Authorities promise to limit haze

JAKARTA: Authorities in Central Kalimantan have ordered a crackdown on land clearers ahead of the annual haze generated by unchecked forest fires, officials said Thursday.

Provincial spokesman Harun Al-Rashid said its offices in Central Kalimantan had been ordered to make plans to combat the fires and the police had been told to enforce a ban on setting fires to clear land.

Rain earlier this month had helped dissipate the haze generated on Sulawesi, Kalimantan and Sumatra "but we have not had any significant rain in the past 10 days and that may signal the arrival of the dry season."

Authorities have issued written and oral warnings against using fire to clear land. Enforcement patrols would be mounted and offenders prosecuted.

Meteorology officials in the Sumatran provinces of Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra said the haze had began to return there.

"The smoke haze can be felt, especially in the evening. It hurts the eyes and has an acrid burning smell," said one official.

The haze is largely caused by illegal fires set to clear land for replanting.

In 1997 and to a lesser degree in 1998, a choking haze from fires in the country blanketed parts of Southeast Asia for months, causing serious health problems.

Using fire to clear land has been illegal since 1999 but prosecutions are rare. --AFP