23 Sep (Sun): Launch of Ah Mah's Drinkstall among mangroves of Sungei Jelutong
Restore Ubin Mangroves (R.U.M.) Initiative
"Eh Guys, There's Cold Drinks Sold Here!"
Wan's Ubin Journal
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Best of our wild blogs: 18 Sep 18
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Malaysia: Carcass of male dolphin washed ashore on Melaka beach
Nur Saliawati Salberi New Straits Times 17 Sep 18;
MELAKA: A dead male juvenile dolphin, weighing about 35kg, was found washed ashore on Tanah Merah Jaya beach, Pantai Puteri, here this afternoon.
In the 4.30pm incident, the carcass of an endangered species, Neophocaena Phocaenoides (finless porpoise), was discovered by several anglers at the site.
Resident Azmi Leman, 50 said the Fisheries Department was promptly notified on the discovery of the mammal, the first in a long time at the beach.
“The anglers noticed a black object washed up on the beach before realising that it was a dolphin,” he said when met at the site today.
State Fisheries Department deputy director Doreen Wee Siew Leen said the dolphin was categorised as juvenile judging by its length of 1.4 metres.
“The endangered species was found in our waters. Physical checks revealed that the dolphin had died due to stress and of malnutrition.
“Its carcass would be frozen and sent to the Turtle and Marine Ecosystem Research Centre in Rantau Abang, Terengganu, to be preserved for research purposes,” she said.
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Indonesia: Satellites detected 801 hotspots across Indonesia
Antara 17 Sep 18;
Pontianak, W Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - The Terra and Aqua satellites detected a total of 801 hotspots, indicating forest and plantation fires, across Indonesia, on Monday.
The hotspots were of moderate- and high-risk categories, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), noted in a statement.
In West Kalimantan Province, 272 hotspots were detected.
"Of the 272 hotspots, 149 are categorized as moderate and 123 as high risk," he stated.
Haze shrouded Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan Province, from dawn until 7:30 a.m. local time on Monday and later disappeared due to the wind.
Earlier, Ins. Gen. Didi Haryono, the West Kalimantan police chief, urged local inhabitants to help put out wildfires as the efforts could not be made by the military and police personnel alone.
Banjarmasin, the provincial capital of South Kalimantan, and North Barito in Central Kalimantan were also shrouded by haze on Monday morning.
The ongoing prolonged drought has caused water shortage in several regions, such as in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Java, and triggered fires in forest areas, particularly in West Kalimantan and Central Java.
In West Kalimantan, schools were recently closed, as forest fires produced smoke that could affect the health of students.
The national disaster mitigation office deployed four helicopters to help extinguish the fires.
Meanwhile, through legal enforcement and firm control, the Indonesian government has managed to reduce forest fires by 96.5 percent across the country during the 2015-2017 period.
Based on data obtained from NOAA`s satellites, 21,929 hotspots were found across Indonesia in 2015, and the figure dropped to 3,915 in 2016, and again 2,257 in 2017, according to Raffles B. Panjaitan, director of forest and plantation fire control of the environmental affairs and forestry ministry.
The wild fires had razed a total of 2,611,411 hectares in 2015, and the figure decreased to 438,360 hectares in 2016 and again to 165,464 hectares in 2017.
Reporting by Andilala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Haze shrouds Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan
Antara 17 Sep 18;
A traffic policeman regulates the flow of vehicles on Jalan Ahmad Yani in Banjar District, South Kalimantan due to thick haze. (ANTARA Photo/Herry Murdy Hermawan)
Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Haze from forest fires has shrouded Banjarmasin City, the capital of South Kalimantan Province, on Monday morning.
In residential and farming areas in Pemurus, South Banjarmasin Sub-district, the smoke was quite thick and permeated the closed doors of homes.
Hana, a local inhabitant of Pemurus, said despite being indoors, she experienced irritation in the eyes due the smoke.
Several people were forced to wear face masks due to the smoke.
Indonesia is currently experiencing severe dry season that has induced forest fires on the islands of Java, Kalimantan, and Sumatra.
