New data published by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) reveals that the overall 2023 air pollution levels in Jakarta were arguably the worst since 2019. Despite improvements between 2020 and 2022, the rise of pollution in 2023 is a notable setback. Over 29 million people …
What is the general understanding of the term ‘pesticides’? In the Asian and South Asian countries, people often term pesticides as ‘medicines’. I have heard this in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and India. This is a wrong notion that the pesticide manu facturers have succeeded in implanting in the minds …
In a bid to boost investment, Indonesia will issue a fresh set of rules to reduce restrictions on mining in forests. "We will issue new rules on mining in the forest. We are aware that foreign investors are confused about overlapping regulation but we will solve the problem,' said secretary …
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group (icg) recently indicated that exploitation of Indonesia's vast natural resources was spinning out of control. And in a bid to check overexploitation of tin and coal, Indonesia's mines and energy minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro has asked the government to make tin and coal strategic commodities. It …
Despite the absence of commercial approval for genetically engineered Bt cotton in any Asian country outside China, it is spreading fast. Weak or non-existent biosafety legislation and a lack of government concern mean that Bt cotton is finding its way into farmers' fields by deception and default. This article summarises …
participants from over 20 countries gathered in Bali, Indonesia, from September 11-13, 2001, to strategise on how to battle the myriad of problems of forest management, including illegal logging on a national and international scale. Officially known as the Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (fleg) East Asia Ministerial conference, the …
The waters of the Raja Ampat islands of Indonesia may be the most species-rich sea in the world, indicates a recent survey. An international team of marine biologists, who recently examined the never before explored waters, found an unparalleled array of species, including some never cited. "The exploration suggests that …
Many parts of Malaysia have been engulfed by a thick smog resulting from forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia, where trees are burned to clear land for cultivation. Though the Malaysian government has admitted that air quality readings are at unhealthy levels in many areas, it has refused to reveal data …
The Indonesian government has banned the domestic and international sale of ramin, a valuable tree species. "This has been done to protect the Tanjung Putting Park
To contain the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, Indonesia has banned the import of leather goods from Argentina and France. The country's agriculture department issued the ban and said that it would lift the ban only after Argentina and France are declared free from the highly contagious disease (see Down To …
The use of compressed natural gas (cng) has been made compulsory for new buses and taxis in some parts of Indonesia. This has been done to bring down pollution levels, said an official of the country's energy ministry. " cng is a cleaner alternative to the polluting diesel,' said the …
The Indonesian government has announced that it will allow more logging in large parts of the country's rainforest to give a boost to its devastated economy. This decision may prove to be fatal for the country's diminishing rainforests, the world's second largest. According to reports, in almost 50 per cent …
Rise in sea levels due to global warming threatens to drown at least 2,000 of the 17,000 Indonesian islands, according to Pelangi, an environmental group. Sutamihardja, head of the group and a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also warned that global warming could cause sea level to …
Forest fires raging in various parts of Indonesia have led to the country's air pollution reaching hazardous level. The smog has spread to parts of neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The fire has been allegedly set by farmers and plantation owners to clear the bushes. Antung Deddy of the Environmental …
It is a fight that promises to get bitter. But the Indonesian government has launched a determined battle to weed out illegal foreign fishing vessels that authorities claim are stealing heavily from the Indonesian waters and thereby cutting into the livelihood of the local fisherfolk. "I know the illegal foreign …
Japan's Meteorological Agency says that the extensive forest fires of Indonesia are hastening the process of global warming by increasing ozone levels in the atmosphere. A study conducted by the Agency's research institute at Tsukuba, east of Tokyo, sampled and measured greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted by the massive fires using …
A government agency in Indonesia has called for a state of emergency to be imposed after smog from forest fires on the island of Sumatra exceeded safe limits. The fires have caused a slight haze in Singapore, while Malaysia remained unaffected. The fires are set to clear land for agriculture …
Forest fires have been mainly responsible for wiping out 30 per cent of the orangutan population in the forests of Borneo. The reason for the decline in primate numbers, which presently stands at between 15,000 to 20,000, was the 1997 forest fires in Kalimantan which destroyed 520,000 hectares of land. …
In an unprecedented move, officials from the Association of South-East Asian Nations ( asean ) met representatives from Indonesian plantation firms to discuss ways to prevent forest fires that gave rise to the disastrous smoky haze in the region. The firms are held responsible for triggering the huge forest fires …
For the third year in a row, fires are blazing across parts of Indonesia. Smog has affected Kalimantan and Sumatra and when the winds blow from the south, the haze blankets Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and reaches other parts of Southeast Asia. Experts say that the fires are a constant threat …
The Iban tribals of Indonesia have a beautiful tale about the man of the woods. The father of an Iban died. His body was laid out for the night, awaiting rituals in the morning. The next day, when the son came to the corpse, he found it was not his …
