Indonesia: Wildfires rage on in Riau, authorities use helicopters to put out flames

The Jakarta Post 25 Mar 19;

The head coordinator of the Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Edwar Sanger, said the wildfires were likely to keep spreading, as the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Pekanbaru was still detecting hot spots.

Edwar said Bengkalis was the hardest hit regency with 1,263 ha of burned land. Most districts in the regency have experienced wildfires since early this year. However, the worst wildfires were recorded on Rupat Island, where peatland was on fire throughout February, causing thick smoke that spread to the city of Dumai on the Sumatran mainland.

Aside from Bengkalis, severe wildfires were reported in the east coast areas of Rokan Hilir (407 ha), Meranti (222.4 ha) and Dumai (192.25 ha).

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Indonesia: Protecting Orangutans in natural habitat deemed crucial

Antara 25 Mar 19;

The Indonesian authorities foiled a tourist's attempt to smuggle an orangutan out of Bali Island recently. (ANTARA FOTO/Nyoman Hendra Wibowo)

Jakarta (ANTARA) - It is incredibly heartbreaking to see a picture of a tourist in Bali attempting to smuggle a drugged orangutan kept in a rattan basket into Russia.

During X-ray screening, Bali's conservation agency staff spotted the two-year-old male ape in the 27-year-old Russian's suitcase on March 22, 2019. The Bali police arrested the tourist, who had planned to bring home the "sleeping" orangutan and keep him as a pet.

Orangutans (orang means human and utan means forest) are among the rarest animals, as only 100 thousand of the protected species remain worldwide.

Preserving wildlife in its natural forest habitat is a vital step in ensuring that conservation efforts were successful in the long term.

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'Coal is on the way out': study finds fossil fuel now pricier than solar or wind

Around 75% of coal production is more expensive than renewables, with industry out-competed on cost by 2025
Oliver Milman The Guardian 25 Mar 19;

Around three-quarters of US coal production is now more expensive than solar and wind energy in providing electricity to American households, according to a new study.

“Even without major policy shift we will continue to see coal retire pretty rapidly,” said Mike O’Boyle, the co-author of the report for Energy Innovation, a renewables analysis firm. “Our analysis shows that we can move a lot faster to replace coal with wind and solar. The fact that so much coal could be retired right now shows we are off the pace.”

The study’s authors used public financial filings and data from the Energy Information Agency (EIA) to work out the cost of energy from coal plants compared with wind and solar options within a 35-mile radius. They found that 211 gigawatts of current US coal capacity, 74% of the coal fleet, is providing electricity that’s more expensive than wind or solar.

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Explainer: Why sand is so highly valued and the controversy surrounding cross border trade

LOW YOUJIN Today Online 24 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE — A short documentary by a Cambodian filmmaker that claimed Singapore has imported over “80 million tons of sand worth more than US$740 million (S$999 million) from Cambodia” went viral here recently.

The 16-minute film once again shone the spotlight on Singapore’s heavy reliance on imported sand for land reclamation.

The 2018 documentary by Ms Kalyanee Mam, who won an award for it at an environmental film festival held in Washington, United States, in March, claimed that Singapore’s need for sand has destroyed the livelihood of a community on an island off Cambodia’s coast.

When contacted about the claims in Ms Mam’s video, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said it does not condone the unlawful import of sand. It also reiterated that Singapore had stopped importing sand from Cambodia after a ban by the latter took effect in November 2016.

Ms Mam, who is based in the United States, could not be reached for comment.

Find out why there is so much controversy over this highly valued commodity:

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Malaysia: Singapore’s help sought to find Sungai Kim Kim pollution suspect

remar nordin The Star 25 Mar 19;

JOHOR BARU: Johor police are working with their Singaporean counterparts to track down a man in his 30s in connection with the Sungai Kim Kim chemical waste pollution case.

The man is believed to be the owner of a used tyre-processing company allegedly involved in the pollution incident in Pasir Gudang.

State police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Khalil Kader Mohd said the man was on the wanted list and police were waiting for the Singa­porean autho­rities to arrest him.

