VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Three Indonesian naval ships participate in a military drill. (ANTARA Foto/HO/Dispen Lantamal VI)

Three Indonesian naval ships participated in a military drill in the Makassar waters, South Sulawesi Province, on Wednesday to strengthen their maritime surveillance and coordination capability in warfare.

"Today, the KRI Pulau Rimau-724, KRI Pari-849, and KRI Tatihu-853 are conducting a rehearsal of tactical maneuvers. This drill is being monitored by the Naval Main Base (Lantamal) VI officers," Lantamal VI Commander, First Admiral Hanarko Djodi, said.

During the drill, the three battle ships practiced formations for counter-attacks and defensive measures and simulated threats posed by enemy fleets, he said, adding the crew also practiced pennant hoisting and semaphore signaling.

According to the KRI Pulau Riau-724 commander, Major Alkadri, the drill was aimed at strengthening the combat readiness of Indonesian naval ships in maritime security operations.

Due to Indonesia's vast exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which is abundant in marine resources, many foreign fishing vessels have been found trespassing the country's EEZ, he said.

Therefore, he explained, Indonesia is working to strengthen surveillance in its waters. (ANTARA)

The Ujung Kulon National Park, which has been categorized as a green zone eco-tourism site, is home to several endangered animals such as the Javan rhino, Owa Java monkey, and Kancil.  ANTARA/Mulyana

The Ujung Kulon National Park (TNUK), which has been categorized as a green zone eco-tourism site, is ready to receive tourists while applying strict protocols to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, said park officials.

"Insyaa Allah (God willing), the tour will soon be opened at the Ujung Kulon National Park. We have prepared the standard operating procedures (SOP), (and we are now) just waiting for the circular from the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Forestry (KLHK) (giving the go-ahead for the reopening),” Andri Firmansyah, spokesperson for the Ujung Kulon National Park Office (BTNUK) said in Pandeglang, Banten, on Tuesday.

Currently, the office is preparing SOPs that would be applied to tour operators and TNUK visitors to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

To ensure the safety and health of all parties, tour operators must follow and obey the rules issued by the park authorities, the spokesperson said.

"Later, when the tourism site is reopened, tourists and related stakeholders will be encouraged to follow the rules," he added.

The SOPs will be implemented based on instructions from the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Response concerning health protocols at the operational level in each region.

"We are referring to the Minister of Health’s Decree No. HK. 01.07 / MENKES / 382 2020 concerning health protocols for the community in public places and facilities for COVID-19 prevention and control," he said.

The Ujung Kulon National Park, which is located on the westernmost tip of Java Island, will reopen this month, if the Environmental Affairs and Forestry Ministry issues a circular allowing the reopening.

Situated in Pandeglang District, Banten Province, Ujung Kulon is home to several endangered animals, including the Javan rhino, Owa Jawa monkey (Hylobates moloch), surili (Presbytis aigula), dhole/wild dog (Cuon alpinus javanicus), bull (Bos javanicus), silvery gibbon (Hylobates moloch), Javan lutung (Trachypithecus auratus), long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis), Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas), and Java mouse-deer/Kancil (Tragulus javanicus), deer (Rusa timorensis). (ANTARA)

Volunteers with the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling, along with Panca Marga Youth and Army personnel, educate market sellers about the COVID-19 health protocols at a South Tangerang market. (ANTARA/HO-Task Force Volunteer)

The Volunteer Coordinating Team of the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling visited 10 traditional markets in Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) areas to educate sellers about health protocols.

"Education of the market vendors was carried out to stem the spread of COVID-19 in traditional markets," said head of the supporting volunteer division of the team, Yulius Setiarto, in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The educational activity was carried out in cooperation with Panca Marga Youth and the Indonesian Army.

Each team that visited the traditional markets comprised 10 people: five volunteers, two army personnel, and three members of Panca Marga Youth.

The volunteers were briefed on the protocols for traditional markets and were equipped with 100 sets of fabric masks, hand sanitizers, face shields, stickers, posters, and banners about the health advice.

The volunteers will continue to monitor the 10 markets to determine the level of compliance with the health protocols among vendors.

They will also carry out surveys on health protocol implementation in traditional markets. The results of the surveys will be used to provide recommendations and feedback to market stakeholders to implement effective health protocols in traditional markets. (ANTARA)

Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya Bakar. (ANTARA/Muhammad Zulfikar)

Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, said the Indonesian government is anticipating a potential explosion in forest and land fires in the months of August and September this year.

"We have studied both climate behavior and hotspot behavior and also the timing of the forest fire explosion, which averaged the second week, the third week, to the first week of September," Siti said after a limited meeting with the President at the Jakarta Presidential Palace on Tuesday.

Siti said that based on monitoring in northern Sumatra, Riau, and Aceh, and parts of North Sumatra, there are normally two critical phases in the occurrence of forest fires.

The first phase occurs in March-April, while the second phase falls in June-July, and peaks in August-September, she explained.

Rain engineering using weather modification can help mitigate the crisis, she averred. Rain engineering can be performed based on the analysis of the Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency and carried out by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, with the support of Air Force aircraft, she continued.

“That (weather modification) can be done and we have passed the first crisis phase in Riau," said Siti.

She said the first phase was very important because it coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and Eid al-Fitr.

The concerned institutions carried out weather modification in several places, such as Sumatra (May 13-31, 2020), to control smoke from wildfires during Eid al-Fitr, she informed.

“So, there is a correlation between the modification of rain (and generation of smoke), so the clouds are engineered to be induced, so that they have a lot of water vapor, so that they produce rain. The rain wets the peat and fills the reservoirs, so there is no smoke," she explained.

There are plans to carry out weather modification again in Kalimantan, she stated. Based on BMKG's analysis, hotspots in Kalimantan will be strong with the onset of the dry season in July. The hotspots will peak in late August to early September.

“Hopefully, this (weather modification) can be a solution. Rather than continuing to extinguish it (forest fire), with this, we can systematically prepare for it," she said.

Meanwhile, the central government is also coordinating with regional governments to protect forest areas and strengthen the monitoring system of the National Police. (ANTARA)