'Forest fires to be under control soon'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): As thousands of hectares of forest continue to
\nburn, Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo claims that
\nfirefighters deployed to put out the blaze should soon have the
\nupper hand.<\/p>\n
The ministry deployed 8,437 firefighters divided into 560
\nteams in 17 provinces to handle the fires in forest concession
\nareas and industrial timber estates, he said.<\/p>\n
Some 4,530 personnel were sent to South Sumatra, 678 to East
\nKalimantan and 311 to Riau, he added.<\/p>\n
With their expertise backed by various equipment, the
\nfirefighters could keep the fires under control, Djamaludin
\nconfidently said.<\/p>\n
The ministry has reportedly set aside Rp 3.1 billion (US$1.07
\nmillion) to handle the forest fires, with Rp 2.6 billion coming
\nfrom the reforestation fund and the rest from the central
\ngovernment budget.<\/p>\n
The Ministry is also allocating Rp 40 million to the Agency
\nfor the Assessment and Application of Technology which is
\nattempting cloud seeding to help form rain.<\/p>\n
At least 300,000 hectares of land and forests in Sumatra and
\nKalimantan have been destroyed by fire in the last three months,
\nendangering the lives of up to 40 million people here and
\nneighboring Malaysia and Singapore with the resulting haze.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, more than 32,000 people are reportedly suffering
\nfrom respiratory problems caused by the haze.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Suyono Yahya, secretary to the Coordinating
\nMinister for People's Welfare, said two people had died due to
\nthe haze, but he retracted his statement yesterday saying that
\ntheir cause of death was due to various health complications.<\/p>\n
Despite's Djamaludin's confidence that the fires would soon be
\nunder control, Mahdi Kartasasmita, the deputy chairman on Remote
\nSensing Affairs at the National Space and Aviation Agency
\n(Lapan), told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the latest
\nsatellite images showed that the spread of forest fires had not
\nlessened in the past month.<\/p>\n
He said that a Sept. 22 image taken by a NOAA satellite
\nindicated that the fires in Kalimantan were moving in a
\nsoutheasterly direction while fires in Sumatra were moving in a
\nsoutherly direction.<\/p>\n
He said the fires were surrounded by mostly dry areas.<\/p>\n
Efforts to combat the forest fires have now turned into an
\ninternational effort.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Azwar Anas said
\nyesterday that Japan and France have offered to help Indonesia in
\ncombating the fires.<\/p>\n
"I've met with Japanese Embassy officials, and they have
\npromised to send their experts," Azwar said after meeting with
\nPresident Soeharto at Merdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
Japanese diplomats said yesterday that Tokyo plans to donate
\n300 water cannons worth Rp 430 million to be used to extinguish
\nthe fires.<\/p>\n
"This is an expression of our solidarity," a diplomat said.<\/p>\n
Azwar said Indonesia welcomed the international assistance,
\nbut maintained that the country would not appeal for help.<\/p>\n
"Japanese diplomats asked me why we do not ask for
\ninternational help. I said we can solve the problem by
\nourselves," he added.<\/p>\n
France has also informed the government on its willingness to
\nhelp, and Azwar will meet with French officials in the near
\nfuture.<\/p>\n
About 1,000 Malaysian firefighters have arrived in Dumai,
\nRiau, yesterday to help combat the fires which have produced haze
\nchoking their country.<\/p>\n
Two-hundred and forty of them will stay in Riau, another 360
\nwill go to Jambi while the remaining 400 will fight the fires in
\nSouth Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Kuala Lumpur, AFP reported that the Air Pollution
\nIndex (API) reached more than 700, way above the 500 level
\nconsidered dangerous.<\/p>\n
The United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is allowing its
\nMalaysian-based staff and their family members to leave the
\ncountry due to the haze.<\/p>\n
The decision to leave Malaysia has been authorized by the U.S.
\nState Department, an embassy official told Bernama news agency.<\/p>\n
The official said essential staff members would be rotated in
\nand out of Malaysia in order to minimize any possible health
\neffects from continuous exposure to the unhealthy pollution
\nlevels and "to get some fresh air".<\/p>\n
A Japanese Embassy official told AFP that some of their
\ndependents have already left Malaysia to return to Japan.<\/p>\n
He also said that other Japanese citizens in Malaysia would be
\nprovided with special masks flown in from Japan.<\/p>\n
There are an estimated 15,000 Japanese living in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
The haze has also begun to engulf the popular southern Thai
\nresort of Phuket, reports from Bangkok said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Hoteliers said the pollution had just reached the area and was
\nnot yet a problem, especially since it was low season with daily
\nmonsoon rains and occupancy rates below 50 percent. (prb\/aan\/08)<\/p>\n
Threat -- Page 2<\/p>\n
Palm oil -- Page 10<\/p>\n
Growth -- Page 12<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/forest-fires-to-be-under-control-soon-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }