The media in Indonesia appears to begin going away from the forest fire issue that had driven public attention in a big way in the past few months. The disaster had been intensely spotlighted by government leaders of Indonesia’s neighboring countries. Speaking in a workshop on the ‘solution to forest and land fires’ in Riau last week, Haris Gunawan said the government and any other parties should join hands to build many more canals through pitland forests in Sumatra. Such canals prevent future fires. The workshop was held by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), riauonline.co.id reported.

With 21 deaths and more than a half-million people’s health affected by nearly 50,000 fires, and with an estimated 50,000 orangutans at risk, the cost of the fires has been estimated at US$9 billion. Greed is the cause. Herry Purnomo, a scientist at Center for International Forestry Research, said it costs just US$7 to clear a hectare of land by burning, compared with US$150 to do so with tractors. Indonesian law bans clearing land by burning, except by small-scale farmers, who are allowed up to two hectares.

REDD+ is, among many other things, a beautiful idea. There are three trillion trees on Earth and they are perfectly made to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. One of the easiest things to forget, living in a deforested nation, is that people cut down trees to improve their lives. Papua New Guinea has not gone through its forest transition yet. According to the Center for International Forestry Research, it is probably at stage two, known as “frontier conditions”, where things really start to speed up.

Kebakaran hutan dan lahan yang terjadi di Kalimantan dan Sumatra tahun ini membuat Indonesia menjadi salah satu penjahat besar pemanasan global. Louis Verchot, Direktur Penelitian Lingkungan di lembaga penelitian Centre for International Forestry Research, CIFOR mengatakan, “Bencana ini sangat bisa diprediksi dan sudah diprediksi dan bisa dicegah dengan antisipasi.” Menurutnya, para ilmuwan sudah sejak lama mengingatkan pemerintah bahwa kemarau panjang akibat fenomena cuaca El Niño akan datang tahun ini. Louis Verchot mengatakan bahwa perlu ada upaya segera untuk membasahi kembali lahan gambut dan memindahkan perkebunan dari lahan tersebut.

Brazil has won international acclaim for curbing deforestation. But Brazilian forestry expert Maria Fernanda Gebara says her country has not gone far enough in its pledges to cut carbon emissions and continues to have a dismal record on developing wind and solar power. Gebara, who consults with the Center for International Forest Research, takes a dim view of Brazil’s renewable energy targets, describing her country as “in the Stone Age” when it comes to the development of solar and wind power.

Menurut Haris, ahli gambut dari universitas Riau, pemerintah dan swasta mesti memaksimalkan pembangunan sekat kanal di kawasan gambut, agar intensitas air di lahan gambut tidak terbuang ke laut. “Pemerintah juga harus sibuk saat musim hujan kalau memang ingin mencegah kebakaran hutan,” kata Haris seusai Lokakarya Multi Pihak yang membahas solusi kebakaran hutan dan lahan yang diadakan Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor), Kamis malam, 19 November 2015, di Pekanbaru

Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) bekerjasama dengan Universitas Riau menggelar kegiatan lokakarya multi pihak terkait Solusi dan Pengarusutamaan Pencegahan Kebakaran Hutan dan Lahan di Pekanbaru, Kamis (19/11/2015). Acara tersebut dilakukan dalam rangka memberikan masukan dan pemahaman atas dinamika yang menyebabkan kebakaran serta solusi jangka panjang kepada pengambil kebijakan diberbagai tingkatan.

Preliminary estimates peg the region’s financial loss to around $14 billion from this year’s haze crisis, including damages to the environment and health, said Herry Purnomo, a researcher at Indonesia’s Center for International Forestry Research. Scientists have warned that this year’s El Nino could produce one of the hottest weathers since records began in 1950. El Nino is the unusual warming of the Pacific Ocean that causes a shift of moist of winds away from their more typical patterns, resulting in lesser rains.