French baby's head bitten by circus camel

Yahoo – AFP, 21 Aug 2014

A baby suffered multiple fractures after being bitten on the head by a camel

 (AFP Photo/Roberto Schmidt)

Lyon (AFP) - A four-month-old baby boy is in hospital after a circus camel bit him on the head, French police said on Thursday.

The incident happened on Saturday as the baby boy and his mother visited the circus in the southeastern French town of Megeve.

The mother was carrying the boy in a front sling and was looking at the camel in its enclosure when suddenly it bit the baby on the head.

"We weren't feeding it or stroking it," the mother told the local Dauphine Libere newspaper.

She said the bottom lip of the camel clamped onto her son's forehead, with the top lip at the back of his head.

The baby's life is not however in danger.

The mother told Dauphine Libere that he had sustained "multiple fractures" but "should not suffer any after-effects."

Hearing the mother scream, police rushed to the scene and called the emergency services.

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Lapindo Told to Shell Out For Mudflow Before Drilling Again

Jakarta Globe, Amir Tejo, May 21, 2011

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Surabaya. East Java Governor Soekarwo said on Friday that Lapindo Brantas, blamed for triggering a devastating mudflow in Sidoarjo, could only resume drilling operations there if it paid outstanding damages to residents.

“There are some overdue payments and this has to be paid if they want to drill again. This is in line with a sense of justice,” Soekarwo said.

He said the oil and gas drilling firm, which is part of the Bakrie Group, still owed victims of the 2006 disaster Rp 452 billion ($52.9 million) in compensation after the May 15 deadline set by the company to settle all payments lapsed.

Though the government had set a later deadline — by the end of 2012 — for indemnities, Soekarwo said the company should “accelerate the payments.”

“And even then, it would still depend on whether the local community would allow them [to drill for oil and gas],” he said.

But company spokesman Diaz Raichan said the drilling project in Kalidawir village, Tanggulangin subdistrict — an area close to Porong subdistrict, where the mudflow occurred — had to push through.

“What is clear is that the city gas program should continue to run because this is a project of the central government,” he said.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources launched the gas program last year for Surabaya and surrounding areas.

Under the program, Lapindo will provide gas to the area from one of the its wells in Kalidawir.

“All will be taken from the Kalidawir well. We deem it enough to meet the gas demand for Surabaya,” Diaz said. “There are five wells in Kalidawir, although only two are in operation.”

Diaz added that only upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas had the authority to allow or restrict the company from pushing through with the project.

He said BPMigas had issued a permit for drilling operations until 2020 in Sidoarjo, where Lapindo operates several wells.

However, officials in Tanggulangin had refused to approve the permit, saying the company had to consult with villagers first.

“The authority lays with BPMigas but we will continue to work together with the regional administration because the location [of the drilling project] is close to settlements,” Diaz said.

He added that the company would be able to complete payments this year to residents in 12 villages of Porong subdistrict, which had been swamped in mud following a blowout of one of Lapindo’s natural gas wells in May 2006. Mud is expected to continue gushing until at least 2037.

The company formed by the union of Bumi Resources and Berau
Coal Energy is looking to acquire coal mines around the world and
become a global giant, investor Nathaniel Rothschild, left, said on Friday.

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Satellite picture received from Ikonos Satellite Image on May 29, 2008 shows the mud volcano and its surrounding area in Sidoarjo, East Java. (AFP/Ikonos Satellite Image)

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Sections of Lapindo dike in danger of collapsing again

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Tue, 05/03/2011

Sections of the dike built to contain the Lapindo mud flow in Sidoardjo, East Java, are in danger of collapsing due to land subsidence of the entire mud containment area.

“All points are prone to subsidence,” Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS) spokesman Achmad Khusairi said on Tuesday, adding that the condition of the dikes endangered the safety of workers.

He said one solution was to build a new mud catchment on the north side of the dike because the old catchment had reached overcapacity.

Four areas of the dike have collapsed in the past five months. In December, part of the dike situated in Glagaharum village crumbled, resulting in mud and water washing into rice fields and houses in Gempolsari village.

Residents living in Gempolsari village said the incident traumatized them.

“Our houses were flooded and we were forced to evacuate,” a Gempolsari resident, Nurul Khasanah, said as reported by tempointeraktif.com.