The ongoing prolonged drought has caused water shortage in several regions, such as in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Java, and triggered fires in forest areas, particularly in West Kalimantan and Central Java.
In West Kalimantan, schools were recently closed, as forest fires produced smoke that could affect the health of students.
The national disaster mitigation office has deployed four helicopters to help extinguish the fires.
On Java Island, wildfires were reported on at least three mountainous areas: Mount Lawu, Mount Sindoro, and Mount Argpuro.
At least 30-hectare forest areas were razed by fires on Mount Lawu, which is located on the border of the provinces of Central and East Java.
Joint efforts have been made over the past few days to extinguish the forest fire, but the prolonged drought and strong winds had hindered the fire fighters` endeavors, Djohan Surjoputro, Mount Lawu`s administrative authority, stated recently.
Several hundred people, including local volunteers and personnel of state-owned forestry company Perhutani, military, police, and environment agency, participated in the joint efforts.
A forest fire also engulfed certain parts of Mount Sindoro in Temanggung District, Central Java Province, though, according to a spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, it could have been extinguished.
The forest fire destroyed some 156 hectares of land, and the local authorities had still closed the mountain`s climbing trails, BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho remarked.
Reporting by Sukarli
Editing by Fardah
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Best of our wild blogs: 17 Sep 18
Taxonomic Classification in Butterflies
Butterflies of Singapore
Now Launched: Create for Climate Youth Art Competition
Green Drinks Singapore
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Wildlife-rich Rifle Range Nature Park could feature bridge crossing when completed in 2020
LOW YOUJIN Today Online 14 Sep 18;
SINGAPORE – Hikers and nature lovers can look forward to a network of natural hiking trails after the 67-hectare Rifle Range Nature Park is enhanced.
A bridge crossing could be built for the public to appreciate its stream, and steps may be installed as part of the hiking trail to minimise disturbance to wildlife and vegetation, and prevent compaction and soil erosion, said National Parks Board's (NParks) group director of conservation Adrian Loo.
The nature park, on the southern end of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, will have more amenities for the public such as a visitor pavilion, toilet, shelter and carpark. These will be developed sensitively to blend in with the surrounding greenery, said Dr Loo.
Last year when NParks announced plans to enhance Rifle Range Nature Park, it said the park will feature an elevated walkway from Beauty World to the former Sin Seng Quarry, which was once one of the deepest quarries in Singapore.
It was 55m at its deepest point but has since been backfilled and will be transformed into a freshwater habitat with a lookout point for visitors to appreciate marsh birds, NParks said.
The hiking trails will allow visitors to learn more about the history of quarrying in Singapore and the heritage highlights within the site. These include the remnants of a kampong that used to be located at the fringe of the quarry along Rifle Range Road, such as steps leading to old houses and old fruit trees and shrubs associated with kampong plantings in the 1960s, said NParks.
The park will also feature aerial rope bridges to allow animals to move safely between Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the park, as well as nest boxes for animals such as flying squirrels that hole in nests. Enhancement works are expected to be completed in 2020.
THE ANIMALS WITHIN
Biodiversity studies conducted within the park found that there is rich wildlife in the area that includes:
Malayan Colugo, a mammal with an extensive skin membrane that facilitates gliding between trees
Horsfield's Flying Squirrel, an endangered animal with nocturnal habits that feeds on fruits and insects
Sunda Pangolin, a critically endangered animal that feeds on ants and termites
Common Palm Civet, also called a Toddycat or "musang"
Malayan Coral Snake, a beautiful but venomous snake
Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher, a migratory bird that can be sighted in Singapore from end-September to early November each year and whose global population is on the decline
Malayan Crow, a butterfly that is very rare in Singapore
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Malaysia: Perak goes ahead with plastic-free days
allison lai The Star 16 Sep 18;
IPOH: Perak will press ahead with plastic-free days which failed previously due to a lack of public awareness and support.
“Initiatives like this have to be taught from young. We want not just plastic-free but also a car-free day,” said state environment committee chairman Prof Dr Abdul Aziz Bari.
The silver state, he said, was committed to environmentally-friendly policies.
