Jakarta (VNA) – The number of forest fires in Indonesia has increased remarkably over the last week, mainly on Sumatra islands.
According to the Indonesia Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Board (BMKD), 42 forest fire sites were discovered in the country, an increase of 13 fires since an announcement on March 18. The authority has warned 10 out of 31 forest fire hotspots in Riau province might suffer from both forest and land fires.
The authority said reasons for the increasing number of fires are severe weather conditions during the dry season coupled with the traditional habit of slash and burn. The country has deployed airplanes, military, police and firemen to control the fires.
In 2015, the Indonesian government carried out the largest campaign to tackle forest fires nationwide, which caused 17 deaths.
Serious haze conditions from the fires has spread to neighboring countries, causing critical affects to people’s health and economic repercussions.-VNA
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on September 30 that his country needs three years to completely put an end to forest fires which have been occurring more frequently in recent years.
The Coordinating Minister for Political , Legal and Security of Indonesia Luhut Pandjaitan said Indonesia has spent 385 billion Rupiah (nearly 3 million USD) to tackle forest fires and haze pollution.
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The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of Indonesia on April 21 lifted its tsunami advisory issued previously following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro district of North Sulawesi province.
Thailand expects to export about 1 million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion THB (3.53 billion USD) this year, with most of the shipments to China, according to Minister of Agriculture Thammanat Prompao.
The 72nd meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and related meetings are being held by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Vietnam in the central city of Da Nang on April 22-26.
Enhancing regional food security and tackling the pressing challenges of climate change will be key agendas defining Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (lower house) Johari Abdul told the press on April 19.
Illustrative Image (Source :internet)
