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