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Freeport Halts Underground Mining After Accident

Jakarta Globe, Bambang Djanuarto & Yoga Rusmana, April 19, 2011

The Indonesian unit of Freeport- McMoran Copper and Gold Inc. stopped underground mining at its Grasberg mine in Papua province after an “industrial accident” killed one worker and another remains missing, a spokesman said.

The accident happened at about 11 p.m. local time yesterday at the Deep Ore Zone mining area, Ramdani Sirait, a spokesman at PT Freeport Indonesia, said in a mobile-phone text message today. Freeport’s rescue team is trying to locate the missing person, he said.

“Mining operations at DOZ have been stopped for cleanup process and investigation by inspectors from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry,” Sirait said, referring to the underground mining site by its initials.

Grasberg, which began operation in 1990, contains the world’s largest recoverable reserves of copper and the biggest single gold reserve, according to Freeport’s website.

Copper production at the mine fell to 1.22 billion pounds last year from 1.41 billion pounds a year earlier, according to the website. Gold output declined to 1.79 million ounces from 2.57 million ounces.

Last month, landslides blocked a key access tunnel for workers to enter the Grasberg mine without causing any disruption to production and shipments, Sirait said March 7.

Wild elephants ruin 44 houses in East Aceh

Antara News, Tuesday, December 14, 2010 18:05 WIB

Banda Aceh, Aceh province (ANTARA News) - At least 44 houses in Serbajadi subdistrict, East Aceh district, were ruined by wild elephants during the past one month, a local source said.

Bukhari Muslim, Ketibung Musara village chief, said on Tuesday the number of wild elephant attacks had increased since November 2010. He said the animals entered human settlements and ruined people`s houses and plantations several times.

Bukhari said local people had become concerned about the wild elephants` attacks

"Fortunately, there have been no casualties so far. But the whole village remains on alert in case the elephants come again," he said adding that several people whose houses were damaged by the elephants had to evacuate and had not yet returned.

Last week, three elephants were found dead in Ketibung Musara village, East Aceh. The elephants seemed to have been killed with poison.

Aceh Province has recorded a total of 99 cases of human-animal conflicts from 2007 to 2009 which have caused some of rare animals such as Sumatran Tiger and Sumatran elephants to perish.

"Due to the human-wildlife conflicts, the number of animals in Aceh has decreased, as wild animals such as elephants were hunted by people," Yakob Ishadamy, head of the Aceh Green Secretariat, said.

There were 33 cases of human-animal conflicts in 2007, 46 cases in 2008 and 30 cases in 2009, he said. People used to take a short-cut by hunting the wild animals, such as elephants and tigers.

In 1996, there were 600-700 elephants in Aceh Province, and the number was estimated to decrease to 350-450 elephants in 2007. The population of elephants in Aceh had depleted by almost 40 percent during 1996-2006. From 2007 to September 2008, 39 elephants were captured or killed, he said.

On Sumatra Island as a whole, the population of elephants was estimated to reach between 2,400 and 2,800 heads in 2007. Some of the elephants lived in small blocks of forests which could not support the survival of elephants in a long term, he said.

The decreasing acreage of forests as habitats for tigers and elephants is also a main factor that helps reduce the number of these rare animals.

Elephants kill Bengkalis resident

Antara News, Thursday, June 3, 2010 20:48 WIB

Bengkalis, Riau Province (ANTARA News) - Suwanto (32), a plantation guard at Petani village, Mandau sub district, Bengkalis District, Riau Province, died after being attacked by a herd of elephants Wednesday evening.

Suwanto`s body was crushed under the feet of the giant animals, according to witnesses Thursday.

Earlier, he and tens of other villagers had tried to drive away around 18 elephants from a rubber plantation using fire-crackers.

"At the time, we did not at all expect the elephants to become angry by our actions to drive them away," Junaidi (40), a neighbor of Suwanto, said.

The villagers were panic stricken when the elephants turned back and attacked them.

"We all just ran to save ourselves," he said.

One hour after the incident, they found Suwanto`s body near a bush in horrible condition. They took the body to a nearby hospital and later buried him.

The Sumatran elephant, the smallest of the Asian elephants, is facing serious pressures arising from illegal logging and associated habitat loss and fragmentation in Indonesia.

The island`s elephant population has come under increasing threat from rapid forest conversion to plantations.

