Forest fires cause Rp 132b in losses
Forest fires cause Rp 132b in losses
JAKARTA (JP): Forest fires have destroyed more than 165,000
hectares of forest in the country this year, causing an estimated
loss of Rp 132 billion (US$26.4 million), Minister of Forestry
Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo said yesterday.
But Djamaludin said this does not include the immeasurable
ecological damage such as destroyed habitats and forest
ecosystems.
"Forest burning also damaged the soil as it killed all the
useful microorganisms which made the land productive," he said in
a news conference on reforestation and land rehabilitation.
The figure also did not include the financial losses of timber
estates and plantation companies.
This year, fire razed more than 165,000 hectares of forest --
more than 125,000 hectares of industrial and protected forest and
more than 40,000 hectares of brush and land, he said.
But he declined to estimate how many years it would take the
forests to rehabilitate.
The fires have been concentrated in Central Kalimantan, West
Kalimantan, Sumatra's Riau and Jambi provinces. Fires have also
destroyed a large area of forest in Irian Jaya and Java.
Chief of the environmental damage control department of the
Environmental Management Agency (Bapedal), Yon Artiono, said
Indonesia has suffered huge losses in more ways than one due to
the forest fires.
"It will take us a very long time and a lot of money to
rehabilitate the damaged soil," he told a seminar on land and
forest fires at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java.
He said 15 years of reforestation had yet to rehabilitate land
that was badly damaged in forest fires in 1982. At least three
million hectares of land and forest was destroyed in the fires.
"Not only (did the government have to provide) money for
reforestation, the fires also disrupted the ecosystem and killed
animals," he said.
Legislation
Yesterday's seminar concluded that Indonesia needs to review
and reform its laws on forestry to effectively deter those who
burn forest. Regulations should also be made in accordance to
international standards, as the impact of the fires, such as the
thick haze, also affected other countries.
Komariah Emong Sapardjaja, a lecturer at the Padjadjaran
University, said the 1967 law on forestry did not deter
violators.
"The law only stipulates punishment in the form of
imprisonment or fines but does not include details on how the
punishment should be brought about," Komariah was quoted by
Antara as saying.
Another speaker, Komar Kantaatmadja, said the haze caused by
forest fires that affected neighboring Malaysia, Singapore,
Brunei, the Philippines and Thailand was subject to international
laws.
Yon Artiono agreed that the existing laws have failed to deter
those who burn forest. However, he expressed hope that the new
law on environmental management, produced this year, would be
more effective than its predecessor Law No.4/1982.
Conservation
Also yesterday, Minister Djamaludin said the ministry will
commemorate tomorrow the National Reforestation and Nature
Conservation Day at Karang Joang district in Balikpapan, East
Kalimantan. Vice President Try Sutrisno will lead the
commemoration.
Djamaludin said the ceremony is aimed at motivating the
community to participate in reforestation activities and nature
conservation.
He said it would also inform the international community about
Indonesia's efforts to preserve its natural resources, a follow-
up to the declaration of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
He said that from 1973 to 1997, Indonesia had reforested 6.192
million hectares or 86.27 percent of its land in a critical
state.
Several activities have been planned to mark conservation day,
including discussions, scout camping and exhibitions.
(gis/09/43/swe)