Drought may last until January, expert warns
JAKARTA (JP): A German ecologist said yesterday the long- awaited monsoon rain would come in January, not November as forecasted by optimistic local experts.
Professor Johann Georg Goldammer of the Freiburg University in Freiburg, southwest Germany, called for steadfast vigilance over the worsening drought and forest fires. He said that top on the agenda of the fight against forest fires and the impact of drought should be measures that ensure human safety.
"Let's be realistic, we are still facing problems with the fires," he said yesterday at a press briefing on forest fires along with several other German forestry experts at the German Embassy here.
"Despite the reported decrease in the number of hot spots, on the whole, the fires are not yet under control," said Goldammer, a scientist at the university's Fire Ecology and Biomass Burning Research Group.
Yesterday, the government's Environmental Impact Management Agency announced a slight increase in the number of hot spots, or fires locations, detected in Sumatra and Kalimantan, from 19 Monday to 23 Tuesday.
Goldammer cited several imminent drought-related problems such as the uncontrollable spreading of wildfires and water shortage in Kalimantan, Sumatra and Irian Jaya, which would subsequently lead to food shortages and famine.
The national Meteorology and Geophysics Agency forecasted last month that rain would begin to fall in a different time period next month in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Without specifically referring to the agency's forecast, Goldammer said forecasting rain for next month was an "optimistic prediction". He said the rain would only be "light".
An estimated 1.7 million hectares of forest have been razed by this year's forest fires, causing a health-threatening haze and an estimated Rp 6.2 trillion (US$1.7 billion) in losses, according to the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi). The estimate was much higher than those given by government officials.
Many airports are still closed because of the smog and about 20 million people in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java and neighboring countries are facing respiratory problems.
Antara reported yesterday that a fresh fire broke out and consumed some 400 hectares of pine forest in Central Java's Ponorogo and Pacitan regencies.
Brush fires on Central Java's Mount Telomoyo also reportedly posed a serious threat to the telecommunications transmission station on the mountain's peak.
Antara also reported that the forest fires on Mt. Merbabu and Mt. Andong in the province were still raging.
The Germany Embassy announced yesterday that it had offered up to DM 100,000 (Rp 201 million) in aid to the Indonesian government for medical supplies and other humanitarian relief measures.
It offered an additional DM 500,000 (Rp 1 billion) for the extension of the Cooperation Project "Integrated Forest Fire Management", for the training of Armed Forces personnel and the supply of fire fighting equipment.
It has also offered DM 1 million (Rp 2 billion) for emergency relief and another DM 10 million (Rp 20 billion) for the establishment of an integrated forest fire management system in East Kalimantan.
However, the Indonesian government was still undecided over whether to receive the assistance, said the German Embassy's public and consular affairs officer, Dieter Lamle. (aan)