Indonesia\u2019s forestry ministry processes 42 forest fire cases,\nsanctions six companies<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s meteorology agency detected 4,508 hotspots on Wednesday\nmorning (Aug 26), with nearly eight in 10 in Kalimantan. President\nPrabowo Subianto has instructed officials to do more in preventing\nforest and land fires.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: Forty-two cases of forest and land fires in Indonesia are\nundergoing legal proceedings at its forestry ministry, as the government\nsteps up efforts to tackle the haze and enforce the law.<\/p>\n
The ministry\u2019s Directorate General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) is\nhandling the cases, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said on Tuesday\n(Aug 25).<\/p>\n
Raja Juli did not provide details on the parties facing legal\nproceedings or the locations of the fires linked to the cases, but said\nthe government would take action regardless of who was responsible for\nthe violations.<\/p>\n
The cases appear to be in addition to the 72 suspects arrested by\nIndonesian police on Sunday in connection with 89 forest and land fire\ncases across five provinces in Kalimantan and four on Sumatra. There are\nno details if the cases overlap.<\/p>\n
Fires, driven by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry\nseason, have given rise to haze in the central and western parts of\nIndonesia, as well as in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
According to Raja Juli, enforcement action is not limited to criminal\nproceedings. The Forestry Ministry may also impose administrative\nsanctions.<\/p>\n
On Monday (Aug 24), the ministry announced administrative sanctions\nagainst six Forest Utilisation Business Licence (PBPH) concession\nholders after finding fires covering a total of 1,511.55 hectares in the\nareas they manage in West, Central and East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
The six companies were only identified by their initials by the\nauthorities: PT WEL, PT FI, PT MPK and PT WSP in West Kalimantan, PT NES\nin Central Kalimantan, and PT PSR in East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
The ministry found that they had failed to adequately prevent and\ncontrol forest and land fires in their concession areas.<\/p>\n
Five companies were ordered to take corrective measures, while PT\nMPK\u2019s business licence was suspended because of extensive and repeated\nfires in its concession area.<\/p>\n
Under the sanctions, the companies are required to improve their fire\npreparedness, including firefighting teams and equipment, water sources,\nobservation towers, canal blocks, as well as early detection and\nresponse systems.<\/p>\n
They are also required to restore vegetation in affected areas. For\npeatlands \u2013 wetlands consisting of partially decayed organic matter that\nrelease large amounts of carbon when burnt \u2013 they are to restore\nhydrological functions through water management, canal blocking,\nrewetting and groundwater-level monitoring.<\/p>\n
HOTSPOTS RISE<\/p>\n
On Wednesday (Aug 26), Indonesia\u2019s Meteorology, Climatology and\nGeophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded a slight increase in hotspots in\nKalimantan compared to a day earlier.<\/p>\n
Satellite monitoring between midnight and 10am local time detected\n3,533 hotspots in Kalimantan, 142 more than the 3,391 reported on\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
Kalimantan accounted for nearly eight in 10 \u2013 or about 78 per cent \u2013\nof the 4,508 hotspots detected across Indonesia during the monitoring\nperiod.<\/p>\n
Outside Kalimantan, BMKG detected 687 hotspots in Sumatra, 194 in\nSulawesi, 85 in Java, 57 in Papua and Maluku, and 33 in the Nusa\nTenggara islands.<\/p>\n
BMKG said atmospheric conditions would remain relatively dry over the\ncoming week due to a very strong El Nino and a positive Indian Ocean\nDipole (IOD).<\/p>\n
Low rainfall is expected in much of Kalimantan from late August to\nmid-September, conditions that BMKG said would increase vulnerability to\ndrought and forest and land fires.<\/p>\n
Haze from the fires has also disrupted schooling in several\nareas.<\/p>\n
In Berau, East Kalimantan, students were told to study from home from\nAug 24 to 26 after air quality deteriorated. Distance learning was also\nintroduced in several parts of West Kalimantan this week due to\nworsening air quality.<\/p>\n
In Sumatra\u2019s Jambi province, face-to-face classes from preschool to\nsenior high school were temporarily suspended from Monday. In Rokan Hulu\nin Riau province, classes were shifted online from Aug 26 to 28.<\/p>\n
PRABOWO LAYS OUT MEASURES TO TACKLE \u201cDANGEROUS DISASTER\u201d<\/p>\n
President Prabowo Subianto on Monday (Aug 24) instructed officials to\nstrengthen measures to prevent forest and land fires, including by\nresponding swiftly to every hotspot identified before it develops into a\nlarger fire.<\/p>\n
At a meeting on forest and land fire mitigation in Palembang, South\nSumatra, Prabowo said the central government was also preparing about\n1,000 military and police officers to assist local officials in public\noutreach and education.<\/p>\n
Prabowo said forest and land fires were a national concern because of\ntheir impact on the public, including respiratory problems caused by\nhaze.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a very dangerous disaster,\u201d Prabowo said.<\/p>\n
As for longer-term preventive measures, Prabowo called for more bore\nwells, reservoirs and canals in productive peatland areas. He said\ngroundwater in peatland was relatively easy to access through drilling\nand could be used to support fire prevention efforts.<\/p>\n
Prabowo also asked the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)\nto study how reservoirs and canals in peatland areas could be used for\nproductive activities, including fish farming, so that infrastructure\nbuilt to control forest fires could also provide economic benefits.<\/p>\n
He said the government would continue monitoring forest and land\nfires in South Sumatra and would also look into the haze problem.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesias-forestry-ministry-processes-42-forest-fire-cases-sanctions-six-companies-1787737834", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }