As residents flee, thousands of volunteer firefighters face grueling battle with southern US blazes


As residents flee, thousands of volunteer firefighters face grueling battle with southern US blazes

02 Deceember 2016

published by http://www.accuweather.com

USA — Wildfires have ravaged the southern United States this fall, lighting the region up day and night for weeks on end.

Most recently, one forced a town with 14,000 people to evacuate. Flames seemed to hold an unquenchable thirst for more fuel, thanks largely to widespread drought.

However, the fires were not met without opposition. Thousands of firefighters from across the country answered the call to help save the South not just on the front lines but also back in camps, supporting those out among the flames.

“It’s a very large, complex machine,” said Andy Lyon, a public information officer helping with the wildfire crisis in North Carolina. “In addition to the firefighters on the ground, you have a whole complex operation behind them.”

There are several hundred different positions needed to fight the fires, from safety officers to public information officers to everything in between. A database holds the names of thousands of firefighters from across the U.S. who volunteer to offer their services wherever they’re needed.

“There are supervisor positions, planning, logistics, finance positions, and then there’s commands, there’s positions under the command, liaison officers… Firefighter One and Two are just two of the field positions,” said Dave Martin, who is in charge of deputy operations for fire and aviation management at the southern regional officer of the National Forest Service.

Before anyone can become a wildland firefighter at any level, hours of basic training are needed, including a learning course and a fitness test. Lyon said the course includes the basics of wildland fires, safety and the three prime factors that affect a fire – fuels, topography and weather.

But no matter how much training firefighters go through, sometimes it isn’t enough to put fires out immediately. The largest concentration of fires has been in western North Carolina, northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee.

The South is experiencing one of the worst droughts in years, exacerbating the wildfire hazard. Through Monday, western North Carolina had yet to receive 10 percent of its normal rainfall for November.

“The drought has definitely been a driving factor,” Martin said. “We’ve got such a vast area of dry, receptive fuel beds.”

“Logs, branches, debris, that typically maintains a certain amount of moisture level, but it’s drying out as well, so it’s complicating a lot of things.”

“Leaves are still falling, so we have new fuel falling on top of our fire lines. Most of the time, the bottom layer holds moisture, but not this year,” Lyon said. “It historically has almost never been this dry at this time of year.”

As men and women on the front lines sometimes combat the fires throughout the night, base camps are essential in the larger areas. These camps are home to firefighters, providing a place for them to safely eat, shower and sleep.

“The most important part of camp is the food, ” Lyon said. “There’s a mobile kitchen here set up to feed hundreds.”

While there may be free food and a bed to sleep in at night, that’s not what keeps firefighters like Dave Martin coming back for more. Martin has been a firefighter for 27 years, and he said the best part of the job is the people he’s surrounded by.

“I’ve met some of the most dedicated, hardworking people in the business, just genuine people on the fire line,” Martin said. “That’s what I’ll remember the most.”

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How Indonesia is stepping up fight against climate change


How Indonesia is stepping up fight against climate change

23 Deceember 2016

published by http://www.todayonline.com

Indonesia —    United States President-elect Donald Trump may have labelled climate change a hoax, but that has not stalled the momentum behind last month’s United Nations’ Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, Morocco.

Less than one year after its adoption, the Paris climate agreement has entered into force, with some 175 countries already on board. The next step will be to begin implementing the commitments each country has made. In South-east Asia in particular, regional cooperation will be critical to address certain issues that transcend national boundaries.

One of the largest obstacles to climate change efforts in South-east Asia remains Indonesia’s forest and peatland fires. Though these fires are perhaps most notorious as the source of the annual haze that blankets our region, they should rightly be framed as a global concern about carbon emissions.

To put things into perspective, Indonesia’s 2015 fires produced the equivalent of 1,750 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (MtCO2e), which is almost the same amount emitted by Indonesia’s entire economy in an average year (1,800 MtCO2e).

Hence, it is heartening that Indonesia has shown resolve in addressing the issue. The reduction in fires this year must be credited to not only wetter weather, but also the political will and concerted efforts of the government of President Joko Widodo.

