Seven dead tigers found in car in Vietnam

Yahoo – AFP, July 26, 2019

Three Vietnamese men were arrested after police found seven dead tigers
in their car (AFP Photo/Nam GIANG)

Hanoi (AFP) - A haul of frozen tiger carcasses found in a car in Hanoi has led to the arrest of a key wildlife trafficking suspect, Vietnamese state media said Friday, as the country tries to tackle a well-worn smuggling route from Laos.

Nguyen Huu Hue, who is believed to have smuggled animals in from neighbouring Laos for years, was arrested Thursday with two other people after seven dead tigers were discovered in their vehicle at a parking lot, according to Cong An Nhan Dan newspaper.

"Hue set up a company... which sells building material as a cover for the illegal trading of tigers and wildlife," Cong An Nhan Dan, the official mouthpiece of the Ministry of Public Security, reported.

All seven tigers appeared to be cubs, according to photos of the seizure.

It was not immediately clear if the dead tigers had come from the wild or from the many illegal tiger farms in Laos, which supply much of Asia's demand for tiger meat and parts.

Police have previously busted several other members of the same wildlife trafficking ring, which has been running for several years from a central province which shares a border with Laos.

Vietnam is both a consumption hub and popular smuggling route for illegal wildlife -- from tigers to elephant tusks, pangolins and rhino horn.

Some of it is destined for domestic consumption in Vietnam, while the rest is smuggled on to China.

Tiger parts are used for traditional medicine or jewellery in Vietnam, where the once-large population of the endangered cats has dwindled dramatically.

Their bones are commonly boiled down and mixed with rice wine to make an elixir believed to treat arthritis and promote strength.

The smugglers' arrest in Hanoi follows a record seizure in Singapore this week of nearly nine tonnes of ivory and a huge stash of pangolin scales destined for Vietnam.

Hanoi has long vowed to crack down on the illegal wildlife trade, though conservationists say the black market persists thanks to weak law enforcement.

China politicians' tiger breeding ring busted

Yahoo - AFP, 19 March 2015

Three local politicians in China raised at least 11 endangered Siberian tigers, 

state media has reported, after one of the animals jumped to its death from a 

high-rise building ( Photo By Patrik Stollarz/AFP)

Three local politicians in China raised at least 11 endangered Siberian tigers, state media reported Thursday after one of the animals jumped to its death from a high-rise building.

The cub leapt from the 11th floor of an apartment building in the eastern city of Pingdu last month when it was spooked by fireworks set off to celebrate the Chinese New Year, officials said.

Investigations revealed that the seven-month-old cub was being raised by Yang Wenzheng, a member of a municipal People’s Congress, the Communist-controlled local legislature, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing officials.

With one of his fellow deputies, Yang had obtained two tigers from a third councillor, who had eight of the animals but found the costs of raising them -- 1,600 yuan ($260) per day in total -- too expensive to bear.

They bred at least three cubs that later died, CCTV said.

Tiger meat and bones are said to have curative properties in traditional Chinese medicine and farming them can be lucrative -- the China Daily said tigers can fetch 1 million yuan on the black market.

East Russia and China's northeast are home to the big cats, also known as Amur tigers.

Hundreds of them once roamed the lush pine and oak forests of Manchuria, but due to centuries of poaching only a couple of dozen are believed to still survive in the wild in China.

All three have resigned from the municipal People's Congress and were each fined 3,000 yuan for the "bad impact" of raising tigers without official permission, but were not prosecuted, the reports said.

CCTV reported that the surviving animals have been moved to a local zoo.

A resort complex in northwest Laos targeting Chinese visitors has become a

 "lawless playground" for the trade in illegal wildlife ranging from tiger meat to bear

paws, an advocacy group says (AFP Photo)

Related Articles:

Tiger meat, bear paws openly available in Laos: NGO

Tiger meat, bear paws openly available in Laos: NGO

Yahoo – AFP, 19 March 2015

A resort complex in northwest Laos targeting Chinese visitors has become a

 "lawless playground" for the trade in illegal wildlife ranging from tiger meat to bear

paws, an advocacy group says (AFP Photo)

Bangkok (AFP) - A resort complex in northwest Laos targeting Chinese visitors has become a "lawless playground" for the trade in illegal wildlife ranging from tiger meat to bear paws, an advocacy group said Thursday.

