Evacuations likely due to hazardous haze in Sumatra

JAKARTA (JP): While claiming that they have successfully contained the spread of forest fires, officials admitted that evacuations maybe necessary in some areas along the Riau and North Sumatra provincial border due to hazardous haze.

The head of the Center of Environmental Readiness and Emergency Action at the Environmental Management Agency (Bappedal), Antung Deddy, told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview on Tuesday that the standard air pollution index (ISPU) in some areas had reached alarming levels.

"The main locations are the west of Dumai, between Sintong and Labuhanbatu and north of Daludalu," Antung said of the concentration of forest fires.

He pointed out that on Saturday the standard air pollution index (ISPU) reached a very dangerous level of 397.

"That means that residents must get ready to use masks," Antung said.

He warned that if in the next few days rains do not fall and there are no signs of the fires subsiding, residents may have to be evacuated.

But Antung also noted that with the recent efforts there was no sign of an escalation of the fires.

Due to the south-west monsoon surface winds, the haze from the fires has also been pushed into neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.

Antung said the fires started in early July and began to spread on July 9.

He estimates that the fires spread after burning was used to clear land. He claims that about two-thirds of the fires were caused by land clearing by locals and the rest by plantation companies and industrial plant forest companies (HTI).

Antung admitted that in the past there had been a lack of evidence to bring the guilty parties of the illegal burning-off process to court.

But this time, Bapedal and the coordination teams in Jakarta and Sumatra have found proof, he remarked.

"There has been an agreement between Bappedal, the Attorney General's Office, Police and the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations to take action against the alleged suspects. Soon, the dossiers will be given to the Attorney General's Office and the case will be taken to court," Antung said.

In an earlier statement the agency said "there are intensive actions in processing four cases of the burning of forest and land which occurred early March in Riau".

Bappedal has also earlier stated that Malaysia was partially responsible for the spreading of haze in the Southeast Asia region.

"The contagion of smoke in the Malaysian peninsula does not only derive from Indonesia, but also from the contribution of Malaysia," Bappedal said in a statement signed by executive secretary Sunyoto.

It cited Malaysia's "contribution" as nine percent.

The agency also urged the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations to deploy helicopters in the monitoring of the fires. (prb/09)