RI torn by conflicts over environment

From Acehnese fighting to protect the Leuser National Park to Papuans resisting the expansion of palm oil companies, thousands of people across the archipelago are waging an environmental war.

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment ( Walhi ) has recorded 773 cases of environmental activists being unfairly charged in the past five years, with 233 being assaulted and 28 murdered.

source:http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/06/03/ri-torn-conflicts-over-environment.html

Indonesia and Norway agree to cooperate over environment, fisheries

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende on Tuesday to discuss the strengthening of bilateral ties between the two countries, including by cooperating together in several sectors such as the environment and the fisheries.

Brende's first trip to Indonesia was meant to increase cooperation between Indonesia and Norway, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi said on Tuesday. 

source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/05/31/indonesia-and-norway-agree-to-cooperate-over-environment-fisheries.html

Reclamation destroying mangroves in Manado

Reclamation projects that had been started in Manado in the 1990s had not only had made hundreds of fishermen lose their jobs, but also destroyed mangroves along the city’s coastlines stretching 18 kilometers from north to south.

The projects had turned the mangroves into shopping malls and posh hotels — the icons of modernity.

source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/05/25/reclamation-destroying-mangroves-manado.html

Gov`t to Restore Kalimantan Peatlands This Year

TEMPO.CO, Palangkaraya - Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) will restore 679,573 hectares of peatlands in Central Kalimantan. The restoration will be carried out within five years, especially in the heavily degraded areas, such as Pulang Pisau District, said Nazir Foead, the BRG boss, during a dissemination of the BRG work program at Central Kalimantan Governor office yesterday.

Central Kalimantan is one of the top seven priority provinces in the program of peatland hydrological function restoration. The restoration will be carried out from 2016 to 2020.

source: http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2016/05/20/055772636/Govt-to-Restore-Kalimantan-Peatlands-This-Year

Indonesia to Experience La Nina in July-September: BMKG

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast that Indonesia would experience the La Nina weather phenomenon from July to September 2016.

Head of BMKG Andi Eka Sakya stated on Friday that a couple of months ago, Indonesia had experienced a rather strong El Nino phenomenon, which had lowered the intensity of rains in most regions of the country.

source: http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2016/05/14/206770931/Indonesia-to-Experience-La-Nina-in-July-September-BMKG

Endangered Sumatran rhino gives birth in Indonesia

A Sumatran rhinoceros has given birth at an Indonesian sanctuary in a success for efforts to save the critically endangered species.

The International Rhino Foundation said the female calf was born on Thursday, weighs about 45 pounds ( 20 kilograms ) and looks healthy and active.

"We haven't stopped smiling since the moment we were sure she was alive and healthy," said IRF's executive director Susie Ellis in a statement. "While one birth does not save the species, it's one more Sumatran rhino on Earth."

source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/05/13/endangered-sumatran-rhino-gives-birth-in-indonesia-.html

Govt to Issue Peatlands Restoration Guidelines

Jakarta. The government has prepared guidelines to boost peatlands restoration programs after disastrous forest and land fires affected some provinces last year, an official said on Tuesday (10/05).

The newly-established Peatlands Restoration Agency, or BRG, has gone further by preparing the roadmap and guidelines for peatlands management and restoration programs which will be coordinated with authorities and stakeholders in affected areas.

source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/govt-issue-peatlands-restoration-guidelines/

Norway to Help Indonesia Developing Peatland-friendly Agriculture

TEMPO.CO, Pekanbaru-The Norwegian Ambassador to Indonesia Stig Traavik said that Norway is ready to help Indonesia to develop peatland-friendly agriculture. "We'll help Indonesia in mastering how to cultivate plants without drying the peatlands, and how to increase the value added of the plants. There are some plants that can grow without drying the peat, such as sago," Traavik said in Jakarta on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, adding that the country will also help to market the commodities produced through peatland-friendly agricultural practices.

source: http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2016/05/04/206768365/Norway-to-Help-Indonesia-Developing-Peatlandfriendly-Agriculture

Forest fires blamed for coral reef bleaching

An environmentalist has warned of the impact of forest fires on the sustainability of coral reefs.

Coral reef biotechnologist Indra Junaidi Zakaria of Padang’s Andalas University cited that forest fires in Sumatra had whitened coral reefs in waters around the island. Coral reef bleaching has been occurring since February and continues to worsen, affecting 90 percent of the coral reefs along the western coast of West Sumatra. The condition is predicted to continue until June, with western parts of Sumatra the worst hit to date.

source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/05/04/forest-fires-blamed-coral-reef-bleaching.html

DNA test proves bone-like material not rhinoceros horn

The West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency ( BKSDA ) said a DNA test had proven a bone-like material confiscated by Supadio Airport authorities during a recent passenger security check was not a rhinoceros horn.

The agency said an extraction process performed by the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology in Jakarta on a 125 cubic centimeter sample could not find any rhinoceros DNA in it. The test also failed to determine the type or species of the sample as it was contaminated with the DNA of other species, the agency added.

source http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/05/02/dna-test-proves-bone-like-material-not-rhinoceros-horn.html