Cloud seeding to start in several provinces
Cloud seeding to start in several provinces
JAKARTA (JP): The government will begin cloud seeding next
week in an attempt to allay the worsening smoke haze enveloping
Jambi, Riau and West Sumatra, State Minister of Environment
Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said yesterday.
But due to unfavorable conditions there are so far no plans to
conduct cloud seeding in Kalimantan, sight of the worst forest
fires causing the haze.
Sarwono said cloud seeding would be carried out for several
days in areas declared feasible but its success would greatly
depend on favorable weather conditions.
Four military aircraft would be deployed to the designated
areas and field coordination would be executed with local
authorities, he said.
The haze, which has reached an unhealthy level here and in
neighboring Malaysia and Singapore, was caused by widespread bush
and forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The fires have been
blamed partly on large-scale plantation and timber companies
which resorted to slash-and-burn methods.
Sarwono hoped the cloud seeding would induce rain and help
extinguish the fires.
"It's just for clearing the haze," Sarwono told journalists at
his residence early yesterday morning.
The haze has lead to respiratory problems, disrupted at least
800 flights in nine local airports and caused seven boat
collisions on Central Kalimantan's Mahakam river in the last
three months.
"It's also possible the number of tourists visiting our
country might decrease because of the smoky haze," the minister
said.
"Not to mention the unreported human casualties the fires have
caused, for instance those who were trapped and suffocated by
smoke in the middle of the forest."
This year's forest fires have put the lives of 20 million
people in Indonesia at risk and many more in neighboring
countries, said Sarwono who also heads the Environmental Impact
Management Agency.
He called once again on the public and private sector to
develop a "sense of urgency" over the matter.
"The current fires could become worse with the stronger trade
winds blowing through our land," Sarwono warned, adding that rain
was expected in November.
Sarwono said the government has yet to decide whether to use
cloud seeding in Kalimantan because a survey indicated that
weather conditions are currently unfavorable.
"But coordinated field efforts by local authorities have been
made to contain the spread of the fires," he explained.
An estimated 300,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed by
the fires.
The government has set up a special team to handle this year's
fires. The National Coordination Team for Controlling Land Fires
is chaired by Sarwono and assisted by the Secretary of
Development Operations Lt. Gen. A.M. Hendropriyono.
The team was set up by President Soeharto after banning
Tuesday the use of fire to clear land.
He also cautioned everyone on the El Nino phenomena, the freak
weather pattern set to ravage parts of Asia, Africa and the
Americas where the effects of severe flooding and drought are
already being felt.
El Nino, or the infant, was named by a Peruvian fisherman. It
strengthens around Christmas, brewing in the Pacific basin but
influences weather patterns across a wider area including Africa
and the Indian subcontinent.
El Nino is caused by abnormal warming in the eastern Pacific
waters that interferes with normal trade wind patterns. (aan)