In 2016, the then Barisan Nasional state government announced the first phase of a statewide ban on plastic bags and polystyrene containers, but it failed.
“They are the ones who have the say and means to initiate and put into action all policies and initiatives.
“It is important to have some kind of coordination and synchronisation within the state government so that we are able to push the initiative effectively,” he said after opening the World Clean Up Day where 500 students and staff from Quest International University Perak cleaned up the riverbank along Kinta River.
He also noted that Malaysia needed a special national council to work on matters related to environmental protection.
Representatives from the Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry and environment excos from all states could sit in the council, he said.
“We don’t have such a body coordinating the policies and issue initiatives related to the environment, which is very important. We hope there will be more national coordination on this. Unlike Penang and Selangor, such initiatives are new to some states, like for us in Perak.
“We don’t have the experience and expertise. That is why this issue ought to be shared. I hope for a roundtable discussion with the minister and all state environment excos soon.
“This way we can increase awareness among the people to care for the environment because without the people’s cooperation, efforts by any environment agencies will not work,” he said.
Dr Abdul Aziz, who is a constitutional law expert, noted that there was no clause or provision on environment protection in the Federal Constitution.
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Indonesia: Three elephants in Jambi relocated to prevent inbreeding
Jon Afrizal The Jakarta Post 15 Sep 18;
The Jambi Natural Resources Conservation Agency is set to relocate three young elephants – two males and one female – to prevent inbreeding.
“The elephants have entered the reproduction period and are ready to mate. We’re trying to prevent elephants that share the same bloodline from mating because that's not good for their offspring,” agency head Rahmad Saleh told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
The elephants will be relocated from their current habitat in Bukit Tigapuluh National Park (TNBT) in Tebo regency to PT Restorasi Ekosistem (REKI) in Sarolangun regency, both in Jambi.
Rahmad said the relocation aimed to create new herds and preserve the species.
The agency recorded that there are currently eight herds consisting of 143 elephants in the national park’s corridor, two herds consisting of only seven elephants in Sarolangun regency and one herd of 38 elephants in Kerinci regency.
Furthermore, Rahmad said the relocation was expected to help prevent the poaching of elephant tusks, a practice that was common in the area. “Elephant poaching is a major threat to the species in the TNBT corridor,” he said.
The destruction of the elephants' habitat as a result of the conversion of their land from forests to company or individual-owned palm plantations has caused local residents to view the animals as "pests".
Rahmad said there were 188 cases of conflict between humans and elephants in the first half of the year in Jambi. Thus, the relocation is aimed to preserve the species.
The relocation will be assisted by NGO Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) and take approximately 10 days.
Four trained elephants from the Minas Elephant Training Center in Riau will guide the three elephants in order to keep them calm during the relocation process. (sau)
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Taiwan: Unusual coral bleaching reported off Yehliu coast
Bleaching in Taiwan has mainly been reported in the south, but ocean temperatures off New Taipei City rose to 33°C, a 15-year record, an expert said
Lin Chia-nan Taipei Times 17 Sep 18;
Many clusters of coral off the northern coast have bleached due to higher seawater temperatures this year, an unprecedented occurrence in the area, Academia Sinica researcher Allen Chen (陳昭倫) said yesterday.
The large-scale coral bleaching documented off the coast of Yehliu (野柳) in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) is unusual, given that the area is generally considered a “shelter” for coral, with a relatively low seawater temperature of 27°C to 28°C in summer, he said.
A researcher at the institution’s Biodiversity Research Center, Chen and his laboratory members have monitored coral in the area since 2000.
Coral bleaching is caused by rising water temperatures and can be fatal for coral, Chen said.
Coral bleaching incidents in Taiwan have previously occurred at lower latitudes, such as off Kenting (墾丁) in Pingtung County, Green Island (綠島), Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), where the seawater is warmer, he said.
The average seawater temperature at 3m depth off Yehliu was 27.38°C from May to August in 2005, but in the same period this year, it was 28.36°C, Chen said.
The temperature last month even rose to 33°C, a 15-year record, he said.