As forests shrink, elephants are increasingly closer to fields and cultivated land, generating conflict with humans that often result in the death of the elephants by poisoning or capture, as well as economic losses to humans.

Komodo dragon attacks man in Indonesia: police

mysinchew.com, 2010-05-24 17:19

KUPANG, May 24 (AFP) - A komodo dragon attacked an Indonesian man as he ate lunch at a building site on one of the giant lizards' protected island habitats, police said Monday.

Construction worker Agustinus Jenaru, 20, was having a meal break when the powerful monitor, apparently attracted by the smell of food, crept up from behind and bit him on the arm, police official Mega Laksana Putra said.

"The man screamed for help. He put up a struggle and managed to free himself," Putra said.

There are no medical facilities on Rinca, a komodo sanctuary in eastern Indonesia, so Jenaru was flown to hospital on Bali island, he said.

Until recently komodos were believed to hunt with a "bite and wait" strategy using toxic bacteria in their saliva to weaken or kill their prey, before descending in numbers to feast.

But in 2005 researchers found that dragons' jaws are armed with highly sophisticated poison glands that can cause paralysis, spasms and shock through haemorrhaging.

The world's largest monitor lizard, komodos can grow up to three metres (10 feet) and weigh up to 140 kilograms (310 pounds). They are unique to a small group of islands in eastern Indonesia.

Jenaru hit the jaws of the giant lizard for several seconds until it freed him (telegraph.co.uk)

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Another two illegal loggers killed by wild tiger in Jambi

Jon Afrizal and Oyos Sasoro H.N., THE JAKARTA POST, JAMBI/BANDARLAMPUNG | Tue, 03/03/2009 10:02 AM

After killing three illegal loggers just last week, tigers fatally attacked a further two workers Sunday night in the Sungai Gelam district, Muarojambi, taking the number of people mauled by wild animals in the regency since January to nine.

The identities of the two loggers are not yet known but their remains have been evacuated from the attack site, about 45 kilometers from the where the last victim was found.

“We have deployed our people to the location where both loggers were killed,” head of Jambi Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) Didy Wurjanto said.

He said his office would try to trap the tigers, most likely males, but was unsure whether it was the same tiger that mauled the previous victims.

Of the nine people reportedly attacked by tigers between Jan. 24 and March 1 in the regency, only one has survived.

Didy said most of the victims were involved in illegal logging, which along with the huts, railways and equipment indicated the banned industry was still thriving in the region.

“It’s very concerning that those financing these logging operations continue sending workers into the forest despite the obvious dangers posed by these aggressive tigers,” Didy said.

So far only one tiger has been captured by the Jambi BKSDA since the attacks began mounting. Nicknamed Salma, the female tiger is being temporarily kept at the Jambi City Zoo, where after she is attached with a GPS (Global Positioning System) device she will be released into the wild.

In another incident, 48-year-old Jahri reportedly died after being attacked by a tiger in Lampung on Sunday night. Traces of the animal’s presence were found around a village where the farmer was found unconscious and severely wounded.

“We live in fear because tigers frequently enter our village,” Jahri’s wife, Sumini, said.

Conservationists hunt for man-eating tiger

Oyos Saroso H.N. and Jon Afrizal , THE JAKARTA POST , JAKARTA, BANDARLAMPUNG, JAMBI | Fri, 02/27/2009 2:14 PM

The Jambi Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) in cooperation with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and other concerned NGOs are intensifying the hunt for a man-eating tiger.

The Sumatran tiger is reported to have killed and eaten two illegal loggers from Lampung last week in Sungai Gelam district, Muaro Jambi, Jambi. The BKSDA is reportedly mulling relocating the tiger.

On Thursday, ZSL Indonesia representative Dolly told The Jakarta Post in Bandarlampung that a female tiger nicknamed Salwa, who the BKSDA captured on Feb. 11, might not be the only tiger in the jungle that had eaten humans.

The fact that people had continued to be attacked and eaten by a tiger even after her capture indicated there was at least another man-eater in the wild.

"We are now working together with the BKSDA in Jambi to catch the tiger. We have found its traces based on our survey and mapping," Dolly said.

Salwa, now being kept temporarily at Rimba Pall Merah Zoo in Jambi, is strongly believed to have attacked a total of five people, three of them fatally, between the end of January and the beginning of this month.

