BY AZRIL ANNUAR | 11 Nov 2019
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — Malaysia saw nearly 1,500 cases of open burning and forest fires during the haze season in August and September this year.
Category: RFMRC-SEA
South America forest fires could disrupt rainfall in region’s farm belt: experts
SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia (Reuters) – Forest fires that swept across Bolivia and Brazil this year could disrupt rainfall distribution across South America’s grains-and-beef producing regions in unpredictable ways for years to come, a scientist and meteorologist said
Recent rains in both countries have helped put out the wildfires, which were likely started by farmers and ranchers using slash-and-burn agricultural methods.
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.
Fire hotspots identified in Johor, Pahang, Terengganu
19 September, 2019
PUTRAJAYA — Malaysia’s Ministry of Water, Land, and Natural Resources said on Wednesday (Sept 18) that it has identified six forest fire hotspots in Peninsular Malaysia.
Its minister Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar said the Forestry Departments of each state have identified the hotspots in Johor, Pahang, and Terengganu.
“From yesterday until today, satellite imaging scans by the departments have revealed three of the hotspots are located in Johor, two in Pahang, and one in Terengganu.
“We have advised the departments to conduct regular field patrols to identify potential hotspots and to prevent forest fire outbreaks, especially in permanent forest estate areas,” he told the press here.
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In a statement, the ministry said the Forestry Department has deployed a Semut Merah (Fire Ant in Malay) team to extinguish and control the fires, and constructed 85 tube wells so far with the cooperation of the Mineral and Geoscience Department.
It has also launched a Disaster Operations Center during the drought season, and a campaign to spread awareness of forest fires.
Read also: Putrajaya lying about haze? Stop living in denial, Malaysian minister tells Indonesian counterpart
This comes as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said on Wednesday that Putrajaya may make satellite data mapping of the regional locations of fire outbreaks and other information about haze hotspots available on official channels.
After a Cabinet meeting on the haze situation, the Malaysian prime minister acknowledged the annual recurrence of the haze to be a touchy subject with Indonesia, saying others had raised it but it has resulted in a finger-pointing game. MALAY MAIL
Link: https://www.todayonline.com/world/fire-hotspots-identified-johor-pahang-terengganu
Bolivia Is Fighting Major Forest Fires Nearly As Large As In Brazil
Six volunteer firefighters use machetes to cut a path through the vines and underbrush of the Chiquitano forest in Bolivia’s eastern lowlands. They’re approaching the leading edge of a fire that’s been burning for hours.
They attempt to smother it with shovelfuls of dirt and water they carry on their backs in tanks normally used to fumigate crops. But the smoke is getting thicker, the heat stronger and swirling winds push the flames forward. Realizing they are overmatched, José Zapata, the only trained firefighter among the group, orders his men to pull out.
Johor fire chief says open burning main cause for forest fires in state
JOHOR BARU, Sept 11 — Uncontrolled open burning was identified as the main cause for the destruction of more than 48ha of forest areas in Johor recently, said state Fire and Rescue Department director Datuk Yahaya Madis.
In Johor, he said there were three hotspots, with the biggest being Muar with 20ha destroyed, followed by Pontian (12ha) and Gelang Patah (16ha) recently.
This Is How The Million-Dollar Business Of Criminal Deforestation In The Amazon Works
BuzzFeed News visited one of the regions worst affected by fires in the Amazon to see how illegal deforestation is paving the way for a global environmental crisis.
| September 4, 2019
APUÍ, Brazil — A vigorous and incredibly lucrative trade in land for livestock is fueling the fires that have devastated the Amazon and caused an international outcry.
BuzzFeed News toured one of the areas most affected by fires in the Amazon and found that, according to farmers, one hectare of land cleared for cattle is changing hands for 20 times the price of the same area with standing forest.
The Amazon, Siberia, Indonesia: A World of Fire
By
The growing intensity of wildfires and their spread to new corners of the globe raises fears that climate change is exacerbating the dangers.
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In South America, the Amazon basin is ablaze. Halfway around the world in central Africa, vast stretches of savanna are going up in flame. Arctic regions in Siberia are burning at a historic pace.
While the Brazilian fires have grown into a full-blown international crisis, they represent only one of many significant areas where wildfires are currently burning around the world. Their increase in severity and spread to places where fires were rarely previously seen is raising fears that climate change is exacerbating the danger.