“Even a 0.5°C temperature increase can make coral sick,” Chen said, adding that reefs at higher latitudes are more sensitive to warming.
Researchers found that 11 types of stony coral and soft coral in the area had bleached, with lace coral and hood coral most seriously affected, he said.
The bleaching might reverse as the weather becomes cooler and his team would keep monitoring the corals to see whether they show any signs of recovery, Chen said, adding that the team would publish its findings.
In related news, the coral off Pingtung has been reported to be more muddy than usual, with senior diving instructor Tsai Yung-chun (蔡永春) saying that he has never seen so much sediment in the area.
The Kenting National Park Management Office on Friday said that the mud was washed offshore by heavy rain last month, but would be swept away by sea currents.
The office said it would conduct an underwater inspection after the weather stabilizes and would continue to monitor land conservation efforts in neighboring areas.
Additional reporting by Tsai Tsung-hsien
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Singapore's Mandai eco-resort: Paving paradise to put up an eco-resort
BBC 15 Sep 18;
Singaporeans are getting a new wildlife paradise to bring them closer to nature, but as the BBC's Yvette Tan writes, the development is carving into the jungle and pushing rare animals into the path of danger.
It might be tiny, densely populated and commonly referred to as a concrete jungle, but Singapore has more wild space than most people realise.
Its 63 islands are home to hundreds of types of flora and fauna, including some of the most endangered species on the planet.
But these green spaces are shrinking fast amid rapid development.
One of the few places left relatively wild is the Mandai district in the north, where work is under way to create a sprawling eco-tourism hub, in which people can pay to experience nature close up.
The district is already home to the Singapore Zoo - considered one of the best in the world - a Night Safari and a River Safari.
By 2023, it'll be joined by a relocated bird park, a rainforest-themed park and an eco-resort. At 126 hectares (311 acres) it will be the biggest eco-tourism spot in Singapore and a place to "celebrate and protect our biodiversity while being immersed in nature in a fun and inspiring way", say the developers.
But in order to make way, two secondary forests are currently being cleared, threatening vital refuges for wildlife.
"There are mouse deer, pangolins, sambar deer, all of those animals live in the forests that are [being cleared]," Subaraj Rajathurai, who runs a wildlife consultancy, told the BBC.
As Mr Subaraj shows me around the Mandai development, it's hard to imagine this land was once lush forest. Towering cranes and other construction equipment now stretch across the bare hills.
"It's about a loss of habitat, loss of foraging area - a loss of food. So where do they go?"
The roads, it would seem, is where some of the animals are going.
Five animals - including a leopard cat, a huge sambar deer, a wild boar and a critically endangered sunda pangolin - have become roadkill since development began last January. All the accidents took place in the area around Mandai - with two occurring on a busy expressway.
According to Mr Subaraj, this is partly due to a lack of mitigation work by the developers, like insufficient fencing to stop animals running onto roads.
The land set aside for the new parks had been earmarked for development more than a decade ago. It once housed old villages and an orchid farm but after years of disuse, forests have reclaimed the area.
Mandai Park Development (MPD), the body behind the work, says developing the area into an eco-hub is a much more "environmentally sensitive" choice than if an urban development were to take over the area.
MPD is a branch of Mandai Park Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore's state investor - Temasek Holdings.
It says not all roadkill incidents can be attributed to the development.
"Traffic incidents involving wild animals occur island-wide and are unfortunately, not a new phenomenon," said Senior VP Philip Yim.
Mr Subaraj is not convinced.
"Take the case of sambar deer," he says. They live all around the area known as the Central Catchment Nature Reserve "yet the only recent roadkills have occurred in the North", he says, where Mandai is.
"Doesn't that point to the development being the cause?"
MPD said it takes great care to ensure the safety of wildlife before it begins work in an area, including preserving trees of particular interest and moving wildlife.
It has put in places various safety measures such as speed humps, a rope bridge and wildlife crossing signs on Mandai Lake Road.
"There will inevitably be disruption... during the development phase, and this is actively being mitigated," said Mr Yim.