Dolly said there were frequent reports of the target tiger entering villages in Muaro Jambi area and causing panic among villagers. Its most recent appearance was in Paal 12 village in Sungai Gelam.

"We want to catch it soon. It probably will be released back into its habitat together with Salwa," Dolly said. He also said they would likely be released in a forest in Jambi. "It's possibly the South Bukit Barisan National Park," he said.

Sumatran tigers are the world's most critically endangered tiger subspecies. Only about 250 of the big cats are left in the wild, down from about 1,000 in the 1970s.

Illegal hunting and trading of the rare animals is blamed for their decline. In Jambi, for instance, such practices have rapidly decimated the tiger population from 50 a few years ago to only about 20 at present.

"Unless something is done about it, they will be extinct in only a few years' time," Jambi BKSDA head Didy Wurjanto said recently.

She's a man eater

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 02/25/2009 6:02 PM

In this handout photo released by Zoological Society of London (ZSL) Indonesia, a female Sumatran tiger nick-named Salma that is believed to have killed three men is photographed by a camera trap one day before being caught, in Sungai Gelam, Jambi province on Sumatra island, Indonesia, Tuesday.

Sumatran tigers, the world's most critically endangered tiger subspecies, mauled to death six people in the region last month, prompting conservationists to launch a massive operation to capture and relocate the animals. Only about 250 of the cats are left in the wild compared to about 1,000 in the 1970s and without immediate action it could become the first large predator to go extinct in the 21st century. (AP/ZSL Indonesia)

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Indonesia temporarily shuts Thai Lanna coal unit ops

Fri Dec 19, 2008 6:08am EST

JAKARTA, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Indonesia has ordered a unit of Thai coal miner and ethanol producer Lanna Resources PCL LANN.BK to temporarily halt coal production after it was found to be in violation of mining operation rules, an energy and mines official said on Friday.

PT Lanna Harita Indonesia, which operates a coal mine in East Kalimantan, did not reclaim idle mining pits, causing one of the pits to break down during the wet season and flood nearby a village, said MS Marpaung, a director at the energy and mines ministry.

"They should do reclamation on idle mining pits but they didn't. They didn't exercise good mining practice," Marpaung said.

"As the head of mining inspection, we have the authority to close down the mine until they can improve it," he said.

The ministry ordered the firm to halt its coal production early this month and gave it three months to do reclamation on its idle mining pits before it could resume production, Marpaung said.

Officials from Thai Lanna and PT Lanna Harita Indonesia could not be reached immediately for comment.

Despite temporarily shutting down on production, the firm will still be allowed to export coal which had been collected in stockpile, Marpaung said.

Lanna Resources owns 55 percent of PT Lanna Harita Indonesia (LHI), the firm said in its website.

It has mineable reserves estimated at 15 million tonnes with annual production of 1.5 million tonnes. (Reporting by Fitri Wulandari, editing by Ben Tan)

Floods hit Siberut Island, three dead, more displaced

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post, Padang | Fri, 04/25/2008 12:11 PM

Floods on Siberut Island, Mentawai Islands regency, West Sumatra, over the last three days have claimed the lives of three people and swamped three villages.

When the banks of the Sikabaluan River burst, as many as 205 homes in Monganpoula village, 140 in Sotboyak villages and 174 in Sikabaluan village were flooded. Farms located along the river growing bananas, yams, ground nuts and other cash crops were destroyed.

"Some houses have been submerged up to their roof," a resident from Muara Sikabaluan, North Siberut, Bambang Sagurung, 24, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Three people reportedly drowned in the Sikabaluan River on Tuesday. Jheki Cheli, 16, from Muara Sikabaluan, drowned when the motorboat he was in capsized at the mouth of the Sikabaluan River.

"His body was found on a beach at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. We will send his remains to his parents," North Siberut district chief Sahad Pardamaian said.

The two other victims, Martina, 27, and her son, Riko, 3, of Sotboyak, also drowned after their boat tipped over in the Sikabaluan River on Tuesday afternoon. They were returning home from their farm with Togat, 30, Martina's husband, when the accident occurred.

"The boat lost control and later overturned because of the swift river current. Mother and son were pinned between the boat and a sago trunk tied to the boat," said Bambang.

Sahad said floods had been prevalent in the three villages since 2003.