Customers "can openly buy endangered species products" in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone on the border between Laos, Myanmar and Thailand in Laos' Bokeo province, according to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).

The London-based group, together with the non-governmental group Education for Nature Vietnam, also documented restaurants offering "sauté tiger meat", bear paws and pangolins on their menus.

Laos is becoming a growing hub for the trade in endangered species with foreign tourists, particularly from neighbouring China, driving the demand for illegal products, according to environmental groups.

Many Chinese believe rare animal meat and body parts contain aphrodisiac or medicinal qualities.

The EIA report called on Laos to immediately set up a task force to tackle the trade and seize all illegal products in the Special Economic Zone.

"China also needs to understand and accept that its legal domestic trade in the skins of captive-bred tigers is doing nothing but driving consumer demand," said Debbie Banks of the EIA in a statement.

According to the report the Laos zone "appears more like an extension of China" -- running on Beijing time, employing mostly Chinese workers and displaying signs in Chinese characters.

Similar temples of excess have sprung up in Myanmar where some border towns -- often outside of central government control -- have become open markets renowned for selling rare animals, sex and gambling trips to Chinese visitors.

China's seemingly insatiable appetite for rare animal meat and parts has also led to a thriving smuggling scene across much of Southeast Asia.

Authorities in Vietnam and Thailand routinely uncover large hauls of endangered animals heading north in what conservationists say is likely just a fraction of the species smuggled into China.

US posts $1 mln reward targeting Laos poaching ring

Google – AFP, 14 November 2013

Ivory tusks are displayed by the Hong Kong Customs in Hong Kong on October 3,

2013 (AFP/File, Philippe Lopez)

Washington — US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday offered a $1 million reward to help smash a Laos-based poaching network slaughtering endangered elephants and rhinos for their precious horns and tusks.

The reward, the first of its kind by the State Department, targeted the Xaysavang network which operates from Laos as far afield as South Africa, Mozambique, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and China.

"The involvement of sophisticated transnational criminal organizations in wildlife trafficking perpetuates corruption, threatens the rule of law and border security in fragile regions," Kerry said in a statement.

He estimated that annual profits from wildlife trafficking reached as much as $8 billion to $10 billion, and were then pumped into other "illicit activities such as narcotics, arms, and human trafficking."

Another effect of poaching was that it "destabilizes communities that depend on wildlife for biodiversity and eco-tourism," he said.

Offering the department's first reward under the transnational organized crime rewards program, Kerry said the Xaysavang network "facilitates the killing of endangered elephants, rhinos, and other species for products such as ivory."

He revealed that several major seizures of illegal wildlife products had been traced back to the network.

The lucrative Asian black market for rhino horn, used in traditional medicine, and ivory has driven a boom in poaching across Africa.

Police in the semi-autonomous Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar on Wednesday said they had seized a 40-foot (12-meter) container hiding an estimated several tonnes' worth of ivory.

The seizure comes as authorities in Tanzania crack down on poaching amid a surge of killings of elephant and rhino in the east African nation.

Related Article:

'Blood ivory' worth $10bn to be crushed by US officials

Endangered Giant Ibis Found in New Cambodia Habitat

Jakarta Globe – AFP, August 20, 2013

A giant ibis walks in a pond in Mondulkiri province, northeast of Phnom Penh.
AFP Photo/World Wildlife Fund-Cambodia

Phnom Penh. Jubilant conservationists expressed hope on Tuesday for the survival of the critically-endangered Giant Ibis after a nest of the bird species was discovered in a previously unknown habitat in northeastern Cambodia.

Habitat loss and poaching has pushed the Giant Ibis to the edge of extinction, with around only 345 of the reclusive creatures — distinctive for their bald heads and long beaks — left anywhere in the world, 90 percent of them in Cambodia.

A farmer in Cambodia’s Stung Treng province discovered the nesting site a few kilometers inland in the biodiverse Mekong Flooded Forest area last month, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said in a statement.

An inspection team from the WWF later saw an adult bird sitting on the nest with two eggs.

“The discovery of the Giant Ibis nest on the Mekong is extremely significant because it provides hope for the species’ survival,” said Sok Ko, Forestry Administration official and Bird Nest Project officer with WWF.

