Govt accused of inaction on forest fires<\/p>\n
Bambang Bider and Edi Patebang, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Pontianak<\/p>\n
Environmentalists as well as Malaysia have criticized the
\ngovernment for doing nothing to cope with forest and ground fires
\nthat persisted on Friday in Kalimantan and Sumatra, sending
\nchoking haze to neighboring countries.<\/p>\n
"The government has not taken appropriate steps to deal with
\nthe forest fires. Worse still, it blames traditional farmers and
\nloggers for starting the fires," Longgena Ginting, director of
\nthe Indonesian Forum of Environment (Walhi) said on Friday.<\/p>\n
The government reacts only when the fires occur and its
\nefforts to handle them are very limited and temporary, he added.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that based on data as of Aug. 18, 2002, there
\nwere 4,000 hot spots in West and Central Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Most of the hot spots were seen in industrial timber estates
\nand plantations belonging to forestry concession holders, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
"Today the accumulation of hot spots has reached more than
\n30,000, causing the smoke over Kalimantan and neighboring
\ncountries," he explained.<\/p>\n
Walhi blamed the government for its failure to enforce the law
\nagainst companies who used slash-and-burn methods to clear land.<\/p>\n
Many have blamed large forestry companies for starting the
\nfires in a bid to release them of their legal obligation or
\nreplanting clearcut areas, and sometimes to collect insurance
\nmoney.<\/p>\n
However, officials of the West Kalimantan forestry and
\nplantation office and the environmental impact management agency
\n(Bapedalda) said the fires were mostly started by local farmers.<\/p>\n
Suwardi, head of the meteorology and geophysics office in
\nPontianak, claimed that the local authorities could not stop
\nlocal farmers living around Pontianak from burning scrub to clear
\nland.<\/p>\n
Although the area was still ablaze, visibility improved in
\nsome areas on Friday, but schools remained closed and many people
\nstill wore masks or had to go to health clinics for smoke-related
\nailments.<\/p>\n
Commercial flights, which had been disrupted in Pontianak,
\nbegan to return to normal on Friday as visibility was above 1,000
\nmeters.<\/p>\n
The smoke dissipated somewhat following a light rain.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Malaysian Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding wants
\nto meet with his Indonesian counterpart Nabiel Makarim to discuss
\nthe problem.<\/p>\n
Makarim was quoted on Thursday by Antara, and said that
\nMalaysia, Thailand and Singapore were upset with Indonesia for
\nruining the air quality in their countries, but said it was not
\nas serious as 1997.<\/p>\n
In 1997 and 1998, choking haze caused by fires here blanketed
\nparts of Southeast Asia for months, causing serious health and
\ntraffic problems, disrupting airline schedules and costing those
\ncountries an estimated US$9 billion.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-accused-of-inaction-on-forest-fires-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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