He added that seven out of the 11 people detained in relation to the Sungai Kim Kim toxic waste dumping had been released on police bail after investigations revealed that they did not have any relation to the case.

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Malaysia: Rising dengue cases, drying taps and heatwave

rahimy rahim The Star 25 Mar 19;

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians are having to battle dengue cases on the rise even as they face drying taps from the current heatwave.

Dengue cases have shown a dramatic spike this year – up by about 150% from last year – and besides a change in the virus serotypes that is fuelling the increase, the weather pattern is of no help either.

Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said changes in weather patterns could have made it easier for the Aedes mosquitoes to breed in stagnant water.

He said that with the hot dry spells sandwiched by short bouts of rain, the mosquitoes’ larvae could hatch more easily.

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Indonesia: Authorities rescue injured orangutan in oil palm plantation in Aceh

Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post 24 Mar 19;

A team comprising members of the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency, the Human-Orangutan Conflict Response Unit (HOCRU), the Orangutan Information Center (OIC) and the Wildlife Conservation Center Indonesia Program (WCS-IP) found a female orangutan in Namo Buaya village, Subulussalam, Aceh, on March 19. The orangutan, named Pertiwi by the team, was found near where a different orangutan was found with air rifle pellet wounds on its body.

The head of the Sumatra Lestari Orangutan Foundation (YOSL-OIC), Panut Hadisiswoyo, said Pertiwi was rescued without administering anesthesia since it might harm her vital organs due to her underweight condition.

“Our team managed to rescue the injured orangutan. Her condition is very worrying. Looking at her underweight body, we suspect that she was malnourished,” he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

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Best of our wild blogs: 24 Mar 19

Coney Island a.k.a Pulau Serangoon
Offshore Singapore

Three Archdukes
Butterflies of Singapore

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Fire breaks out at ExxonMobil's Jurong Island refinery; no injuries reported

Channel NewsAsia 23 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE: A fire broke out in a refinery tank on Jurong Island on Saturday morning (Mar 23).

ExxonMobil said the incident happened at about 9.45am.

"The fire involved residue within the tank, which at the time of the fire was empty and undergoing maintenance," said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

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Malaysia: Dry weather to last until May; water shortage in 6 states

Bernama New Straits Times 23 Mar 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is expected to continue experiencing hot and dry weather until May, says Water, Land and Natural Resource Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar.

He also said that six states - Negri Sembilan, Johor, Perak, Kedah, Pahang and Kelantan - are expected to face water shortage due to the dry weather and lack of rainfall.

In a statement today, the minister said several locations have not received rain for over 30 days, including Hulu Perak (56 days) and Setiu, Terengganu (31 days).

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Indonesia: Russian accused of trying to smuggle drugged orangutan from Bali

Ni Komang Erviani The Jakarta Post 23 Mar 19;

Dewa Delanata, head of the airport’s quarantine office, said the orangutan had been drugged and placed in a basket.

"The Russian deliberately used an inhumane method to take the orangutan to Russia," the official said on Saturday.

The Russian has been identified as ZA.

The quarantine officer and airport security found the orangutan at the international departure area at around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Dewa said. "At first, we thought it was a monkey. The officers were afraid to open the basket, as they thought the monkey would be aggressive and run loose in the departure area.”

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Indonesia: YOSL-OIC seizes and rescues 10 orangutans during January-March period

Juraidi, Fardah Antara 23 Mar 19;

The Lestari Sumatran Orangutan Foundation-Orangutan Information Center (YOSL-OIC) has seized and rescued at least 10 orangutans in the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh during the January-March 2019 period.

"Give space to other creatures to exist because our Earth is not only for human beings to live, but also for other creatures, such as orangutans. Orangutan is not a dangerous animal, so when you see orangutans entering a plantation, please contact us
Medan, North Sumatra (ANTARA) - The Lestari Sumatran Orangutan Foundation-Orangutan Information Center (YOSL-OIC) has seized and rescued at least 10 orangutans in the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh during the January-March 2019 period.

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