Translator: Antara, Editor: Petir Garda Bhwana | June 28th, 2020 TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – With Indonesia still in the grip…
Category: INDONESIA
Riau, South Sumatra issue wildfire emergency alert ahead of dry season’s peak
By: News Desk, The Jakarta Post Jakarta | July 2nd, 2020
Two provinces, Riau and South Sumatra, have declared an emergency alert status for land and forest fires as the regions enter the peak of this year’s dry season.
Police chief in Riau fired for lackluster performance in handling forest fires
Rizal Harahap| The Jakarta Post
Pekanbaru | Wed, January 22, 2020
The Riau Police have fired a local police chief for his lackluster performance in handling land and forest fires in the province’s Pelalawan regency.
Second Insp. Hindro Renhard Panjaitan was dismissed from his position as Teluk Meranti Police chief after failing to address raging forest fires in Teluk Meranti district in Pelalawan, where fires and haze have been repeatedly experienced during the dry season.
Hindro’s dismissal was an indication of the police force’s determination to ensure officers’ performance and readiness in anticipating forest fires and haze, particularly since police personnel had committed to striving to mitigate land and forest fires long before the dry season came last year, said Riau Police chief Insp. Gen. Agung Setya Imam Effendi.
“Every police officer in Riau should be prepared and serious in handling land and forest fires. In the meantime, realizing the commitment of zero land and forest fires and zero haze is the focus of the Riau Police,” Agung said on Tuesday.
Separately, Pelalawan Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. M Hasyim Risahondua said that Hindro had been replaced by Second. Insp. Dimas, who previously worked in the police’s traffic unit.
“The dismissal is proof of the commitment in our efforts to anticipate and mitigate land and forest fires, especially in areas that see forest fires and haze every year,” Hasyim said. “If one lacks seriousness, one will face the consequence of being dismissed.”
He said personnel who were serious and anticipated forest fires would be rewarded.
“The reward will be in accordance with the intensity of their work in the field. All achievements will be reported to the Riau Police chief,” he said. (gis)
Forest Fire Emissions From Indonesia Worse Than Amazon, EU Says
By Yoga Rusmana
Fires that destroyed Indonesian rainforests pumped out more carbon dioxide than the blazes in the Amazon this year, according to the European Union’s atmosphere observation program.
Prof. Dr. Ir. H. Bambang Hero Saharjo, Bogor Agricultural University, is the foremost expert on illegal and destructive forest and land fires in Indonesia, and the winner of the 2019 Maddox Prize
12 November 2019
Bambang Hero Saharjo, who is the Indonesian lead expert witness on environmentally catastrophic peatland fires has been awarded the 2019 John Maddox Prize for his courage and integrity in standing up for sound science in the face of harassment, intimidation, and law suits.
Climbers Evacuated From Forest Fires in East Java
BY :TELLY NATHALIA | OCTOBER 05, 2019
Jakarta. Search and rescue teams rescued 13 climbers, including seven Singaporeans, from forest fires raging on Mount Raung in East Java on Saturday morning, the National Search and Rescue Agency, or Basarnas, said.
The fires started around the Camp 7 and Camp 9 areas on the mountain on Friday afternoon.
Land clearance for plantations causal to Indonesia’s forest fires
September 21, 2019
“The fire will not break out on its own, but human beings do it”
Jakarta (ANTARA) – Rasio Ridho Sani, director general of law enforcement of the Environmental Affairs and Forestry Ministry, pointed to the slash-and-burn deforestation technique to make way for plantations as among the three factors causing forest fires.
“Fire will not break out on its own, but human beings do it,” he stated during a polemic talk here on Saturday.
Indonesia’s raging forest fires, explained
Kharishar Kahfi | 14 August 2019
The Jakarta Post
Indonesia is currently on the brink of another haze crisis as the archipelago is seeing an increase in the number of forest and land fires. According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the number of hot spots increased to 2,002 on Aug. 9 from 1,586 on Aug. 7 and 1,025 on Aug. 3. The hot spots were largely detected in the provinces of Riau, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.
Indonesia steps up response to massive forest fires
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Forest fires burning throughout Indonesia have prompted six provinces to declare a state of emergency and deploy thousands of security forces, a disaster official said Thursday
Firefighting measures included aerial water drops in anticipation of worsening forest fires that each year spread health-damaging haze across much of Southeast Asia, said Agus Wibowo, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman.
Indonesia beefs up fire-fighting efforts amid dry season in Kalimantan
Indonesia is stepping up efforts to fight spreading forest fires in Central Kalimantan province on Borneo Island that have moved closer to residential areas and public roads.
The dry season is expected to peak soon in the province, prompting the authorities to increase their fire-fighting efforts.