At the peak of the haze crisis last year, Mr Widodo visited South Sumatra to understand the fires first-hand and subsequently established the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) in January 2016. The BRG has been charged with coordinating the restoration of 2.1 million hectares of degraded peatland across Indonesia by 2020.

Following orders by Mr Widodo to “get very tough” on errant companies, Indonesian police have arrested more than double the number of individuals in forest fire cases this year compared with last year.

The Indonesian government is also responding faster to fires, enabled by the early declaration of a state of emergency in six provinces. These efforts have been commended by regional leaders, including Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Masagos Zulkifli.

Such measures were crucial in the immediate aftermath of the fires. But the true challenge comes in figuring out how to tackle this complex problem in the long term.

One pressing issue is the ongoing debate over the most appropriate way to restore degraded peatland. Comprised of partially decayed organic matter, peatland is often drained to grow oil palm, acacia trees for pulp and paper, and other agricultural crops. But drained peat is highly flammable during the dry season, resulting in fires that can take months to extinguish.

Some parties contend that the only sustainable way to restore degraded peatland is to rewet, reforest and protect the entire landscape. Otherwise, fires that start on agricultural lands may easily spread into protected areas, destroying intact forests.

Worse still, protected forest will continue to be affected by drainage from surrounding agricultural areas. Drainage causes peatland to subside, causing the land to become flooded and unusable in the long term.

Other parties argue that it is unrealistic to reforest large peatland areas that already contain thousands of villages and extensive industrial plantations, which generate a great deal of employment and economic benefit.

They also point to the fact that there is still a limited market for native peatland crops that do not require drainage — such as jelutong, sago and illipe nut — compared with more commonly grown crops such as oil palm and areca nut.

It appears that the Indonesian government’s approach is to strike a balance between these competing concerns. On Dec 1, Mr Widodo signed a regulation that banned new clearing of peatland for crop cultivation.

Plantations will also be required to set a minimum ratio between cultivation and conservation areas, and lay down guidelines for the proper management of peatland plantations. BRG has plans to rewet areas set aside for conservation and improve their fire readiness by installing wells and monitoring systems.

Now, Indonesia faces the challenge of harmonising these standards across its 12.9 million hectares of peatland, which is likely to be a complex and time-consuming process. In the meantime, the scale and urgency of peatland restoration will require the support of parties from outside Indonesia.

Firstly, collaboration is required to improve and disseminate knowledge about peatland, which remains an under-researched subject. The UN meeting in Marrakech saw the launch of the Global Peatlands Initiative (GPI), the largest international collaboration on peatland to date, which aims to share scientific knowledge to develop local capacity for peatland management. Indonesia is one of the founding members of the GPI.

Closer to home, the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, the World Resources Institute Indonesia and other leading non-governmental organisations in Asean recently organised the Regional Peat Restoration Workshop in Jakarta, which showcased ongoing restoration efforts in order to share learning points with others conducting similar projects.

Secondly, peatland restoration is expensive and will require financial support from other countries. Funding is especially needed to scale up current projects, many of which are still small-scale and experimental, so that they cover entire peat landscapes. This will maximise impact and minimise the conflicts that often result between multiple, smaller projects.

One recently-launched initiative to provide such funding is the Tropical Landscapes Finance Facility. A joint effort between BNP Paribas, ADM Capital and the United Nations Environment Programme, the facility has mobilised over US$1.1 billion (S$1.59 billion) of investments to reverse land degradation, prevent unwise land conversion and improve revenues for small farmers.

Western donors, most notably Norway, have also pledged about US$135 million to support the BRG. Others in the international and regional community can and should add their support.

In the longer term, Indonesia’s strategy involves changing the legal rights for industrial plantations to turn them into ecosystem restoration concessions that finance the restoration of forests and peatlands through the sale of carbon credits, among other methods.

The international community plays a crucial role in developing the market and providing the demand for such credits.

Climate change is rightly seen as an issue that affects all countries. Now that Indonesia has taken several important steps to prevent the return of fires, it is vital that other countries begin supporting its efforts.

Though approaches may differ, there is a need to recognise that we are working towards the same goal and that there are significant areas of overlap to work on. The need is urgent and we must not lose the valuable momentum that has been built up so far behind forest and peatland restoration.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Simon Tay is chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and Nirarta “Koni” Samadhi is country director for the World Resources Institute Indonesia.