Bambang said during the search for Jheki, many tree logs were seen scattered in the area. The logs, likely felled by timber companies, drifted into the river.

"We're not sure whether or not the logs were legally felled," Sahad said.

Mentawai Islands Regent Edison Saleleubaja banned logging activities on Siberut two years ago, while the Andalas Madani Cooperatives' forest concession area in North Siberut is still operating.

Wild elephants kill 14-year-old boy on Indonesia's Sumatra island

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA(AP): A wild elephant trampled to death a14-year-old boy who drove into the animal on a motorbike on Indonesia's Sumatra island, a conservationist said Thursday.

The boy and his 42-year-old father had been riding home at dusk Wednesday when they hit the 3-meter-tall elephant as it crossed the road near their village in Bengalis district, said Rahmad Sidik of the local Conservation and Natural Resources Agency.

The elephant stamped on the teenager's head, killing him instantly and leaving him unrecognizable, while his father escaped with injuries, Sidik said.

It was the latest fatal incident involving elephants living near or in Bukit Barisan National Park.

In May, wild elephants searching for food in a village inside the park trampled a woman and her 3-year-old daughter to death.

Environmentalists say illegal logging and farming are destroying the endangered animals' natural habitats, forcing them to seek new feeding grounds.

About 2,500 elephants are believed to live in the park, about 200 kilometers northwest of the capital, Jakarta.

Volcano temperature sensor out of action in East Java

Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

A temperature sensor at Mount Kelud, East Java, was damaged Saturday and could not provide crucial information on the volcano, which has been on the second highest alert status since last Saturday.

The head of the Mount Kelud Emergency Response Team, Umar Rosadi, said the broken sensor, located on the rim of the volcano's crater, was vital in the evaluation of its status.

"We don't dare approach the crater due to the risk of carbon dioxide poisoning.

"We don't know when the sensor will be operational again, but we will try to reach it when carbon dioxide levels decrease," Umar told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Journalists from MetroTV and Antara were reportedly diagnosed with carbon dioxide poisoning after traveling to the area to report on the volcano.

In a bid to prevent further cases of carbon dioxide poisoning, the Kediri regency administration has told journalists to seek permission before climbing the volcano.

Journalists must now sign a disclaimer before approaching the mountain, which has been closed to the public since September.

Umar said although the volcano's activity had been stable for a few days, it was still dangerous and there was a chance its status could be raised to the highest alert status.

"By 6 a.m. today there had already been two large earthquakes. Previously, there was only one tremor a day on average," he said.

However, residents from Kediri and Blitar, where the mountain is located, are yet to be evacuated.

Residents living in the area have set up makeshift tents near their homes in anticipation of increased volcanic activity, Umur said.

The head of the Blitar regency Disaster Mitigation Coordination Unit, Palal Ali Santoso, said the administration plans to conduct evacuation training for local residents in the near future.

The volcano's 1919 eruption sent boiling water down the mountain's slopes, killing some 5,000 people in 104 villages.

"Each river in the area has at least seven dams to hamper the flow of lahar (water and rocks). We are very well prepared for this. The dams will help people here feel more secure," Saut Simatupang, the head of volcano investigation at the center for volcanology and geological hazard mitigation, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

He said that barriers along 10 rivers in the area were being strengthened with cement.

Some 100,000 people, mostly farmers, live on the slopes of the volcano, which is located some 90 km southwest of East Java capital Surabaya.

Yogya seminar discusses disaster recovery

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Participants at an international seminar on post-disaster reconstruction currently being held in Yogyakarta are looking to establish a framework for post-disaster recovery efforts and disaster mitigation based on experience gained from major disasters around the world.

Along with papers presented during the two-day seminar, the new framework will be published as an international registered proceeding to be made available to government agencies and the wider public.

Speaking at a press conference, chairman of the seminar's steering committee Gembong Prijono, said domestic and international experts as well as government officials and donor agencies involved in post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction had been invited to attend the event, scheduled to finish Tuesday.

Some 200 domestic participants are in attendance, along with 15 foreign participants from Japan, Thailand and the Netherlands.

"By comparing our experiences we will try to come up with a framework for long-term recovery planning that will not just include physical reconstruction efforts but also social and economical ones," Gembong said.

Past experiences, including from Aceh after the 2004 tsunami and Yogyakarta and Central Java after the 2006 earthquake, have shown several deficiencies in post-disaster recovery efforts, Gembong said.

