milling and processing plants for the time being to conserve our water supplies."

Barrick earlier this year forecast Porgera would yield 400,000-450,000 ounces of gold in 2015, down from its peak years of around 900,000 ounces when it was regarded as one of the world's foremost deposits.

The privately held Ok Tedi copper mine in Papua New Guinea has been forced to shut after drought cut off river transit links, while in Indonesia Freeport-McMoRan blamed El Nino when it cut its 2015 forecast for copper concentrate sales as less water affected milling.

The dry weather effects of El Nino are strongest in the tropics and peak over the winter months, which have just passed in the Southern Hemisphere.

Barrick and China's Zijin Mining each own 47.5 percent of the Porgera mine. The rest is divided equally between the government and local landowners in Enga Province in the Highlands region of Papua new Guinea. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Richard Pullin)

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