The Giant Ibis — or Thaumatibis gigantea — was listed on the Red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1994 as critically endangered, the group said, with its habitat limited to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

“For Giant Ibis to survive… it is key to secure breeding groups in more places. This one nest is part of securing the future for the species,” Gerry Ryan, WWF’s Research Technical Advisor, told AFP.

The group warned that threats remain as the species’ lowland forest habitats continue to be drained and stripped for agriculture, while its eggs are sometimes poached by villagers.

But conservation efforts in the Mekong area where the nest was discovered have brought some reward, Ryan added.

“Giant Ibises don’t like to be disturbed and are very shy — they tend to live far from human settlements,” he said.

“The presence of Cambodia’s national bird is further proof that efforts in managing and conserving the area and its biodiversity are worthwhile and having an effect.”

Agence France-Presse

Rubber Boom Fueling Land Grabs in SE Asia: Report

Jakarta Globe, Agence France-Presse, May 13, 2013

A picture made available on May 10, 2013 shows an Indonesian farmer
 planting rubber seeds on a cleared forest near Teluk Meranti, Riau province,
Indonesia. (EPA Photo/Bagus Indahono)

Vietnamese rubber firms bankrolled by an arm of the World Bank and Germany’s Deutsche Bank are driving a land-grabbing crisis in Southeast Asia, activists said Monday.

Indigenous ethnic minorities are bearing the brunt of the seizures, which have affected tens of thousands of villagers and led to the clearance of swathes of protected forests, according to campaign group Global Witness.

Vietnam, the world’s third-largest rubber producer, is keen to tap surging demand for the commodity in particular from China, which is hungry for car tyres and other rubber goods as its economy booms.

Global Witness accused two firm, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG), of driving forced evictions via subsidiaries linked to government cronies in impoverished — and notoriously corrupt — Cambodia and Laos.

According to the report, Deutsche Bank has multi-million dollar holdings in both companies, while the International Finance Corp. (IFC) — the World Bank’s private lending arm — invests in HAGL through financial intermediaries.

More than 1.2 million hectares (2.96 million acres) of land in Cambodia alone have been leased for rubber plantations, Global Witness said, with some 400,000 people affected by land grabs for rubber and other uses since 2003.

“The governments in Cambodia and Laos are allocating large areas of land and ignoring laws designed to protect human rights and the environment,” according to the report.

“Often the first people know about either company being given their land is when the bulldozers arrive,” it said.

Global Witness urged Cambodia and Laos to suspend all dealings with the two firms and their subsidiaries.

It called on Deutsche Bank and the IFC to withdraw their multi-million dollar funding if the two companies fail to take steps to comply with human rights and environmental standards within the next six months.

In response, Deutsche Bank said an “intensive due diligence process” was conducted before the shares were bought on behalf of its investors.

The IFC declined to comment ahead of the report’s release, saying Global Witness had not shared its full findings in advance.

The two Vietnamese companies denied any illegal activities.

“We contribute to the development of the local economy by paying necessary taxes… creating jobs for tens of thousands of local residents, and contributing to local communities,” HAGL said in a statement.

Agence France-Presse

Related Article:

UN Agency Adopts Global Guidelines Against 'Land Grabbing’

Ruthless crime gangs driving global wildlife trade

Channel Asia News, AFP, 09 March 2013

Poaching and illegal trade in protected species like elephants, rhinos and tigers
 has boomed into a billion-dolloar industry that threatens security and stability
 in many countries, the World Wildlife Fund warned Wednesday. (AFP/File
Rodger Bosch)

              

BANGKOK: Ruthless and heavily armed "criminal syndicates" linked to drug smugglers and militias are running the global wildlife trade and turning their guns on the park rangers tasked with protecting endangered species.

Hundreds of rangers have been killed over recent years as poachers stop at nothing in their quest for lucrative animal parts such as ivory and rhino horn, according to experts at a global convention on protecting wildlife in Bangkok.

The illegal trade "poses an immediate risk to wildlife and to people, including those serving on the frontlines to protect wildlife" says John Scanlon, secretary general of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

"It increasingly involves organised crime syndicates and in some cases rebel militia."

The death toll among the rangers has risen as the slaughter of elephants and rhinos reaches record levels -- with photographs of carcasses stripped of horns or tusks stirring public outcry.

