ASEAN ministers warn against complacency in tackling haze
02:33
“We must continue with our efforts to implement haze control measures."
Indonesia has given its commitment to continue its peatland restoration programme, while the existing moratorium on giving out new concessions on peatland will continue.
Ministers and senior officials from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Brunei met in Kuala Lumpur for the sub-regional steering committee on transboundary haze pollution – and said the roadmap towards achieving a haze free region by year 2020 is on track.
"The roadmap seems to be working," said Malaysia’s Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. "There wasn’t much haze in 2016; there were maybe two days of haze.
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/asean-ministers-warn-against-complacency-in-tackling-haze-8860568
Jokowi orders canal network to be built immediately
Large canals with dams can ensure peatlands are not drained during dry season, becoming tinder for fires
President Joko Widodo wants large canals with dams built in fire-prone areas to ensure peatlands are not drained during the dry season, becoming tinder for forest fires.
He made the decision after visiting Central Kalimantan on Thursday to inspect the damage from raging fires that eventually led to the current haze crisis. The province was the worst hit by illegal forest fires this week, which sent the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) in the area to "hazardous" levels.
Peatlands, which are usually waterlogged and formed over thousands of years, consist mainly of decomposed vegetation, making them carbon-rich and highly flammable during dry seasons.
MORE ROBUST SYSTEM
Green activists yesterday hailed Mr Joko's decision to create a more robust irrigation system, adding that canals when properly laid out - linking them to an upstream river - could keep peatland humid and prevent hot spots from spreading.
Building a network of canals, however, could be a counter-productive endeavour if no sluice gates are installed to prevent water from running off, warned Mr Mukri Priatna of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment . "This will prevent fire from spreading," he said.
During his visit to Pulang Pisau regency in Central Kalimantan this week, Mr Joko had personally witnessed how fast fires developed and spread over peatlands starved of moisture.
He then directed the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) to take action "immediately and build the canals on a large scale", adding that financing for the project would come from Jakarta since the local government did not have the funds to pay for it.
Mr Joko had planned to travel to North Sumatra to visit evacuees affected by the recent eruptions of Mount Sinabung, and to inspect firefighting efforts in other parts of Sumatra.
Posted in :-
2012 and reposted in March 11, 2016 :- this has also helped to stop the haze (in addition to President Jokowi enforcement to prevent burning) :-
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