Unlikely heroes are fighting the fires<\/p>\n
By Yenni Kwok<\/p>\n
BALIKPAPAN (JP): Armed with a long knife, an old man fought
\nthe fire by his home alone.<\/p>\n
Enduring the choking smoke and heat of the flickering fires,
\nhe chopped down plants to make fire breaks. He was determined to
\nprevent them from spreading and reaching his house.<\/p>\n
He did not know how the fire started. \"It came from there,\" he
\nsaid, pointing east. He only knew that he had to save his home,
\naround 50 km from Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
But it was just one of the numerous rampaging fires that have
\nravaged forests and areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Forest fires are not a new phenomenon for Indonesia. They
\ndevastated 161,000 hectares of land last year; about 3,000
\nhectares were scorched in 1994 and 1995. The worst forest fires
\noccurred in 1982, when three million hectares were destroyed.<\/p>\n
Figures for this year differ from one agency to another. More
\nthan 83,000 hectares of Sumatran and Kalimantan forests have been
\ndestroyed, according to the Coordinating Minister for People's
\nWelfare Azwar Anas.<\/p>\n
But State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja
\nestimated that 300,000 hectares have burned.<\/p>\n
Many experts cite both natural and human causes for the
\ncatastrophe.<\/p>\n
One natural factor may be El Nino, which sets off
\nabnormalities in air currents and ocean temperatures in the
\nPacific.<\/p>\n
In a bad year, El Nino brings fewer Atlantic hurricanes,
\ndrought in Southeast Asia and Australia, as well as other
\ndisruptions of normal weather patterns.<\/p>\n
\"The past years when many forest fires occurred were also the
\nyears of El Nino,\" said Nabiel Makarim, the Deputy Head for
\nMinister of Environment's Pollution Control. \"But human factors
\nalso contribute. People open up fields by burning the land.\"<\/p>\n
Despite its almost annual occurrence, the country seemed
\nunprepared for the developing disaster.<\/p>\n
\"Around April or May, Sarwono gave a warning,\" Nabiel said.
\n\"He said: 'Watch out, watch out for El Nino.'\"<\/p>\n
Forest fires began in June but nationwide attention was still
\nslow in coming.<\/p>\n
\"We were late because we did not think it would be this big,\"
\nNabiel added. \"We needed time to wake up people.\"<\/p>\n
In battling the forest fires and attendant haze that has
\ndrifted to neighboring countries and led to diplomatic
\nembarrassment, primary hopes are placed on the unlikely figures
\nof junior government staff and young volunteers.<\/p>\n
With three desktop computers and two fax machines, a dozen
\npeople are assigned to a 24-hour shift at the forest fire co-
\nordination center in Jakarta, set up by Minister Sarwono in mid-
\nAugust.<\/p>\n
They are mostly staff from the Environmental Impact Management
\nAgency, and volunteers who have mastered the Geographical
\nInformation System or are computer skilled.<\/p>\n
Sarwono's son is also said to be a volunteer at the center.<\/p>\n
Headed by Nabiel himself, the National Coordination Team for
\nLand and Forest Fire Control is responsible for compiling
\ndifferent information -- including land visibility and hot spot
\nlocations from satellites -- and dispatching it to government
\nagencies and provincial governments.<\/p>\n
The coordination center also relies on information from
\npublic, media, the National Aviation Institute, the Geophysics
\nand Meteorological Agency, Technology Research and Implementation
\nAgency, Singapore and Malaysia.<\/p>\n
As a senior member of the Environmental Impact Management
\nAgency, Rusdian Lubis had to supervise his junior staff for a 24-
\nhour shift last Friday night.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the people here are young,\" the middle-aged Rusdian
\nsaid looking at his staff. \"They have high dedication.\"<\/p>\n
They also need to have the stamina to work round-the-clock.<\/p>\n
Red-eyed Rusdian and his fellow workers had to spend their
\nFriday night bent over their computers waiting for the latest
\nsatellite image of the hot spots.<\/p>\n
They translated the coordinates into specific locations and
\ngave the information to local governments to take action.<\/p>\n
While international help is just starting to pour in, few are
\naware that foreign expertise in fighting forest fires is already
\nhere.<\/p>\n
Integrated Forest Fire Management Project (IFFM) is a
\ncollaborative pilot project between the German government and
\nIndonesia's Ministry of Forestry in handling forest fires.<\/p>\n
The Samarinda-based project is equipped with sophisticated
\nfire-suppression tools and a satellite image receiver for hot
\nspot locations.<\/p>\n
\"Just receiving hot spots won't put out fires,\" said Ludwig
\nSchindler, IFFM team leader. \"There is a lack of trained people
\n(in forest fires) here. This is the area where we want to help.\"<\/p>\n
In the past three years, IFFM has trained 400 forest rangers
\nand locals in ways to prevent and suppress forest fires.<\/p>\n
This expertise was evident when a smoldering log was about to
\nburn an area of Bukit Soeharto, around 50 km east of Balikpapan.<\/p>\n
The forest rangers quickly extinguished the fire in less than
\nhalf an hour.<\/p>\n
Schindler was with The Jakarta Post on the road to Balikpapan
\nas brush fires burned on the sides. Asked whether IFFM could have
\nhelped villagers put out these fires, Schindler said they had in
\nthe past and would continue to do so when aware of the incidents.<\/p>\n
\"The most common problem is communication. The villagers do
\nnot have phones to report fires,\" he said.<\/p>\n
IFFM has not received any requests from top-level government
\nagencies to help in fighting forest fires.<\/p>\n
But they are ready to pitch if that call does come. \"We would
\ndefinitely give our help if we are asked,\" Schindler promised.<\/p>",
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