Government warns of more forest fires<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government said on Wednesday forest fires might spread from
\nRiau, West and Central Kalimantan to several provinces in Sumatra
\nand Kalimantan as total hot spots now reached 234.<\/p>\n
The government also urged local administrations in those
\nislands to take necessary measures to anticipate fires which
\noften cause haze in Malaysia and Singapore.<\/p>\n
Willistra Danny, division head of forest fires detection and
\nevaluation at the Ministry of Forestry said as of Tuesday there
\nwere 128 hot spots in Riau, 49 in North Sumatra, 38 in South
\nSumatra and 21 in Aceh.<\/p>\n
He, however, said that hot spots in Kalimantan were unrecorded
\nas the satellite did not pass the island.<\/p>\n
\"Local administrations should now take necessary actions to
\ncontrol forest and bush fires,\" Willi said.<\/p>\n
\"It's quite ridiculous that forest and bush fires occur and
\nthat the central government must send teams to put out the
\nfires.\"<\/p>\n
According to him, the central government should only give
\nearly forest fire warnings and issue policy.<\/p>\n
So far, he said the central government had given provincial
\nadministrations warning letters to control forest and bush fires
\nas the El Nino effect would be still strong after June.<\/p>\n
\"We also call on forest concessionaire holders, plantations
\nand local people not to use the slash-and-burn method when
\nclearing their land,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Routine patrols by forest rangers should also be conducted
\ncontinuously to monitor burning activities in Sumatra and
\nKalimantan, he said.<\/p>\n
So far, only five provincial administrations in Sumatra and
\nKalimantan had replied to the central government letters, he
\nadded. \"They include South Sumatra, East Kalimantan, West
\nKalimantan and Central Kalimantan,\" Willi said.<\/p>\n
Last week, the Malaysian Environment Department said thick
\nhaze had returned to Malaysian skies in a yearly occurrence
\nbrought on by dry weather as well as increased fires in the
\nIndonesian island of Sumatra.<\/p>\n
It reported that satellite images on Tuesday last week
\ndetected 49 hot spots -- areas showing high levels of heat caused
\nby burning -- in Sumatra, which were believed to be forest fires.<\/p>\n
Riau, West and Central Kalimantan have reportedly confirmed
\nthe presence of forest fires in their areas.<\/p>\n
The Riau Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda)
\nchief Ahmad Syah has said, \"if no actions are taken we will be
\nfacing the same fate as in previous years. The haze that starts
\ncovering parts of the province, including the city, will disturb
\nair traffic not only in the province but also in neighboring
\ncountries Singapore and Malaysia and could cause respiratory
\nproblems for locals\".<\/p>\n
The government has so far taken legal action against several
\nplantation companies that burned trees when clearing their land.<\/p>\n
So far, the local administration has fined a Malaysian company
\nPT Adei Plantation US$1.1 million for burning forest areas.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-warns-of-more-forest-fires-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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