Surya Panen Subur Company Ready for Fires Trial

Company of Surya Panen Subur (SPS) expressed their readiness to face a lawsuit filed by the Ministry of Environment and the Presidential Work Unit for Monitoring and Control of Development alleged land combustion and fire omission. The trial will be held in the District Court of Meulaboh early March this year. SPS counsel explained that […]

Indonesian environmentalists reject deforestation map

The Global Forest Watch 2.0, an interactive platform to track global deforestation in near-real time data, was launched on Thursday aimed to provide reliable and up to date data that can help in better forest policies and management. Developed by the World Resources Institute, the University of Maryland, Google, the UN Environment Program and other […]

Biosphere Reserve Forests in Riau Endangered

Giam Siak Kecil and Bukit Batu biosphere reserve forests in Bengkalis Regency, Riau have become endangered due to forest fires that occur over the last two weeks. “[The fires] have burnt around 1,000 hectares and they keep spreading,” Bengkalis Police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Andry Wibowo told Tempo on Thursday, February 20, 2014. [Continue reading on Tempo]

Number of hotspots in Riau doubles

The number of hotspots of forest, plantation and peatland fires in Riau reached 256 on Wednesday morning, more than double the 126 of the previous day. Of the 281 hotspots detected across Sumatra Island, 256 were found in Riau, Slamet Riyadi, the head of the Pekanbaru meteorological, climatology and geophysics agency (BMKG)’s data and information section, […]

Compensation for Montara Oil Spill Victims in NTT

Senator Rachel Siewert of Parliement House Canberra pledged to fight for compensation for fishermen in West Timor, East Nusa Tenggara as victims of the oil spill caused by the Montara oil refinery explosion on August 21, 2009. “I came here to get some input related to the disaster suffered by people due to the Montara […]

Conservation workers remove ash from temples

The Central Java Cultural Heritage Conservation Center (BPCB) started on Monday to clean several temples affected by the Mount Kelud eruption. The temples include Plaosan, Sewu, Sojiwan and Merak, which are located in the Prambanan temple area and are badly affected by volcanic ash.

Haze disrupts flights, schools in Riau

The haze from forest and peatland fires in Riau has begun to disrupt flight schedules at Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru as well as forcing a number of schools to close. Thick haze in Pekanbaru on Tuesday caused maximum visibility at only around 500 meters. At least five flights at Sultan Syarif Kasim […]

Protected forests razed by fire in Riau

Fire, allegedly started by reckless land clearing activities, has ravaged through two conservation forest areas in Riau. According to data from the Riau Natural Resource Conservation Center (BBKSDA), the two areas were Bungkuk conservation hill in Kampar regency and the Nature Tourism Park in Dumai city.