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Archive for November 13th, 2015
Indonesia says forest fires could be back in weeks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 13th, 2015
Reuters: Indonesia's forest fires, which this year sent vast plumes of smoke across the region described by climate officials as a "crime against humanity", could return as early as February, the forestry minister said on Friday, but on not such a large scale.
Slash-and-burn agriculture, much of it clearing land for palm oil crops, blanketed Singapore, Malaysia and northern Indonesia in a choking "haze" for months, pushing up pollution levels and disrupting flights, as it does every year.
But this year...
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Jokowi turning over a new leaf for Indonesia on haze but details still foggy
Posted by Mongabay: None Given on November 13th, 2015
Mongabay: Environmental groups have welcomed new technical guidelines issued by Indonesia’s forestry ministry which, if implemented correctly, could prohibit new development in Indonesia’s peatlands, keeping them moist to prevent wildfires.
“This gives a real hope that the country is changing its direction on how it manages its peatlands,” Woro Supartinah of the Riau Forest Rescue Network (Jikalahari) said in a statement on Thursday. “These instructions on peat protection and management pave the way for...
Climate-threatened nations seek tougher temperature goal Paris deal
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 13th, 2015
Reuters: A coalition of more than 40 countries most at risk from climate change has called for a new U.N. deal, due to be agreed in Paris next month, to enshrine a goal of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, warning over a billion people are in danger.
The Climate Vulnerable Forum said sticking to a 2010 goal to limit temperature rise to 2 degrees (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels would leave countries that are highly exposed to climate change even more vulnerable to threats such...
One-Third of Papua New Gineans Suffering Drought Crisis
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 13th, 2015
Inter Press Service: An estimated one-third of the population of Papua New Guinea, the most populous Pacific Island state, is now suffering in from the country’s worst drought this century and experts predict El Nino’s influence will carry on through March 2016. Dickson Guina, Chairman of the National Disaster Committee, told IPS that 2.4 million people across most of the nation’s 22 provinces are confronting a critical lack of food and water. There are also reports of many schools and hospitals forced to close as water...