At least 1,000 rangers have been killed in 35 different countries over the last decade, said Sean Willmore, president of the International Ranger Federation (IRF), adding that the real global figure may be between 3-5,000.

"There is an undeclared war going on on the frontline of conservation," he told AFP citing the example of a group of 50 rangers in the Democratic Republic of Congo who stumbled across a 5,000-strong militia group out poaching armed with AK47s.

And while attacks by lions or elephants make their work "dangerous enough", he said 75 per cent of the dead were killed by traffickers, with their lack of equipment, training and low wages weighing against them.

Every weakness is exploited by criminals determined to cash in on large animal reserves in some of the world's poorest, most unstable countries.

"Wildlife crime has historically been known as a low-risk, high-profit crime," according to Ben Janse Van Rensburg a senior CITES official.

Alarmingly, the groups are part of a web of global criminals involved in other illicit trades such as drug and human trafficking, he said.

Although the countries worst hit by the scourge of wildlife trafficking have shown willing to tackle the issue, they do so with limited means.

But some countries have not even made the issue a serious crime "making conviction difficult", says Jorge Rios of the UN Office against Drugs and Crime (UNODC), urging political commitment to be "accompanied by resources at national and international level".

For poaching to be curbed those resources must be targeted at a the whole trafficking chain.

"We cannot just focus on poachers... we also have to deal with middle men working in transit countries, and people distributing and selling the merchandise in market countries," Dan Ashe, director of the US Fish and Wildlife service told AFP.

"We have to deal with people who are financing these operations."

But it is not an easy task, with corruption lubricating the movement of illicit wildlife -- often destined for Asia as delicacies or use in traditional medicines.

"They (traffickers) have a lot of money... they are paying for the right to do whatever they want," says Steve Galster, executive director, of conservation group the Freeland Foundation.

After several years of investigation his group accused Vixay Keosavang, an influential Laos national, of orchestrating a major trafficking network.

Tigers, turtles, pangolins, snakes and monkeys from Africa arrived on the banks of the Mekong river in legitimate breeding farms used as a front to sell protected or poached species, he said, highlighting the "loopholes" of CITES that have failed to stop people like him flouting the law.

- AFP/fa

 Related Articles:

International conference aims to protect endangered species

"Do Animals Reincarnate?" - NOV 22, 2010 (Kuthumi channelled by Lynette Leckie-Clark)

“... Perhaps this is a timely reminder for mankind to respect all life forms. All play a part in the consciousness evolution of man and the planet. As you prepare to enter a year of Unity, of stepping forward in respect of one another, I ask you remember the many kingdoms who also share the planet- the elemental, plant, mineral and animal. I ask you develop a new awareness for these. It is not all about you - the human. No it is not. You must now begin to awaken your consciousness to sharing - with all. For all is part of God's great creation.

Update from Ashtar via Mike Quinsey: Obama’s State of the Union Address – (Ashtar channeled by Susan Leland, February 12, 2013)

“… It is Freedom in every aspect of the lives of all humans on Planet Earth; it is Freedom for the animal and the plant kingdoms, and for the mineral kingdoms who are deemed to serve the humans. You know, it’s the humans who think all of the other kingdoms are here to serve. If you ask members of the other kingdoms what they have to say about that, they would take a different perspective and voice a different point of view which is true and appropriate, and as you like to say, it is high time because we are in High Times and we are continuing on this Path! ..."

RP among most at risk from climate change

Businessmirror.com.ph, Imelda V. Abaño / Correspondent, SUNDAY, 08 MARCH 2009 22:05  
 

International Development Research Centre’s Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA)

THE picture of how global warming affects our country has become increasingly clear. In the new climate- change vulnerability map released on Friday by the International Development Research Centre’s Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), the Philippines was pinpointed as one of the areas most vulnerable to climate change in Southeast Asia. 

The study revealed that the Philippines, unlike other countries in Southeast Asia, is not only exposed to tropical cyclones, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country, but also to many other climate-related hazards—especially floods such as in Central Luzon and Southern Mindanao, landslides due to the terrain of the country, and drought. 

Of the 530 cities and provinces assessed, Metro Manila was ranked seventh. Other climate hotspots identified in the Philippines which are susceptible to multiple climate hazards are Northern Samar, Benguet, Masbate, Batanes, Zamboanga del Norte, Ilocos Sur, Western Samar, Albay, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental, Rizal, Batangas and Mountain Province. 