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Parliamentary panel suggests toll-free number for reporting forest fires


Parliamentary panel suggests toll-free number for reporting forest fires

24 Deceember 2016

published by http://www.livemint.com

India —  New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has suggested a slew of measures to limit forest fires and asked the environment ministry to set up dedicated toll-free telephone numbers in each state for reporting incidents of forest fires.

Massive forest fires in Uttarakhand affected huge tracts of forest this year. As per official records, until 31 May, 2,060 incidents of forest fire were reported across the state, affecting more than 4,400 hectares. Seven people lost their lives and 31 were injured in the fires, apart from the loss of seven domestic animals.

“There should also be a dedicated toll-free number for reporting incidents of forest fire in each state,” noted the parliamentary standing committee on science & technology, environment & forests in its report ‘Forest fires and its effect on environment, forests, biodiversity and wildlife and remedial/preventive measures’ released last week.

It recommended the use of corporate social responsibility funds for creating awareness campaigns on forest fires.

It observed that a large number of posts of front-line forest staff were lying vacant and expressed doubt about the preparedness of state forest departments to combat fires.

The panel said agencies such as the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) should be deployed in fighting forest fires only on rare occasions. “In fact, state governments should be asked to train their fire brigade staff to fight forest fires as they will be in a better position to deal with them,” the committee noted.

It recommended that environment ministry organize training of fire brigade officers of all states on a priority basis and equip them with forest fire equipment so that in the event of forest fires they do not have to depend on outside agencies like NDRF that have enough duties to perform at the national level.

The panel also pointed out that the creation of ponds and other water harvesting structures within the forest area would not only reduce river bank erosion but could be a handy tool for supply of water to douse forest fires.

“This would not only reduce dependence on helicopters for supply of water but also readily provide water to the locals within the forest area for fire fighting,” said the committee. It recommended that state governments reinvigorate the system of ponds and checkdams within forest areas.

“This would also save crucial time which is wasted in bringing water from other far-off resources,” it added.

The committee agreed with the view expressed by civil society that the impact of forest fires on biodiversity is grossly underestimated and the loss of wildlife not even accounted for.

“The Committee is at (a) loss to understand as to why the Zoological Survey of India and Botanical Survey of India, which are also the arms of the ministry of environment, forest & climate change (MoEFCC), did not take up any studies on loss of biodiversity of the forest fire affected areas,” it said.

“The Committee hopes that in future, the ministry would take a more proactive approach in this regard and recommends that MoEFCC should ask its concerned organisations to undertake, on priority basis, assessment of loss of biodiversity due to forest fires and devise plans to prevent loss of bio-diversity in the event of forest fires so that corrective and preventive measures in this regard could be initiated at the earliest,” the panel said.

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Indonesia just made a huge move to protect the climate


Indonesia just made a huge move to protect the climate

07 Deceember 2016

published by http://www.heraldnet.com

Indonesia —  The Washington Post — A new decision from the government of Indonesia could be a major boon for both public health and the global climate. On Monday, President Joko Widodo announced a moratorium on all activities that could damage the nation’s peat-filled wetlands, a move that could help prevent wildfires and billions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the next few decades.

The action represents “the kind of leadership that the world needs right now,” Erik Solheim, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, said in a statement.

Indonesia is known for its tropical peatlands — bogs filled with carbon-rich, partly decomposed organic matter, or peat. Recently, though, Indonesia’s peatlands have been faced with growing threats from human activity, mainly agriculture. To make room for farmland, people in the region have taken to draining and drying the bogs, sometimes starting fires to aid them in clearing the land.

In particularly dry years, these fires have been known to spiral into enormous blazes that pour hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and threaten thousands of people with respiratory illness. In the past, the worst fire seasons have corresponded with severe El Niño events – the most recent occurred in 2015, when wildfires in Indonesia emitted about 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents — as much as Japan typically emits in a year. About half of these fires occurred on peatlands.

