Forest fires destroy 300,000 hectares this year
SEMARANG (JP): Fires in this year's dry season have destroyed 300,000 hectares of forest in Kalimantan and Sumatra, State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said here Saturday.
Speaking to The Jakarta Post during his visit to the Sultan Agung Islamic University, Sarwono warned the situation must not be treated lightly as the impact has been immense.
He conceded the fires were difficult to control as they have been worsened by strong winds. He said if the situation allowed, the government would use cloud seeding to slow the spread of the fires.
Sarwono called on every party to be "proactive" in helping address the problem. He did not elaborate.
He said the fires, despite being sporadic, could have a devastating impact on many sectors.
He said neighboring countries like Malaysia and Singapore -- which have had to endure a smoky haze that hampered visibility and flights -- have agreed to cooperate with Indonesia in finding ways to cope with the problem.
Fires devastated 161,000 hectares of land last year, while about 3,000 hectares were destroyed in 1994 and 1995. The worst forest fires in Indonesia was in 1982 when three million hectares of land was destroyed.
Sarwono and many climatologists have warned that this year's dry season could last well into late this year and the eminent threat of drought across the country should be handled seriously.
Experts attributed this year's prolonged drought to El Nino, an abnormal tropical Pacific Ocean weather pattern, which they believed could become the "climate event of the century" and surpass its devastating 1982-1983 episode.
El Nino
The El Nino had also been blamed for flash floods in some regions in Asia.
Reuters quoted a senior meteorologist last week as saying the long drought had prompted Indonesia to plan cloud seeding to reduce the impact of drought on food crops.
"It is not certain if the drought will end by October," said Paulus Agus Winarso, head of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency's forecast section.
"We will be carrying out cloud seeding in certain areas," he said, but would not elaborate on the target areas or when the cloud seeding would begin.
"We also forecast rain in some parts by the end of September and in October and in most other parts from November," he said.
Production of key export crops such as coffee and cocoa and other items such as corn are expected to suffer if the drought is prolonged.
The 1982-1983 El Nino episode triggered floods or drought in more than 15 countries and caused US$13 billion in damage. The 1982 forest fires in Indonesia caused US$300 million in damages.
The result of this year's El Nino global weather pattern may also worsen the smoky haze affecting parts of Southeast Asia, the Singaporean daily Straits Times reported Saturday.
Secretary at Singapore's environment ministry, Tan Gee Paw, said El Nino could extend this year's dry season in the region.
"The year is expected to be a very dry year in Indonesia, due to the current El Nino phenomenon, which is expected to be the worst this century," Tan said.
Sarwono also said Saturday that Indonesia appreciated the Singaporean government's contribution to Indonesia's effort to cope with forest fires by passing satellite images of smoke hot spots.
Reports of the impact of the current drought had been pouring in from many parts of the country. Among the latests were those on damaged crops in West Sumatra, Central and West Java provinces. In the former two provinces, for instance, some 8,400 hectares of paddy fields are in danger to be ruined because rivers and dams have started to dry out. (har/aan)