“Climate change is the most significant challenge facing public policy-makers today,” said Dr. Herminia Francisco, director of EEPSEA. “The map highlights areas in the region that have recently experienced climate-related risks such as tropical cyclones, floods, landslides, droughts and sea-level rise. The map could be useful for climate-change policy.” 

Jakarta in Indonesia came out as the most vulnerable region in Southeast Asia. Other countries identified are Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Indonesia. 

“The challenge for us is on how policymakers find ways to boost the resilience of populations in these climate-change hotspots. By helping people to understand what climate change means and on how to adapt, we can avoid the worst effects by taking a swift action,” said Richard Fuchs, IDRC regional director for Southeast and East Asia. 

Moment of truth for state officials 

Former senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani, who was at the launching of the vulnerability map, said today’s leaders have “a moral responsibility to future generations to take meaningful action.” 

“This is a moment of truth for us and for the government officials. Climate-change action is a local demand for our survival. We are good in planning and research, but when it comes to implementation we are very weak,” Shahani lamented. 

Shahani said the bigger problem is likely to be the decreasing capacity of vulnerable people to cope with disasters, coupled with the inaction of their governments. 

“Climate change is a test for all of us. It’s not the elite but it’s the poor people who will be affected. Let us avoid internationalizing this issue too much, we have to be patriotic and local actions are urgently needed.” 

Sen. Loren Legarda said in her speech that policymakers should devise ways to prepare vulnerable people for the impact of climate change by mainstreaming the issue in various phases of policy formulation, development plans, poverty- reduction strategies and other development tools and techniques by all state agencies and instrumentalities. 

Legarda, who batted for the creation of the Climate Change Commission, said this body will help the country focus on reversing climate change and undertake climate-change adaptation and mitigating work. 

“Looking at the map with the Philippines in a red alert color, it is sad and difficult because it means there’s so much work to be done. With the creation of the climate-change commission, we can expect leadership from the government to tackle climate change and reduce disaster,” Legarda said. 

Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes emphasized the importance of preparedness in the face of extreme weather changes. He said mainstreaming climate change mitigation and adaptation is the government’s priority.

Related Articles:

Jakarta ‘most at risk’ of climate change

Jakarta Predicted to be Underwater By 2012

CLIMATE MATTERS: VULNERABILITY MAP OF SOUTHEAST ASIA (EEPSEA)

International Development Research Centre’s Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA)

RI to host 2nd ASEAN wildlife law enforcement network conference

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (Antara): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold its 2nd Wildlife Law Enforcement Network (WEN) conference at the Safari Park in Bogor, West Java, on May 21-24, the Forestry Ministry said.

Officials from ASEAN's 10 member countries as well as 100 participants outside the group will attend the forum, the Indonesian Forestry Ministry said in a release issued Wednesday.

ASEAN groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The observers would come from Australia, China, Japan, Nepal, and the United States among others as well as international agencies including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

ASEAN WEN was set up in Bangkok in 2005 to uphold laws on endangered flora and fauna. Police, customs and excise offices, attorney general's offices, forestry offices and conservation agencies in the 10 ASEAN member countries are members of the network.

ASEAN agrees to Indonesian haze action plan

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed to adopt Indonesia's plan to fight haze during its environmental ministerial meeting in Brunei Darussalam last week, an Indonesian minister said.

State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said that ASEAN had agreed that Indonesia's proposed action plan would be applied to the region's efforts to fight haze.

"ASEAN has accepted our plan of action, and each ASEAN country will assess what it can do to help us fight and prevent the haze," he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

ASEAN environment ministers gathered in Brunei last Friday last week to formulate an action plan to combat the annual choking haze largely blamed on forest fires set in Indonesia to clear land for crops and palm oil plantations.

Deputy Minister for Natural Resource Conservation and Environmental Control Masnellyarti Hilman said that using Indonesia's action plan as an example, each ASEAN country would draft its own proposal that would be absorbed into a regional action plan.

"It is because most ASEAN countries have their own forest fires that contribute to the haze," she said.

Masnellyarti added that several ASEAN members had individually chosen a province in Indonesia to help directly, and what kind of assistance they would provide.