He said MPD recognised that it had "a responsibility to try to reduce the likelihood of such incidents within the boundary of our project. We are closely monitoring incidents within and around the area".
Mandai Lake Road, which cuts right in the middle of the upcoming Bird and Rainforest park, is the only road in, and out, of the eco-hub development.
There are also plans for a green bridge to be built specially for animals which will span the length of Mandai Lake Road and provide a safe passage for animals. That will be ready by 2019.
What does the future of the area look like?
The plan to build an eco-resort in the development that could hold up to 400 rooms, is another concern.
MPD has said the resort, to be run by resort operator Banyan Tree, will be built "sensitively... to reduce impact to the environment".
But Mr Subaraj argues that this may not be enough.
"If you look in other countries, for example [at an eco-resort in] the Danum Valley in Malaysia, they've got around 30 rooms," said Mr Subaraj.
"We've got up to 400 rooms. When you develop a resort that big, no matter how much mitigation you put in place, there will be an impact."
The surrounding eco-system in the Mandai area, he says, will "never be the same again".
"There are so little primary forests in Singapore that the animals have adapted to living in the secondary forests and relied on them to survive," he said.
"If you look at our forests, there's so little of it left. If you keep chipping away at it, one day there will be nothing left."
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Indonesia: 157 hotspots detected across Sumatra island on Saturday
Antara 15 Sep 18;
Banda Aceh, Aceh (ANTARA News)- A total of 157 hotspots, indicating forest and plantation fires, were detected across Sumatra Island on Saturday, according to the Blang Bintang meteorology, climatology and geophysics office.
The hotspots were found in the provinces of South Sumatra, Lampung, Bangka Belitung, Riau, Jambi, and West Sumatra, Zakaria Ahmad of the local meteorology office, said here, on Saturday.
Of the total, 60 hotspots were believed to come from fires with trust level of over 81 percent.
The number of hotspots detected across Sumatra was an increase from 154 hotspots on the previous day (Friday, Sept 14).
Based on monitoring by Terra and Aqua satellites, 77 hotspots were found in South Sumatra, 33 each in Lampung and Bengkulu, 14 in Bangka Belitung, nine in Riau, four in West Sumatra, three in Jambi, and one on Riau Island.
In Riau, four hotspots were found in Indragiri Hulu District, two in Rokan Hilir, and one each in Bengkalis, Pelalawan, and Meranti Island.
Brigadier General Sonny Aprianto, commander of the Riau forest fire task force, had earlier ordered for firm action against arsonists.
He also gave shoot-at-sight orders to his officers against perpetrators of forest and plantation fires.
The commander believed that 99 percent of the forest and plantation fires in Sumatra were induced by human activities.
By imposing legal enforcement and firm control, the Indonesian government has managed to reduce forest fires by 96.5 percent across the country during the 2015-2017 period.
Based on data obtained from NOAA`s satellites, 21,929 hotspots were found across Indonesia in 2015, and the figure dropped to 3,915 in 2016, and again 2,257 in 2017, according to Raffles B. Panjaitan, director of forest and plantation fire control of the environmental affairs and forestry ministry.
The wild fires had razed a total of 2,611,411 hectares in 2015, and the figure decreased to 438,360 hectares in 2016, and again to 165,464 hectares in 2017.
Reporting by Muhammad Said
Editing by Bustanuddin
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Authorities struggle to fight fires on Mt. Sindoro-Sumbing, hiking trails remain closed
Suherdjoko Suherdjoko The Jakarta Post 15 Sep 18;
The authorities are scrambling to tackle land and forest fires that have ravaged Mount Sindoro and Mount Sumbing in Central Java, but challenging terrain and strong winds are hampering the efforts to extinguish the fires.
A joint team comprising personnel from the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), the Indonesian Military and the police, as well as volunteers, have intensified mitigation efforts since the fire started. But as of Friday, the fires persisted.
“Even helicopters face difficulties in extinguishing the fires by water bombing, as they can barely maneuver through such challenging terrain,” BPBD Temanggung acting head Gito Wangaldi said on Friday.