These fires have been a growing source of concern for climate scientists, who have noted that the warming climate is likely to exacerbate such fires in the future. In a study published earlier this year, researchers used climate projections to predict the amount of carbon that might be lost from peatlands as a result of future wildfires.

The study suggests that there may be a significant increase in the frequency of severe El Niño events by the end of the century and that these events may bring about even more intense wildfires — unless, that is, humans stop setting them in the first place. In this way, the new action from the Indonesian government could play a significant role in putting a stop to the blazes.

“If you are able to eliminate those ignitions, then you could do away with the fires,” said Guido van der Werf , an expert on the global carbon cycle at VU University in Amsterdam and one of the fire study’s authors. This action benefits both the climate and the public health, van der Werf added. In 2015, reports suggested that wildfires were responsible for up to half a million respiratory infections.

“By strengthening the efforts to prevent damages to peatland such as by banning virtually all conversion of peatlands for certain plantations and by encouraging peat restoration, this regulation will be a major contribution to the Paris climate agreement and a relief to millions of Indonesians who suffer the effects of toxic haze from peat fires,” Nirarta Samadhi, director of World Resources Institute Indonesia, said in a statement. He added that the World Resources Institute estimates that by 2030, the new regulation could save anywhere from 5.5 billion to 7.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Indonesia has pledged to cut its domestic carbon emissions by at least 29 percent by 2030, and the government has recently indicated that more than half of these cuts should come from the forestry sector. The government began tackling the peatland issue in January, when Widodo established a peatland restoration agency charged with restoring 5 million acres of peatland damaged during the 2015 fires. This week’s announcement helps ensure that the nation’s peatlands will not only be restored, but also protected from future damage.

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Biologist: fires are wake-up call


Biologist: fires are wake-up call

03 Deceember 2016

published by http://www.andalusiastarnews.com

USA — Even as state officials reminded Alabamians that a statewide “no burn” order remains in effect, biologists called recent wildfires “wake-up calls,” and said fire is natural in Southern habitats.

Year-to-date, a total of 3,644 wildfires have consumed almost 50,000 acres of land in Alabama, with 2,219 of those fires and 29,406 acres just since Oct. 1. Devastation in the Great Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg focused more attention on the potential for fires.

There have been no wildfires in Covington County in the past week, but 20 fires have damaged 19.25 acres in the last month.

Mark Bailey, a local wildlife biologist, shared a post from a colleague of his on Facebook that called recent wildfires a “wake-up call.”

“So many of us have forgotten (or never knew) that the vast majority of the habitats in the southeastern United States are fire-type habitats,” Robert Smith said. “The includes the pitch pine and Table Mountain pine stands in the southern Appalachians, the longleaf pine hills and ridges, the slash pine flatwoods, hardwood ridges and slopes, cane breaks in our bottomland hardwood stands, prairies, grassy depressional wetlands, tidal marshes and more. All of these habitats and those adjacent and between those habitats have the opportunity to burn historically.”

Smith went on to say that when fire conditions become extreme as they are now, they can spread and grow quickly, and places wind up with catastrophic wildfires.

“But society quickly forgets this lesson when the fires leave the headlines; they are not willing to invest in fuel reduction efforts, prescribed fire implementation or landowner education and ‘firewise’ landscaping.’

Bailey said Smith was “dead on.”

“The thing about our ancestors sweeping their yards bare demonstrates how fire was always at the back of our ancestors’ minds,” Bailey said. “Southeastern forests and fire are inseparable, although we have done our best to intervene. After decades of the ‘all-fire-is bad’ Smokey Bear mentality, land managers today embrace fire, recognizing that it’s not a matter of if, but when fire will occur. It can be beneficial and on our terms if we are wise, or catastrophic and uncontrollable if we are not.”

Bailey said that prescribed burning is necessary.

“We need to use prescribed fire if we want to maintain natural habitats and to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires like we just saw in Gatlinburg and also in Florida in the late 1990s,” he said. “I recall seeing aerial photos of houses in so-called ‘wildland-urban interface’ in Florida that were burned next to others that were spared, and the difference was there had been recent prescribed burns near the one that were unscathed. Reducing pine straw and woody debris fuels through periodic prescribed burning under desirable conditions can make all the difference in saving property, as well as stands of valuable trees that might be killed if unplanned fires get too hot. Of course, this needs to be done by people who are experienced and trained in using fire responsibly.”

