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 …
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 …
SCIENTISTS of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) inIspra, Italy, recently came up with a rather depressing forecast. After mapping the tropical deforestation 'hot spots' for the first time, They announced that attempts to save most of the world's remaining tropical rainforests are doomed to failure and should probably …
UNDER proposed timber purchasing laws in Los Angeles and New York, USA, preference would be given to wood certified by an environmental organization called the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Environmentalists are pushing to implement this certification process to keep logging at sustainable levels. "If these laws arc passed, it could …
Former Indonesian President Suharto and his family own at least 88 million hectares of forests throughout Indonesia, said a spokesperson of the forest ministry. According to an investigation headed by forestry minister, Muslimin Nasution the land was held outright and other holdings were in the form of shares in industrial …
Just when we thought that the threat to the ozone layer is over, it rears it head again. Vast forest fires in Indonesia over the last year have produced a large cloud of an ozone-destroying chemical, claims an international team of researchers. Methyl bromide, an agricultural fungicide targeted under the …
Over 17 million people across Indonesia, the fourth largest nation of the world, are facing acute food shortages. Food and horticulture minister A M Saefuddin said that the country is at the brink of a famine. In the densely-populated provinces of east and central Java alone, 4.4 million people can …
The devaluation of Indonesian currency in the international market has come as a boom to the farmers. Due to the devaluation of the rupiah, the US dollar based exports have become more valuable. Traditional crops like coffee, black pepper, rice and sugar are all selling from three to 10 times …
IF WASYL UROSDOWSKY is right then La Nina, the little sister of El Nino, is all set to hit Indonesia. Drosdowsky, a Melbourne-based weather scientist with the Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre in the Australian state of Victoria, is of the opinion that though La Nina is expected to bring …
The orang-utan, one of human's closest relatives, may be extinct in the next 20 years if the uncontrolled destruction of Indonesia's forests continues in its present manner, according to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). The loss of forest habitat and poaching for bush meat are leading to …
Millions of families are facing acute food shortages and malnutrition, says a report of the World Food Programme ( wfp ), and the Food and Agriculture Organisation ( fao ). The crisis is expected to worsen in coming months for about 200 million people in the country. A severe drought, …
drug deal: The pharmaceutical major, Ranbaxy has planned to launch 25 brands worldwide in coming seven years. The company is also targeting drugs that would come off patents during this period. These drugs have a market value of US $40 million, say the company officials. Recently, Ranbaxy failed to have …
About 70 per cent of forest fires have been estinguished, not just by the rains but because there is nothing left to burn, says Murdiansyah, an official of the East Kalimanthan Environemnt Impact Management Agency, an arm of the environment ministry. The Bukit Suharto National Park, a major tropical forest …
charred black smouldering ground has replaced the lush dense rain forests of Roraima, Brazil's northernmost province where flames lit half a year ago have devastated nearly 25 per cent of the province. But it was the power of nature in the form of rains, which finally stopped the fires. In …
Millions of people in Indonesia may face food shortages following prolonged drought and a deepening economic crisis, warns the United Nations. In a statement, the United Nations Development Programme has said that nearly 7.5 million people in Indonesia living in 15 provinces risk experiencing food crisis if another drought takes …
For the first time, China looks serious towards the environmental problems. It has recently put the environment protection issue in the government's priority list, which is at par with agriculture, forestry, water conservation, energy, transport and telecom, says Qu Geping, director of the National Peoples Congress Resources and Environment Sub-committee. …
bailing out: Reliance Petroproducts (RP), a Reliance Group company, will help fish out Indian Polyfibres Ltd. (IPL), from troubled waters, according to an alliance between the two companies. IPL has already given the nod for the proposal, which will now be referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction, …
Thousands of people in coastal towns in Indonesia have been threatened by the fires raging through rainforest in Boneo. Thick smoke from the blaze has already engulfed settlements along a 125 kilometres (km) coastal road between the towns of Samarinda and Balikpapan in East Kalimantan province. Fires were going out …
