Malaysia: 70 hotspots detected in Pahang since early March

Shahrinnahar Latib New Straits Times 21 Mar 19;

KUANTAN: A total of 70 hotspots have been detected in Pahang since early March, a massive increase compared to only 26 hotspots recorded the month before.

Pahang Department of Environment (DoE) director Rosli Zul said this is due to a combination of factors, namely the hot weather as well as uncontrolled open burning activities by irresponsible parties.

“Pekan has the most number of hotspots at 34, followed by Rompin at 21, Jerantut (5), Temerloh, Kuantan, Lipis and Temerloh at two each, as well as Bera and Bentong with one hotspot each,” he said, adding that this month saw a sharp increase in the number of hotspots, due to open burning in plantations and peat land.

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Malaysia: Pasir Gudang toxic spill clean-up to cost over RM10mil

mei mei chu, lo tern chern, and rena lim The Star 22 Mar 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: The operation to clean Sungai Kim Kim will cost the authorities more than RM10mil, says Yeo Bee Yin.

The Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Minister said the cost of removing the toxic pollution in the 1.5km stretch of the river cost RM6.4mil.

"It is RM6.4mil for the clean-up alone. This does not include the movement of the officials and all that," she said at a press conference at the inaugural Malaysian Industrial Development Berhad (MIDF) Green Conference yesterday.

It was previously reported that the clean-up operation for Sungai Kim Kim included 900 tonnes of soil and 1,500 tonnes of polluted water.

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Indonesians need to be aware of importance of protecting forests

Rahmad Nasution Antara 21 Mar 19;

Bogor, (ANTARA) - Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya emphasized the importance of raising people's awareness over protecting forests in her statement to mark this year's International Day of Forests on Thursday.

"Forests are one of our important life support systems, so it is important for us to manage forests sustainably. Sustainable forest management can only be achieved through the better understanding of forests," she was quoted as saying by the FAO's press statement.

Education and training are necessary to raise awareness among forest users and the general public of forests and forestry, she said, adding that through education and training, qualified human resources to manage forests and the environment were created.

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Residents in Yishun & Punggol complain of urine-like smell, likely from Johor

The air has been smelling a little more than funky.
Guan Zhen Tan Mothership 20 Mar 19;

Mmm, pee pee

Yishunites and Punggolians have been sniffing out something awful in the air lately.

Residents from both estates have been complaining that the smell is similar to that of urine.

According to Shin Min Daily News on March 15, some residents in Punggol have reportedly experienced giddiness and nausea after being exposed to “The Smell”.

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Malaysia: Guideline review for factories handling hazardous chemicals

MOHD FAHMI MOHD YUSOF New Straits Times 20 Jan 19;

JOHOR BARU: The government will review existing guidelines of licence applications from factories which handle hazardous chemical substances.

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said the ministry will bring the matter before the Cabinet for a decision.

She said such a review was necessary to prevent the recurrence of Sungai Kim Kim toxic waste pollution.

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Malaysia: Satellite data shows Pasir Gudang has 46 possible illegal dumping grounds

mohd farhaan shah The Star 20 Mar 19;

ISKANDAR PUTERI: Satellite data shows that Pasir Gudang has about 46 potential illegal dumping locations, says Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin.

She said this was one of the findings by the scientific committee formed to look into the chemical dumping incident at Sungai Kim Kim on March 7.

"The committee used satellite data to look at the whole Pasir Gudang area to identify possible illegal dumping locations.

"We hope that the state government and local authorities will take action by cleaning the identified locations," she said, adding that the ministry would provide the list to them soon.

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Malaysia: Bushfires on the rise in Sabah

Avila Geraldine New Straits Times 20 Mar 19;

KOTA KINABALU: The state Fire and Rescue Department is receiving an average of 80 calls per day about bushfires in the past two weeks.

Director Kamarulzaman Malik Abdullah said Tuaran and Keningau had the most reports.

“Open burning activities are contributing to the haze. Although (the haze) subsided somewhat yesterday because of rain, the department has now received more calls involving bushfires in several areas.

“The fires are not spontaneous. They are man-made,” he told the New Straits Times today.

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Indonesia: Terra and Aqua Satellites detect 165 hotspots in Riau, Sumatra

FB Anggoro, Fardah Antara 20 Mar 19;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - The Terra and Aqua Satellites, on Wednesday morning, detected a total of 187 hotspots on Sumatra Island, including 165 in Riau Province, according to the Pekanbaru meteorology station.

The number of hotspots in Riau increased to 165, from 156 on the previous day, according to a statement issued by the local meteorology station.

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Best of our wild blogs: 20 Mar 19

Celebrating Singapore Shores Forever!
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

High time to re-evaluate nature’s worth in Singapore?
Love our MacRitchie Forest

30 Mar (Sat): All Talk, How Action? - A workshop on Civil Society action
wild shores of singapore

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NParks opens nature playground at HortPark as testbed for future ‘biophilic’ sites

SHERLYN SEAH Today Online 20 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE — At first glance, it might not look like much, with leaves, sand and some wooden blocks and poles in the ground. However, the new biophilic playground at HortPark has been specially designed to allow children to play freely with nature.

Centred upon the concept of “biophilia”, the innate emotional connection that humans have with nature, research has shown that interacting with the outdoors helps children develop creativity.

The new play area will also be a testing ground for the National Parks Board (NParks) to develop design guidelines, by early 2020, to help pre-schools, government agencies and developers in building more of such sites around the island.

This is so that more playgrounds can adopt natural designs for children to experience biodiversity.

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Singapore continues to monitor situation in Pasir Gudang as more illegal dumping found

Channel NewsAsia 20 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE: Authorities in Singapore are monitoring the situation in Pasir Gudang, as more illegal waste dumping sites have been found in the area.

One of the new dumping sites found this week is along Johor's Sungai Masai, which empties into the Johor Strait opposite Singapore's northern coast, near Yishun.

The air and water quality in Singapore, as well as the water supply, remain unaffected by the latest developments, said the National Environment Agency (NEA), Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore, Singapore's water agency PUB and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in a joint statement on Tuesday (Mar 19).

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam described the illegal chemical waste dumping as "an irresponsible act".

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Malaysia: Air quality dips in several areas in Pahang and Melaka

Bernama New Straits Times 19 Mar 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: Four areas in Pahang and Melaka recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as at 12 noon today.

Based on the latest readings from the website of the Department of Environment (DoE), Rompin and Balok Baru Kuantan in Pahang recorded the highest API readings of 192 and 157 respectively.

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