Bailey said that Andalusia is the center of a once-vast longleaf forest ecosystem, which was naturally swept by fires every two to five years.

“The best remaining example we have near us is the Conecuh National Forest,” he said. “The native plants and animals have adaptations to survive fire. In fact, without fire, some of these species become imperiled. People nowadays think of gopher tortoises as animals of roadsides, power lines and fields, but that’s an artifact of fire suppression – they live where their food grows.”

Since Tim Mersmann has taken over as district ranger in the Conecuh National Forest, they have worked to ensure they burn around 30,000 acres per year to stay on track with burning the fire-maintained forest.

“We prescribe burn the forest to keep the undergrowth at a minimal height, which provides for food and habitat for all types of wildlife, including red cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoise and many game species, including deer and turkey,” Mersmann said previously.

Prescribed burns reduce the amount of hazardous fuels, which protect from wildfires.

The statewide Drought Emergency ‘No Burn’ Order declared by Gov. Robert Bentley in early November will remain in effect until conditions change sufficiently to reduce the occurrence and frequency of wildfires, the Alabama Forestry Commission announced Friday.

“We are grateful for the rainfall we’ve received, but because of the severe prolonged drought it is just too soon to lift the ‘No Burn’ Order,” explained Interim State Forester Gary Cole. “The winds and lower relative humidity accompanying the cooler temperatures we’re experiencing combine to quickly dry out vegetation, which will increase the probability of dangerous wildfire activity until the next rain event. We’re certainly hoping the weather forecast of additional rain through early next week is correct, and we will re-assess the situation at that time.”

Despite precautions, with the severe drought, the state isn’t taking any chances.

“After seeing the recent devastation in our sister state of Tennessee, we cannot afford to take any risks,” Bentley said.

The Drought Emergency ‘No Burn’ regulation prohibits all outdoor or open burning statewide. It makes it illegal for any person to set fire to any forest, grass, woods, wildlands or marshes; build a campfire or bonfire; or burn trash or debris. If convicted, the penalty for violating the No Burn Order is up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500. To report persons burning in violation of this law, contact your local law enforcement. For more information on the current wildfire situation in the state, visit Alabama Forestry Commission’s website at www.forestry.alabama.gov.

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Bushfire arsonist garry trestrail jailed for 12 years over blazes which threatened neighbours


Bushfire arsonist garry trestrail jailed for 12 years over blazes which threatened neighbours

16 Deceember 2016

published by http://www.abc.net.au

Australia —  A man who lit bushfires which threatened houses and lives on Adelaide’s southern fringe in mid-summer has been jailed for 12 years.

Garry John Trestrail, 26, pleaded guilty to charges of causing a bushfire, arson and property damage over fires in January and February 2014.

The blazes threatened suburbs and towns including Morphett Vale, Happy Valley, Onkaparinga Hills, McLaren Flat and Noarlunga Centre, with the District Court hearing that some destroyed farm equipment and other property, and threatened homes and people’s lives.

Judge Barry Beazley said the crimes were malicious and many people suffered, including neighbours in the same street where Trestrail lived.

“Fortunately no-one was physically injured. It is plain however that a large number of victims suffered and still suffer from various psychological issues as a consequence of your criminal conduct,” he said.

“In addition, you caused a whole community to be in fear.”

Judge Beazley said some of the offending was opportunistic, but Trestrail had deliberately targeted an ex-employer’s premises.

“While you did not show any remorse for a long time, you now have some insight into how serious your offending was and how dangerous the consequences may have been,” he said.

“Bushfires and arsons are a constant concern for people living in rural and semi-rural areas. Those residents are never prepared for one of their own to light fires and place their lives and incomes in danger.

“Intentionally lighting fires at the height of the bushfire season clearly exposes a large number of people to danger.”

Trestrail was jailed for 12 years and a non-parole term of seven years set, backdated to when he was taken into custody in February 2014.

Neighbour says jailing eases community fears

Outside court, one of Trestrail’s neighbours Morphett Vale resident Lara Hildebrand, whose garage was set alight while she and her three children were sleeping, expressed relief the matter had been resolved by the courts.

