Pontianak most liable to forest fires<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has issued a list indicating those regencies prone
\nto forest fires, with the West Kalimantan capital of Pontianak
\nheading the list.<\/p>\n
The list was drawn up based on several variables, including
\nland and forest usage, dry months, short- and long-term average
\nrainfall and interpretation of satellite imagery.<\/p>\n
Before the issuance of the list, the Ministry of Forestry had
\ndetected thousands of hot spots in the four provinces, many of
\nwhich were located in forest concessions and industrial estates.<\/p>\n
However, the government appears to be reluctant to produce
\nevidence to sue the firms on neglecting the environment and to
\ndevelop a strategy on extinguishing the fires.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has initiated
\na move to sue 20 companies and seven local governments in Riau
\nfor their negligence in preventing forest fires in their
\nrespective areas.<\/p>\n
Following Walhi's initiative, the government expressed its
\nsupport for any legal recourse pursued against firms that caused
\nforest fires.<\/p>\n
To date, the director of Malaysian company PT Adei plantation
\nhas been sentenced by a local court to two years in jail for
\nstarting forest fires. The company was also fined US$1.1 million
\nin compensation to the government, which it agreed to pay.<\/p>\n
PT Cipta Daya Sejati, in Kampar regency, was also penalized,
\nbut only with light sentences -- three employees of the company
\nwere sentenced to between three and six months in jail.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Antara reported from Jambi that the local
\nadministration was on full alert to tackle forest fires in the
\nprovince following the recurrence of forest fires in several
\nprovinces.<\/p>\n
Jambi governor Zulkifli Nurdin called on the people and
\nforestry companies not to burn land in order to clear the land.<\/p>\n
\"Anyone who dares to clear the land with the slash-and-burn
\nmethod will be punished severely,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The list, presented by the deputy assistant on information at
\nthe Office of the State Minister of the Environment, revealed
\nthat most of the regencies in North Sumatra, Riau, Jambi and West
\nKalimantan were prone to forest fires.<\/p>\n
Over 330,000 hectares of the area within Pontianak's
\njurisdiction is categorized as very vulnerable to fire, while it
\nwas reported that forest fires could easily occur in over 245,000
\nhectares of Ketapang and 180,000 hectares of Kapuas Hulu.<\/p>\n
West Kalimantan consists of 10 regencies and municipalities.<\/p>\n
In Riau, Indragiri Hilir regency tops the list with over
\n250,000 hectares vulnerable to forest fires, followed by
\nBengkalis, with over 80,000 hectares prone to forest fires, and
\nPelewawan, with 61,000 hectares susceptible.<\/p>\n
Riau comprises nine regencies, one municipality and one
\nadministrative city.<\/p>\n
In North Sumatra, South Tapanuli ranked first with 57,000
\nhectares prone to forest fires.<\/p>\n
Labuhan Batu regency followed South Tapanuli with 56,000
\nhectares vulnerable to forest fires, followed by Central Tapanuli
\nwith 21,000 hectares susceptible to fire.<\/p>\n
North Sumatra consists of 19 regencies, municipalities and
\nadministrative cities.<\/p>\n
In Jambi, East Tanjung Jabung, with over 77,000 hectares,
\nranked the most susceptible, followed by Muaro Jambi and Batang
\nHari with 65,000 hectares and 26,000 hectares, respectively.<\/p>\n
Jambi has nine regencies and one municipality.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pontianak-most-liable-to-forest-fires-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }