1,000 hectares of forest burned in Riau

1,000 hectares of forest burned in Riau

PEKANBARU, Riau: The dry season this year has fueled forest
fires in Riau province that have razed 1,008 hectares of forest
in the past six months, a senior government official said on
Wednesday.

Khairul Zainal, the head of Riau's Environmental Impact
Management Agency (Bapedalda), said that the razed forest areas
were located in six regencies and municipalities in the province.

The forest fires caused haze that also affected Malaysia and
Singapore, prompting them to hold a meeting in Pekanbaru, the
capital of Riau province, on Friday and Saturday to set up joint
measures with Indonesia to address the annual problem. -- JP