“Three years we’ve been on tenterhooks, we haven’t known what was going to happen … so after three years I can go into this holiday season with my kids and know it’s done, it’s finished,” she said.

She said her family had worked hard to overcome their fear, and neighbours had been a great support to each other.

“It’s impacted on sleep, it’s impacted on trust with people, but he’s a rotten egg, it doesn’t mean everyone is,” she said.

“I still sleep less than five hours a night on average and I wake every few hours because there’s always that risk and it’s a very real possibility, but we don’t dwell on it … I think I’m going to have a very sound sleep tonight.

“It brought our community closer, my neighbourhood looked after each other, my neighbours were amazing, we looked out for each other.

“So while he tore us apart, he also brought us together.”

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Community group protecting the elderly during heatwaves and bushfires


Community group protecting the elderly during heatwaves and bushfires

16 Deceember 2016

published by http://www.abc.net.au

Australia —   As summer heats up, Australians invariably prepare for the dangers of bushfires — but what about the health dangers of heatwaves?

In the two weeks leading up to the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria there were more than 370 heat-related deaths, predominately impacting the elderly.

Ready2Go is a community program based in Cockatoo, south-east of Melbourne, that is trying to combat the health risk of heatwaves for vulnerable members of their community.

The program matches elderly and disabled residents with a trained volunteer who will collect them and take them to a respite location on days of extreme heat and fire danger.

Sue Wales, lead volunteer for the Ready2Go program, said the initiative was inspired by vulnerable residents in her community expressing concern about their ability to leave their home if required.

“One lady was simply resigned to die due her health and mobility issues because she couldn’t leave her house and we thought, that isn’t good enough,” Ms Wales said.

The program, which recently won two Fire Awareness Awards, is now in its third year with 10 participants and 20 volunteers and is looking to expand into the nearby town of Emerald.

Bushfires and heatwaves double concerns

Residents in Cockatoo and the surrounding towns not only experience high temperatures throughout summer, they are also living within a bushfire prone area.

Project coordinator Fiona Sewell said there was the added difficulty of tackling both issues at once.

“When it comes to heat health, messages come from the Department of Health like draw the curtains, turn the air conditioning on and avoid going out if you can help it,” Ms Sewell said.

However, she said she believed, from a bushfire safety perspective, that this messaging could be quite contradictory because on days of extreme fire danger residents are encouraged to leave their homes.

“When you’re an elderly person who do you believe,” she asked.

Ms Sewell said the Ready2Go program helped to clarify this messaging by establishing heatwave or bushfire danger trigger points with participants.

When these trigger points are met, the Ready2Go volunteers spring into action and assist their assigned community member.

Safety and social benefits

Ms Wales said the program also helped to connect vulnerable residents with other people, giving them a social outlet that they would not have otherwise.

“They build a rapport so that they know that there is someone that is looking out for them — and for people on their own, that’s really important,” she said.

An 80-year-old Cockatoo resident who is a participant in the program, but did not want to be named, said the program allowed her the freedom to stay at home.

“Ready2Go has given me the peace of mind that someone is looking out for me on those bad days,” she said.

“Some of my family live overseas and those who live here can’t always be here for me.”

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Study links firefighter accidents to sleep problems


Study links firefighter accidents to sleep problems

19 Deceember 2016

published by http://wildfiretoday.com

USA —   A study of almost 7,000 firefighters from municipal fire departments found that 37 percent screened positive for common sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, and shift work disorder.

The researchers found that compared with sound sleepers, those with a sleep disorder were about twice as likely to have a motor vehicle crash, to nod off while driving, and to have cardiovascular disease or diabetes. They were more than three times as likely to suffer from depression and anxiety.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, said that nationwide 61 percent of firefighter on-duty fatalities are caused by heart attacks or motor vehicle crashes.

National Interagency Fire Center data that we reported for 1990 through 2014 shows that 45 percent of the wildland fire fatalities were from vehicle accidents or medical issues.