The fires on Mt. Sindoro, which started on Friday last week, have burned through 245 hectares of land and vegetation in the area, while 239 ha has been burned through by the fires on Mt. Sumbing, which started to spread on Monday, BPBD data shows.
“Strong winds may cause the fire to spread quickly, which can put volunteers who don’t know the area at risk,” said BPBD Wonosobo acting head Prayitno.
In the meantime, the authorities have contained the fires on Mt. Sindoro so that the blaze would not spread to the south, where the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center has installed a seismograph, 100 meters from the location of the fires, Central Java Search and Rescue field coordinator Sutikno said.
All hiking trails leading up to the summits of the mountains have been closed and there were no hikers trapped in the areas, Prayitno added. (afr/swd)
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Indonesia: Prolonged drought triggers forest fires in Kalimantan and Java
Fardah Antara 15 Sep 18;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government has been working all out to prevent forest fires over the last couple of years and been successful in drastically reducing hotspots and fires, particularly in Sumatra.
Lately, however, the country has been experiencing severe dry season that has induced forest fires on the islands of Java, Kalimantan, and Sumatra.
The ongoing prolonged drought has caused water shortage in several regions, such as in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Java, and triggered fires in forest areas, particularly in West Kalimantan and Central Java.
In West Kalimantan, schools were recently closed, as forest fires produced smoke that could affect the health of students.
The national disaster mitigation office has deployed four helicopters to help extinguish the fires.
In Central Kalimantan, the East Kotawaringin district police recently named four suspects in land and forest fires in several areas in the district.
Chief of the East Kotawaringin District Police Adjunct Chief Commissioner Mohammad Rommel remarked on September 11, 2018, that the police had investigated the cases of land fires in Ujung Pandaran, Samuda, Baamang, and Mentawa Baru Ketapang.
The police are also investigating the case of large land fires in Mentaya Hilir Selatan District, he noted.
In South Kalimantan, the local inhabitants are optimistic of rain falling again to disperse the haze of the smoke that had begun to blanket some areas in the province.
The people in Banjarmasin and Banjarbaru as well as the surrounding areas recently breathed a sigh of relief after rainfall, lasting for two hours, cleared the air of haze.
Forest and bush fires hit 13 districts since January 2018, ravaging one thousand hectares of tropical forests and plantation areas.
On Java Island, wildfires were reported on at least three mountainous areas: Mount Lawu, Mount Sindoro, and Mount Argpuro.
At least 30-hectare forest areas were razed by fires on Mount Lawu, which is located on the border of Central and East Java provinces.
Joint efforts have been made over the past few days to extinguish the forest fire, but the prolonged drought and strong winds had hindered the fire fighters` endeavors, Djohan Surjoputro, Mount Lawu`s administrative authority, stated recently.
Several hundreds of people, including local volunteers and personnel of state-owned forestry company Perhutani, military, police, and environment agency, participated in the joint efforts.
Owing to its scenic view, beautiful Edelweiss flowers, and crater, Mt Lawu has become one of the mountains in the Indonesian island of Java, which is frequently scaled by mountaineers.
Unfortunately, some 100 mountaineers remained trapped on the peak of Mount Lawu in Magetan District, East Java Province, amid threats from the fires engulfing part of the mountain.
A rescue team had been deployed to evacuate the trapped climbers, Head of the Magetan Disaster Mitigation Agency`s Emergency and Logistics Unit Fery Yoga Saputra had stated on September 11, 2018.
The local authorities notified that Mount Lawu`s climbing trails had temporarily been closed.
A forest fire also engulfed certain parts of Mount Sindoro in Temanggung District, Central Java Province, though, according to a spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, it could have been extinguished.
The forest fire destroyed some 156 hectares of land, and the local authorities had still closed the mountain`s climbing trails, BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho remarked.
Mount Argopuro, located in Krucil, Probolinggo, East Java Province, was also razed by a fire.
Four hotspots were detected on Sept. 12, Setyo Utomo, head of the Jember natural resources conservation office, noted.
