T.N.Alagesh New Straits Times 6 Aug 19;
KUANTAN: Some 35ha of forest and peat land at Bukit Palas near Cherating here has been burning since Monday.
Thick smoke enveloped the area as firemen worked around the clock to prevent the blaze from spreading to other nearby areas.
Pahang Fire and Rescue Department chief Nor Hisham Mohammed said fire had destroyed some 25ha while another 10ha was still burning.
posted by
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8/07/2019 02:46:00 PM
Nor Fazlina Abdul Rahim New Straits Times 7 Aug 19;
KOTA BHARU: A sun bear has been spotted roaming the orchards in Kampung Reka and Kampung Timur near Kuala Belah, Jeli since last week.
Kelantan Wildlife and National Parks Department director Ady Ermanty Haniff Mohamed Hanif said the department received information on the matter from the villagers on July 31. He said the villagers were worried for their safety.
“Following that, four personnel from Jeli wildlife office went to the location to conduct checks. They also set up a trap using cempedak fruit,” he said when contacted.
posted by
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at
8/07/2019 02:43:00 PM
labels bears, global, human-wildlife-conflict
Agustinus Beo Da Costa Reuters 6 Aug 19;
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo threatened on Tuesday to sack military and police officers fighting forest fires if they fail to extinguish the flames. He also promised government funds for high-tech equipment like drones to help tackle the blazes.
The Southeast Asian country has deployed thousands of military and police to douse forest fires after declaring an emergency in six provinces on the island of Sumatra and in the province of Kalimantan on Borneo.
“I phoned the military commander and the chief of police to tell them to replace those who can’t resolve forest and land fires,” Widodo told a co-ordinating meeting on tackling forest fires at the presidential palace.
“Never underestimate hot spots. Immediately put out a small fire, don’t wait until it gets bigger,” Widodo said.
posted by
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8/07/2019 02:43:00 PM
Antara 6 Aug 19;
"Today, four helicopters were flown in to help the land-based task force tackle the land fire in Pelalawan and Siak," Deputy Commander of the task force Edwar Sanger stated here on Tuesday.
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - The land and forest fire task force of Riau Province has deployed four helicopters on Tuesday to help douse the fire raging in the districts of Pelalawan and Siak.
"Today, four helicopters were flown in to help the land-based task force tackle the land fire in Pelalawan and Siak," Deputy Commander of the task force Edwar Sanger stated here on Tuesday.
The authority has detected dozens of hotspots in the two resource-rich districts since the past week, and peatland fire in the regions have produced haze that shrouded its neighboring Pekanbaru City.
posted by
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8/07/2019 02:43:00 PM
Antara 7 Aug 19;
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Australian monsoon can make parts of Southeast Asia prone to fires in the next week, according to the Fire Danger Rating System (FDRS) early warning system.
The land fire potential was detected in Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and some small parts of Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos on Aug 6-8, it stated.
"Currently, most parts of Indonesia and some other countries in the ASEAN have experienced the Australian monsoon, characterized by dry winds that blow from the southeast," Deputy for Meteorology of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Mulyono R. Prabowo stated here on Wednesday.
The weather is also affected by the anomaly of sea surface temperature in the Indonesian waters, especially on the south side of the equator; weak intensity of the El Nino phenomenon that hit the region since the end of 2018; and the Indian Ocean Dipole Mode.
This has triggered a drier season in 2019 than that in 2018, he stated.
posted by
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at
8/07/2019 02:31:00 PM
labels extreme-nature, global, haze
Antara 6 Aug 19;
We have supplied more than 1.7 million liters of clean water to the families facing water scarcity
Bandung, W Java (ANTARA) - The West Java Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported Tuesday that this year's protracted drought has affected 20 districts and towns leaving 166,957 families facing water scarcity. Among the affected areas were located in the cities of Bogor and Cirebon as well as the districts of Bekasi, Bogor, Karawang, Bandung Barat, Sumedang, Tasikmalaya, Bandung, Sukabumi, Purwakarta, Subang, and Kuningan, head of the agency's rehabilitation and reconstruction unit, Budi Budiman Wahyu, said.