Most, 97 percent, of the 7,000 firefighters in the study worked extended shifts of at least 24 hours. Wildland firefighters work 8-hour shifts — except when they don’t. While on fires their shift schedules and sleep routines are often disrupted. The 8-hour shift can be extended to 12 to 16 hours, and their usual sleeping times may be changed and sometimes shortened; not unlike the jet lag of traveling to a different time zone. The first shift on a fire may be longer than 16 hours and a crew used to working during the day can be placed on a night shift.

The municipal firefighters in the study work very different schedules from their brothers and sisters in wildland fire, so a direct comparison of sleep disorders and accidents is probably not valid, but this issue should be watched closely. Crew supervisors and incident management teams should, at least, see that firefighters have an opportunity to get an adequate amount of quality sleep.

The same journal that published this study has another interesting one titled, “The Association between Sleep Disturbances and Depression among Firefighters: Emotion Dysregulation as an Explanatory Factor”.

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Earth wire — peatland restoration helps prevent forest fires


Earth wire — peatland restoration helps prevent forest fires

25 Deceember 2016

published by http://www.antaranews.com

Indonesia —    Jakarta (ANTARA News) – Set up nearly a year ago, Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) has wasted no time in protecting and restoring peatlands and, consequently, preventing wildfires in Indonesian forests.

The destruction of peatlands and forest fires are closely linked, because clearing and draining peatlands for oil palm and pulpwood plantations are major causes of Indonesias recurring fire and haze crises.

Last year, haze produced by forest fires impacted the health of thousands of people in South-East Asia, particularly in Sumatra and Kalimantan Islands, and cost Indonesias economy an estimated $16.1 billion, according to data from the World Bank.

And this year, Indonesia remains haze free, after two decades of experiencing annual forest fires that triggered haze and chocking much of the public, Environmental Affairs and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya has confirmed.

“For the first time, in 2016, we did not experience major forest fires, thanks to the joint hard work of many in the regions. The number of hotspots decreased by 80 to 92 percent, according to the NOAA and Terra satellite methods,” the minister said on Dec 10, 2016.

The government has set up an integrated forest fire control team comprising, among others, military and police officers, as well as a preventive and early detection mechanisms to curb forest fires.

Additionally, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), under Presidential Regulation No. 1 of 2016, dated January 6, 2016, established BRG to prevent forest fires, particularly those affecting peatlands, and to restore areas destroyed by fires.

The president ordered the body to draft an action plan to immediately demonstrate to the world that Indonesia is serious about handling the destruction caused to peatland areas.

Jokowi has appointed Nazir Foead as chief of the new agency, describing him as a competent and experienced figure. The agency is a non-structural body under the president and is answerable to him.

Indonesias peatlands are estimated to cover an area of 20.6 million hectares, or about 10.8 percent of Indonesias total land area, of which some 7.2 million hectares, or 35 percent, is located on Sumatra Island.

Peat is partially decayed, dead vegetation, which has accumulated over thousands of years. It is typically saturated with water and, therefore, virtually impossible to set on fire.

Peatlands help to preserve water resources, mitigate flooding, prevent sea water intrusion, support biodiversity, and control the climate through the absorption of carbon and storage.

But when peatlands are cleared to make way for plantations, as they are for palm oil, pulp and paper, carbon-rich peat becomes tinder dry and vulnerable to fires.

BRG has set a target of restoring between two and three million ha of peatland areas.

The task is being carried out through cooperation with several institutions and ministries, such as the environmental affairs and forestry ministry, the public works and housing ministry, the agriculture ministry, the agrarian and spatial layout ministry, and the National Development Plan Agency (Bappenas).

In the first stage, the agency has initiated on-field activities to restore over 800,000 hectares (ha) of peatland areas spread across four districts – Meranti Islands in Riau; Ogan Komering Ilir and Musi Banyuasin in South Sumatra; and Pulang Pisau in Central Kalimantan.

“The (restoration) cost is estimated to reach Rp12 million per ha for five years,” BRG Head Nazir Foead informed the press in March 2016.

Additionally, the government has imposed a moratorium on the clearing of land in peatland areas, in line with new government regulation (PP) No. 57/2016 on the revision of PP No. 71/2014 on Peat Ecosystem Management and Protection.

