Despite prohibitions on agricultural burning, wildfires continued ravaging forests across Thailand yesterday, especially in the North. Satellite images charting the progress of large fires yesterday morning showed the number of hotspots in the north had risen from 823 on Friday to 1,334. A total of 3,238 forest fires were recorded nationwide.
The Siem Reap provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it will offer a 10 million riel ($2,500) reward to those who provide information regarding the suspects responsible for setting ablaze more than 20ha of kranhuong timber forest land in Banteay Srei district.
Department director Tea Kimsoth told The Post on Thursday that more than 20ha of kranhuong timber forest were secretly set on fire on Tuesday evening to lay illegal ownership of the land.
“Our specialist, as well as local authorities and residents in the communities, had been working to protect this forest since 2012. But offenders had burned the land in a blink of an eye.
“I will reward 10 million riel to anyone who can point us to the suspects,” he said.
Banteay Srei district deputy police chief Ros Sisovanna told The Post on Thursday that last year, more than 200ha of the kranhuong forests were completely cleared through burning. However, the culprits responsible had not yet been identified.
“In the case of this forest fire, we suspect that villagers who have houses and agricultural land near the area burned it secretly so that they could encroach on it.
“They must have wanted to expand their agricultural land, but we still have no evidence to present against them,” he said.
Seng Lorn, the chief of the Forestry Administration in the commune who led the operation to extinguish the fire on Tuesday, told The Post that authorities could not immediately gain access to the land due to the lack of roads in the area.
“We spent more than three hours to put out the flames. Because of the hot weather and the shortage in water supply, we don’t expect the burned kranhuong trees to recover until the rainy season,” he said.
Provincial Forestry Administration chief Mong Bunlim said the kranhuong timber forest area in the district covered 2,800ha, adding that the unprecedented fire was caused by people.
“Article 97 of the Forestry Law says that any person guilty of starting forest fires on purpose and without authorisation will face five to 10 years imprisonment,” he said.
Bunlim said the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries would gather residents and relevant departments at the beginning of the rainy season to replant kranhuong trees, which, in turn, would restore the forest.
Link: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ten-million-riel-reward-forest-arsonists
NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Forest fires which have been burning in parts of Khao Yai National Park since early this month are reported to have been finally put out.
The bushfires were first reported on Jan 5 by national park officials in Khao Siad-a, Khao Ang Hin and Khao Nok Yung forest reserves near Ban Nong Yang in tambon Phayayen of Pak Chong district. They were believed to have started about five days previously.
Crews from several stations in the national park were mobilised to combat the blazes.
The last flames were extinguished about noon on Monday, according to a local media report.
An investigation is underway into the cause of the fires.
Link: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1835439/khao-yai-bushfires-extinguished
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 — State governments, local authorities and land owners are advised to take appropriate measures to prevent forest fire.
Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry (KATS), in a statement, said they should also take steps to prevent irresponsible quarters from trespassing into their property, such as landfills, forest areas, plantations, farms, as well as agriculture and industrial areas to carry out open burning.
“Due to the dry weather condition that is expected in the peninsula, all quarters are also advised not to carry out open burning or to allow their land or premises to be encroached upon resulting in open burning accidentally or for a certain reason,” it said.
It said the ministry, through the Peninsular Malaysia Forestry Department, is always aware of forest fires, especially if they occurred in the Permanent Forest Reserve area.
Several preventive and control measures against forest fire in the peninsula have been taken, including with the collaboration of the Malaysian Space Agency (MySA) and the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET Malaysia) to obtain updates on hot spot and fire risk areas.
The Forestry Department is also working with the Department of Minerals and Geoscience to build tube wells and “check dams” in areas with risks of catching forest fire.
To date, 85 tubes have been built in the peninsula, it said, adding that monitoring towers were also built in areas with potential to catch forest fire and fire-fighting equipment ready for use in forest fire fighting operations.
According to KATS, the forest fire in Australia should make all quarters realise the need to take appropriate action in improving environmental protection and addressing the growing threats to the ecosystem due to climate change.
Among the impact of forest fires on the environment are destruction to natural habitat, haze phenomena, health problems and loss of the forest biological diversity, it said. — Bernama
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.
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.
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
The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) has launched an investigation into the burning of peat swamps in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Chalerm Prakiat district with a land acquisition motive suspected to be behind the blazes.
PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Malaysia will call on Asean member countries to take proactive measures to avoid trans-boundary haze during a two-day meeting in Brunei beginning on Tuesday (Aug 6).
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.