Forestry Ministry Punishes 14 Companies Over Haze
Ministry has deployed teams to investigate fires across the country.
See video at: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/multimedia/forestry-ministry-punishes-14-companies-haze/
Kalla Says Haze Crisis Has Long-Term Implications
The Vice President says the government is making the right moves to address the perennial issue.
See Video at: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/multimedia/kalla-says-haze-crisis-long-term-implications/
Government to ‘Empower’ Nomadic Tribes by Grounding Them on Reservations
Jakarta. The Indonesian government plans to move nomadic forest tribes into reservations as part of its solution for “empowering” communities threatened by massive loss of forests in southern Sumatra.
An estimated 200,000 people from various tribes that the government collectively brands “Anak Dalam” will be affected by the plan, laid out in a regulation signed by President Joko Widodo last year and which Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa is only acting on now.
The minister has allocated Rp 126 billion ($9.28 million) for the so-called Social Empowerment for Indigenous Communities program, much of it to settle the largely nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes onto reservations.
“The tribes’ nomadic tradition has been disrupted by forest fires,” Khofifah said at her office in Jakarta on Wednesday. “The forests in which they live have been converted into oil palm plantations, pushing them away. The forest fires have made their situation even worse. We have to do something [about it].”
Read full article:
http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/government-empower-nomadic-tribes-grounding-reservations/
Jokowi Bans New Peatland Permit as Govt Begins Haze Review
The President has ordered Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya to stop granting peatland concessions.
See video at: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/multimedia/jokowi-bans-new-peatland-permit-govt-begins-haze-review/
Commentary: Why Indonesia Can’t Stamp Out Fires That Have Cast a Haze Over South-East Asia
The South-East Asian haze crisis has made Indonesia very unpopular with its neighbors. Yet its government can’t do much about it. Local elites, who call the shots in the forested regions, don’t want to tackle the crisis – and they’re able to stand up to national leaders in Jakarta.
The haze is caused by man-made forest fires, mostly on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, often started to clear land for palm oil plantations. It’s an annual event, though this year El Niño has meant drier conditions and thus particularly bad haze – the worst since 1997.
Read full article: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/opinion/commentary-indonesia-cant-stamp-fires-cast-haze-south-east-asia/