The conservation office has dispatched four officers to check the hotspots. However, it will take them at least two days to reach the location of the hotspots, he added.
The East Java natural resources conservation office has indefinitely closed the climbing track of Mount Argopuro since August 10, 2018, due to prolonged drought that could trigger wildfires.
Mount Argopuro is located within the Hyang Highland Sanctuary, which covers parts of the districts of Probolinggo, Situbondo, Bondowoso, and Jember.
The mountain holds the record of having the longest route on Java Island and one of the longest in Indonesia.
In Sumatra, a total of 154 hotspots indicating forest and plantation fires were detected across the island on September 13, 2018.
The number increased from 150 hotspots on the previous day, according to the Pekanbaru meteorology office.
Based on monitoring by Terra and Aqua satellites, 77 hotspots were found in South Sumatra, 33 each in Lampung and Bengkulu, 14 in Bangka Belitung, nine in Riau, four in West Sumatra, three in Jambi, and one on Riau Island.
Riau remained prone to forest and plantation fires due to the prevailing drought, Ardhitama, an analyst of the Riau meteorology, climatology and geophysics office, remarked.
Brigadier General Sonny Aprianto, commander of the Riau forest fire task force, had earlier ordered to take firm action against arsonists.
He also gave shoot-at-sight orders to his officers for perpetrators of forest and plantation fires.
The commander believed that 99 percent of the forest and plantation fires in Sumatra were induced by human activities.
Through legal enforcement and firm control, the Indonesian government has managed to reduce forest fires by 96.5 percent across the country during the 2015-2017 period.
Based on data obtained from NOAA`s satellites, 21,929 hotspots were found across Indonesia in 2015, and the figure dropped to 3,915 in 2016, and again 2,257 in 2017, according to Raffles B. Panjaitan, director of forest and plantation fire control of the environmental affairs and forestry ministry.
The wild fires had razed a total of 2,611,411 hectares in 2015, and the figure decreased to 438,360 hectares in 2016, and again to 165,464 hectares in 2017.
During the 1997-1998 period, Indonesia had experienced a prolonged drought induced by the strongest ever recorded El Nino, which triggered widespread fires.
The greatest loss caused by forest and land fires in Indonesia occurred in 1997, when fires wiped out millions of hectares of forest and plantation areas and caused losses worth US$2.45 billion.
Editing by Otniel
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
30 villages in Ngawi face water crisis due to prolonged drought
Louis Rika S Antara 16 Sep 18;
Ngawi, E Java (ANTARA News) - Thirty villages located in eight sub-districts in Ngawi District, East Java Province, face water shortage due to the current prolonged drought.
There was water crisis in the 30 villages, while 10 other villages in Ngawi faced water shortage, Eko Heru Tjahjono, acting head of the Ngawi disaster mitigation office, said here on Saturday.
Karanganyar is the worst affected by drought, with eight villages facing water crisis. Seven other sub-districts hit by water crisis are Bringin (in seven villages), Pitu (five villages), Krangjati (three villages), Ngawi (two villages), Kedunggalar (two villages), and Padas (one village).
The local disaster mitigation office has supplied clean water to the affected villages, including Cantel and Dumplengan villages in Pitu sub-districts.
Located on the equator line and between Asia and Australia, Indonesia has only two seasons, namely rain and dry. The dry season is usually between March and September, while the rainy season is between September and March.
September is usually the transitional period where rains begin to fall across the country. But, up to Sept 10 this year, many regions remain very dry as there have been no rains for months.
Several regions in Indonesia are currently being hit by prolonged drought, causing water shortages, particularly in West Java, East Java, and East Nusa Tenggara, as well as forest fires in Kalimantan, Java and Sumatra Islands.
The drought hit 4,053 villages in 888 sub-districts located in 111 districts and cities in 11 provinces.
Some 4.87 million people in the country have been affected by this year`s drought, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
"The dry season is forecast to last until September 2018 and will reach its peak during the August-September period. Those islands are hit by the drought almost every year," BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho noted on Sept 7, 2018.
Reporting by Louis Rika S
Editing by Fardah
Editor: Bustanuddin
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