The total number of affected districts and towns increased from 13 on July 17 to 20 on August 5, he said, adding that the drought had threatened 20,621 hectares of agricultural land and left 166,957 families facing water scarcity.
"We have supplied more than 1.7 million liters of clean water to the families facing water scarcity," he said.
He still reviewed a plan to declare a drought as proposed by the BPBD because related authorities had offered concrete solutions to those affected, West Java Governor M. Ridwan Kamil said.
posted by
Ria Tan
at
8/07/2019 02:29:00 PM
labels extreme-nature, global, water
posted by
Ria Tan
at
8/06/2019 05:52:00 PM
labels best-of-wild-blogs, singapore
Jessica Jaganathan Reuters 6 Aug 19;
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is considering to install solar panels to power its Bukom refining site in Singapore, a company spokeswoman told Reuters on Tuesday.
A general view of Shell's Pulau Bukom petrochemical complex in Singapore July 15, 2019. REUTERS/Edgar Su
“We are exploring the potential of installing solar panels at our Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site,” she said, without providing further details.
The Bukom manufacturing site includes a 500,000 barrels-per-day refinery, which is Shell’s largest wholly owned refinery.
The oil and gas company has been exploring solar installations for its other sites in Singapore as part of its plans to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon footprint.
posted by
Ria Tan
at
8/06/2019 04:19:00 PM
labels fossil-fuels, singapore, solar-energy
Matthew Mohan Channel NewsAsia 6 Aug 19;
SINGAPORE: Members of Parliament (MPs) reiterated the call for plastic bag charges in Parliament on Tuesday (Aug 6), but Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor stressed the need for a wider approach beyond “singling out” single-use plastics.
Responding to a question from MP Lee Bee Wah, Dr Khor said that the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) does not exclusively target plastics.
She said: “Our approach has been to reduce the excessive use of all types of disposables, not just single-use plastics, and to promote the use of reusables.
“We do not target plastics alone ... substituting plastics with other types of single-use packaging materials is not necessarily better for the environment.”
posted by
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8/06/2019 04:18:00 PM
labels plastic-bags, reduce-reuse-recycle, singapore
Mohd Roji Kawi New Straits Times 6 Aug 19;
KUCHING: State Fire and Rescue Department has urged Sarawakians to stop open burning activities in the current hot and dry weather to avoid triggering haze.
Its assistant operations director Tiong Ling said 66 bush fires have been reported in the first week of August, all of which originated from open burning.
“Since Aug 1, we have received 66 reports, involving 50 hectares of land size in Kuching, Serian, Lundu, Simunjan, Sri Aman, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri and Limbang.
posted by
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8/06/2019 04:12:00 PM
SIRA HABIBU The Star 6 Aug 19;
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will call on Asean member countries to take proactive measures to avoid trans-boundary haze during a two-day meeting in Brunei beginning today.
In a statement,the Energy,Science,Technology,Environment and Climate Change Ministry said Malaysia wanted concerted efforts taken in accordance with the Asean Agreement on Trans-boundary Haze ratified by member countries.
Deputy Minister Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis,who will lead the Malaysian delegation to the 21st Technical Working Group,and the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee Trans-boundary Haze Pollution meetings in Brunei,would submit reports on the measures taken to avoid open burning and haze.
“Malaysia will also activate a new National Action Plan for Open Burning and fine-tune the existing National Haze Action Plan,” it said yesterday.
posted by
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8/06/2019 04:11:00 PM
Olivia Miwil New Straits Times 6 Aug 19;
SANDAKAN: Traders here are still selling turtle eggs despite being constantly reminded by authorities that such an activity is against the law.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said turtle eggs could still be found at many shoplots near the market in the district.
“They are doing it secretly... through hand signals (Okay sign, to indicate availbility of turtle eggs).
“However, such activity is still under control because it is being handled by the relevant enforcement agencies,” he said.
posted by
Ria Tan
at
8/06/2019 04:09:00 PM
labels global, marine, sea-turtles
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