Forest fires on the rise in Riau and Kalimantan

Forest fires on the rise in Riau and Kalimantan

Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau

With the beginning of the dry season, an increasing number of
forest fires have been detected in Riau and Kalimantan, raising a
thick haze that could disrupt air transportation in the region
and neighboring countries, Malaysia and Singapore.

During this month, the local office of the Regional
Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda) in Pekanbaru,
Riau, detected a total of 119 hot spots in connection with the
rampant conversion of forest areas into farmland and plantations
in several regencies.

The hot spots were spreading in five regencies: Bengkalis,
Pelalawan, Indragiri Hulu, Siak and Dumai.

According to a meteorology report on May 24, there were 16
major hot spots in Indragiri Hulu and Pelalawan.

Riau Bapedalda Chief Ahmad Syah Harrofie regretted that the
local administration, especially the local forestry office, had
not learned from the past forest fires and haze in the province.

"With the start of the dry season, relevant authorities should
take necessary actions to prevent locals and forest
concessionaire holders from burning forest areas since it has had
a domino effect on the environment," he told The Jakarta Post
here on Tuesday.

Ahmad said, "if no actions are taken we will be facing the
same fate as in previous years. The haze that starts covering a
part of the province, including the city, will disturb the air
traffic not only in the province but also in neighboring
countries such as Singapore and Malaysia and could cause
respiratory problems for locals".

He said further that the conversion of forest fires into
farmland and plantations will threaten the habitat of rare
species such as the Sumatran Tiger, elephants and rhinos in the
province and cause floods during the rainy season.

So far, the local administration has fined a Malaysian company
PT Adei Plantation US$1.1 million for burning forest areas and
sued five other companies which were allegedly involved in the
same case in 2002.

The five companies were PT Sindora Seraya in Rokan Hilir
regency, PT Cibaliyung Plantation in Rokan Hilir, Dumai
Industrial Zone, PT Tri Bhakti Sarimas in Kuantan Singingi and
PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa in Rokan Hilir, Antara reported on Tuesday.

The news agency also reported that the burning of forest areas
has been also increasing in Central Kalimantan over the last
week, disrupting routine activities in the provincial capital of
Palangka Raya.

Chairman of the task force for the handling forest fires in
the province Ketut W. Wirawan called on the police and the local
forestry office to take strong actions against individuals and
forestry companies burning forests in the province.

The provincial administration has deployed hundreds of
personnel and tankers to put out the fires. Authorities in West
Kalimantan have also taken a similar move to put out fires in
several forest areas in the province.

Besides disrupting air transportation in Kalimantan and Riau,
the haze last year also caused the deaths of four people due to
respiratory problems and disrupted school activities.