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 …
Caged Cruelty Animals have a right to freedom, even if they are in zoos. At an animal park in Java, investigators found an orang utan kept in a concrete cage with garbage inside. In Bali, a pig tailed macaque was kept in a dingy cage with one leg chained to …
it could be termed as heart rending. According to a recent report, more than 28 million children under age five suffer from the debilitating effects of malnutrition in developing countries. At least 10 million die due to
An outbreak of haze caused the closure of many schools in Sumatra recently. The thick choking smoke was triggered by forest fires which are quite prevalent in the region. The authorities tried hard to isolate the fires and prevented it from spreading. The level of haze varied in different areas. …
More than 120,000 hectares (ha) of rice fields and 300,000 tonnes of unhusked rice have been devastated by recent floods in Indonesia. "At least 120,991 ha of paddy fields in seven main rice producing provinces have been inundated by floods,' said Sarsito Wahono, a senior agriculture ministry official. He added, …
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 …