"For instance, Singapore has already committed itself to help fighting haze in Jambi. It could be in the form of financial aid, equipment or technical assistance. Malaysia has said that it would help after learning from Singapore's experience," she said.

Indonesia recently presented its detailed plan of action to fight haze to ASEAN. Driven by forecasts that this year's dry season will be longer because of the El Ni¤o weather pattern, the central government and local administration have come up with a massive program, and allocated some Rp 602 billion to prevent haze.

Rachmat said that the money will be spent on an education campaign to get people to abandon slash-and-burn cultivation, enhancing law enforcement and managing peatland areas.

"We have to change the way people at the local level open up land. They have to stop the slash-and-burn method. We will give (people) equipment to cut down trees and bushes as well as chemicals to create natural fertilizer out of the waste," Rachmat said.

He added that the funds were raised from state budgets through several ministries and local governments, as well donor countries, including from within the ASEAN.

As part of the effort, the Forestry Ministry has also organized groups of farmers into fire-fighting teams and provided them with equipment to prevent and extinguish fires.

At the industrial level, Rachmat said that the government would not hesitate to punish plantation companies that used slash-and-burn methods.

Central and local governments will conduct checks on companies to see if they have the required equipment and facilities to prevent and put out fires.

To help with enforcing the law, people from local universities will be trained to recognize when a company is violating the law.

Local governments and several ministries are expected to monitor remote areas.

On peatland management, Rachmat said the government was preparing special regulations to deal with 1.3 million hectares of peatland in Kalimantan.

RI plans to launch intensive anti-haze campaign

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Driven by forecasts that this year's dry season will be longer because of the El Ni¤o weather pattern, the central government has allocated some Rp 602 billion to prevent haze.

The huge amount will be spent on an education campaign to get people to abandon slash and burn cultivation, enhancing law enforcement and managing peatland areas.

State Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said the funds were raised from state budgets through several ministries and local governments, as well donor countries, including from within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"We have to launch a concerted effort to tackle the problem," he said Thursday to an international conference on the implementation of Indonesia's action plan to tackle haze.

The conference was aimed at attracting international donors to contribute to solving the country's haze problem and coming up with input for an ASEAN environment ministers' meeting next week in Brunei Darussalam. The ASEAN meeting will be attended by representatives from Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei as well as international agencies and other countries such as Australia.

ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong, who attended the conference, welcomed Indonesia's plan of action and supported cooperation between the local and central governments and ASEAN countries to tackle the problem.

"It's not a question of a lack of resources, it is a question of how you use the resources. People will put in more money if you have a good plan, leadership and commitment to solve the problem. ASEAN countries are prepared to commit resources, they just want to know how it is used," he said.

Besides the Indonesian government, several regional governments also experiencing haze problems presented their plans of action.

"We have to change the way people at the local level open up the land. They have to stop the slash and burn method. We will give (people) equipment to be able to cut down trees and bushes as well as chemicals to create natural fertilizer out of it," Rachmat said.

The Deputy Minister for Natural Resource Conservation and Environmental Control Masnellyarti Hilman said that anti-haze activities had already begun.

"We have conducted campaign programs and distributed equipment directly to farmers while the Agriculture Ministry is giving incentives in the form of free fertilizer to farmers who do not adopt slash and burn," she said.

The Forestry Ministry, Masnellyarty added, had formed groups of farmers and given them equipment to prevent and extinguish fires.

At the industrial level, Rachmat said that the government would not hesitate to punish plantation companies that use slash and burn methods.

"I warn the companies not to burn forest because this time we will be much tougher. We will arrest them and bring them to trial," he said.

Masnellyarti added that her office and local governments would conduct checks on companies to see if they have the required equipment and facilities to prevent and put down fires.

Last year, she said, there were 28 companies being investigated and prosecuted over forest burning.

"It is not easy to determine whether a particular company committed a crime. That's why we will train people at the local universities to be able to identify violations," Masnellyarti said.

Local governments and several ministries were expected to monitor remote areas, she added.

On peatland management, Rachmat said the government was preparing special regulations to deal with 1.3 million hectares of peatland in Kalimantan.

"Peatland is very easy to burn, contributing to forest fires and haze, if it is dried. So we must re-water it and keep the water level high. We will build dams to control the watering process. Also, only 93,000 hectares of the 1.3 million hectares can be cultivated, the rest will be turned into conservation areas," he said.