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)