The revision ruled that there should be no land clearing and no issuance of new licenses in peatland areas, especially for deep peatland, Secretary General of the Environmental Affairs and Forestry Ministry Bambang Hendroyono said in early December 2016.

Signed by President Jokowi on Dec 2, 2106, regulation no 57/2016 also states that no drainage should be performed, as it causes the peat to dry out, and no fires can be set in peatland areas. Even traditional communities have been barred from setting fires in peatland areas.

The new PP places a permanent moratorium on peatland exploitation, stating that everyone is prohibited from clearing new land until a zoning system for the protection and cultivation of the peatland ecosystem is in place.

“PP No. 57/2016 shows the solid commitment of President Joko Widodo to the protection of peatland ecosystems,” stated San Afri Awang, who works with the Forestry Planology and Environmental Management section of the Environmental Affairs and Forestry Ministry.

Natural succession, rehabilitation, and restoration are ways of improving the peatland ecosystem. “Natural succession means restoration without any human intervention,” he explained.

In addition to the regulation, the government will also intensively monitor peatland restoration efforts.

Minister Siti Nurbaya has issued an assignment letter to San Afri, placing him in charge of a peatland restoration monitoring team.

“The government is very serious (about this). We will monitor it continuously and impose sanctions against violators. This is proof of the governments serious commitment to peatland restoration,” Awang added.

As a long term program, BRG has developed innovative technologies to consistently maintain the moisture of peatland in three provinces.

“We ensure the optimal protection of peatland in several Indonesian regions using sophisticated technology developed by the nations experts,” Foead stated, after accompanying President Jokowi to visit a peatland site in Pulang Pisau District, Central Kalimantan Province, on Dec 21.

The agency will install the technology to measure water levels and humidity in peatland areas.

The data will be uploaded every hour to the BRG data center, where the technology is managed by the Agency for Study and Application of Technologies, and Hokkaido University of Japan.

If the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency anticipates a lack of rain in the coming days, the BRG will irrigate the peatland area to maintain its optimal humidity, he explained.

The peatland agency will become involved with the local community and authorities in its efforts, he said, adding that maintaining peatland humidity is crucial to prevent fires, since dried peatland is prone to fire.

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Economic impact of bushfires in NSW, ACT to double by 2050, climate council report finds


Economic impact of bushfires in NSW, ACT to double by 2050, climate council report finds

08 Deceember 2016

published by http://www.abc.net.au

Australia —  The cost of bushfires to New South Wales and the ACT is likely to more than double by 2050, according to a new report from one of Australia’s leading authorities on climate change.

The Climate Council found bushfires currently cost both jurisdictions about $100 million every year.

And the council’s chief executive officer, Amanda McKenzie, said without strong action to decrease Australia’s reliance on carbon-emitting fossil fuels, that figure would only climb higher.

Ms McKenzie said severe bushfires were again forecast for the coming summer in NSW and the ACT, and that in general terms, the fire season was lengthening into spring and autumn.

“So that reduces the amount of time for hazard reduction burns and means also that it is more difficult to share firefighting resources between states,” she said.

She said when multiple fires were being fought across states and territories, there was less opportunity for support from other jurisdictions.

The report’s release comes following a warning from ACT Emergency Services Agency commissioner Dominic Lane that extra growth in the ACT and surrounds during spring was likely to result in more fire fuel this summer.

Meanwhile, in NSW the high-risk season is already well underway, with bushfires fought on multiple fronts around the state since November.

Move to renewables needed, CEO says

The report, compiled using data from a range of sources including the Bureau of Meteorology, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and peer-reviewed academic research, found there was an urgent need for communities, health services and emergency services to prepare for worsening bushfire conditions over time.

According to the report, the next 10 years will prove critical in the race to protect Australians from the impact of climate change.

Ms McKenzie said Australia’s leaders and policy makers could help mitigate the impact of bushfires and extreme weather events in the future by doing more to address climate change now.

The answer, according to the Climate Council, is more investment in renewables.

“Australia’s pollution continues to go up and up,” Ms McKenzie said.

“So unless we can move away from sources like coal, oil and gas to more renewable energy, the risks [posed by bushfires] just accelerate into the future.”

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