Among them, he said, included long-term planning for recovery and integrated rehabilitation and reconstruction, the management and coordination of recovery activities, the effective implementation of mitigation measures and building guidelines and a lack of attention to long-term socio-economic recovery.

"At the seminar we aim to define key problems and bottlenecks encountered in current recovery processes and share lessons learned from past experiences in those areas," Gembong said.

"Another aim is to propose actions to be taken to enhance the effectiveness of future disaster recovery processes," he said.

The newly approved Law No. 24/2007 on disaster management, Gembong said, stipulates that the post-disaster recovery phase is to be further formulated in another government regulation.

"The results of the seminar hopefully will provide effective input for the formulation of the regulation," he said.

Hosted by the Jakarta-based Urban and Regional Development Institute (URDI), the aim of the seminar was to compile the best practices to rebuild disaster-affected areas as well as devise disaster mitigation strategies for long-term recovery.

"Recovery efforts for major disasters so far have been lacking long-term strategies and are too focused on physical reconstruction," URDI's director Budhy Tjahjati Soegijoko said.

She stressed the need for effectiveness and sustainability in reconstruction programs so that affected communities do not just recover from disasters but are more responsive to potential disasters in the future.

Indonesia has been rocked by major disasters since a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami devastated Aceh, leaving some 170,000 people missing or dead.

High-profile recovery efforts by the government and local and international agencies have raised questions about the effectiveness and sustainability of rebuilding affected communities and preparing them for possible future disasters.

Prior to the seminar, participants were taken to Klaten (Central Java) and Bantul (Yogyakarta), two of the worst-hit areas after the 2006 earthquake, to witness the progress of recovery efforts.

Volcanic Fumes Kill 6 Teens in Indonesia

Washingtonpost.com, Sunday, July 8, 2007; 9:27 AM

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)-- Poisonous fumes from an Indonesian volcano killed six teenagers who were camping on the mountain, a doctor said Sunday.

Indonesia has more active volcanoes than any other nation and climbing them when they are not especially active is a popular pastime. Salak, where the teens died Saturday, is just south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and is one of the country's most popular peaks.

Jusuf Fauzan, a doctor at a hospital in the nearby town of Bogor, said families of the victims had refused autopsies, but the dead were believed to have been poisoned by gases from one of two craters on the volcano. The six were found with blood and foam on their mouths and noses, he said.

The victims, between 14 and 16 years old, were among about 50 students spending the weekend on the mountain, media reports said. Their bodies were evacuated from the 7,152 feet peak on Sunday.

People seek role in dealing with disasters

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

John Lennon would be pleased to lend his tune Power To The People to thousands of demonstrators gathering this weekend as they attempt to engage the public and force the government to empower ordinary Indonesians in disaster prevention.

Over 1,600 activists from various non-governmental organizations from across the country are to convene here from Sunday to Monday to review the role of the public in protecting itself from both natural and man-made disasters. It will also look at ways the government can facilitate the concept.

The 2007 Law on Disaster Mitigation, Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) director Chalid Muhammad said Friday, does not focus on public involvement in anticipating disasters but rather forces their dependence on the government.

"If a disaster hits, it's the people who deal with it first, but their involvement in preventing disasters is little. They must be made able to help themselves before any disaster hits," he said.

Chalid said that 83 percent of Indonesian territory is prone to disasters and over 95 percent of the population is subject to these conditions. The government, he said, should make the most of local methods of mitigating and adapting to disasters.

Indonesia regularly suffers flash flooding, landslides and earthquakes, which experts and green groups attribute to faulty environmental management such as large-scale land conversions, illegal logging and mining in protected forests.

Government action on the matter, he said, is inadequately reactive rather than preventative.

Empowering the people, said Walhi expert Rizal Damanik, would involve allowing locals access to vulnerable areas and encouraging their involvement in building disaster-alert systems within their societies.

The disaster mitigation law mandates the promulgation of a national strategic plan for disaster mitigation, which critics say would rely "on the government giving and the people taking".

But Walhi said each region has its own unique way of dealing with disasters that might not be accommodated by the government plan, and that this weekend's convention would draw a summary of these practices.

Officials to attend the Sunday opening of the three-day event include State Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar, House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Muhaimin Iskandar and Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Minister Freddy Numberi.

On the last day, participants will visit the House, the Regional Representatives Council, the National Development Planning Agency and the Finance Ministry to submit the event's results.

Acknowledging that the results may well be shelved by the government, Chalid said the bigger task is to ensure they are applicable locally and to push civil organizations to raise public awareness and involvement.

"The basic idea of this, at the end of the day, is to muster a people-based disaster mitigation system. The results we expect to come up with can hopefully be integrated into ensuing legislation such as ordinances and government regulations," he said.

Komodo dragon lizard kills 8-year-old boy

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (AP): A Komodo dragon attacked and killed an 8-year-old boy in Komo Island, East Nusa Tenggara, the first recorded deadly attack on a human by one of the giant lizards in 33 years, a national park spokesman said Monday.

The boy was mauled when he went to defecate behind a bush Saturday, Heru Rudiharto said.

"The Komodo bit him on his waist and tossed him viciously from side to side," Rudiharto said.

"A fishermen, who just happened to be the boy's uncle, threw rocks at the lizard until it let the boy go and fled," he said.

"The boy died from massive bleeding half an hour later."

Wardens on Komodo have launched a hunt for the dragon, he said.

Komodos, the world's largest lizards, are only found in the wild in a small archipelago in the eastern Indonesia. Fewer than 4,000 survive.

Rudiharto said the lizards had been living side-by-side with the 1,200 people on Komodo with no fatal incident for 33 years.

"Perhaps the lizards' natural prey has decreased because we are entering the dry season and there has been too much deer hunting," he said.

Komodos can grow to a length of 3 meters (10 feet) and weigh up to 166 kilograms (365 pounds).

Thousands of tourists visit Komodo each year to see the lizards in their natural habitat.

They are normally shown around the arid and rocky island by guides who carry large, forked sticks to ward of the lizards.

Two killed in wild elephants attack

Bandar Lampung (ANTARA News) - Two villagers of Penangkulan in the Tanggamus district, Lampung, Sumatra, were killed after five to six wild elephants attacked their village on Friday.

The bodies of the two victims namely Bainem (40) and her child Evy (3) were barely recognizable when they were found by villagers.

Sumatran wild elephants, "Davit Cang" group as the villagers called them because one of them called Davit came from the South Bukit Barisan National Park has a crippled leg, are the most feared by the locals.

Bainem, her husband Muzari, and their two children Evi and Beti were trying to escape when the elephants attacked their village but only Muzari and Beti managed to get away, ANTARA learned.

The locals have been calling for the relocation of the wild animals deeper into the forest, to prevent them from reaching the villages.

The acting chief of the South Bukit Barisan National Park, Lusman Pasaribu, confirmed the fatal elephant attack.

He also confirmed that the whereabouts of the Davit Cang group were constantly being monitored through a tracking satellite-collar put on the body of one of the wild elephants.

He said the victims could not save themselves because they were left by the other fleeing villagers when the elephants were about pass their village. He said "we can determine the area to be passed by the elephants by the trail they left behind. We also find out that the villagers had been called to flee earlier."

He said he could not yet tell if the location of the victims trampled to death by the elephants was in the protected forest or still in their village.

"Our personnel are still trying to drive away the animals and check whether the location is in the forest or not," he said.

The elephants have since July last year claimed the lives of six Tanggamus villagers.

No decision has been made as to the relocation of the wild elephants.

At present there are 600 to 700 wild elephants in the South Bukit Barisan National Park.

Dozens of wild elephants destroy 30 huts in plantation areas

JAMBI, Jambi Province (Antara) : Dozens of wild elephants recently destroyed at least 30 huts and agricultural fields in a village near Sumatran jungle, Jambi province, official says.

Spokesman of Kerinci regental administration Amirsyam said Tuesday the incident occurred in Sipurak village, Batang Merangin district, near the Kerinci Seblat National Park, some 380 kilometers away from Jambi city.

He did not mention the exact date of the incident, which was believed caused by the narrowing habitats of the wild animals in the area due to continuing conversions of forest lands into housings, plantations and agricultural fields.

Residents living near Sumatran jungles were often bothered by the coming of wild animals like elephants and tigers, which killed a number of villagers as well as their livestock.

Amirsyam said there was no casualty in the last incident, but it sparked anger of villagers, who expressed their wish to hunt those wild animals.